Nikon Z50 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Lens

This is a crossover from a snapshot to camera which can take any Nikon lens, with the adaptor. I love it’s small size, like a snapshot camera. It has many of the options for ‘scenes’ that the snapshots have and larger cameras don’t include. The Pop scene has a lot of creative applications. The Macro scene allows you to get a little bit closer into your subject, though not quite as close as a macro lens. A macro can do 1:1, this one is more like 1:4. It can do very rapid multiple exposures, which is very handy for sports, 11 fps in Continuous High Plus mode. It also has a focus tracking feature. Lock onto something and it will track that and keep the focus on that spot as long as it is in the frame, handy with sports. It has both a mechanical shutter and electronic shutter which I like. The controls and menus are very similar to all other Nikons, which is great for me since I have all Nikon equipment and can very easily move from one camera to the next with ease. The kit lens isn’t fast at all, similar to snapshot cameras, but the pancake lens is very compact. In the image above the lens is extended for shooting. When done shooting you can retract the lens a bit to make it a bit more ‘pocket-sized.’ I like the larger grip, I don’t use the viewfinder much, but with sports photography it helps me keep on the action better than the back screen. And most of all I like that ALL my Nikon lenses will work with the adapter.

I hemmed and hawed about getting the Z50 I had depleted my DX equipment purposely and moved on to full frame. After enough You Tube viewing to make my eyes red. I started to see what most everyone was raving about. A mirrorless camera the size of a bridge camera that would use most of my FX lenses when I wanted it to and a terrific, though be it slow, zoom lens on the thing witch gave the equivalent of a 24 - 70mm lens in FX. All in a very portable size.

In this review I won't get specifically into its operation. I have only had it a few days and admittedly, am unfamiliar with mirrorless cameras. But if what I have been able to do so far is any indication of what I will do in the future with this, Wow! hang on. It in conjunction with my FX collection really makes for a bunch of possibilities.

Just on first impressions alone, its worth the price. Watch some You Tube videos like I did and then get your hands on one.

The Z50 is a solid package for the price, as one has to remember this is not the future higher end DX, but mid range, without the IBIS. I have found the sensor to be awesome, vivid, and the kit pancake lens is producing sharp rendering. I was concerned that the lens would not be of high enough quality, but so far, not concerned at all. The Z mount lets me use its bigger brothers, and I can use the F mount lens with my FTZ adapter. I find they kept enough features to mimic my larger Z, so I don't feel like any feature is missing. Took a bit to get used to the moved play back button. The low light performance has been excellent, and seems to be very close to my Z6. Focus has been fast including continuous. I would give this a recommended buy. Oh and the grip is the best of my smaller cameras as have the 6000 family and the Fuji family, so I can compare to others, and the handling of this camera is the best in my opinion.

Nobody is paying attention to this little camera because it does not have the pro specs, it's not dual card slot, it's only 20.9 MP, it's a huge mount with a small sensor, full-frame is better than APS-C, the lens selections are not good, blah...blah..blah... Everyone is missing out the intention Nikon has on this camera and that is the FUN factor in photography. I have and used Nikon D7100, D810, D850, D500, and the Z7. All of them are really grate cameras. Well constructed, weather sealed, rugged, and most of all aimed for professional use. I also have a bunch of Nikon lenses that you can say are also pro grade. When Nikon first announced this camera I was not really thrilled like the way I was when they debuted the D850 and Z6/7. And like everyone before investing on a new equipment I do research first before committing. When it became available for pre-order I went ahead and took the dive of getting one. Now that I tried it I was amazed with how compact this camera is. It literally a pocketable camera like its point and shoot cousins. The capabilities in stills and video is on par with my D500 except of the size, additional features, and weight. I take this camera with me most of the time than my other ones. It's fun to shoot it. IMO it's a better alternative than using my smartphone for taking photo at least the shape is familiar for me with that DSLR/Mirrorless feeling in your hand. The size makes good use for candid and street photography because it's less noticeable and discrete. It's a well rounded camera for taking almost any kind of photography. The 20.9MP is just within the sweet spot for resolution good enough for a 13 x 19 size print out. I do not pixel peep or even scrutinize the resolution like Youtuber reviewers do because at the end of the day what matters most it your overall satisfaction with the product since you are the user.

My Z50 is my first mirror less camera. I wanted a second body to complement my D7200, I have a 18/300 DX lens and the wonderful 200/500 f5.6 telephoto that I am very happy with for my photo interest. I love to photograph birds, landscapes, flowers, night photography lots of interest. I thought very strongly about getting D7500, but after seeing wonderful images being taken with the Nikon mirror less cameras, and knowing this is the technology of the future I chose the Z50. I am very glad I made… Read More

I bought my Z50 from Nikon as a refurb with both kit lenses. It has been a great buy-a fine picture taker that is super light and easy to use. My previous kit was a D7100 with various lenses and a Panasonic m4/3 with multiple lenses. I loved the portability of the Panny but hated it’s many small, fiddly buttons. I liked the ease of use of the D7100 but found it a little too heavy for casual use. The Z50 has been perfect, providing all the quality I need as an “advanced amateur” while being almost as light as the Panasonic and as easy to use as the D7100.

I owned a Nikon Coolpix P7800 for many years. The image quality was astonishing for a camera with such a small sensor. However, the exposure range was less than 12 EVs and the color depth was about 20 bits. This was fine for most situations but I often wanted to see more in my pictures than the camera could deliver. The Z50 is the perfect replacement for the P7800. It is not much larger than the P7800, it has a much better electronic viewfinder and the image quality is noticeably better. I use the 18-140 mm zoom lens, which covers the same range as the 6-42.5 mm lens on the Coolpix. So far, the difference of 1 and 2/3 stops between the two lenses has not been a problem, thanks to the higher ISOs of the Z50 and the vibration reduction mechanism in the lens. This is a great little camera. And it has many, many features that I have not tried yet.