Nikon Z5

Is it the ultimate entry-level full-frame camera? £1,719 (with 24-50mm kit lens) nikon.co.uk

n ‘entry-level’ full-frame mirrorless camera, the Nikon Z5 is designed to compete with the likes of the Canon EOS RP. It follows on from the original Z7 and Z6, sitting directly underneath them to give those with a smaller budget, or less advanced needs, a model to get them going.

At the heart of the Z5 is a new 24.3 megapixel CMOS sensor. It’s similar in resolution to the Z6’s 24.5 megapixel device but importantly it is not backlit, which makes it cheaper to include at this price point.

The 3.69-million dot viewfinder has been directly brought across, which considering this is an entry-level/cheaper model is reasonably surprising to see. Where Nikon has made a cutback is to the screen, which at 1.1-million dots is closer to the Z50’s screen than the Z6/Z7’s. It’s still a touch-sensitive, tilting number though.

We had every confidence the Z5 would deliver excellent images, and happily that’s proven to be the case in the vast majority of situations.

In good lighting, the shots produced by this camera have a satisfying vibrance to them, with

Aaccurate colours that stay on the right side of realistic. For those who like to shoot consistently in low light though, the lack of a backilluminated sensor seems to have an impact when lighting conditions aren’t quite perfect. The overall impression of detail at lower ISOs is also very good, although at very high ISOs, there’s quite a bit of image smoothing. Further good news is it features the same AF system as found in the Z6, which gives you good coverage across the frame, and also includes features such as Eye AF, which works on both humans and animals.

One of the big compromises for the Z5 is the slow frame rate, which, at a mere 4.5fps, seems particularly sluggish in 2020. That makes the Z5 less appealing to those who like to shoot sports and action – or indeed anything that moves.

Another big cutback is to 4K video recording, which suffers from a crop. Even when using a 24mm lens, that gives you an equivalent focal length of around 40mm, making framing certain subjects fairly difficult. A crop like this makes the Z5 far less appealing to videographers and vloggers, and suggests that Nikon’s main audience for the Z5 is stills photographers.

Overall, however, the Nikon Z5 has a lot to offer and it’s a great little package for anyone looking to get their first full-frame camera.