Nikon Announces the Z 5, a Compact Full Frame Mirrorless Camera, and a Brand New Compact Zoom Lens

Nikon Announces the Z 5, a Compact Full Frame Mirrorless Camera, and a Brand New Compact Zoom Lens

Nikon has announced the Z 5, its new, full-frame, entry-level mirrorless camera. It will be available to purchase from August for just $1,399, making it $400 cheaper than the Z 6.

The Z 5 features a 24-megapixel full-frame sensor, a 3.69 million-dot Quad-VGA viewfinder, and a 3.2-inch touchscreen, which tilts, but does not fully flip around. It shoots 4K video with a 1.7x crop and lacks the top panel display of its siblings. However, unlike the Z 6 and Z 7, it includes dual UHS-II SD card slots.

The ISO range reaches 51,200 and expands to 102,400, has a shutter speed of up to 1/8,000, and can shoot raw at 4.5 frames per second.

Notably, the Z 5 features IBIS — “In-body 5-Axis VR stabilization” — giving it an edge over Canon’s full-frame budget shooter, the EOS RP, which admittedly is currently $400 cheaper and almost a third lighter.

The new camera contains an EXPEED 6 processor and features Eye-Detect autofocus which will work on both human and animal subjects. 

The Z 5 is powered by the new EN-EL15c battery, which Nikon claims will offer improved performance. It’s not stated in the press release, but one would imagine that the Z 5 also accepts the EN-EL15b batteries used in the Z 6 and Z 7. The Z 5 can also be powered via the USB port, and the USB-C connectivity means that the camera can be used as a webcam.

Nikon states that the Z 5 has the same rugged build as its mirrorless predecessors, which suggests that beyond the burst speed, video capabilities, and the step down to UHS-II SD cards, there are not many compromises being made.

New Lens and Teleconverters

Tying in with the diminutive size of the Z 5, Nikon has also announced a super-compact kit lens, the Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3, which is less than two inches long when retracted and features weather-sealing. On its own, the lens will cost $399.95, but can be purchased as a bundle with the Z 5 for $1,699.

In addition, Nikon has announced two teleconverters: the TC-1.4X ($549) and TC-2.0X ($599), also available in late August.

Will you be adding the Z 5 to your arsenal? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

Log in or register to post comments
15 Comments

"making it $600 cheaper than the Z 6." with a link to a price that is $400 cheaper.
The Z6 has been on permanent sale of $1800 for months.

buy a couple of xqd cards for the z6, and it will add 2/300 dollars to the price

I use my Z6 for video. It only sees SSDs attached to the Ninja V.
1TB of XQD cards is ~$300 more than the Ninja plus 1TB SSD, batteries, cables, etc.

And there we go, 30 years of Canon and weeks after the R5 release I find myself looking at what the competition is up to. This Z5 seem to have what most the video guys need for their youtube channels but for less than $1400.00

Now let's wait and see what the Sony A7SIII will have up its sleeve :)

Yea, but it will not be $1400 -ish.
This Z5 is a halo camera.

Indeed, being a former Nikon user, I'm really happy to see this from them, it's a SOLID camera (albeit with older sensor tech) for people to get into full-frame mirrorless, and knowing Nikon, the image quality will be fantastic.

Now I wonder how good this new cheap zoom lens is optically, that's traditionally been a bit of a weak spot for Nikon...

Had some serious typos on my previous reply, fixed it now.

I agree that Nikon putting this out is a great move.
I do however disagree that it is pricey - I think the body is priced right considering what you get, the lenses will be something to watch.

I don't have a Youtube channel, but I imagine that a flipping screen is what they're after. This one doesn't have it :)

This article forgets to mention that the Z5 does NOT have a BSI sensor like the Z6/7...

I was wondering what the significant differences were.

I guess that was one of the cost-cutting measures they put into place...

Will be interesting to see some official reviews / stats on this, to see how this older sensor performs compared to more modern BSI-type sensors.

doesn't have a BSI sensor so I would wait and see how it performs in low light relative to its peers

I would think similar to D750, maybe a little better with updated processor.

looks like this might be my first nikon Mirrorless camera.