Interchangeable Lens Mirrorless Camera

Review by Gilmar Smith

For the last couple of months, I’ve been shooting with the new 45-megapixel, full-frame, mirrorless, Nikon Z 7, and, after spending 20 days traveling around Europe with it, I’m ready to tell you all about this camera. 

One of the things that surprised me when I first took the Nikon Z 7 out of the box was its light weight and size. Even though I’d always been a Canon shooter, the camera ergonomics made me feel like it was a match in heaven. The Z 7 has an excellent grip, and it was easy to adjust to the placement of the buttons and dials. Its 3.2″ tilting, high-resolution screen is easily my favorite feature of this camera. It’s crisp and clear, and it lets you easily navigate through the camera menus and adjust its settings. You can touch the screen to select, focus, and fire the shutter; swipe and zoom in and out images; and preview settings on the Live View feature before pressing the shutter. I found myself selecting focus and changing the settings on the HD screen more, and using the electronic viewfinder less. 

The Nikon Z 7 has 493 focus points, face detection, and nearly 100% vertical and horizontal coverage of the frame. The autofocus system is fast and works smoothly in all lighting situations. Its native ISO settings go from 64–25,600. 

When it comes to lens design, the Z 7 has a 55mm-diameter lens mount that provides flexibility, so that I was able to use the Mount adapter with a variety of F-Mount lenses during my trip. I was happy that the autofocus capabilities weren’t lost at all, and I didn’t experience any communication issues with the adapter. 

The camera is compatible with existing EN-EL 15 Nikon batteries. It has one XQD card slot, and with an expected future firmware update, it will work with CFExpress cards. The camera is also compatible with Nikon’s existing flash system. The Z 7 also comes with built-In SnapBridge, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth for easy JPEG sharing. 

When it comes to video, the Nikon Z 7 records clear, sharp 4K UHD video at up to 30 fps and Full HD video at up to 120 fps, and the Z 7 video autofocus Hybrid AF is excellent. 

I’m honestly impressed with the image quality, skin tones, and high dynamic range delivered by the Nikon Z 7. The camera is definitely a keeper! ■