Nikon’s Z5 II is already one of the least expensive full-frame cameras available, but if you can do without an electronic viewfinder, there’s now an even cheaper option. The company just announced the 24-megapixel Z5 IIC mirrorless camera without an EVF, but nearly all the other features of the Z5 II including RAW internal video. It’s available at a very reasonable price, which is great news considering the steep inflation across the camera world of late.
Electronic viewfinders are expensive components and removing it allowed Nikon to not only lower the price but make the Z5 IIC lighter and smaller (the “C” is for “compact”). It weighs just 537 grams, nearly 25 percent lighter than the 700 gram Z5 II. And yet, it still has a full-sized grip and a good array of manual controls, though it’s missing the Z5 II’s joystick and a few other buttons. Most importantly, it has a fully articulating 3.2-inch 1040K dot touch display ideal for solo shooters. It also looks nice, especially the silver and black version.
Nikon
The Z5 IIC is perhaps the best vlogging camera for debutants. It supports 4K video at 30 fps that supersamples from the full 6K sensor width, or 4K 60 fps video with a 1.5x crop (1080p at 120 fps). Moreover, you can capture that video in Nikon’s N-RAW format with N-Log to maximize quality, something aspiring filmmakers will appreciate (H.265 is also supported). With the same video autofocus as the Z5 II, it should be fast and responsive. Nikon says it now supports fish(!) along with human, animal, bird and vehicle subject detection. It also offers in-body stabilization with 7.5 stops of shake reduction, a surprising feature for an inexpensive camera.
Other niceties for creators include scene modes for capturing 15 different types of scenes ranging from portraits to pets and food, or night landscape and twilight scenes. It has a REC light up front so your subject knows you’re filming, a “product review” mode where the camera switches focus from presenter to objects and back again, “imaging recipes” (including some from the cinema camera company RED) to give you a filmic look, a waveform display to gauge video exposure and focus peaking/zebras. One drawback is the single SD UHS II card slot, rather than two as on the Z5 II.
The Z5 II will be nice for photographers as well, as long as they don’t mind the lack of a viewfinder. It supports 14 fps burst speeds (RAW and JPEG) with continuous autofocus or 30 fps (JPEG only) in electronic shutter mode. Photo autofocus offers all the same subject detection features as video, including that weird fish mode. It should be a great low-light camera (like the Z5 II) as the expanded ISO range goes up to ISO 64,000.
The Nikon Z5 IIC is now on preorder for $1,400 (body only), a veritable bargain for a full-frame camera, especially considering the features like in-body stabilization and RAW video. You can also pick it up in a bundle with the Z 24-50mm f/4.3-5.3 kits lens for $1,700.
