Nikon Z 7 vs Panasonic S1R
_ Two mighty mirrorless full-frames
Perhaps the key selling point of mirrorless cameras is that they’re smaller and lighter than conventional SLRs. Sure enough, the Nikon Z 7 packs its high-resolution 45.7MP full-frame image sensor into a less-than-full-fat casing that weighs a modest 695g. Throwing the rule book to the wind, however, the Panasonic S1R is the size and weight of a high-end full-frame SLR like the Nikon D850, tipping the scales at just over a kilo.
Naturally, any system camera is only as versatile as the range of lenses that are available for it. It’s a clear win for the Z 7 here, with a growing number of fabulous
Z-series optics and an adaptor that gives access to an enormous catalogue of F-mount lenses. At the time of going to press, Panasonic only offers standard and telephoto f/4 zooms and a 50mm f/1.4 prime for the S1R. However, its L-mount design means it’s also compatible with Leica lenses, and Sigma has just launched 35mm f/1.2 and 45mm f/2.8 primes, plus a 14-24mm f/2.8 zoom. Panasonic itself has promised to unleash 42 L-mount lenses by the end of next year.
The S1R marginally beats the Z 7 for megapixel count, with a 47.3MP sensor. It also boasts a High Resolution mode, which we’ve seen in a number of other cameras recently. This utilises the camera’s IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation) system to incrementally shift the position of the image sensor through a sequence of shots, then merges them together into a humungous 187MP composite image.
Speaking of stabilisation, the Z 7 has a highly effective five-axis, five-stop sensor-shift system. The S1R goes one better, thanks to a recent firmware update, boosting its five-axis stabilizer to six-stop effectiveness – and as much as 6.5 stops in Dual IS mode, when used in conjunction with optically stabilised lenses. The Z 7 also enables dual stabilisation with optically stabilised lenses. None of Nikon’s Z-series
lenses have so far featured optical stabilisation, although it’s fitted in many F-mount lenses. By contrast, two of the three Panasonic L-mount lenses released so far have optical stabilisation.
Autofocus is an area where mirrorless cameras often struggle against SLRs. The Z 7 does particularly well, with 493-point phase-detection AF built onto the image sensor. It’s fast and highly effective at tracking action, especially in its Auto-Area AF mode. The S1R uses contrast-detection autofocus, which is more conventional in mirrorless cameras, but it’s based on Panasonic’s acclaimed DFD (Depth From Defocus) system and features 225 areas across the frame. It’s as accurate as the
Z 7 but, in theory, could be less effective for tracking fast or erratically moving subjects. We’ll come back to that later.
The S1R has particularly good custom autofocus options with square and oval zones on offer, as well as face, eye, body and animal detection. Eye-detection was notably absent from the Z 7 until the latest firmware update, which also improves the camera’s low-light autofocus ability. Even so, the Z 7’s ability to autofocus in dark conditions is only extended from -1EV to -2EV, whereas the S1R is claimed to work in -6EV darkness.
For metering, both cameras offer matrix/ multi-zone, centre-weighted, spot and highlight-weighted options. As usual for high-end Nikon cameras, the Z 7 enables customisation of the centre-weighted area and fine-tuning of optimal exposure. The S1R’s multi-pattern metering system is based on 1,728 zones, whereas the figure is unspecified for the Z 7.
Both cameras offer a mechanical shutter speed range of 30 to 1/8,000 sec. While the Z 7 has an optional electronic front curtain to minimise any blurring of images from shutter-bounce, the S1R adds a fully electronic shutter option, which
“Throwing the rule book to the wind, the S1R is the size and weight of a high-end full-frame SLR camera”
can also boost the maximum speed to 1/16,000 sec. At the other end of the scale, the Z 7 has no restriction on the length of Bulb exposures, whereas the S1R has a limit of 30 minutes. Both enable interval and time-lapse sequential shooting without resorting to a tricked-up remote controller.
For rapid-fire shooting, the Z 7 tops out at 9fps, although the figure drops to 5.5fps in Live View mode. The S1R matches the 9fps continuous shooting potential – but only in Single AF mode, with autofocus locked before the first shot in a sequence. Switch to Continuous AF for tracking action and the maximum burst speed drops to a more pedestrian 6fps. On the plus side, the S1R has double the buffer capacity of the Z 7, at 50 JPEGs instead of 25, and 40 raw files compared with the Z 7’s 18-23 (depending on size, bit-depth and compression settings). The S1R also adds a 6K Photo mode, which enables you to fire off 18MP shots at 30fps.
Panasonic has a track record of designing cameras that are equally adept at shooting movies as stills. You’d expect nothing less from a company with such a rich heritage in video capture and display technology. The S1R is a video speed demon, delivering 4K UHD at up to 50/60p, whereas the Z 7 tops out the more usual 25/30p. However, the Z 7 can shoot UHD using the entire width of the image sensor, whereas the S1R has a 1.09x crop factor. Both cameras deliver sumptuous movie quality; but, for seriously cinematic shooters, Panasonic offers an optional DMW-SFU2 Upgrade Software Key that enables advanced video capture quality and functions.
Build and handling
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the Z 7’s build quality. Although comparatively slim and light, its magnesium alloy body is tough and comprehensively weather-sealed.
“The Z 7 with its retractable 2470mm zoom lens feels small and light enough to take anywhere”
The switches and dials are responsive and of excellent quality, and the whole package feels solid and robust.
The S1R appears to have taken its styling cues from a building brick and takes robustness to another level. It’s the hero of its very own action movie, ‘The Ultimate Resistance Test’, available on YouTube via www.bit.ly/dc219s1r. Highlights include the S1R getting sand-blasted, frozen in an ice tank, having water sloshed over it and ending up on the receiving end of a flamethrower (don’t try this at home, kids). Give it a vest and call it Bruce Willis.
The S1R’s tank-like build results in a very different shooting experience. The Z 7 with its retractable 24-70mm zoom lens feels small and light enough to take pretty much anywhere and everywhere. The S1R and its bigger 24-105mm standard zoom weigh in at 1.7kg. That’s 45 per cent heavier than the Nikon kit, and it feels like a much more cumbersome combination.
Both cameras are designed to cater to enthusiast and professional photographers, so both have a good range of dedicated, direct-access controls for important shooting settings. Both have dual control dials front and back, two customisable function buttons on the front, a joystick‑style focus lever at the rear, and a number of other controls.
The S1R goes further, however, with dedicated buttons and dials for the likes of white balance, drive mode and focus modes. Panasonic has achieved this without making the S1R feel more cluttered than the Z 7, thanks to having more surface area to play with. Another nice touch is that when you press the backlight button for the top screen, some of the control buttons light up as well, making it easier to find your way around the camera in the dark.
The Z 7 has a highly impressive electronic viewfinder. The 3.69-milliondot display is highly detailed and remains pretty jitter-free during panning. The S1R does even better, with 5.76 million dots in its display, almost matching an optical viewfinder for clarity and giving remarkably little lag or smearing when panning.
Around the back, both cameras feature 3.2-inch, 2.1 million-dot tilting touchscreens. The image quality and clarity are very similar, but there’s a notable difference in the tilting arrangements. In the S1R, the screen has a tri-axial hinge that enables it to rotate either up to 45 degrees to the right, or by 45 degrees downwards and 90 degrees upwards. The Z 7’s vertical tilt range is about the same, but it can’t flip out to the side.
Another similarity between the cameras is that they both feature an XQD memory card slot. This relatively new type of memory card offers excellent performance for read/write speed, and is particularly durable and reliable. However, the Z 7 has been criticised for not having dual card slots. Many of us prefer the safety of being able to make instant backups of our files on a separate card, while we’re shooting, or the versatility of shooting one type of file on one card and another on a second. The S1R obliges by featuring a secondary SDXC card slot, with a fast UHS-II data bus.
Compared with most DSLRs, mirrorless cameras have notoriously poor stamina. Sure enough, you can only expect around 330 or 400 shots with the Z 7 from a fully charged battery, using the electronic viewfinder or rear screen respectively. The S1R does slightly better with its 360/380-shot battery life, but its battery is much bigger and bulkier, with a capacity of 3,050mAh compared with the
Z 7 battery’s 1,900mAh.
For increasing stamina and improving portrait-orientation ergonomics, Panasonic offers a DMW-BGS1 battery grip (about £300/$350). This gives you double the shooting life – but the S1R becomes even bigger and heavier, turning into a proper whopper. Nikon’s battery grip for the Z 7 is still a work in progress. Genuine additional batteries cost around £70/$60 for the Z 7, £80/$90 for the S1R.
How well a camera handles has a lot to do with personal preference. Typical of high-end Nikon cameras, the Z 7 has an almost endless Custom Settings menu, broken down into no fewer than seven sub-categories. The S1R also
“Both cameras have a good range of directaccess controls for important settings”
serves up a generous helping of custom options for its Function buttons and lever, control dials and menu displays.
Performance
The S1R’s contrast-detection autofocus system is quick and deadly accurate most of the time. However, its -6EV low-light rating is based on using an f/1.4 lens. Using both cameras with an f/4 zoom, the Z 7 with its latest firmware update proved the more capable at autofocusing under low light. It was quicker and less prone to hunting. In our tests, the Z 7 also tracked moving subjects more effectively.
Auto white balance is very accurate in both cameras, and gives similar results. Both come with three options, for keeping the overall atmosphere or giving more or less preference to warm colours. The Z 7’s matrix metering in high-contrast scenes yields slightly brighter images than from the S1R. Both do well at retaining highlight detail, but the Z 7’s Active D-Lighting boosts shadow detail more effectively than the S1R’s i.Dynamic range function.
The similarity in all facets of image quality from both cameras is remarkable. However, the S1R has marginally less vibrant colour rendition in its standard photo style. Under low lighting conditions, it edges ahead of the Z 7 for suppressing image noise. That’s no mean feat, as we’ve been very impressed with the Z 7’s high-ISO quality, especially compared with Nikon’s similarly high-res D850 SLR.