The Nikon Z50 is a HUGE Mistake

The Nikon Z50 is the newest APS-C mirrorless camera for Nikon's Z-mount. It has 20.9 megapixels, 11 frames per second, and 4k video (full-width) at 30 FPS. That sounds GREAT, but it has a few HUGE problems. Tony Northrup tells you about them in this video.

[logtothebase]

They didn't send you one did they Tony.

[grumpyoldphotographer]

The Z50 is a great DX Mirrorless body. You are totally wrong.

[ernestlloyd]

This is one of the best Nikon DX camera's ever made in my opinion. Even the kit lenses are really sharp. I just don't agree.

[reid]

Com'on man, test the Z 50 first, take photos/videos with it before you bash it into its core.

[PhilThach]

Usually I agree with you, but when I don’t, I REALLY don’t. I bet the z50 sells well and helps the Z series grow to the masses. Also, I use the fast frame rate with my Z6 and it’s fine. I don’t understand why you need to slow yours down. Must be your reliance on automatic modes. One last thing, quit judging folks who use FX glass on DX bodies while at the same time recommending the D500 200-500 f/5.6 combo. Thanks for all your hard work as always but I have to let you know when you I disagree.

[wakeywarrior]

This camera is fabulous, massively underrated. Unfortunately many YouTubers are aligned with Sony and Canon so you don’t see this getting the praise it deserves. It’s an APS-C low light beast.
The camera is so useable, it makes Sony look a joke.
I think the Z mount helps with vignetting and edge sharpness too.
I actually have the Z30 and I have had a lot of cameras, including Sony and LUMIX and this is my favourite.
One thing I agree with, there needs to be more lenses, but the Viltrox line, particularly the 13mm F1.4 are awesome.
Don’t believe everything you see on YouTube!🤷‍♂️

[dunnymonster]

Couldn't disagree more with your general overview of Nikon's decision to bring APSC into their Z mount offerings. In my opinion this move strengthens Nikon's future, by having a single unified mount for both FF and APSC in the same way f mount does. This means only Nikon and Sony have this potential " upgrade " path. Some users of FF actually purchase APSC specifically for its crop factor ( sports and wildlife in particular ) so it's not so crazy to put FF lenses onto an APSC body. The reality also is most photographers who shoot FF now, started with APSC. Now I do accept that the Z50 could have been better but really it's very competitive as it stands against Fujifilms XT30 and Canons M series, neither of which offer any upgrade path to their larger sensor format offerings. I'm thrilled that Nikon are taking this route and if anything I'm more confident about investing in Nikon in the future. Currently my main mirrorless system is Panasonic M43, my main DSLR system is Nikon FF DSLRs. Nikons mirrorless system at present isn't there yet for me to wish to invest in. I think once we get into Nikon's second gen Z mount FF & APSC where it has matured with bigger native lens selection and features such as twin card slots, IBIS in all bodies and " proper " battery grips I'll be ready to jump in knowing I'll still be able to utilise my investment in f mount Nikkor lenses until, over time, I replace them with native offerings. Well done Nikon for doing the right thing for the long term I say! Nikon are seeing the mirrorless arena from a long term perspective. They have the mount to even venture into medium format if they so wish, imagine if they could offer APSC, FF and Medium Format with a single unified lens selection. That forward thinking may not reward them in the short term but may well make them the dominant player in the camera market.😊

[gosman]

Nikon is obviously going with the Z-mount across the board with all of their cameras. So in a few years it will make no difference.

[EricLouisYoung]

Turned out to be one of the best cameras ever produced by any company ever.

[Altitude]

Hi Tony, redarding the Z6 and Z7, you said: "The Z6 and Z7 cameras need to drop down to five or six frames per second to really be effective". I disagree with your statement. Certainly, it was true before. But, since the firmware update v2.0 of May 2019, AE tracking has worked alongside continuous AF in both cameras highest-speed burst rates (up to 9fps (Z7) or 12fps (Z6)). So, basically, you absolutely do not need to drop down to 5.5fps anymore to do action photography with the Z6 or the Z7. In reality, now these cameras are really effective at 9fps or 12fps in AFC mode to shoot sport or wildlife.

[andrewchisholm]

I think Nikon are doing the right thing as you can use the ff Z lenses and get a ftz adapter and use your dx lenses. Not everyone wants or needs a ff camera. I am definitely interested in buying the Z50

[dr.gregoryf.maassen]

Very disappointing video. I normally like the reviews, but I just cannot understand why he is so negative about this camera and Nikon lately. I think it is a brilliant move by Nikon to introduce the Z50.

[boian-inavov]

There's literally 0 reasons to bring the F mount into a mirrorless body, since without the mirror you'll need to have the same flange distance, in order for all those old lenses to fit to your new camera. If you don't, then you have glass that it's mount compatible, but not compatible with your camera because of the shorter flange distance. Both ways you're pointlessly fracturing your lineup with 2 mounts, the way currently Canon are doing it with their R and EF-M mounts.

[Jessehermansonphoto]

“You get less sharp images than if you were using a full frame camera” can you please prove that?

[CharlieVN]

it's no mistake, just late to the party. Having another mount.... are you frigging joking? Their pancake lens is small which kills your argument, it's not hard to make a large mount lens to taper in.... it's not exactly rocket science. Short term confusion, long term bet. having FX and Crop lenses on one mount has existed for decades

[tqlla]

Nikon is doing the right thing with the Z50. The Z50 is not there to introduce users to Mirrorless. It is built to introduce more people to the Z mount.

I think there have been many videos/articles about how the Z isnt selling that well. A cheaper option is a good idea to get people introduced to the ecosystem.

[bencushwa]

First off, this may be the very fist YouTube video that I think I've disliked. Ever. Sorry Tony, but you're flat-out wrong about the Z50.

1. Using the Z-mount for DX bodies makes *perfect* sense. It increases lens availability (or rather, doesn't exclude the use of Z-mount lenses), and even if much of that diameter is wasted *optically*, you get that much more room for mechanical things like VR, collapsing lenses, powerful autofocus motors, etc. The 16-50 kit lens that was announced with the Z50 is minuscule compared to the old F-mount 18-55 DX kit lenses overall, even if it's a bit wider around, and the test videos I've seen of it show it focusing amazingly quickly.

2. As long as you're using good glass, there is absolutely no drawback to using full frame lenses on a crop sensor body from an optical standpoint. This is a myth and you seriously need to stop propagating it. Will a crop sensor showcase the resolution limits of a full frame lens more acutely than a full frame sensor will? Possibly, depending on the pixel pitch of the sensor, but a D850 or Z7 will highlight those same limits just as much as a D500 or Z50 will. Either way, that's an issue with the *lenses*, not the mounts or the sensors. Will an FX lens be heavier and more expensive than an equivalent lens optimized for DX? Yes, obviously, but until Nikon starts releasing DX glass that performs to the same standards as their pro FX glass, the FX lenses are still the best option. Plus, they're useful on a wider selection of bodies (unless you get your way). Worth noting: I use a 300mm f/4 on a DX body for sports photography and get results comparable to, if not better than, using a 70-200 f/2.8 on an FX body in terms of image quality. Good glass matters, and until Nikon starts releasing high-end glass in DX format, using FX glass is just fine.

3. I definitely agree that Nikon flubbed up the selection of lenses with the Z6 and Z7 launch. Nikon was going on and on about how compact the Z6 and Z7 were...and then released no compact lenses with them. A "nifty 50" equivalent would have been *perfect* to launch with. I think the two DX lenses they announced look right on the money, and I'm happy to see some less expensive lenses coming down the pipe soon though, so hopefully that will get better as time goes on.

4. There's plenty of reasons why making a mirrorless F-mount body is a *horrible* idea. First and foremost, the flange distance (distance from the image plane to the mount surface) for the F-Mount is just as massive as the diameter of the F-mount is tiny. This is the reason why you can't adapt most other 35mm lenses to Nikon without hacking off part of the lens body or using corrective optics. If you want to actually be able to use existing F-mount lenses on a mirrorless camera, you'd be forcing the camera to be considerably thicker than it would need to be otherwise to accommodate that massive flange distance. Or, if you just want to keep the physical mount and forego compatibility, you'd create even more confusion than you complain about existing because FX and DX mirrorless cameras share the same mount.

[ahmedk]

make 2 mount is bad idea, using old mount is even worse

[nivruttigarud]

Looks like you do not like Nikon. Having same mount is absolutely perfect strategy and Sony is benefiting out of it. I use Sony and have both sensors. The great benefit is of using same FE lens even on crop sensor.
I think you were more critical than really required. This looks to-be a very good entry level camera with good value at this price point.

[Altitude]

Hi Tony, are you really serious when you said: "I will bet that the results from the kit lens won’t even look as good as the stuff you get from the iPhone"?