Nikon announced its newest mirrorless camera, the Nikon Z50. Sporting a host of advanced features at an aggressive $860 price ($1000 including lens), the Z50 is Nikon’s attempt to reclaim some of the pocket-sized ILC market that Sony, Fuji, and Canon gobbled up
The Z50. The Z50 features a 21MP BSI CMOS APS-C sensor (similar to what’s on the D500) with on-sensor phase detection. Unlike the Z6 and Z7, the Z50 does not have in-body image stabilization.
Despite being a smaller and lighter camera than the Z6/Z7, the Z50 doesn’t feel cheap, and is weather-sealed to some degree. It has a downward-tilting 3.2″ touchscreen display, 2.36M-dot OLED EVF and pop-up flash. Its single SD card slot supports high-speed UHS-II media while its Micro USB port allows for in-camera battery charging. The Z50 uses the new EN-EL25 battery, with an estimated battery life of around 300 shots per charge.
Apart from a smaller sensor, the other thing that loses the Z50 compared to the Z6 and Z7 is Nikon’s excellent image stabilization. The new lenses offer vibration reduction (image stabilization), but the IBIS in Nikon & # 39; s more expensive mirrorless cameras provided some brilliant, sharp photos when I was viewing them. Apart from the technical challenge of pressing that stabilization into the smaller housing of the Z50, it would also have increased the price of the camera.
At the other end of the spectrum, Nikon also announced that it will soon be releasing its 58 mm f / 0.95 S Noct lens for the Z holder. The company calls this manual focus glass one of the best lenses it has ever produced – and certainly the fastest.
