Camera Reviews / Nikon Cameras / Nikon Z i Review

45.70 Megapixels	Nikon Z	35mm size sensor

Nikon Z7 Review

by Mike Tomkins, Jeremy Gray, Zig Weidelich and Dave Pardue
Preview posted: 08/23/2018
Last updated: 10/10/2019

Want to learn more about how the Nikon Z7 was designed and built? Click here to read our deep-dive interview with Nikon engineers from the Z7 launch event in Tokyo, Japan.

 

 

Nikon Z7 Overview

by Mike Tomkins

Things have been looking up for Nikon lately. As the company rounded out its year-long celebration of its hundredth anniversary last year, its impressive D850 DSLR ruled the roost as winner not just in the DSLR category of our 2017 Camera of the Year awards, but also the overall victor. But while it has clearly managed something really special with the D850 DSLR, Nikon obviously couldn't neglect the burgeoning mirrorless market, which has continued to gain in popularity globally at the expense of DSLR sales. The potential of mirrorless has been made most obvious by the speed with which rival Sony's Alpha mirrorless camera line has gained in popularity and sales, even as Nikon has had to pull back from its own mirrorless offerings of days gone by due to lackluster sales.

Looking back at the 1-series and decade one of the mirrorless revolution

By coincidence, mirrorless cameras themselves were also celebrating an anniversary last year. It was a full decade since Olympus and Panasonic made waves in mid-2008 by announcing their Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera standard. Nikon responded some three years later in mid-2011, launching its own Nikon 1 mirrorless lineup. The 1-series cameras were groundbreaking in some respects, with the world's first hybrid autofocus system in an ILC thanks to on-chip phase detection pixels, and capable of almost legendary burst-shooting and video-capture performance. They also took good advantage of the size and weight advantages possible with mirrorless designs, being far sleeker and more compact than their DSLR brethren.

Where the Nikon 1-series stumbled, though, was in the very place which allowed most of these other advantages: The sensor used in Nikon's early mirrorless models, while still huge in comparison to the compact cameras which were then just reaching their sales peak, was nevertheless relatively tiny when compared even to the APS-C sensors typically used in DSLRs at the time. While that sensor size allowed the small cameras and lenses for which the 1-series was known, as well as their incredible performance and autofocus, it also translated to a noticeable reduction in image quality versus larger-sensored rivals. Nikon put its heart and soul into the 1-series, but it still faded into the history books, underappreciated and unloved by most.

Nikon's brand-new Z7 mirrorless camera, the flagship of its Z-mount compact system camera lineup.

The impressive Z7 and Z6 mark the start of Nikon's brand-new mirrorless strategy

Nikon has since gone back to the drawing board and reinvented its mirrorless strategy from the ground up. With the simultaneously-launched Nikon Z6 and Z7, the company aims to achieve the same success within the compact system camera market that it's managing in the DSLR market with cameras like the D850. In doing so, it has switched to a full-frame sensor size much like that used in many of Sony's popular Alpha-series mirrorless cameras, setting up a head-to-head battle with the electronics giant, as well as with Canon, who less than two weeks later also announced their first full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS R.

[Ed. Note: For the sake of accuracy, we should note that the official naming for these new cameras is actually "Nikon Z 6" and "Nikon Z 7". However, we'll be referring to them as the Z6 and Z7 throughout this article, as the extra space makes things harder to read, but we can't really abbreviate to just 'Z' or '6'/'7' either.]

The Nikon Z7 compared with Sony's Alpha A7R. Which would you choose?

Key features of the Nikon Z7

We'll get down to all of the finer details in a moment, but right now we're sure you're itching to learn what the Nikon Z7 has to bring to the party. Let's quickly hit the high points:

• Nikon's familiar DSLR ergonomics in a mirrorless form factor

• Comprehensively dust/weather-sealed body (D850 class of protection)

• 45.7-megapixel, full-frame Nikon FX-format BSI CMOS image sensor with on-chip focus pixels

• ISO 64 - 25,600, expandable to ISO 32 - 102,400

• Up to nine fps full-res burst capture with continuous autofocus

• Nikkor Z lens mount supports three S-Line lenses at launch and over a dozen by end of 2020

• Supports Nikon F-mount lenses with Mount Adapter FTZ

• Roomy and extremely high-res 3,690k-dot OLED electronic viewfinder with Nikkor optics

• Generous 3.2-inch, 2,100k-dot tilting LCD touch-screen

The Nikon Z7 mirrorless camera as seen from above.

• Top-deck status OLED display

• 493-point autofocus system specified to work as low as -4 EV (ISO 100, f/2.0 lens, AF-S mode)

• Five-stop, five-axis in-camera vibration reduction for both Z-mount and all adapted F-mount lenses. Lens-based VR also supported.

• Shutter speeds from 1/8,000 to 30 plus bulb; x-sync at 1/200

• Full-width 4Kp30 and 1080p120 movie capture, timecode, 10-bit HDMI and Log color profile

• Also shoots 8K timelapse movies in-camera

• Built-in SnapBridge Bluetooth/Wi-Fi communications

• SuperSpeed USB Type-C connector and Type-C Mini HDMI connector, plus accessory terminal and 3.5mm mic/headphone jacks

• Supports existing DSLR accessories like Advanced Wireless Lighting, WT-7 series wireless transmitters and EN-EL15 series batteries. New EN-EL15b can recharge in-camera.

• Dedicated, weather-sealed multi-power battery pack is in development

• Available late September 2018 for US$3,400 body-only or US$4,000 with 24-70 f/4 lens

The Nikon Z7 shown with 24-70mm zoom lens mounted.

The Nikon Z6 and Z7 compared

And now that we've got the basics covered, let's see what differs between the Nikon Z7 and its simultaneously-announced, more-affordable sibling:

• The Nikon Z7 has a 45.7-megapixel sensor; the Z6 is 24.5-megapixel. (Total pixel counts are 46.89 mpix for Z7, and 25.28 mpix for Z6.)

• The Z7's sensor lacks an optical low-pass filter, while the lower-resolution Z6 has one.

• The Z7 supports ISO 64 - 25,600 by default; the Z6 is ISO 100 - 51,200.

• The Z7 can be expanded to ISO 32 - 102,400; the Z6 expands to 50 - 204,800.

• The Z7 has 493 focus points; the Z6 has 273.

• The Z7 shoots at 9 fps full-res; the Z6 can manage 12 fps. If you enable 14-bit raw, the Z7 falls to 8 fps, while the Z6 can still manage 9 fps. Both drop to 5.5 fps with full continuous AE/AF functionality when shooting 12-bit raw, but the Z7 drops to 5 fps with 14-bit raw. (Note that firmware v2.00 adds continuous AE support to the fastest burst mode, as well as eye-detection AF.)

• The Z6 features a deeper buffer for longer bursts (35 versus 23 for 12-bit lossless NEFs).

• The Z7 meters down to -3 EV and focuses down to -1 EV ordinarily (-2 EV with firmware v2.00), while the Z6 can meter to -4 EV and focus to -2 EV. (However, in Low-light AF mode, both cameras can focus down to -4 EV.)

• While both models capture full-width 4K video at up to 30p, the Z6 features full-pixel readout, for better video quality. The Z7 subsamples.

• The Z7 offers a 5:4 aspect ratio mode for stills, the Z6 does not.

• The Z7 features slightly better battery life with the same battery pack, CIPA-rated at 330 shots per charge with the EVF or 400 shot with the LCD. The Z6 is rated at 310 or 380 shots respectively.

• Curiously, the Z6 has more powerful Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios than does the Z7. (7.4 vs 7.0 dBm for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, 12.2/9.2 vs. 12.1/9.1 dBm for 5GHz Wi-Fi, 1.9 vs 1.5 dBm for Bluetooth and 0.4 vs 0 dBm for Bluetooth LE.)

• The Z7 costs US$3,400 body-only at launch; the Z6 is US$2,000.

• The Z7 comes bundled with the EH-7P charging AC adapter to charge batteries in-camera; the Z6 doesn't include this accessory in the standard package.

At left, the Nikon D850 DSLR. At right, the Nikon Z7 compact system camera. The family resemblance is clear.

Let's roll up our sleeves and talk details

But enough of the bullet points. As the Z6 and Z7 are new cameras, we've a lot more to discuss here than usual. Now that you have a sense for where the Z7 sits compared to its sibling, let's get right down to the specifics and see what you can expect from Nikon's flagship full-frame mirrorless camera.

The first thing you're going to notice on picking up the Z7 is that it's very obviously a high-end Nikon camera. For one thing, it's no shelf queen: the Z7's body is designed to the same level of strength, durability and dust / drip resistance as the D850. And although the number and placement of controls does of necessity vary a fair bit to accommodate a smaller mirrorless form factor, a lot of the individual controls will be immediately familiar to a photographer shooting that same camera.

The Nikon Z7 mirrorless camera as seen from the rear.

A brand-new body that nevertheless feels like an old friend

The cluster of controls around the shutter button, for example, is identical to the D850 almost right down to the individual button placements. You'll also find twin control dials front and rear, plus on the rear, a joystick control and an eight-way directional pad with central OK button. And nearby, you'll also find AF-ON and 'i' buttons. Delete and Play buttons can be found top left of the rear deck where you'd expect, and they're even separated by a little ridge as in the D850.

Really, the biggest UI differences are that four of the buttons which would have lined the left of the LCD on the D850 have instead jumped to the bottom right of the rear deck, and there's a traditional Mode dial with central lock button on the top deck in place of the wedding cake-style release mode dial topped by buttons on the D850. Getting familiarized with the Z7's controls should not take Nikonians long at all.

At the heart of the Nikon Z7 is a brand-new, full-frame image sensor with 45.7-megapixel resolution.

A brand-new, very high-res sensor and EXPEED 6 processor

Let's return to the image sensor, next of all. As we said at the outset, it's a full-frame (or in Nikon parlance, FX-format) backside-illuminated CMOS chip with an effective resolution of 45.7 megapixels from a total count of 46.89 megapixels and it does not include an optical low-pass filter. The chip has dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9mm, and maximum image dimensions are 8,256 x 5,504 pixels. If using an APS-C sensor crop for a DX-format lens, the maximum image dimensions fall to 5,408 x 3,600 pixels, for an effective resolution of 19.5 megapixels.

As well as the ability to shoot a Dust Off reference photo to remove dust from your images using Nikon's Capture NX-D software, an image sensor cleaning function is included. (We don't have details on the specific dust reduction system being used, however.)

The sensor is paired to a latest-generation version of Nikon's in-house image processor, dubbed EXPEED 6 in this incarnation. Nikon says that this latest variant of EXPEED allows for crisper rendering of subjects and lower noise levels than did past versions. To help you make the most of the Z7's detail-gathering capabilities, EXPEED 6 also brings with it a new mid-range sharpening function that can be used alongside of the existing sharpening and clarity functions seen in other recent Nikon cameras.

The Nikon Z7's sensor is fairly glowing under our studio lighting in this shot!

A sensitivity range that's unusually generous at the bottom end, too

Together, the Nikon Z7's sensor and processor pairing allow a sensitivity range of ISO 64 to 25,600 equivalents, expandable to encompass everything from ISO 32 to 102,400 equivalents. That's a pretty broad range, and while we've certainly seen higher at the top end of the scale, it's at the bottom end where the Nikon Z7 really impresses. Not counting the D810 and D850, it's not often we see a camera which allows anything below ISO 100 by default.

And the top burst capture rate of nine frames per second with continuous autofocus at full resolution is pretty swift, too, especially when you bear in mind the Z7's high resolution of 45.7 megapixels. Do note that's with exposure locked from the first frame, however. Also, enabling 14-bit raw capture will strip a frame off the maximum rate, dropping it to 8 fps max. If you want exposure adjustments between frames, the maximum capture rate plunges to a more modest 5.5 frames per second at full resolution, or 5 fps with 14-bit raw capture. And if you need a lower burst rate, options from 1 to 5 fps are also available. (Note that firmware v2.00 adds continuous AE support to the fastest burst mode.)

The Nikon Z-mount has four lugs on its bayonet mount, rather than the three used by the F-mount.

A brand-new lens mount brings big opportunities

The newly-developed, four-flanged Nikon Z lens bayonet mount absolutely dominates the front of the Z7 body. It's notable not just for the generous diameter of the mount, which has an inner diameter of some 2.2 inches (55 mm), but also for its minimal flange back distance of just 0.63 inches (16mm). That's actually a millimeter less than the much smaller Nikon 1-mount, two millimeters less than Sony's E-mount, and 3.25mm less than Olympus and Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds standard.

Nikon tells us that the combination of the generously-sized mount and shallow flange back will give it greater possibilities when it comes to lens development. And it's pretty clear that lens development is a key focus here. The official Nikkor Z Lens Roadmap at release shows the lineup started with just three optics (two primes and a zoom) in 2018, but six more are slated to follow in 2019, and another six the year after. Looking out to 2021 or perhaps later, there are a further eight optics scheduled.

All of Nikon's Nikkor Z S-Line lenses are said to have been designed to provide maximum sharpness when shooting wide open. They're also all equipped with weather-sealing, and to be conducive to use not just for stills, but also for video capture. We don't yet have specifics on what many of these lenses will be, however. Let's take a bit of a closer look at what we know thus far of what's to come.

Nikon initially launched the Z series with three lenses and an F-mount adapter. Here are the lenses.

Two primes and a zoom available at launch

Available alongside the Nikon Z7 at launch (or for the 50mm, a short month thereafter) are two primes and a zoom. The Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S and Z 50mm f/1.8 S primes both feature a pair of ED glass lens elements. The 50mm pairs these with two aspheric elements, while the 35mm prime has three aspherics. Both lenses also use Nikon's Nano Crystal Coat coating to suppress flare and ghosting. The 50mm uses an STM stepping motor for quiet autofocus, while the 35mm prime has an unusual AF drive mechanism pairing two distinct AF drive units for performance and accuracy.

The Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S is the only zoom available at launch. It pairs Nikon's ghost- and flare-resistant Nano Crystal Coat coating with a fluorine coating on the front element to resist smudges and smears. Inside, it has one standard ED element, one aspherical ED element and three standard aspherics. It will focus to as close as 0.3 meters.

Nikon's Z-mount lens roadmap updated on Jan 8, 2019

Nine more lenses announced in some form for 2019 and 2020

Of the remaining known lenses, there are five primes and four zooms. The ultra-wide Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S has just recently been announced and will be available in the spring of 2019. It's quite compact and light for its class, and Nikon says it's the world's first full-frame 14mm lens that can accept screw-in filters. Click on the link for full info.

We only have details beyond the name for one other optic, currently in development and also slated to arrive in 2019. This is the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, a manual focus-only optic which is planned as the fastest lens ever made by Nikon.

Positioned as the flagship S-Line lens, its name hearkens back to 1977's AI Noct-NIKKOR 58mm f/1.2 prime. The "Noct" moniker in both names is, according to Nikon, an abbreviation of "Nocturne", a musical piece intended for night or evening use. Staying true to that name, the original Noct lens was designed specifically with the intent of rendering sharp point light sources crisply against a dark background, such as you might want for night or astronomical photography. And it seems the goal is much the same for this new lens, with Nikon promising "superior detail and sharpness", "outstanding point-image reproduction capabilities" and "beautiful blur characteristics".

At launch, all but the 50mm lens shown at right were available. That optic followed a month later.

As for the other lenses, we can only tell you their focal lengths and apertures so far, as not even the full names are yet finalized. In order from widest to most telephoto, they are:

• 14-24mm f/2.8 S

• 20mm f/1.8 S

• 24mm f/1.8 S

• 24-70mm f/2.8 S

• 50mm f/1.2 S

• 70-200mm f/2.8 S

• 85mm f/1.8 S

Note that in Nikon's latest S lens roadmap, the planned release of the 24mm f/1.8 has been moved up to 2019 while the 20mm f/1.8 has been moved out to 2020 compared to the original roadmap.

The Nikon Z7 looks mighty impressive with a larger lens like this AF-S 500mm mounted on its FTZ Mount Adapter accessory.

Of course, you can mount F-mount lenses via an adapter, too

As you'd doubtless expect of a brand-new system with few first-party optics at launch (and likely a while before any third-party optics become available, too), the ability to mount existing glass is an important feature for the Nikon Z-series cameras. And they can do so very nicely indeed, courtesy of the Nikon Mount Adapter FTZ.

The name, pretty obviously, hints at the fact that this accessory will adapt F-mount lenses to a Z-mount bayonet, and no less than 90 of Nikon's existing lenses will work with the adapter without limitations. (Full AF/AE is supported when using FX or DX AF-S Type G/D/E, AF-P type G/E, AF-I type D lenses and AF-S/AF-I teleconverters.) About another 250 optics (AI type and later) will also be usable with some functional limitations.

Nikon's Mount Adapter FTZ is used to mount hundreds of historic F-mount lenses, many of which work without compromises.

Five-axis, five-stop Vibration Reduction (and even adapted lenses get three-axis correction)

As well as providing support for focus and aperture control, the Mount Adapter FTZ also supports the built-in vibration reduction of lenses supporting this feature. If your lens doesn't natively offer VR, the camera's own built-in VR system will still provide three-axis VR. And the in-body stabilization system will work alongside that in your lens, if such a system is available, adding support not just for pitch and yaw correction, but also for side-to-side roll correction.

As for dedicated Z-mount lenses, these will provide for five-axis correction, adding horizontal and vertical translational motion to the list of corrections on offer. The system is said to operate with a five-stop corrective strength in this scenario.

Here, the Nikon Z7 is shown with all the lenses that were available within a month of its launch.

Fast, point-dense autofocus with 90% frame coverage

Autofocus was clearly a priority for Nikon in designing the Z7, and the result is a camera which can manage swift AF corrections between frames even when shooting at the maximum rate of nine frames per second. This is doubly impressive when one considers that the Z7 has a very generous 493 autofocus points on offer, covering a whopping 90% of the image frame both horizontally and vertically.

The system is a hybrid one, as has become increasingly common over the last few years, but with an interesting twist. Typically, hybrid AF systems use on-chip phase detect focus pixels to approximate the distance and direction required to achieve a focus lock. Then, on making that adjustment, they fine-tune the result with a little contrast-detection "hunting" to determine the exact point of focus. While we're told that Nikon's hybrid AF system can function in this manner, we understand that it's not actually a requirement. The Nikon Z7 instead can (and sometimes, will) lock focus exclusively using the phase-detection information, with no need to perform a contrast-detection AF cycle at the end. (Note that firmware v2.00 adds eye-detection AF.)

The Nikon Z7 has an impressive 493 autofocus points with 90% horizontal / vertical coverage of the frame. (There are up to 435 points available in video mode.)

A superbly detailed and roomy electronic viewfinder will help you forget your DSLR

Perhaps one of the most important parts of the mirrorless experience for new shooters transitioning from a DSLR is the viewfinder. SLR shooters looking for a camera in this class are used to seeing a large, bright, razor-sharp and lag-free rendition of the real world in all of its glory, projected straight through the lens and into their eyes. These aren't areas in which electronic viewfinders have traditionally had the best reputation, but technology has come a long way in recent years, and we're starting to see some electronic viewfinders appearing which really challenge the perceptions of days gone by.

The electronic viewfinder used in the Nikon Z7 is a beautiful example of this in action, and it gives just the right feeling when raised to your eye. Based around a 0.5-inch (1.27 cm) Organic LED panel and boasting 0.8x magnification, it's very roomy indeed. It also has an extremely high Quad VGA resolution, not to be confused with the much lower-res QVGA. It's equivalent in resolution to four VGA screens stacked in a two-by-two array, offering up a total of 1,280 x 960 pixels, for a total dot count of around 3,690k-dots.

The Z7's viewfinder has an eyepoint of 21mm from the eyepiece lens, which is about enough even for eyeglass wearers to be able to discern the entire frame without needing to move their eye around the viewfinder. Coverage is manufacturer-rated at 100% both horizontally and vertically. There's a built-in diopter adjustment control which will allow a -4 to +2 m^-1 diopters of adjustment, should you prefer. And regardless of whether or not you're bespectacled, you'll find that the Z7 can automatically enable or disable the viewfinder to help save power or to let you switch back and forth between viewfinder and LCD monitor with a minimum of fuss.

The viewfinder provides an 11-step manual or automatic brightness control, and a color adjustment function is also available to fine-tune it to your tastes.

On the Z7's rear, you'll find a really high-res viewfinder and a tilting LCD touch-screen with a 3.2-inch diagonal.

An unusually crisp, high-res tilting touch-screen LCD monitor, as well

Speaking of the LCD monitor, that on the Nikon Z7 is also an unusually nice one. It has a slightly more generous than average 3.2-inch diagonal, and an extremely high resolution of 2,100k-dots. Again, Nikon manufacturer-rates coverage at 100%, and the company also specifies an extremely wide 170-degree viewing angle, both horizontally and vertically. Touch functionality is similar to the D850's, including touch AF and touch shutter support.

Just as for the viewfinder, the LCD monitor provides an 11-step brightness control and a color adjustment function. There's no auto brightness control for the LCD, however. And if you want to shoot from the hip or over your head, you'll find the Z7's LCD tilting mechanism useful so long as you don't need to shoot in portrait format. (We don't have a precise figure for its articulation range, but it won't flip all the way forward for selfie shooting, although that's hardly a common use case for a camera in this price group.)

Oh, and you'll also find a handy little OLED info panel on the Z7's top deck, as you can see below.

Tucked just to the right of the Z7's flash hot shoe, you'll find a little status OLED display which shows just the basics you need.

All the exposure and creative options you'd expect

The Nikon Z7 is clearly a camera aimed at experienced photographers, be they pros or deep-pocketed enthusiasts, and all the creative options you'd expect to find are on offer here. The Z7 meters exposures using its main imaging sensor, and offers a choice of matrix, center-weighted, spot or highlight-weighted metering modes. The metering system has an unusually generous operating range of -3 to 17 EV, allowing metering even for starlit scenes, and +/-5 EV of exposure compensation is available in 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps, plus an exposure lock function.

Program modes on offer include the typical selection of Programmed Auto, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority or fully Manual modes, plus a fully Automatic mode. The Program mode includes a flexible program function that allows you to coax the aperture or shutter speed in your desired direction while still leaving overall control in the hands of the camera itself. Shutter speeds range from as little as 1/8,000 second to a maximum of 30 seconds under automatic control, while bulb and time exposure options are also available.

Oh, and there's a silent shooting mode which will let you go stealth and avoid distracting your subject or annoying bystanders by using the electronic shutter, an electronic front-curtain option, as well as an 8K interval time-lapse function, although the latter will require third-party software to process the results into a movie. The electronic shutter doesn't provide a higher shutter speed than 1/8,000, though, and the electronic front-curtain option limits top shutter speed to 1/2,000 as well as top ISO to 25,600.

The Z7 's compact nature is truly revealed when shown with Speedlight SB-5000 mounted.

Throw a little more light on your subject with an external strobe

Unsurprisingly for a camera in this class, there's no built-in flash strobe. Pros and enthusiasts alike tend to see these as an annoyance rather than a convenience, increasing the likelihood of a failure for little upside beyond the ability to drown your subject in harsh light for an unflattering, ghostly look.

External flash is where it's at for pros, and here the Nikon Z7 satisfies with an ISO 518 hot shoe with sync and data contacts plus a safety lock. Nikon's iTTL flash metering system is supported, and you'll be able to use the same Creative Lighting System accessories as for your other Nikon gear. Flash exposure compensation is available in a range of -3 to +1 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 EV increments, and both first and second-curtain sync is possible, with or without redeye reduction. Flash x-sync is available at 1/200 second or slower, and auto FP high-speed sync flash is also supported.

The Nikon Z7 makes for a pretty capable video shooter, too. Here, it's shown with an ME-1 accessory mic mounted.

The Nikon Z7 isn't just a still shooter; it's designed for videos, too

Of course, even still cameras these days shoot video, and the Nikon Z7 is no slouch in this area. It can shoot full-width ultra high-def 4K footage at 30, 25 or 24 frames per second, and high-def 1080p footage at 120, 100, 60, 50, 30, 25 or 24 frames per second. And a 4-5x slow-motion effect is also possible by recording at 120 fps and then outputting at either 30, 25 or 24 fps.

The maximum clip length is 29 minutes and 59 seconds, an artificial limit we all know and "love" which is common in the industry thanks to European regulations, even for cameras sold outside the European market. Videos are recorded in MOV or MP4 formats using H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC compression with linear PCM AAC audio from either a built-in stereo mic or an external mic with attenuator option. Microphone sensitivity is adjustable in 20 steps, or automatic.

On the Nikon Z7's left side, you'll find a USB-C port, Mini HDMI port, 3.5mm mic & headphone jacks and an accessory terminal.

As well as recording in-camera, the Z7 provides a 10-bit HDMI output amenable to external recorders. There's also a Nikon Log (N-Log) setting which tries to better hold onto highlight and shadow detail for better color grading potential, as well as support for timecode. Further, you can smoothly adjust aperture and exposure compensation during capture using the control ring found on each Z-mount lens. And while pros are likely to shun this last feature, enthusiasts may also find the availability of electronic vibration in addition to the mechanical body / lens VR to be a handy feature, too.

Wired and wireless connectivity options aplenty

The Z7 includes plenty of up-to-date wired connectivity options, more so than most cameras at the moment. To start off with, there's a standard USB Type C connector which is compliant with the USB SuperSpeed (aka USB 3.1 Gen 1 or USB 3.0) standard, catering to your data transfer needs. There's also a Type C Mini HDMI connector for high-def video output, a pair of 3.5mm jacks catering to headphones and microphones, and an accessory port compatible with the likes of Nikon's MC-DC2 remote release cord. Plus, of course, the aforementioned flash hot shoe.

As well as its wired connectivity options, the Z7 also helps you to get your images onto your smartphone or tablet -- and from there, to the world -- with its built-in wireless communications setup. Dubbed SnapBridge, this pairs both Bluetooth / Bluetooth LE and 2.4 / 5GHz Wi-Fi connections to provide an always-on connection and quick pairing, but the ability to also transfer data at high speed and over longer distances as needed. Nikon rates the system for a working range of 32 feet (10 m) in line of sight. Obstacles between camera and smart device will obviously reduce this range.

The Z7 accepts the super-speedy XQD flash card format courtesy of a single card slot in the rear of its handgrip.

Storage

The Nikon Z7 stores images and movies on XQD memory cards in a single slot. Far less well-known than the more common SD card format, while they typically cost a little bit more than an SD card of similar capacity, the fastest-performing XQD cards offer speeds well in excess of those available from even UHS-II SD cards can provide.

Images can be stored in either 12-bit or 14-bit .NEF raw formats, as RGB TIFFs, or as JPEG compressed images. Raw files can be lossily or losslessly compressed or stored without compression. You can also save lower-res medium or small raw files, although these have a fixed 12-bit depth and require lossless compression.

The Nikon Z7's battery compartment can be found in the base of its hand grip.

Power

The Z7 draws its power from an EN-EL15b lithium ion rechargeable battery. It can also accept the earlier EN-EL15 and EN-EL15a types, but cannot charge these in-camera as it can with the newest packs, and may also yield lesser battery life. The Z7 is CIPA-rated for only 330 shots on a charge when using the EVF or 400 shots when using the LCD monitor, however hands-on experience out in the field indicates real-world battery life far exceeds these CIPA figures.

The MB-N10 Multi-Power Battery Pack has no controls for portrait-oriented shooting.

Nikon has also developed the MB-N10 Multi-Power Battery Pack, which holds two EN-EL15b batteries, effectively increasing the number of shots possible and/or movie recording time by approximately 1.8 times, and the dual battery slot design allows hot swapping of batteries while the camera is in use, eliminating downtime. It provides the same level of weather resistance as the Z7/Z6, and supports USB charging using the EH-7P Charging AC Adapter. Sadly, it has no controls for improved portrait-oriented shooting. Pricing for the MB-N10 is set at around US$200, with availability from November 2019.

Nikon Z7 price and availability

Available in the US market since 27 September 2018, the Nikon Z7 is priced at US$3,400 or thereabouts, body only. A kit version including the Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S lens is priced in the vicinity of US$4,000.

• • •

 

In the Box

The retail Nikon Z7 24-70mm f/4 kit contains the following items:

• Nikon Z7 camera body
• Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens
• LC-7B 72mm front lens cap
• LF-N1 rear lens cap
• HB-85 lens hood
• CL-C1 lens case
• EN-EL15b lithium-ion battery
• MH-25A battery charger
• EH-7P AC adapter
• BF-N1 body cap
• DK-29 finder eyepiece
• BS-S1 accessory shoe cover
• UC-E24 USB cable
• HDMI/USB cable clip
• AN-DC19 camera strap
• Warranty cards