Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5: the younger sister of the Z series

Introduced in the summer of 2020, the Nikon Z5 is a mid range Mirrorless  with a 24.3Mp CMOS sensor. The camera can be defined as a sort of handyman designed for those who decide to take the first important step towards photography, presumably coming from a less performing camera. Drawing a parallel with the in-house-produced models, the Nikon Z5 is certainly very similar to its older sisters Z6 and Z7, also Full Frame Mirrorlesses, with some traits in common with the D750 SLR, a model that has had significant success, in terms of sales.

For several specialized reviewers, the Nikon Z5 is in some ways the real debut of the Japanese house in the Mirrorless market, being a camera with a more accessible price to the public - still definable as cheap - and competing with models like the Canon EOS RP and Sony Alpha A7 III. From a technical specifications point of view, however, the Nikon Z5 has a sensor with the same resolution but slightly lower than that of the Z6, i.e. without backlighting and with a less performing burst (4.5Fps).

Ergonomics and construction of the Nikon Z5

Compared to the Z6 and Z7 models, the Nikon Z5 immediately shows a welcome surprise: two SD card slots instead of a single XQD input. The size and weight, however, do not change: 34 x 100.5 x 69.5 mm, and 675 grams of weight including battery and card. The materials used, polycarbonate and magnesium alloy, are based on the Nikon 7000 series.

Even ergonomically speaking, the Nikon Z5 refers directly to its bigger sisters, despite the absence of the secondary display on the top plate and the AF/MF selector. The physical buttons are numerous and well distributed, apart from an overcrowded area - on the back, bottom right – where, in a few square millimeters, we find 5 commands: the two zoom buttons, the drive, directional pad, and menu. The grip has an ideal depth, equipped with the right prominence to grab a weight that, to be that of a mirrorless, is certainly not very light.

The front view of the Nikon Z5 is that of a Full Frame type, wider than the APS-C models, and with a Z Mount connection that stands out in all its considerable diameter. At the top, the left side appears quite bare, while the program dial offers three customizable modes. On the right side you can see the double memory cardslots; on the opposite side you find these ports: USB 3.0 type C (for battery charging), mini-HDMI, remote control input, headphone, and microphone jack. Speaking of connections, the wireless ones present in Nikon Z5 are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and remote control with the SnapBridge app.

Nikon Z5: EVF e Monitor

With its 3.69 million dots and 100% coverage, the Z5's electronic viewfinder is one of the main strengths of this camera. With such an EVF, the Japanese house - known (also) for its precision optics - somehow wanted to reiterate once again the central role of a viewfinder, never secondary to a Live View display, when it comes to making photography of a certain level. With the Nikon Z5 viewfinder, everything is under control, even the shaded areas. The main settings - white balance, focus peaking, exposure - are displayed in real-time. With its magnifying glass sensitive to the zoom controls, this viewfinder allows you to check the sharpness before proceeding with the shot.

Unlike the electronic viewfinder, the Nikon Z5 monitor left us unimpressed, especially because it is a partially rotatable LCD panel, articulated completely upwards and partially downwards. The technical specs of this display - resolution of 1040K dots and diagonal width of 3.2 inches - are not that bad, but this monitor seems more like a missed opportunity since the Nikon Z5 offers several features that, accompanied by the full rotation of the display, would have attracted more attention from video bloggers. For photographers, however, this is a satisfactory LCD.

The Nikon Z5 in brief

• Sensor: 24.3Mp CMOS (35.9mm x 23.9mm)
• Processor: EXPEED 6
• Viewfinder: 1.27cm, 3690 k-dot (Quad VGA) OLED; 100% image coverage, 0.8x magnification
• Display: 8cm TFT (1040K dots) touchscreen LCD, tiltable with 170° viewing angle
• AutoFocus System: Hybrid AF with Hybrid Contrast/Phase Detection (273 points)
• ISO range: from 100 to 51200 (extendable to ISO 50-102400)
• Burst: Up to 4.5Fps with AF active
• Video mode: 3840 x 2160 (UHD 4K) 30p/25p/24p; 1920 x 1080: 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p
• Interfaces: USB Type C, HDMI Type C, Wi-Fi microphone and headphone jack, Bluetooth 4.2
• Memory: 2 SD, SDHC Slots
• Battery: Li-ion EN-EL15c

Nikon Z5: AF system and burst

The AF system of the Z5 - a hybrid with contrast and phase detection, with 273 points covering 90% of the frame - remains essentially that of the Z6, with a small involution that concerns low-light scenes, since that of its older sister stands at -6 EV, while that of the Nikon Z5 stops at -3 EV. The speed of the system is lower than that of the most performing reflex cameras of the Japanese house, but the detection of the eyes (people and animals) is quite dynamic and precise.

The Nikon Z5 is far from being excellent because its AF system shows some limits especially when it is required to track moving subjects, situations in which the Canon or Sony equivalents perform better. Nothing terrible, of course, but the system of the Z5 turns out to be very reactive only in static situations.

Reaching 4.5Fps (the lowest value on the Z line), the Nikon Z5's shutter speed is satisfactory for landscape, portrait, or street photography, but problems arise when filming scenes with lots of action, or with animals with unpredictable movements.

Shooting quality and video recordings

Photographing with the Nikon Z5, the level of detail remains at more than discrete levels up to 2700 LW/PH - Line Widths for Picture Height, pairs of lines per unit of sensor height - limit beyond which slight aliasing can be seen, i.e. the unpleasant “jagged” effect, much more visible when images are enlarged.

Shooting at high ISO the Nikon Z5 produces discreet results, especially by inserting the de-noise filter which, however, makes the images slightly "blurry". Without a filter, digital noise is no problem up to ISO 6400, while at 12,800 the quality is more than acceptable even without a filter. Going further, the grain becomes important and annoying. Even the color range of the Nikon Z5 is confirmed to fully be in the entry-level range, with some problems related to the white balancing, in situations of artificial light.

Coming to the video sector, as already mentioned, it certainly cannot be said that it is one of the strengths of the Nikon Z5: if we stop at FullHD you get excellent recordings without image cropping with a good 1080 at 60Fps. But the problem comes if we raise the resolution to 4K and it's called cropping. Yes, because when filming in UltraHD (30Fps), we see an image crop of 1.7x. Nothing to say instead for the fluidity of the images even while shooting freehand, thanks to the excellent five-axis stabilizer present in the Nikon Z5.

Nikon Z5 Vs. Sony A7 III

Although there are about two years of difference between the two cameras - the Sony A7 III was released in 2018 - the models have several features in common, starting with the 24Mp Full Frame sensor: both Nikon and Sony have two memory cards slots, both offer headphone and external microphone jacks and a very similar stabilization system. Unfortunately, the Nikon Z5 and Sony A7 III also have in common the lack of a built-in flash.

There are no significant differences on the camera body, despite the Sony model having smaller measures of a few millimeters and a weight less than 25 grams: nothing that substantially moves the balance in favor of the A7 III.

The real difference between the Sony and the Nikon lies in the AF: with a hybrid system based on 693 points and a 10Fps burst, the A7III model stands out from the Nikon Z5 which, which on its side, offers a superior electronic viewfinder and a curious function thanks to which the camera can be used as an actual webcam.