Nikon’s new mirrorless system, coming in ... late September 2018

[jeremyrh]

LensRentals' teardown is up...

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2018/10/teardown-of-the-nikon-z7-mirrorless-camera/

He usually doesn't like weather sealing, but he liked this one. It's a D850, if not a D5.

I got caught in a downpour for a few minutes yesterday, and (as expected) no problem...

Dan

Compare with Tony Northrup's claim that the Z7 is a "consumer level" body.

[BernardLanguillier]

The quality of the build illustrates the amount of strategic thinking Nikon has put in these cameras and how serious they are about mirrorless compared to Canon for instance.

The way the camera is built is vastly different from previous Nikon cameras and uses best in class technology together with a rugged frame and best in class weather sealing.

One could argue that this is normal at the price point of the Z7, but this goes to show how much of a bargain the Z6 is.

Cheers,
Bernard

[HSakols]

Doesn't one have an AA filter and the other does not?  I'm not sure why the difference.  I settled on the Z7 mainly for the ISO 64. 

[davidgp]

The quality of the build illustrates the amount of strategic thinking Nikon has put in these cameras and how serious they are about mirrorless compared to Canon for instance.

Canon put the EOS R at the same level as the 5D or 6D... same level of weather sealing. If you want a really good weather sealed camera in Canon you need to go with 1D series...

[32BT]

Far more interesting than weathersealing is lensdrawing. So far it seems the Canon lenses are winning the rendering game. Now that both systems have become available i'm ready for a direct, head-to-head, shoot out comparison.

Anyone done that yet? Or have any links?

(And no, i have no bias. As far as i'm concerned they should have given us a Nikon camera with EOS R mount and lenses. True Nikanon/Canikon!)

[BernardLanguillier]

Nikon Z7

Cheers,
Bernard

[KLaban]

Nikon Z7

Cheers,
Bernard

Is that dark banding in the top left of the image?

[BernardLanguillier]

Is that dark banding in the top left of the image?

That's a wooden ceiling...

Cheers,
Bernard

[KLaban]

That's a wooden ceiling...

Cheers,
Bernard

Glad to hear it!

[armand]

Few more focus shifts.
There is very little focus breathing with the 24-70, at least under 35mm and at medium distances, 1m to 20m, in some sequences practically none.

[Dan Wells]

I'm not sure that the level of build and sealing in the Z7 is "normal" even at the Z7's price. It's certainly not unheard of (D850, 5DmkIV is at least close, D5 and 1D series). and it's occasionally found even on cheaper cameras (OM-D E-M1 mkII, Pentax K1, maybe top Fujis) - but no 5D before the latest was even close, no Leica except perhaps for the medium format S is close on the sealing (gem-like build but limited or no seals), and no Sony is close...

Once you get above about $1500-$2000, comprehensive weather sealing starts to show up, but it's not a given...

[BernardLanguillier]

Indeed.

Now the key aspect highlighted by this test wasn’t the weather sealing, it was how well the camera its built compared to its mirrorless competitors.

This points at the quality of the engineering, the reliability, the margins,... and overall at the level of investment of Nikon in mirrorless.

The Z7 and Z6 aren’t half baked “let’s repackage D600 tech and stick an EVF”, this is a totally new generation of Nikon camera from the ground up. They are all in.

Cheers,
Bernard

[armand]

They are all in.

If only they didn't try so hard to protect the D850.

[Dan Wells]

I suspect Canon of being all in as well, but having missed a deadline on a body - could it be the sensor that missed, and how far off is it? The existing EOS-R is probably the low-end model of a pair of bodies they were planning to release? The reason for that speculation is that the Canon lenses are too nice (and too high-spec) to really belong with a 6DII with an EVF.

If I had to guess what the "missing body" is, it's something like a mirrorless 5Ds, although with a somewhat improved sensor. It'll be a worthy competitor to the Z7 when it emerges.

The little 35mm macro makes sense with this body, and, while the 24-105 doesn't really, it fits with an established Canon pattern of "super-kit" lenses that are big, heavy and expensive for a kit lens, but also offer excellent image quality. The similar EF 24-105 is a common kit lens with both the 6DII and the 5DIV, and the smaller EF 24-70 f4 is much newer than the first version of the 24-105 - they went with only relatively large standard zooms for years on EF.

The two big, expensive lenses (a 50mm over 2 lbs for $2299, a 28-70 over 3 lbs for $2999, both extremely fast) make no sense with this body.

If we think of a body that makes sense with those lenses and the innovative adapters, it would probably be a bit bigger and heavier than the EOS R (more the size of the new Panasonics than the Z7), with 5D series build quality or better. Might it have IBIS?  Priced around $4000? I haven't heard anything about such a body, but it makes sense with the lenses, and I can't see what else would...

At least my personal suspicion is that Canon was originally planning to release two bodies and four (or five) lenses to start - if there's a missing lens, it might be a 24-70 f4 (or variable aperture) that provides a lightweight companion to the EOS R.

[BernardLanguillier]

If only they didn't try so hard to protect the D850.

How exactly are they doing that?

Cheers,
Bernard

[armand]

How exactly are they doing that?

Cheers,
Bernard

Several small things, including their marketing that Z7 is an addition and not a replacement. Here is a good starting point: https://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/a-few-more-thoughts-on.html

Some might blame it on the first generation thing but I'm not that generous, after all it's more expensive than a D850.

[Dan Wells]

Nobody ever accused Nikon of understanding marketing...

[johnvanatta]

At least my personal suspicion is that Canon was originally planning to release two bodies and four (or five) lenses to start - if there's a missing lens, it might be a 24-70 f4 (or variable aperture) that provides a lightweight companion to the EOS R.

I think Nikon was planning on having more at launch, too. Certainly at least the 50/1.8, but there are also multiple bits of marketing material with the 58 Noct too, as part of a 4-lens family.

Development for the Z obviously has been going on for years, but my hunch is that Canon and Nikon (and Panasonic, incidentally) got spooked by something more recently and moved up their timetables by months.

I don't think the Z7 was crippled at all. The autofocus issues look more like rushed software, and there's absolutely no room for another card slot. The $3400 price is absolutely about skimming from early adopters, it won't hold up once the competition really gets going a year or so in. As for the messaging, what else could Nikon tell their many, many DSLR customers except "of course we'll keep making DSLRs"? And they will, too, so it's not even particularly disingenuous.

[BernardLanguillier]

Several small things, including their marketing that Z7 is an addition and not a replacement. Here is a good starting point: https://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/a-few-more-thoughts-on.html

Some might blame it on the first generation thing but I'm not that generous, after all it's more expensive than a D850.

I don't think that this is about protecting the D850, this is about protecting the upcoming Z8/Z9.

Cheers,
Bernard

[kers]

The Z cameras bring the 35mm and 50mm lens that are better than their DSLR counterparts...
But not as good as the Zeiss lenses if i may believe Lloyd Chambers ( blog info - i am not a subscriber)