Nikon Z 5 vs Z 5II: Which Camera Is Better?

Tested using Methodology v0.13.1

Updated Oct 01, 2026 05:19 PM

Body Type SLR-Style

Mirrorless Yes

Sensor Size Full Frame

Body Type SLR-Style

Mirrorless Yes

Sensor Size Full Frame

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Our Verdict

Nikon Z 5

Nikon Z 5II

The Nikon Z 5II is a big improvement over its predecessor, the Nikon Z 5. Its burst rates are more than twice as fast, its autofocus is much more reliable, its backside-illuminated sensor delivers more dynamic range, and the camera can shoot uncropped, oversampled 4k30 video compared to the APS-C crop on the original. Unless you mostly shoot slow-moving subjects and don't really require a speedy camera, the Z 5II is an all-around better choice.

Variants

Z 5 (Black (Body Only))
Z 5 (Black W/ 24-50mm lens)

Z 5II (Black (Body Only))
Z 5II (Black W/ 24-105mm lens)

Review

See Nikon Z 5 Review

See Nikon Z 5II Review

Check Price

Black (Body Only)

Z 5

Black (Body Only)

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-50mm lens

Z 5

Black W/ 24-50mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-105mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-200mm lens

Z 5II

BestBuy.com

Black W/ 24-70mm lens

Z 5II

Main Differences for

Travel Photography

Threshold

0.10

Travel Photography

7.5

7.9

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved

1/30 s

1/6 s

Screen Max Brightness

524 cd/m²

876 cd/m²

Battery

9.3

8.1

Full Comparison

Travel Photography

7.5

7.9

Landscape Photography

8.1

8.5

Sports & Wildlife Photography

7.3

8.8

Vlogging

6.1

7.2

Studio Video

7.6

9.2

Action Video

3.3

4.8

Raw Photo

8.4

8.8

Design

Portability

3.5

3.4

Portability Picture

Compare High-Res

Height

4.0" (10.2 cm)

4.0" (10.1 cm)

Width

5.6" (14.1 cm)

5.7" (14.5 cm)

Depth

3.5" (9.0 cm)

3.3" (8.5 cm)

Volume

79.0 in³ (1,294.4 cm³)

76.0 in³ (1,246.0 cm³)

Weight

1.52 lbs (0.69 kg)

1.57 lbs (0.71 kg)

Build Quality

8.5

Build Quality Picture

Compare High-Res

Body

Body Picture

Compare High-Res

Body Type

SLR-Style

Water Resistance

Weather-Sealed

Mirrorless

Yes

Rugged

Hot Shoe

Yes

Customizable Button

Yes

Command Dial

Tripod Mount

Yes

Lens Mount

Z Mount

Built-In Flash

Fastest Shutter Speed

1/8,000 s

In The Box

In The Box Picture

Compare High-Res

Ergonomics & Comfort

9.0

Hand Grip Picture

Compare High-Res

Hand Grip: Small Hand

Yes

Hand Grip: Medium Hand

Yes

Hand Grip: Large Hand

Yes

Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand

Yes

Viewfinder

EVF Menu Picture

Compare High-Res

Viewfinder Type

Electronic

Advertised Coverage

100%

Advertised Resolution

3.69 million dots

Advertised Magnification

0.8

Screen

7.1

9.7

Screen Picture

Compare High-Res

Screen Articulation Type

Tilting

Fully-Articulated

Screen Max Brightness

524 cd/m²

876 cd/m²

Advertised Resolution

1.04 million dots

2.10 million dots

Size

3.2" (8.1 cm)

3.1" (8.0 cm)

Touchscreen

Yes

Menu System

9.0

Screen Menu Picture

Compare High-Res

Guide Mode

Yes

App Name

Nikon SnapBridge

Built-In Lens

0.0

Aperture Vs Focal Length

Maximum Aperture

No built-in lens

Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent)

N/A

Minimum Focal Length

N/A

Maximum Focal Length

N/A

Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent)

N/A

Optical Image Stabilization

Light Falloff Picture

Compare High-Res

Luminance

N/A

Light Falloff

N/A

Sensor

Sensor Type

CMOS

BSI CMOS

Advertised Effective Pixels

24.3 MP

24.5 MP

Processor

EXPEED 6

EXPEED 7

Sensor Size

Full Frame

Extended ISO Minimum

Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO)

100

Native ISO Maximum

51,200

64,000

Tested Firmware

1.40

1.20

Battery

9.3

8.1

Battery Type

Nikon EN-EL15C

USB Charging

Yes

Power Delivery While Recording

Yes

Advertised Battery Life In Photo

470 photos

330 photos

Tested Battery Life In Video

154 min

120 min

Photo General

Photo Shooting Speed

5.7

8.9

Low Speed Continuous

1 fps

High Speed Continuous

5 fps

14 fps

Silent Shooting Continuous

3 fps

30 fps

Raw Buffer Size

100 Photos

200 Photos

JPEG Buffer Size

100 Photos

200 Photos

Buffer Empty Time

1 s

0 s

Photo AF-C Tracking

6.8

7.6

Autofocus Tracking Shots

Run 01

AF-C Tracking 01

Cycle through frames

Run 01

AF-C Tracking 01

Cycle through frames

Perfect Focus Hit Rate

56%

61%

Usable Focus Hit Rate

70%

93%

Photo AF-C Center Point

9.7

8.9

Autofocus Center Point Shots

Run 01

AF-C Center Point 01

Cycle through frames

Run 01

AF-C Center Point 01

Cycle through frames

Perfect Focus Hit Rate

96%

86%

Usable Focus Hit Rate

100%

96%

Photo Image Stabilization

6.6

8.8

Stabilization Slideshow

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved

1/30 s

1/6 s

In-Body Image Stabilization

Yes

Photo Image Quality

Photo RAW Dynamic Range

8.9

9.5

Dynamic Range Scene

Compare High-Res

Dynamic Range At Base ISO

11.3 f-stops

11.9 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time

9.8 f-stops

10.2 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time

7.5 f-stops

8.9 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time

6.9 f-stops

8.1 f-stops

Photo RAW Sharpness

8.4

8.8

Sharpness Scene Crop

Compare High-Res

MTF Graph

Preview Graph

Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO

2,287 LW/PH

2,410 LW/PH

Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO

1,788 LW/PH

1,955 LW/PH

Photo RAW Noise

8.0

8.2

Noise Scene Crop

Compare High-Res

Noise Vs Exposure Time

Preview Graph

SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms)

35.2 dB

34.7 dB

SNR 18% At 1/30 Exposure Time (33 ms)

32.7 dB

33.1 dB

SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms)

28.6 dB

29.7 dB

SNR 18% At 1/500 Exposure Time (2 ms)

23.4 dB

24.0 dB

Video General

Video Features

Full HD Video

Yes

4k Video

Yes

6k Video

Clean HDMI Output

Yes

Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI

Not Advertised

Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI

N/A

Log Picture Profile

Yes

Recording Light

Audio

Audio Test Sample

Audio Recording

Stereo

Microphone Level Display

Yes

Video File Format And Compression

MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

Yes

MP4 H.265 / HEVC

MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

Yes

MOV H.265 / HEVC

Yes

AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

All-I Compression

4k Video

4k Video Frame Rate

5.8

9.0

240 fps In 4k

120 fps In 4k

60 fps In 4k

Yes, with a Crop

30 fps In 4k

Yes, with a Crop

Yes

24 fps In 4k

Yes, with a Crop

Yes

4k Crop At Max Available fps

1.58 x

1.5 x

4k Video Internal Recording

7.8

8.8

Bitrate Maximum In 4k

129 Mbps

326 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In 4k

128 Mbps

146 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In 4k

4:2:0

Bit Depth In 4k

8 Bit

10 Bit

Record Time Limit In 4k

30 min

125 min

Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k

4k Video Autofocus Performance

6.7

9.8

4k Object Tracking Video

Object Tracking In 4k

5.3

4k Face Tracking Video

Face Tracking In 4k

8.7

9.5

Face Detection In 4k

Yes

Eye Detection In 4k

Yes

4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect

3.8

5.3

Rolling Shutter Video in 4k

4k Rolling Shutter

10.0°

7.7°

Full HD Video

FHD Video Frame Rate

8.5

9.5

240 fps In FHD

120 fps In FHD

Yes

60 fps In FHD

Yes

30 fps In FHD

Yes

24 fps In FHD

Yes

FHD Crop At Max Available fps

1 x

FHD Video Internal Recording

7.6

9.4

Bitrate Maximum In FHD

56 Mbps

188 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In FHD

29 Mbps

21 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In FHD

4:2:0

Bit Depth In FHD

8 Bit

10 Bit

Record Time Limit in FHD

30 min

125 min

FHD Video Autofocus Performance

7.7

9.8

Object Tracking Video

Object Tracking In FHD

8.3

FHD Face Tracking Video

Face Tracking In FHD

8.1

9.5

Face Detection In FHD

Yes

Eye Detection In FHD

Yes

FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect

7.0

7.7

Rolling Shutter Video in FHD

FHD Rolling Shutter

4.0°

2.7°

Video Image Quality

Video Dynamic Range

6.4

8.8

Base ISO Video Dynamic Range Waveform

Strict SNR Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

8.92 stops

11.02 stops

Lenient SNR Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

9.33 stops

12.14 stops

Background Floor Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

9.33 stops

13.06 stops

Storage And Connectivity

Storage

Card Slot Picture

Compare High-Res

Card 1 Slot

SD Card UHS-II

Card 2 Slot

SD Card UHS-II

Inputs / Outputs

9.5

Input Picture

Compare High-Res

USB

USB-C

HDMI

Mini (Type C)

Micro (Type D)

Headphones

Yes

Microphone

Stereo

Wi-Fi

Yes

Bluetooth

Yes

Check Price

Black (Body Only)

Z 5

Black (Body Only)

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-50mm lens

Z 5

Black W/ 24-50mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-105mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-200mm lens

Z 5II

BestBuy.com

Black W/ 24-70mm lens

Z 5II