After months and months of hints, rumors, leaks, speculations, and teasers, Nikon just finally officially unveiled the highly-anticipated Z Series, its first full-frame mirrorless camera system.
Nikon is launching the Z Series with two cameras, three lenses, and one lens adapter. Many industry watchers believe the move is critical to the Japanese firm’s future, at a time when smartphones have decimated demand for fixed-lens compact digital cameras.Sales of mirror-based DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) cameras have also been weakening.
The New Z Lens Mount
“We have been refining our optical technologies for over 100 years,” Nikon stated at its global launch event. The Z Series features a brand new lens mount that’s designed to “redefine possibilities” and elevate optical performance for Nikon over the coming decades.
“This is the new light that Nikon will use to pioneer the future,” Nikon says. “It is indeed mirrorless reinvented.”
The Z mount uses a large 55mm inner diameter and a 16mm flange focal distance that allow for apertures as fast as f/0.95 and a slim body design. It also opens the door to other lens properties that weren’t previously possible with Nikon’s F mount.
F-mount lenses will be fully compatible with Z mount cameras using the new FTZ Mount Lens Adapter.
Nikon says the new lens mount will also allow its Z mount to be future proof, allowing for cameras with higher and higher resolutions and optics with greater and greater sharpness.
Nikon Z7: A Flagship High-Res Mirrorless Camera
The new Nikon Z7 is Nikon’s flagship full-frame mirrorless camera, featuring high-resolution photography and “revolutionary” autofocus.
The camera features a 45.7-megapixel backside-illuminated full-frame CMOS sensor with a native ISO of 64-25,600. It has an EXPEED 6 image processor that supports 9fps continuous shooting.
The Z7 packs a groundbreaking autofocus system that boasts a whopping 493 AF points that cover 90% of the viewfinder area.
The Nikon Z6 is $3,996.95 and available for Pre-order. It will be released on 27th Sept, 2018
Nikon Z6: A High-Speed, Low-Light Powerhouse
The new Nikon Z6 is designed to be an all-around, high-speed, low-light camera. It features a backside-illuminated 24.5-megapixel full-frame sensor with a native ISO range of 100-51200. Backed by an EXPEED 6 image processor, the Z6 can do 12fps continuous shooting.
There’s a 273-point on-sensor phase-detect autofocus system that operate on both shooting stills and videos. Nikon is billing the Nikon Z6 as an all-rounder and it’s aimed at enthusiast photographers, especially existing Nikon photographers. Nikon sees the Nikon Z6 as the mirrorless partner to the Nikon D750 and it’s a natural competitor to the Sony A7 III
The Nikon Z6 is $2,569.95 and will go on sale in late November.
Both cameras feature durable, dust- and drip-resistant builds and a large, firm grip for secure and comfortable holding. On the top of the cameras is a relatively large information display, two dials, a dedicated video recording button, an ISO selection button, and an exposure compensation button next to the shutter button. They also feature a hybrid AF system that uses an algorithm to automatically switch between focal-plane phase-detection AF and contrast-detect AF. For the first time, in-camera 5-axis vibration reduction is appearing in a Nikon camera. The system provides 5-stops of compensation and is also compatible with F-mount lenses mounted to the lens adapter.
Check the complete specs of these cameras [here]
