Nikon Z 5 entry-level full-frame camera announced

Nikon has just announced the brand new Z 5 mirrorless camera which is aimed at the entry-level market. It has a 24MP FX-format CMOS censor which is different from the Z 6/Z 7 but has the same Expeed 6 processor.

Key features

24.3MP FX Format Sensor
4K Ultra HD
273-point AF System
100–51,200 Native ISO
4.5 fps
Smartphone Pairing
Eye AF for People and Animals
Tilting Touchscreen
Dual SD Card Slots

For stills, the Z 5 looks like a decent offering for anyone looking to start out. The Z lens line up is growing with more lenses expected to be released.

The 273-point AF system almost covers the full image for accurate autofocus and with the added feature of Eye-Detection for humans, cats and dogs, it should deliver plenty of great images for any photographer starting out.

Unfortunately, the 3.2″ 1040K-dot high-resolution touchscreen doesn’t fully articulate but does tilt up & down.

The viewfinder is an OLED model with 3.69 million dots.

Dual UHS-II SD card slots allow fr overflow storage, automatic back up, separating RAW/JPG or stills & videos.

The Z 5 uses EN-EL15C batteries but it is compatible with EN-EL15b/EN-EL15a/EN-EL15 batteries. If you use the older generation batteries, you should expect lower run time.

Battery life is estimated at:

[Viewfinder only]: Approx. 390 shots
[Monitor only]: Approx. 470 shots
[Viewfinder only]: Approx. 115 min. of movie recording
[Monitor only]: Approx. 120 min. of movie recording

If you need constant or more battery life, the Z 5 is power delivery compatible so it can be powered and charged with a compatible power bank.

Video Capabilities

The Z 5 can record 4K UHD/30p and 1080/60p video with varying bitrates in either MOV or MP4 formats. Unfortunately, it does crop in 1.7x when recording 4K.

As for visual tools, the Z 5 features focus peaking & zebras.

A 3.5mm stereo jack is provided for an external microphone along with a headphone output for monitoring.