I’ve been slow to adapt to Nikon mirrorless cameras, I did own a Fujifilm X-T1 for 3 years from 2014 to 2017, but after going back to Nikon with the D750 I just didn’t see any reason to change to the newer bodies and lenses, it was when adding a 2nd body that I decided to look a the Z cameras and in particular the Z5II.
Initially I found it really hard to choose a model that I thought would satisfy my needs (the Z8/9 were simply out of my price range), I liked the look of the Z6III because of its top screen and partially stacked sensor, equally I liked the Z7II for its sensor and dynamic range, but the older generation autofocus didn’t sound so good, also, both were more expensive than the Z5II which had only recently launched when I was looking in October last year.
The Z5II was intriguing, Nikon had put the exceed 7 processor with tech from the Z8 in a smaller body with the excellent 24mp sensor and the figures showed excellent dynamic range and high iso performance, apart from the lack of a top screen there wasn’t much to dislike. I placed an order for the body, 50mm f/1.8 S lens, along with the 28mm lens for when I wanted a really light fixed lens camera to carry.
I’ve now clocked just over 1k shots on this camera and thought it was time to write down my thoughts on it.
Ergonomics and general use:
I have to admit it wasn’t love at first sight, compared to a DSLR the Z body is smaller and lighter which can be a good or a bad thing depending on your preference, the 50mm f/1.8S lens is also much bigger than the G version and the end result is a system that weighs a little more than my D750 with 50mm f/1.8g but is more unbalanced with more of the weight being in the lens. As time has progressed this really hasn’t been an issue as such, but I have to admit that picking my D750 instantly makes me realise how “perfect” it is, at least for my hands anyway! The Z5II does feel good in the hand though, just not quite as right as the d750.
I do like the simple top dial, and Nikon have included 3 custom modes which I have programmed as follows:
U1 - Essentially tripod mode, ibis off and ISO100 for landscapes
U2 - Auto ISO, wide area AF, AF-S with subject detection, aperture priority and 3fps
U3 - Auto ISO, 3D tracking AF, AF-C with subject detection, aperture priority and continuous high release mode.
This gives me a quick way to get the camera ready for shots of people or just general photography by using u2, and for more fast moving people or animals I can select U3. It seems to be working well so far for the limited shooting I’ve done with it, what I like is you can make enhancements to the custom modes as you go, and so long as you remember to go into menu>setup menu>save user settings and save them to your chosen profile they will be there for next time you use the camera - something I have forgotten to do on occasion.
So far I’ve found the subject detection to be really mixed, the camera really fails to focus on our dogs eyes, admittedly he is really tricky to photograph, but the d750 has better success here. I’ve found 3d tracking to work slightly better if I can get initial focus on his eyes, either way it's much better outdoors in good light than it is indoors. I’ve yet to use this on people so can’t really say how it performs there yet.
I’ve found that the ISO, exposure compensation and AF-ON buttons are all in excellent places, as is the playback button for immediate review in the viewfinder, but the small body does have me often struggling to find them. The viewfinder is excellent, but does need an aftermarket silicone surround to block out light in bright conditions - this is mainly because I wear glasses I think.
The Z5II really comes into its own on a tripod, the ability to rotate the screen out into multiple positions helps with those awkward low shots and I find the camera is just easier to use in this way, of course with no mirror you don’t need a remote release cord either, unless you want to expose for longer than 30s, something I rarely do.
Image quality, sensor and lenses:
Overall the Z5II belies its position as “entry level full frame” in my opinion, image quality is superb, especially when using the Z mount lenses but I’ve also found it really good using the FTZ and a selection of AF-S / AF-D lenses, the latter in manual focus. The sensor is very similar to the D750, but I find the raw files behave a little differently, the d750 will often need large amounts of shadow lifting and contrast, the opposite is true of the Z5II and I haven’t worked out why yet. Contrast is so good using the Z lenses that often smaller amounts are better when editing on this camera and it I find produces wonderful colours too.
One area it can be tricky is white balance, I’ve found it doesn’t seem to be very good in the auto modes, often producing a result that is skewed to magenta, this could be my chosen raw editor - Photomator - and it does seem better when using a pre set manual custom WB or one of the specific settings such as daylight or cloudy (used a lot in the UK!) Metering does seem accurate, there is plenty of extra headroom in the raw files so I’ve had to refrain from underexposing when using the histogram in the viewfinder, as often you can go 0.5 to 1 stop over where you think is right. More experimentation is required here though, its certainly better than the d750 which has a tendency to overexpose, when I compared both cameras side by side I found the d750 needed -1 exposure compensation to match the Z5II’s meter!
High iso is a slight step up from the d750, about 0.4 stops at ISO6400 which doesn’t sound much, but I have found the images to look better and more useable.
The 50mm f/1.8S lens compliments the Z5II brilliantly, what can I say about this lens that hasn’t already been said? It’s staggers me that this is such good value for money considering its performance, colour is slightly on the cooler side compared to the Nikkor G lenses, but the contrast and sharpness is superb, I was so impressed that I added a 2nd hand 85mm f/1.8S which I think is just as good and often gets overlooked, its a focal length I love though and I cannot fault this lens.
Recently I’ve been using the camera with the 60mm f/2.8d micro, and the 300mm f/4d telephoto lenses, using focus peaking is actually quite fast and easy, and you get to see what these lenses can do when accurately focused, with so much choice on the 2nd hand market I think the Z mount has given a new lease of life to these lenses which are still optically superb. If you really need autofocus then the G lenses are also great choices, either way you have use the FTZ but I’m really glad we have it as a choice, so thanks Nikon!
Summary:
It’s clear when looking at Nikons current line up that each model offers something unique and is an enhancement from the Z5II, the Z7II will give you more resolution and dynamic range, the Z6III will give you better video, better viewfinder and faster speeds, and the Z8/9 are of course flagship products that offer all the build, buttons and speed anyone could ask for, but I do think the Z5II does an awful lot for the asking price, and everything it does it does really well indeed.
Below is a selection of shots taken with the Z5II!
