Nikon Z 50 Camera Review

The Nikon Z 50 isn't the most portable APS-C camera out there, partly because of its large, one-size-fits-all lens mount. The upside of this is that it's fully compatible with any Z-series lens, whether DX (APS-C) or FX (full-frame), and smaller FX lenses won't feel too imbalanced. Still, if you're looking for something more portable, the Fujifilm X-T30 II has a much more compact body.

The Nikon Z 50 feels well-built. It's made of plastic but still feels solid. Its battery and SD card slots are covered by a hinged door, while the inputs and outputs are covered by rubber flaps. The buttons and dials feel sturdy and turn well. The screen tilting mechanism feels solid, too.

• Nikon Z50 camera body
• Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR lens
• Lens cap
• Sensor cap
• Shoulder strap
• 1x Nikon EN-EL25 battery
• Battery charger
• Micro-USB cable
• User manual

The Nikon Z 50 feels very comfortable in the hand. Its grip is nice and roomy and will suit most hand sizes. Its in-between size means that buttons are all within reach, but your hand doesn't feel cramped, either.

The viewfinder is relatively large, especially compared to the smaller viewfinders found on Sony's APS-C lineup, including the Sony a6400. Its 2.36 million-dot resolution is normal for a camera of this type but is still sufficient to ensure a clear image through the EVF.

The Nikon Z50 uses a tilting screen that's great for waist-level shooting. The screen mechanism feels sturdy, and the screen has a pretty high resolution. It doesn't get especially bright, making it harder to review your images on very sunny days.

If you want to shoot vlogs or take selfies, the screen can also flip down to face you. It's nice to have, but not ideal if you're shooting on a tripod since the tripod will get in the way of the screen unless you use an off-center mounting plate.

Nikon's user interface is excellent. Though there are a lot of submenus, it's intuitively organized, and you can use either the physical D-pad or the touchscreen to navigate settings. There's also a help function available for certain settings, denoted by the '?' icon on the bottom left of the screen, which gives you more information about some settings and what they do.

Battery life for photos is mediocre. Its 300-shot CIPA rating falls short of comparable mid-range mirrorless cameras like the Sony a6400 or the Fujifilm X-T30 II. That said, it lasts decently long for video, with roughly an hour and a half of constant 4k video recording with no overheating interruptions.

The Nikon Z 50 has a great max burst rate for an entry-level camera. While it falls short of high-end and pro models, you can still capture quick bursts of continuous action. In its 'Continuous Low' drive mode, it can shoot at speeds from 1 fps to 4 fps. In its 'Continuous High' mode, it shoots at about 5 fps, and in its 'Continuous High (Extended)' mode, it shoots at about 11 fps.

It doesn't have the deepest photo buffer—its RAW and JPEG buffer capacity is a bit shy of the Sony a6400's, for example—but it's a lot quicker at clearing its buffer than the Sony is. It might slow you down if you fill the buffer at a critical moment, but it isn't too bad.

The autofocus is decent overall. It works very well for still or slower-moving subjects, with both face and eye detection for more precise focusing. The user interface for Nikon's autofocus system could be a lot more intuitive, especially compared to Sony's 'Real Time AF', in which general tracking, face, and eye AF are all seamlessly integrated.

Still, the continuous AF tracking is pretty effective. With face and eye detection enabled, and using the 'Auto-area AF' mode, it finds and stays locked onto subjects easily, resulting in a solid keeper rate, though not quite at the same level as Sony cameras like the Sony a6400. On the other hand, the general subject tracking, where you manually select a target for the autofocus to follow, can be a bit sluggish. The camera also struggles more with very fast or erratic subjects.

If you'd prefer not to rely on tracking, the camera will serve you very well. Center point AF is super reliable, with quick and accurate focusing that stays with subjects under the focus point easily.

There's no built-in sensor stabilization, but you can pair the camera with optically stabilized lenses to get clear shots at slower shutter speeds. Generally, Nikon's optical stabilization works well, but your mileage will vary depending on the focal length and shooting conditions.

Dynamic range is excellent on the Nikon Z 50. It's comparable to other top-performing APS-C cameras like the Sony a6400 and isn't much worse than Nikon's entry-level full-frame, the Nikon Z 5. Ultimately, it can capture a fairly wide range of detail in high-contrast scenes, but not as much as the latest full-frame cameras.

The Nikon Z50 uses a 20.1-megapixel sensor, so it can't resolve as much fine detail as models with higher-resolution sensors, like the Fujifilm X-T30 II or the Sony a6400. That said, images are still very detailed, and you likely won't notice a huge difference unless you compare images when zoomed in at 100% or more. You'll have a tad less leeway for cropping photos, but in practice, the impact is minimal, especially if you're just sharing your photos online.

The camera has good RAW noise handling overall. However, it drops off fairly quickly as you raise the ISO. Still, it isn't bad, and can still take great photos without excessive noise in dimmer lighting conditions.

There's a slight crop when shooting 4k video, but it isn't too bad and doesn't affect the field of view to a very noticeable degree. Unfortunately, there are no high frame rate options in 4k, making it harder to generate slow-motion footage.

The camera can only record 4k in 8-bit color, but it doesn't have any Log profiles with which you could take advantage of a higher bit depth, so it isn't an issue. The Nikon Z 50 isn't intended for advanced videographers who do more in-depth color grading; however, its internal recording capability is still suitable for more casual video shooting or creating YouTube content.

Autofocus is great in 4k. Unlike in photo mode, eye AF doesn't work for video, but its face detection feature works very well for tracking moving subjects. The general subject tracking is a bit less reliable but still does a great job of keeping subjects in focus if they're moving at a more moderate pace.

The 4k video quality is decent overall. The image looks sharp and detailed, and there's a bit less noise and more pop to the colors than on the comparable Sony a6400. It's okay in low light, though you lose a lot of shadow detail in high-contrast lighting, and there's some unavoidable noise in really dim lighting.

Rolling shutter distortion is pretty bad in 4k. It's especially noticeable with very fast panning, but it's still better or on par with other APS-C models in its price range.

As with 4k, 1080p video autofocusing is very good. Its face detection and tracking feature does an excellent job keeping moving subjects in focus. Manually selecting a subject for the camera to follow also gets good results, though the camera may still struggle to keep up with more erratic subjects.

FHD video quality is decent. It performs well in brighter lighting conditions, with plenty of detail and colors that pop. However, low-light video doesn't quite hit the mark, with some noticeable noise and muddier details.

There's significantly less distortion from the rolling shutter in 1080p compared to 4k recording. There's almost no visible slanting when panning the camera at a moderate pace, which is great for recording faster action.

The SD card slot is located next to the battery. The compartment is on the bottom of the camera, making it harder to switch out cards if you're using a tripod.