A extremely succesful cinema digicam at an inexpensive value

Video was once an afterthought for Nikon, however because the firm bought RED final yr, content material creators at the moment are excessive on its precedence record. An ideal instance of that’s Nikon’s new $2,200 ZR: a full-frame mirrorless mannequin that stands up in opposition to devoted cinema cameras for a fraction of the value.

It’s the primary shopper digicam to seize video utilizing RED’s 12-bit RAW format, however in contrast to RED’s Hollywood cameras, it has a quick and correct autofocus system. It additionally comes with an enormous show, professional video monitoring instruments, in-body stabilization and 32-bit float inner audio recording. After capturing a brief movie that examined its capabilities, I can verify that the Nikon ZR affords unimaginable video high quality at this value.

Physique and dealing with

Whereas a bit lighter than Nikon’s Z6 III, the 1.19-pound (540-gram) ZR feels stable. It has a boxy design like Sony’s FX2 however a a lot smaller grip as a result of it’s designed to be rigged up for cinema capturing with cages and handles. Nonetheless, in contrast to the FX2 which has a number of 1/4-inch mounting threads to do such rigging, the ZR sadly has solely a type of on the underside.

The ZR additionally lacks an digital viewfinder just like the FX2, but it surely greater than makes up for that with its enormous 4-inch show — the most important I’ve ever seen on a mirrorless digicam. At 1,000 nits, it’s vivid sufficient to shoot on sunny days, extraordinarily sharp (3.07 million dots) and flips out for vloggers. All of that makes it an ideal major show for checking the picture and controlling the digicam.

Nikon has nailed the ZR’s dealing with, too. Whereas it’s not lined with buttons and dials like some fashions, it does have two capturing dials to regulate publicity and a joystick for autofocus. There’s additionally a digicam/video swap, two file buttons, an influence swap and 5 customizable buttons. A lot of Nikon’s lenses include management rings as effectively, so additional guide management is obtainable.

The menu button is uncommon: you press as soon as for the fast menu and maintain to see the complete menu. Given the big variety of settings, I’d advise anybody shopping for this digicam to study all of the essential changes, then customise the controls to keep away from wading by means of dense menus whereas capturing.

One other distinctive characteristic is within the battery compartment. There’s a single quick CFexpress slot to deal with RAW video, plus a microSD slot for proxies. The dearth of a second CFexpress slot or quick SD card slot for backup isn’t excellent for knowledgeable digicam, although.

Lastly, the ZR runs on the identical N‑EL15c batteries as different Nikon mirrorless cameras. They permit 90 minutes of HD capturing on a cost, or 390 images per CIPA requirements. That’s mediocre, so when you’re planning lengthy shoots, fill up on batteries.

Video

The Nikon ZR has the most important collection of RAW video settings I’ve seen. The centerpiece is RED’s RAW R3D NE gentle codec (designed by RED for Nikon) with RED’s Log3G10 log format. It additionally helps Nikon’s N-RAW, ProRes/ProRes RAW and H.265 with decision that ranges from 6K at as much as 60 fps to 4K 120 fps and 1080p at 240 fps. Regardless of the smallish physique, it may well seize 6K RAW video constantly for 125 minutes with out overheating.

The 24MP sensor makes use of a twin ISO system with native 800 and 6,400 ISOs, offering a pleasant vary for indoor and outside capturing. The corporate claims 15+ stops of dynamic vary, which is extra than simply about some other mirrorless digicam. Different key video options embrace five-axis in-body stabilization with seven stops of shake discount, waveform and vectorscope monitoring and a false shade show for guide focus.

To check the digicam’s options and video high quality, I shot a brief movie in a mixture of indoor low gentle, outside daytime and a combination between the 2. I additionally shot handheld (together with working with it) to check the stabilization. I primarily captured in R3D RAW, in addition to Nikon’s N-RAW on the native 800 and 6,400 ISOs to maximise dynamic vary. (You may take 24MP images with this digicam, however I’m specializing in video because it’s primarily designed for that.)

In an effort to not see a flat log profile when capturing, you’ll want to use a look-up desk (LUT) designed for RED cameras, like “Achromic,” “Bleach” or “Caustic.” These are just for in-camera previews and never baked into the video, however you’ll be able to apply these LUTs later in Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve to get the identical look.

With such a excessive native ISO, I used to be capable of shoot inside with a single studio gentle. Video high quality was excellent with little noise in shadow areas, even after boosting black ranges in put up. In the meantime, the RED R3D codec and Log3G10 gave me additional latitude to disclose shadow element and dial down highlights once I shot the topic in opposition to a vivid window.

Whenever you use the R3D codec, publicity is strictly guide with no means to set auto shutter pace (shutter angle) or f-stop. So, for a scene with various gentle, I used Nikon’s N-RAW to see if it could give me the proper publicity at the start and finish of the scene. It did a superb job, with no noticeable jumps throughout the shot.

Video in daylight at ISO 800 was additionally sharp with correct colours after downscaling to 4K from 6K in DaVinci Resolve. ISO 800 is a comparatively excessive native setting, although, and the ZR doesn’t have a built-in ND filter to scale back publicity. Meaning you’ll want to purchase ND filters for outdoor capturing or the excessive shutter speeds will end in uneven video.

Cinema cameras from Blackmagic Design, Arri or RED are manual-focus solely. However the ZR is a Nikon digicam, and it has the very best AF system I’ve seen on any of the corporate’s fashions, persistently nailing focus even with transferring topics. It’s also possible to robotically observe autos, birds and different animals. On the identical time, the ZR handles guide focus effectively. That’s because of a built-in show that’s large enough to verify focus precisely and Nikon’s focus peaking setting with three ranges of sensitivity.

In-body stabilization on the ZR wasn’t as much as par with Panasonic’s S1 II, nonetheless. Video was clean for handheld capturing if I panned the digicam gently, however all my working and strolling pictures confirmed noticeable digicam shake. That stated, the ZR at the least has in-body stabilization, in contrast to most cinema cameras, and most filmmakers will use a gimbal for working pictures, no matter which digicam they use. (Be aware that the rattling you hear when the ZR is turned off is the sensor, which floats by design.)

Lastly, I used to be capable of seize good audio high quality through an exterior microphone with none clipping worries because of the Nikon ZR’s 32-bit float inner audio seize. The corporate additionally touts directional seize utilizing its built-in mics, however as with all such system, audio high quality isn’t excessive sufficient for manufacturing use.

Wrap-up

With the ZR, Nikon has proven that it’s lastly catching as much as and even surpassing its rivals for content material creation. Whether or not you’re doing social media, YouTube, documentaries and even movie manufacturing, this digicam is flexible and highly effective with few compromises. Video high quality and ease of use even beats fashions which are double or triple the value.

The ZR’s major competitors is within the low-end cinema cameras, significantly Sony’s $2,998 FX2 and the $3,899 Canon R5C. Whereas dearer, each include an digital viewfinder that the ZR lacks, and the R5C can shoot as much as 8K video. An alternative choice is Blackmagic Design’s Pyxis 6K digicam, but it surely solely affords primary autofocus capabilities and lacks in-body stabilization.

In comparison with these choices, Nikon’s ZR delivers higher dynamic vary because of the inclusion of RED’s R3D RAW codec. It additionally comes with a wonderful autofocus system and respectable in-body stabilization. In case you’re a creator trying to get the very best video high quality for the cash with out dropping these niceties, I’d extremely advocate the ZR.