Video was once an afterthought for Nikon, however for the reason that firm bought RED final 12 months, content material creators are actually excessive on its precedence checklist. 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 worth.
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 taking pictures a brief movie that examined its capabilities, I can verify that the Nikon ZR provides unimaginable video high quality at this worth.
Nikon
Nikon’s ZR provides the very best RAW video high quality in any shopper digicam, together with fashions costing way more. On the identical time, it’s extra sensible than cinema cameras due to the wonderful autofocus and in-body stabilization. It does lack an EVF, although, and battery life isn’t nice.
- RED RAW provides glorious video high quality
- Quick and dependable autofocus
- Professional video monitoring instruments
- Big and vibrant display screen
- Mediocre battery life
- No digital viewfinder
- Stabilization much less efficient than rivals
$2,197 at Amazon
Physique and dealing with
Whereas a bit lighter than Nikon’s Z6 III, the 1.19-pound (540-gram) ZR feels strong. 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 taking pictures 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 kind of on the underside.
The ZR additionally lacks an digital viewfinder just like the FX2, nevertheless it greater than makes up for that with its big 4-inch show — the biggest I’ve ever seen on a mirrorless digicam. At 1,000 nits, it’s vibrant sufficient to shoot on sunny days, extraordinarily sharp (3.07 million dots) and flips out for vloggers. All of that makes it an ideal main 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 taking pictures dials to manage publicity and a joystick for autofocus. There’s additionally a digicam/video swap, two document buttons, an influence swap and 5 customizable buttons. Lots of Nikon’s lenses include management rings as properly, so further handbook management is on the market.
The menu button is uncommon: you press as soon as for the short menu and maintain to see the complete menu. Given the massive variety of settings, I’d advise anybody shopping for this digicam to be taught all of the necessary changes, then customise the controls to keep away from wading by dense menus whereas taking pictures.
One other distinctive function is within the battery compartment. There’s a single quick CFexpress slot to deal with RAW video, plus a microSD slot for proxies. The shortage of a second CFexpress slot or quick SD card slot for backup isn’t perfect for an expert digicam, although.
Lastly, the ZR runs on the identical N‑EL15c batteries as different Nikon mirrorless cameras. They permit 90 minutes of HD taking pictures on a cost, or 390 photographs per CIPA requirements. That’s mediocre, so when you’re planning lengthy shoots, fill up on batteries.
Video
Steve Dent for Engadget
The Nikon ZR has the biggest 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 could actually seize 6K RAW video repeatedly 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 taking pictures. The corporate claims 15+ stops of dynamic vary, which is extra than simply about another mirrorless digicam. Different key video options embody five-axis in-body stabilization with seven stops of shake discount, waveform and vectorscope monitoring and a false colour show for handbook 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 mixture between the 2. I additionally shot handheld (together with operating 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 possibly can take 24MP photographs with this digicam, however I’m specializing in video because it’s primarily designed for that.)
With a purpose to not see a flat log profile when taking pictures, 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.
Steve Dent for Engadget
With such a excessive native ISO, I used to be in a position to 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 further latitude to disclose shadow element and dial down highlights once I shot the topic in opposition to a vibrant window.
Whenever you use the R3D codec, publicity is strictly handbook with no capability to set auto shutter velocity (shutter angle) or f-stop. So, for a scene with various gentle, I used Nikon’s N-RAW to see if it might give me the proper publicity in the beginning and finish of the scene. It did a great job, with no noticeable jumps through 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 cut back publicity. Meaning you’ll want to purchase ND filters for out of doors taking pictures 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. You can too robotically observe autos, birds and different animals. On the identical time, the ZR handles handbook focus properly. That’s due to a built-in show that’s sufficiently big to test focus precisely and Nikon’s focus peaking setting with three ranges of sensitivity.
Steve Dent for Engadget
In-body stabilization on the ZR wasn’t as much as par with Panasonic’s S1 II, nonetheless. Video was clean for handheld taking pictures if I panned the digicam gently, however all my operating and strolling pictures confirmed noticeable digicam shake. That mentioned, the ZR not less than has in-body stabilization, in contrast to most cinema cameras, and most filmmakers will use a gimbal for operating pictures, no matter which digicam they use. (Notice that the rattling you hear when the ZR is turned off is the sensor, which floats by design.)
Lastly, I used to be in a position to seize good audio high quality by way of an exterior microphone with none clipping worries due to the Nikon ZR’s 32-bit float inner audio seize. The corporate additionally touts directional seize utilizing its built-in mics, however as with every 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 might be double or triple the worth.
The ZR’s main competitors is within the low-end cinema cameras, notably 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, nevertheless it solely provides primary autofocus capabilities and lacks in-body stabilization.
In comparison with these choices, Nikon’s ZR delivers higher dynamic vary due to the inclusion of RED’s R3D RAW codec. It additionally comes with a superb autofocus system and first rate 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.
