Nikon Z50 Review by Ken Rockwell

Are the colors true to life? cell phones ruin pictures with oversaturation. Also, I can never seem to get the white balance correct on my older nikon DSLR colors are always off (tan looks gray, grass green looks pine green, etc). How does this compare to iPhone 13 or Galaxy S22 for instance? Thank you!

Z50 or Zfc ? Which one you would suggest Ken ? Z50 has built in flash :(

Ken, You are simply the best.

You're absolutely right - a built in flash is great, activated in a split second and no extra stuff to lug around and mount. I never would have believed that I would take it seriously and would no longer want to do without it.

I bought nikon z50 after a big confusion against sony a6400. But am happy with my purchase now

Nikon blew it by not adding a F mount.

To my eye, the +3 saturation is a bit too much.

The kit lens is awesome on the Z cameras. No need to buy other lenses really

Well done Ken. I am extremely impressed that you reply to most/all of your readers/viewers. Shows your commitment. I bought the Z50 after switching to only a phone from a panasonic bridge camera. I had 2 problems with the phone (Pixel 4) only - you could hardly see the screen in bright sunlight and the pinch to zoom is still a bit fiddly after all these years. Of course, you have more control with the Z50 but these were the main reasons - the viewfinder and ergonomics.

I actually prefer the phone for indoors and low light.

wowo just using the kit lens

i always watch your videos you review D3500 was cool which one would you recmmend me to make big printings this or the D3500 thanks

Is it worth to upgrade from D5300 to achieve a bigger dynamic range and eye-focus?

great review . Q: if you had a choice between the Z30 or the Z50, which one would recommend

I have a D5100 and looking for another camera just because my 11years old D5100 is showing some deterioration. I'm just a hobbyist and photographs mostly on travel. I'm weighing between this and D7500. I feel like because D7500 is a little bit heavy and since I'm buying brand-new, I should go for new technology. Do you think my decision for Z50 is right in picture quality, weight and price wise?

With Ken you expect the best and get the best in a review. A great photographer and speaker as well! Thanks Ken!

Thanks for the great video! I'm interested in buying this camera. Will it work with Nikon DX lenses or will I also need to buy the FTX adapter to fit these lenses? Thinking of an ultra-wide Sigma 10-20mm DX lens.

Ken (always loved your site & links), 3 years later how do you feel about this camera kit with both the 16-50/50-250 for $1100? Great value? Anything else to consider first around the $1k mark? Did the firmware update in January make a big difference for this camera?

Everyone just wants to buy a "fancy" Sony or Fuji camera because they are totally hyped by the influencers. Fuji's autofocus is just super slow compared to the others. Nobody tells you that some of the Sony menu is really bad. And instead of maintaining its cameras, Sony keeps bringing out new models. The A6400 was already totally outdated when it was released and the A6600 costs as much as a Sony full frame camera. That just makes absolutely no sense.

The Z50 is a really underrated camera and the Nikon menu is super user-friendly!

Just purchased one. Can’t wait to fire it off.

Would your recommend the Z50 as an upgrade from the D3400? seems, used, they go for around £500 here, which is about £150 cheaper than the average used price for a D7500
I mainly do wildlife and landscape.

Feel like this would be a great little camera to take around everywhere

Thanks for the review! Do you think this is still a good buy now in 2023? Or should I wait for a newer DX camera?

Which is better for videography nikon z30 or nikon z50??

Hey, Ken. Might you be able to help. I watched r50/m50,zve10/6400, z30/50 and personally the only camera that sits great in my hands is Nikon. My goals are shooting indoor videos (interview and architecture) as well as some outdoors events. I will more luckily buy a gimbal for any of those cameras but I want to have as many stabilization as possible (in body/in lens, in software).
However, Nikon is a very old brand - people online most of the time work with canon, Sony, Lumix ... I totally understand that it's a beginner choice, but I still want to make the best choice possible

I have a Nikon D500 and take alot of pictures in my garden, but the birds don't like the sounds when i take the pictures. Some of them get sceared...
Could this replace my D500 in my garden?

Hello, Ken.

I bought this camera a few mnths ago. I'm aiming to get serious into photography with this camera. I want to explore it both as a hobby and if I find myself so inclined, as a side career, through a website, social media, and some local appointments. I find that these lenses are quite dark, at f/3.5 and f/4.5 at the minimum for the two lenses respectively.

Say about a couple of years from now, I find myself wanting better and faster lenses. If I go for the full frame Z lenses, apart from the crop factor, will I miss out on any important features? I don't think the crop factor will bother me much, given this camera can make use of all the features.

For some context, I'm interested in landscape, street and astro photography. I prefer to keep as little gear as possible.

Thanks for your time making such informative reviews.

Is it worth buying in 2023 since its a 2019 model.

Great clip, very informative, thank you Ken. Just one question - are you shooting on 'vivid' clour setting..?

I am a landscape and sky photographer. Sometimes I shot birds. I have the d5200 and want to get a new camera. What do you recommend? Z50 or D7500?

I just ordered the kit, it’s just so darn cute!

Ken, great video. The Z50 seems to be exactly what I need for hiking and vacations. However, in the comments you recommend getting a Canon! What leads you to recommend a Canon after all the praise for the Z50? Thanks.

great review

When comparing the low light performance of the Z50 BSI CMOS ( AF detection mode -4 +19 ) to the Z5 CMOS ( -2 +19 ), due to lower AF mode in the Z50 along with the newer BSI sensor, would it be better than the Z5 in low light even though the Z5 has the bigger FF sensor?

Excellent video 😊!

I have been very confused about what camera to buy! I have been looking at the Nikon Z50 with the kit of 2 lenses, or the Sony RX10 IV which has a great telezoom for birding and far away animals, or the Fuji T-X5 which from the 3, has double Megapixels and extra features like Film simulations, etc. If I need one day to print images with great resolution and big sizes, will the Nikon 50 do the Job? For me, planning a future for fotography and not being able to print large images due megapixels limitations, will be, maybe, a great lose. I own the very cheap SONY DSC HX400V which has as well 20.1 Megapixels as the Z50 and in post production while working on the PC for some adjustments in some of the pics, I notice that is like working with pictures with very little data, what I mean is, when I capture pictures with my mobil phone with a 200 MP lens and I manipulate its pictures inside a PC, I notice that the PC suffers a lot and take time to manipulate filters aplied to the picture and must wait until is done, however, with the pictures from my Sony DSC HX400V, 20MP JPG pics, the PC does not notice at all that I am using it. This is a concern to me for the long run, that is why I have been very confused with all this! I love the Nikon Brand a lot but I can not afford their big models with big MPs and watching videos about this Z50 which I saw what great pictures it takes, just direct JPG and ready, that is just fine, but, if I wish one day to make art fotography, KUENSTLERISCHE FOTOGRAFIE, or something similar, my question to you would be, will the Z50 stand out for that purpose? I love your videos, love your expertise and your long experience, and the most important, love your great pictures, they are just the very best out there. I send you many greetings from Germany. Alfredo

does Z 85mm 1.8 S has VR and can we shoot with Z50

Just got it from second-hand shop in Tokyo, just for $450. I am so thrilled how small it feels compared to my trusty D750, yet stil has very nice picture quality. Exactly what I was looking for as a small travel camera.

Only thing I kinda hate are those touch screen buttons, I tent to switch them unintentionaly with my nose while shoooting and they cannot be turned off. Also I am bit dissapointed in how slow it starts and reacts compared to DSLR - it is fractions of a second, but it is noticable.

im considering to trade my d90 into z50, can some of my lens able to use in z50? for example the Nikkor 35mm dx? thanks for the amazing review mate!

If you want to put silent mode on you don't have to scroll down through 3 menu screens. Just scroll up once and you're there. I'm surprised you don't know this.

This is a great review. learn something new each time i play it. i've had my z50 for a couple of years with 24-200m lens and it does take great pictures but the autofocus is slow as you rightly point out. is it worth trading in the z50 for the canon r50 or r10 at this stage or is it not worth the learning curve (nikon to canon) for a few seconds of autofocus? grateful your thoughts and keep up the great work--your site is still the go to site!

I have a Nikon D40X that I have had for years and two lenses. My question is can my lenses work with this camera, as it is in my price range to buy the Nikon Z50 body

i love your philosophy on "if your playing around on a computer your not photographing!" Couldnt say it better myself!! ive always thought of post editing as cheating and fake. it just doesnt seem genuine to me

I have 2 lenses and I got the 50-250mm and 180-600mm. Those 2 lenses work great for me. ❤❤❤ I’m very glad that I got a great camera and lenses. 😂😂😂 Great video ❤❤❤

Just got this camera...Love it. Sure it's not full frame but that's fine. The average person can't tell the difference. Only photographers complain about photography. I'm not a Photographer.
Anyway, love the content. Keep trucking ken!!

Hi Ken, great review thank you. I was wondering if the old Nikkor 18-200mm VRII lens will work on this or is it too old? If not, what superzoom would you recommend for the Z50? I need one for motorcycle touring and my old 18-200 saves me getting off the bike and missing a shot 😊 Thanks

Subbed

great review, thoroughly enjoyed it, great that you stuck it to all those newbie photographers saying that Sony owns the world of optics now, NIKON is still my top choice, i use the z50 mainly for video and it is just gorgeous, it is afixed to my gimbal all day, the balance the color, and focusing is wonderful, looking foward to taking pictures with it professionally once the weather gets better for subjects thanks for the positive review on such a great little camera kit, a little upset extra batteries are still not available as of yet, dont know why