The Nikon Z7: A Mirrorless Camera that Competes with DSLRs

The Nikon Z7 is a professional mirrorless camera that has finally made it to market, and it's clear that this camera is designed to compete with Nikon's own DSLR lineup. The camera's design shows clear traces of its DSLR heritage, but it's also been slimmed down and lightened, making it a more practical option for photographers who want the best of both worlds.

One of the key features of the Z7 is its new lens mount, which can accommodate wider apertures than traditional DSLR lenses. This makes the camera an attractive option for photographers who want to upgrade their kit with faster lenses. However, what if you already own a bunch of F-mount lenses? Don't worry, Nikon has an adapter that allows you to use your existing lenses with the Z7, although this does sacrifice some of the size advantage of the mirrorless body.

In terms of autofocus performance, the Z7 is solid all round. In single shot mode, it delivered excellent sharpness even in limited lighting conditions, while in continuous autofocus, it performed admirably, although there was some difficulty following the subject around the frame. The camera's 3D tracking feature moves the autofocus point for you, but this can be a bit tricky to use.

The Z7 also offers impressive continuous shooting speeds, reaching up to 9 frames per second with autofocus enabled. However, it does require a special low-light autofocus mode to match the D850's negative for EB sensitivity, although in our testing, we managed to get sharp results even without using this mode. On the plus side, the camera's five-axis stabilization works wonders, allowing us to easily shoot hands-held down to one fifteenth of a second.

One of the standout features of the Z7 is its image quality, which is certainly no surprise given Nikon's reputation for producing high-quality cameras. However, what was unexpected was how well the camera performs in video mode. The Z7 offers 4K at 30 frames per second from the full width of the sensor, which is a significant improvement over previous Nikon cameras.

Additionally, the Z7 includes the new N-Log flat color profile and 10-bit HDMI output, which are features that only advanced video shooters tend to care about. While there's no 4K at 60 frames per second on offer (although you can shoot 1080p up to 120 frames per second if needed), this is still a feature that will appeal to serious videographers.

Overall, the Nikon Z7 brings a lot to the table, and may be the most well-rounded camera in Nikon's lineup alongside the D850. While it doesn't necessarily outclass competition from Sony sports shooters like the A7S III, it's definitely worth considering for anyone who wants the best of both worlds. With its impressive autofocus performance, excellent image quality, and robust feature set, the Z7 is a camera that's sure to please even the most discerning photographers.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe icon finally made a professional mirrorless camera that can actually compete with its own DSLRs and this is it busy 7 it clearly shows traces of the company's DSLR history and actually feels quite similar but it's also thinner lighter and has an entirely new lens mount that can accommodate wider apertures but what if you already own a bunch of f-mount lenses there's an adapter for that with the adapter you're sacrificing some of the size advantage of the mirrorless body but you get full compatibility with Nikon DSLR lenses and in our experience we've really noticed no difference in performance with autofocus behaving just like it does with the native s lenses also like a DSLR the z7 has a large viewfinder but it's electronic of course rather than optical it has a three point six nine million dot resolution that looks very crisp we'll always love the optical viewfinder of a DSLR but there's no denying that a good EVF is more practical it shows a wealth of information this place changes in exposure and it's much more useful in video mode where DSLRs viewfinder won't work at all on the inside you'll find a forty five point seven megapixel full-frame sensor which is very similar to the D 850 but now if features five axis stabilization and has on chip phase detection autofocus with 493 points in total this is a huge step forward for nikons live view autofocus which has never been really good in its DSLRs the autofocus was overall pretty solid in both single shot and continuous autofocus we stuck with single point autofocus area mode most of the time which delivered excellent sharpness even in limited lighting switching to the 3d tracking which moves the autofocus point for you the z7 has some difficulty following the subject around the frame the z7 can turn out an impressive at 9 frames per second in continuous mode with autofocus but they may not all be keepers the camera also requires a special low-light autofocus mode to match the d8 Fifty's negative for EB sensitivity although in our testing we managed to get sharp results in a dimly lit scene even without using this mode on the plus side the stabilization works wonders allowing us to easily shoot hands held down to one fifteenth of a second an image quality is fantastic which is certainly no surprised but what wasn't expected was how deep knife found would die into video the z7 offers 4k at 30 frames per second from the full width of the sensor sure the DFT can also do this but the z7 now includes the new n long flat color profile and 10 bit HDMI output yeah these are high-end features that only advanced video shooters care about but we're impressed to see Nikon doing so much to go after that crowd no there's no 4k 60 here but you can shoot 1080p up to 120 frames per second if you need slow motion while it's not perfect knightmon hasn't failed to wow us with its first professional mirrorless camera and we're honestly a bit surprised that some first for Nikon features like in-body stabilization and unship face detection work as well as they do at $3,400 the z7 brings a lot to the table it may just be the most well rounded camera Nikon as a remain ray alongside the D 850 but it doesn't necessarily outclassed a competition from Sony sports shooters who demand the perfect AF tracking of a d5 a 5500 may want to hold off but otherwise if you're a Nikon DSLR shooter waiting to make the switch now may be the time to go mirrorless no other system will let you use your f-mount lenses so effortlessly thanks for watching this video you can read our full knife friends e7 review on digital trends calm and be sure to hit that subscribe button to stay notified about new videosthe icon finally made a professional mirrorless camera that can actually compete with its own DSLRs and this is it busy 7 it clearly shows traces of the company's DSLR history and actually feels quite similar but it's also thinner lighter and has an entirely new lens mount that can accommodate wider apertures but what if you already own a bunch of f-mount lenses there's an adapter for that with the adapter you're sacrificing some of the size advantage of the mirrorless body but you get full compatibility with Nikon DSLR lenses and in our experience we've really noticed no difference in performance with autofocus behaving just like it does with the native s lenses also like a DSLR the z7 has a large viewfinder but it's electronic of course rather than optical it has a three point six nine million dot resolution that looks very crisp we'll always love the optical viewfinder of a DSLR but there's no denying that a good EVF is more practical it shows a wealth of information this place changes in exposure and it's much more useful in video mode where DSLRs viewfinder won't work at all on the inside you'll find a forty five point seven megapixel full-frame sensor which is very similar to the D 850 but now if features five axis stabilization and has on chip phase detection autofocus with 493 points in total this is a huge step forward for nikons live view autofocus which has never been really good in its DSLRs the autofocus was overall pretty solid in both single shot and continuous autofocus we stuck with single point autofocus area mode most of the time which delivered excellent sharpness even in limited lighting switching to the 3d tracking which moves the autofocus point for you the z7 has some difficulty following the subject around the frame the z7 can turn out an impressive at 9 frames per second in continuous mode with autofocus but they may not all be keepers the camera also requires a special low-light autofocus mode to match the d8 Fifty's negative for EB sensitivity although in our testing we managed to get sharp results in a dimly lit scene even without using this mode on the plus side the stabilization works wonders allowing us to easily shoot hands held down to one fifteenth of a second an image quality is fantastic which is certainly no surprised but what wasn't expected was how deep knife found would die into video the z7 offers 4k at 30 frames per second from the full width of the sensor sure the DFT can also do this but the z7 now includes the new n long flat color profile and 10 bit HDMI output yeah these are high-end features that only advanced video shooters care about but we're impressed to see Nikon doing so much to go after that crowd no there's no 4k 60 here but you can shoot 1080p up to 120 frames per second if you need slow motion while it's not perfect knightmon hasn't failed to wow us with its first professional mirrorless camera and we're honestly a bit surprised that some first for Nikon features like in-body stabilization and unship face detection work as well as they do at $3,400 the z7 brings a lot to the table it may just be the most well rounded camera Nikon as a remain ray alongside the D 850 but it doesn't necessarily outclassed a competition from Sony sports shooters who demand the perfect AF tracking of a d5 a 5500 may want to hold off but otherwise if you're a Nikon DSLR shooter waiting to make the switch now may be the time to go mirrorless no other system will let you use your f-mount lenses so effortlessly thanks for watching this video you can read our full knife friends e7 review on digital trends calm and be sure to hit that subscribe button to stay notified about new videos\n"