Nikon Z 50

The Z 50 inherits many things we admired about Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless cameras and presents them in a smaller, lighter package. Michael Topham tests Nikon’s first DX-format mirrorless camera

- Michael Topham

When a camera manufacturer announces a new system, just as Nikon did towards the end of 2018 with its Z-series, it immediately asks questions about what models might follow in the future. With rumours suggesting a higher resolution or sports-focused Z-series camera (possibly a Z 8, or Z 9) might be next to arrive, it came as something of a shock when Nikon took wraps off a smaller, more affordable model. The Z 50 that shares the large Z mount, is Nikon’s first shot at creating a DX-format mirrorless camera with an APS-C size sensor.

Its release echoes the message that Nikon sees a bright future in APS-C cameras, especially the kind that appeal to people who like to pursue photography as a hobby and fancy a small system they can grow with that doesn’t come with the same outlay of buying into full frame. To offer a better idea of the Z 50’s positioning, it sits below the Z 6 and Z 7, presenting a Nikon D7500-like feature set with usability closer to that of Nikon’s advanced entry-level DSLR, the D5600.

Features

Study the Z 50 from the front and you’ll notice it shares similarities with the Z 6 and Z 7 in terms of its look and styling. The sensor that’s located directly behind the large Z mount is closely related to the 20.9-million-pixel APS-C CMOS chip that’s been used before in the Nikon D500 and D7500. It has a low-pass filter and teams up with an Expeed 6 image processor that sees it shoot across an ISO range of 100-51,200, which is expandable to ISO 204,800.