Nikon Z 50II vs Z 5II: Which Camera Is Better?

BestBuy.com

Tested using Methodology v0.13.1

Updated Aug 31, 2026 06:47 PM

This review is in Early access

Amazon

Body Type SLR-Style

Mirrorless Yes

Sensor Size APS-C

Body Type SLR-Style

Mirrorless Yes

Sensor Size Full Frame

Our Verdict

Nikon Z 50II

Nikon Z 5II

Full comparison details regarding individual product score sets can be found in the section below

Variants

Z 50II (Black (Body Only))
Z 50II (Black W/ 16-50mm lens)

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

Review

See Nikon Z 50II Review

See Nikon Z 5II Review

Check Price

Black (Body Only)

Z 50II

BestBuy.com

Black (Body Only)

Z 5II

Amazon

Black W/ 16-50mm lens

Z 50II

Walmart.com

Black W/ 24-105mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-200mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-50mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-70mm lens

Z 5II

Main Differences for

Travel Photography

Threshold

0.10

Travel Photography

7.4

0.0

No major differences between these cameras for travel photography. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Travel Photography

7.4

0.0

Landscape Photography

7.9

0.0

Sports & Wildlife Photography

8.1

0.0

Vlogging

8.0

0.0

Studio Video

9.3

0.0

Action Video

4.1

0.0

Raw Photo

8.2

0.0

Design

Portability

4.8

N/A

Portability Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Height

3.9" (9.8 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

Width

5.5" (13.9 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

Depth

2.9" (7.3 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

Volume

61.0 in³ (999.6 cm³)

Lock in³ (Lock cm³)

Weight

1.20 lbs (0.54 kg)

Lock lbs (Lock kg)

Build Quality

8.0

N/A

Build Quality Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Body

Body Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Body Type

SLR-Style

Locked

Water Resistance

Locked

Mirrorless

Yes

Locked

Rugged

Locked

Hot Shoe

Yes

Locked

Customizable Button

Yes

Locked

Command Dial

Locked

Tripod Mount

Yes

Locked

Lens Mount

Z Mount

Locked

Built-In Flash

Yes

Locked

Fastest Shutter Speed

1/4,000 s

1/Lock s

In The Box

In The Box Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Ergonomics & Comfort

8.5

N/A

Hand Grip Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Hand Grip: Small Hand

Yes

Locked

Hand Grip: Medium Hand

Yes

Locked

Hand Grip: Large Hand

Yes

Locked

Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand

Yes

Locked

Viewfinder

EVF Menu Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Viewfinder Type

Electronic

Locked

Advertised Coverage

100%

Lock%

Advertised Resolution

2.36 million dots

Lock million dots

Advertised Magnification

Lock

Screen

8.9

N/A

Screen Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Screen Articulation Type

Fully-Articulated

Locked

Screen Max Brightness

546 cd/m²

Lock cd/m²

Advertised Resolution

1.04 million dots

Lock million dots

Size

3.1" (8.0 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

Touchscreen

Yes

Locked

Menu System

9.0

N/A

Screen Menu Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Guide Mode

Yes

Locked

App Name

Nikon SnapBridge

Locked

Built-In Lens

0.0

N/A

Aperture Vs Focal Length

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Maximum Aperture

No built-in lens

Locked

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

Locked

Light Falloff Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Luminance

N/A

Light Falloff

N/A

Sensor

Sensor Type

CMOS

Locked

Advertised Effective Pixels

20.9 MP

Lock MP

Processor

EXPEED 7

Locked

Sensor Size

APS-C

Locked

Extended ISO Minimum

N/A

Lock

Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO)

100

Lock

Native ISO Maximum

51,200

Lock

Tested Firmware

1.00

Locked

Battery

5.5

N/A

Battery Type

Nikon EN-EL25a

Locked

USB Charging

Yes

Locked

Power Delivery While Recording

Yes

Locked

Advertised Battery Life In Photo

230 photos

Lock photos

Tested Battery Life In Video

53 min

Lock min

Photo General

Photo Shooting Speed

8.3

N/A

Low Speed Continuous

1 fps

Lock fps

High Speed Continuous

11 fps

Lock fps

Silent Shooting Continuous

30 fps

Lock fps

Raw Buffer Size

200 Photos

Lock Photos

JPEG Buffer Size

200 Photos

Lock Photos

Buffer Empty Time

0 s

Lock s

Photo AF-C Tracking

7.2

N/A

Autofocus Tracking Shots

Run 01

AF-C Tracking 01

Cycle through frames

Join nowfor multiple image controls

Perfect Focus Hit Rate

58%

Lock%

Usable Focus Hit Rate

82%

Lock%

Photo AF-C Center Point

8.4

N/A

Autofocus Center Point Shots

Run 01

AF-C Center Point 01

Cycle through frames

Join nowfor multiple image controls

Perfect Focus Hit Rate

83%

Lock%

Usable Focus Hit Rate

89%

Lock%

Photo Image Stabilization

8.0

N/A

Stabilization Slideshow

SAMPLE

for videos & test results

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved

1/10 s

1/Lock s

In-Body Image Stabilization

Locked

Photo Image Quality

Photo RAW Dynamic Range

9.1

N/A

Dynamic Range Scene

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Dynamic Range At Base ISO

11.6 f-stops

Lock f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time

9.7 f-stops

Lock f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time

7.5 f-stops

Lock f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time

6.9 f-stops

Lock f-stops

Photo RAW Sharpness

8.0

N/A

Sharpness Scene Crop

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

MTF Graph

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO

1,792 LW/PH

Lock LW/PH

Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO

1,846 LW/PH

Lock LW/PH

Photo RAW Noise

7.5

N/A

Noise Scene Crop

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Noise Vs Exposure Time

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

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

34.5 dB

Lock dB

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

31.7 dB

Lock dB

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

27.0 dB

Lock dB

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

21.3 dB

Lock dB

Pictures Sample Gallery

Video General

Video Features

Full HD Video

Yes

Locked

4k Video

Yes

Locked

6k Video

Locked

Clean HDMI Output

Yes

Locked

Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI

4:2:2

Locked

Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI

10 bits

N/A

Log Picture Profile

Yes

Locked

Recording Light

Yes

Locked

Audio

Audio Test Sample

Audio Recording

Stereo

Locked

Microphone Level Display

Yes

Locked

Video File Format And Compression

MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

Yes

Locked

MP4 H.265 / HEVC

Locked

MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

Yes

Locked

MOV H.265 / HEVC

Yes

Locked

AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

Locked

All-I Compression

Locked

4k Video

4k Video Frame Rate

9.0

N/A

240 fps In 4k

Locked

120 fps In 4k

Locked

60 fps In 4k

Yes, with a Crop

Locked

30 fps In 4k

Yes

Locked

24 fps In 4k

Yes

Locked

4k Crop At Max Available fps

1.5 x

Lock x

4k Video Internal Recording

9.4

N/A

Bitrate Maximum In 4k

330 Mbps

Lock Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In 4k

150 Mbps

Lock Mbps

Chroma Sampling In 4k

4:2:0

Locked

Bit Depth In 4k

10 Bit

Lock Bit

Record Time Limit In 4k

125 min

Lock min

Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k

Lock

4k Video Autofocus Performance

9.6

N/A

4k Object Tracking Video

SAMPLE

for videos & test results

Object Tracking In 4k

9.5

0.0

4k Face Tracking Video

SAMPLE

for videos & test results

Face Tracking In 4k

9.5

0.0

Face Detection In 4k

Yes

Locked

Eye Detection In 4k

Yes

Locked

4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect

5.1

N/A

Rolling Shutter Video in 4k

SAMPLE

for videos & test results

4k Rolling Shutter

8.0°

Lock°

Full HD Video

FHD Video Frame Rate

9.5

N/A

240 fps In FHD

Locked

120 fps In FHD

Yes

Locked

60 fps In FHD

Yes

Locked

30 fps In FHD

Yes

Locked

24 fps In FHD

Yes

Locked

FHD Crop At Max Available fps

1 x

Lock x

FHD Video Internal Recording

9.4

N/A

Bitrate Maximum In FHD

185 Mbps

Lock Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In FHD

22 Mbps

Lock Mbps

Chroma Sampling In FHD

4:2:0

Locked

Bit Depth In FHD

10 Bit

Lock Bit

Record Time Limit in FHD

125 min

Lock min

FHD Video Autofocus Performance

9.6

N/A

Object Tracking Video

SAMPLE

for videos & test results

Object Tracking In FHD

9.5

0.0

FHD Face Tracking Video

SAMPLE

for videos & test results

Face Tracking In FHD

9.5

0.0

Face Detection In FHD

Yes

Locked

Eye Detection In FHD

Yes

Locked

FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect

8.0

N/A

Rolling Shutter Video in FHD

SAMPLE

for videos & test results

FHD Rolling Shutter

2.3°

Lock°

Video Image Quality

Video Dynamic Range

9.0

N/A

Base ISO Video Dynamic Range Waveform

SAMPLE

for videos & test results

Strict SNR Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

11.32 stops

Lock stops

Lenient SNR Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

12.33 stops

Lock stops

Background Floor Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

13.48 stops

Lock stops

Storage And Connectivity

Storage

Card Slot Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

Card 1 Slot

SD Card UHS-II

Locked

Card 2 Slot

No 2nd Card Slot

Locked

Inputs / Outputs

9.5

N/A

Input Picture

SAMPLE

for pictures & test results

USB

USB-C

Locked

HDMI

Micro (Type D)

Locked

Headphones

Yes

Locked

Microphone

Stereo

Locked

Wi-Fi

Yes

Locked

Bluetooth

Yes

Locked

Check Price

Black (Body Only)

Z 50II

BestBuy.com

Black (Body Only)

Z 5II

Amazon

Black W/ 16-50mm lens

Z 50II

Walmart.com

Black W/ 24-105mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-200mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-50mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-70mm lens

Z 5II