Nikon Z7 II
Full Frame mirrorless camera
Nikon’s latest introduction in the mirrorless segment is the Z7 II. This 45.7 megapixel camera was announced in India on October 14, 2020. The Z7 II is the newer version of the tried and tested Z7 which has been around for about 2.5 years. Let’s see how the new baby fares on our test bench.
Design & Build Quality
The Z7 II is a full frame 45.7 megapixel interchangeable lens mirrorless camera from Nikon. Like all its predecessors, the Z7 II is also well built. The outer body uses lightweight magnesium alloy for strength. The Z7 II is a mere 2 mm more in thickness, so for all practical purposes, the Z7 II has the same dimensions of the Z7. The body weighs 705 g. While the Z7 was (is) made in Japan, the Z7 II is made in Thailand.
News has it that Nikon is likely to shift its manufacturing plant from Japan to Thailand for most of their products.
Key Features
Let’s start with the key differences between the Z7 introduced in November 2018 and the Z7 II, introduced in October 2020.
The reader might be wondering as to how the dual EXPEED processor helps? Well, they offer faster processing of data, faster overall speed and a larger buffer so that you can shoot in longer bursts at full resolution if necessary (using
CFexpress card in 12-bit Raw).
The Z7 II uses a full frame backside – illuminated CMOS sensor, without an Optical Low-Pass Filter. This technology, when combined with the superb image quality of the Z-series lenses, plus the great dynamic range offered by the Z7 II, provides extremely detailed results that will leave you in awe. The Z7 II also offers in-built 5-axis image stabilisation for shooting hand-held stills and videos.
Like in the Z6 II, the Z7 II also has two memory card slots – one is the SD card slot (UHS-II) and in the other, you can use either an XQD or a CFexpress card Type-B (the form factors of both these cards are identical). Though more expensive than the SD cards, the advantage of the XQD/CFexpress card is that they are available in very high read and write speeds and are more reliable than SD cards.
The autofocus on the Z7 II relies on Nikon’s 493-point Hybrid AF system (covers about 90% of the screen area) with further improvements to the lowlight performance (compared to the Z7), new Eye-Detection AF and easier selection of AF modes. Nikon claims that the Z7 II can autofocus in half the available light required for the Z7, with AF detection range starting at -4.5 EV! The Z7 II utilises Nikon’s highest resolution back side illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor that does not have an images with maximum clarity and detail. And here’s good news for those Z7 users who felt that they were unable to securely lock-on to human/animal eyes when using the eye-detection feature. The Z7 II’s performance in this feature has also improved, so no one should ideally have any such issue. And since the Eye-detect AF works well in video too, that should improve the video experience.
Some other features worth having are Focus-Shift shooting, Multiple exposure and up to 900-second exposures. To overcome the problem of limited depth of the Z7 II to Focus-Shift shooting, wherein the camera can automatically take up to 300 shots with incrementally adjusted focus setting to provide images with extreme sharpness end to end. For extralong exposures (as in tracking the path of stars), the Z7 II allows you to expose for as long as 900 seconds if necessary; using the Multiple Exposure feature, the user can expose the same frame up to 10 times and blend in the various exposures to create his work of art.
The Z7 II, when used with the interval timer, can create 4K Time Lapse movies and save them in full resolution. 4K
Ultra HD video at 60p, 30p, 25p or 24p is possible. You can record 4K video on the SD, XQD/CFexpress card or capture 10-bit N-Log or HDR (HLG) video by attaching an external recorder (sold separately). To achieve still higher levels of video recording, you can upgrade the 12-bit ProRes Raw or Blackmagic Raw format using an external recorder like the Atomos Ninja or Video Assist 12G HDR recorder. Video lovers who have been using non-Nikon lenses in the past will thank Nikon for providing a feature that lets you reverse the focus ring rotation on their Z-series lenses to match the focus ring rotation on their non-Nikon lenses.
A pro-level vertical grip (MB-N11) offering vertical shooting controls, is available as an accessory that also serves to increase the battery performance by 1.9 times (when using two EN-ELc batteries in the MB-N11).
Using SnapBridge, the Z7 II can be controlled through your compatible smartphone, transfer full resolution Raw, JPEGs and even 4K video to the phone wirelessly, and even update smartphone.
The camera is powered by a EN-ELc battery. EN-ELb and older batteries can be used but with lower battery performance. The camera body weighs 705 g.
Ergonomics
The Z7 II is very easy to use. The grip is very comfortable and the user interface is simple and quite easy to understand. We reviewed the Z7 II using a 24-70 mm f/4 kit lens which balanced perfectly, making the combo pleasurable to use.
Performance
Overall, the Nikon Z7 II is a great performer. The built-in sensor-shift stabilising system works very well – I was able to shoot several pictures handheld with very good sharpness using low shutter speeds.
Autofocus when compared to Nikon’s own Z6 and Z7. Focus tracking with Face/Eye Detect worked well in most situations during my testing.
Metering (all four modes) worked as well as they should, and I had nothing to grumble about. Auto White Balance was as good as it can get.
Noise Control was superb. Admittedly, Nikon has put a ceiling this very sensible because in practise, one hardly ever uses ISOs higher than that. The native image size is 27.52 x 18.347” at 300ppi. Images for the ISO test were shot in JPEG best quality, with Picture Control set to ‘Flat’ and high ISO noise reduction was set to Normal. All the images were checked on a high resolution 27” computer monitor.
At 25-percent screen size, images were absolutely useable at all the ISOs – right up to ISO 25,600.
At 50-percent and 100-percent screen size, slight noise could be observed from ISO 6400 onwards but the images were perfectly useable. Superb noise control!
Value for Money
The Nikon Z7 II body is available at an MRP of Rs.249, 995/-. With the 2470 mm f/4 kit lens, it is 294, 995/-. Currently, Nikon India offers a free 64 GB UHS- II High Speed SD card along with the purchase. Though these prices are in accordance to the current market, | SP
VERDICT
The Nikon Z7II is a great performer. The question is, if you are a new buyer, should you buy the Nikon Z6 II (24 MP) or should you buy the Z7 II? If very your requirement, go for the Z7 II; for most other work, especially low-light photography, the Z6 II is adequate.
An advantage of the Z7 II over the Z6 II would be the ability to crop while still retaining adequate data. In terms of digital noise, at ISO 25,600 on the Z7 II, the noise was only slightly more than on the Z6 (same subject, same lighting; no I did not have a Z6 II for comparison, but I reason out that the noise control on the Z6 is same/almost as good as on the Z6 II). Best Buy!