Nikon Z5 Is A Fantastic Value –Full Frame Is NOT Expensive

0:00 Intro
0:37 My First Nikon Mirrorless
1:18 Great Ergonomics
2:08 What I Don't Like
2:23 AF Tracking and Face Detect
3:43 Level Gauge
4:32 Video Features
5:02 What I Like
5:10 AF Speed and Reliability
5:40 IBIS
6:15 EVF
6:35 Image Quality
7:23 Dual Card Slots
8:02 Tilt Screen
8:35 Weather Sealing
9:51 The 40mm F2
10:00 Plastic Fantastic?
10:30 Classic Looks
10:51 Sharp
11:19 My Nikon Journey
11:49 The Best Value FF
12:00 Third Party Lenses
12:36 Great Experience

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My name is Matti Sulanto, I'm a photographer based in Helsinki Finland.

[MrWinger]

I have had only Nikon cameras all my life, and now at 72 I enjoy them as much as I have since the first one. I bought a Z5 last year, the first full frame camera I've purchased, and am very pleased. I still have a D7200 that complements the Z5 nicely. I would like for you to do a complete "recommended settings" video for the Z5 if you have time.

[robinwong]

Update: I have fixed the rubber flaps! But I won't test the weather-sealing haha.
Indeed, I agree, well done Nikon! The Z5 deserves a bit more attention!

[ojakubcik]

I got this camera specifically because I only shoot stills. With prime 28/2.8, 40/2 and couple other prime lenses (adapted) this is very hard to beat. Absolutely perfect camera.

[Luigiz]

Great video! I bought a used Z5 last year and it has been a gem of a camera. Beautiful image files, solid eye autofocus, and great ergonomics for a killer price especially buying used. I love this camera and highly recommend it to anyone looking to jump into mirrorless full frame.

[MattIrwinPhotography]

Hey Matti you asked me to give some feedback and I'm thinking considering the Z5 is such an affordable full frame, dual card slot, IBIS toting, no skimping on ergonomics all round camera with Z mount, access to all Nikon glass, and almost every other mount under the sun (including e-mount). How can you go wrong. Talking video, you called it 'lame'. It delivers 4K 24, 25 and 30p with a 1.7x crop. APSC is 1.5x (Nikon, Sony) and 1.6x in Canon, and you seemed to compare it at times to your a6700 APSC which has a constant 1.5x crop. For a content creator sitting in their studio turning their 28mm lens into a 47.6mm FOV eqv, I shoot almost all of my talking heads at 50mm. So for a content creator it is great. And if you want to vlog on the run you can grab a 16mm (27mm FOV eqv.), 18, or 20mm. For me considering the solid entry level photography spec, and the fact I can still get 4K for any situation, you just need to choose the right lens, and if you need, you can get 60p in 1080p, 2.5x slow mo in 24p timeline.

As for the rubber sealing ... I live in Australia, I still own Nikon cameras from almost 20 years ago, their seals over the ports still work all these years, as they originally did. As was said somewhere, the Z5 camera you are using in this video was purchased 2nd hand by your friend. There is no way of knowing how it has been treated. Also I wonder if more humid environments cause the rubber to act in different ways as I have never experienced this here in Australia, I live in the south, not much humidity here. 

The Z5 is four years old, and is a previous generation camera from Nikon Expeed 6. The Expeed 7 Zf, if you had compared, yes more expensive, but an absolutely outstanding full frame camera, with great video spec and stills spec, AF focus up with the Z8 and Z9, an IBIS unit bettered by none, and still very affordable.

I can see today the A7 C II is $2198 vs Zf $1996, perhaps two cameras that are closer together in spec, than Z5 ($1296 full frame) and a6700 ($1398 APSC), which seem hard to compare other than price. Card slots different, sensor size different, ergonomics different, video spec different, generation different .... and so on.

[daryljohnson]

The Z5 plus the pancake 26mm and the 4/24-70 is a very, very good street setup especially in the second hand market.

[jorgepinogarciadelasbayonas]

The build quality of the Z 5 is astounding. It's on the same level as the Z 6 and Z 7. Very solid!

[HaiTomVlog]

I have been using the Z5 with the 50 f/1.8 S and 28 f2.8 for years - it’s a great camera!
You can set the focus to a function button instead of the ok button, btw

[michaelajoseph]

Thank you Matti! My first digital camera was a Nikon and I loved it. Now I have a Nikon Z50 and a Sony 7c. I like them compact and light.

[GeekyNerdyTechy]

Awesome overview, Matti. Great to see you following the sunshine!

[letni]

I'm a M43 fanboy but my first camera was the B500.
You got me into Nikon again and i bought the Z5.
I'll never give up my M43 gear but it's nice to use a variety of cameras. I even still use my FZ330 on sunny days.

[LukesMushrooms]

I got my brand new Z5 from Germany last year, for 900€. It was a great purchase which allowed me to spend more on lenses. I still wish for something like Z3 with the same specs just no viewfinder :))

[mainmain]

You have to set tracking to a function button. With that you can track object and override eye af. You can also switch tracking on and off very easily. It’s quite quick operation that way

[wavesummit]

I just bought a z5 after using a d600 for the last 10 years, original plan was to use all my old glass on the ftz adapter, found them a bit noisey without a stepper motor. So decided to pick up the viltrox 20mm 2.8 and it really makes a difference, turning the camera into an everyday carry.

[eopian]

I bought this camera used about a year ago. The AF options took me a while to get used to (my previous camera was Nikon d5100). The articulating screen was a disappointment as the 5100 had a much better articulating mechanism. My final gripe is the remote. Using a wireless remote on the 5100 worked well. On the Z5 you must use the app which has frequent hiccups. The bluetooth remote while technically works is totally unusable in practice. Overall I love the Z5, especially the image quality! I’m still experimenting with lenses to see which tradeoffs I’m willling to live with (too heavy vs high variable aperture vs prime, etc). I started with 24-200 with 50mm prime. Right now I have 28-400 for outdoors and travel and 24-70 2.8 for indoors plus outdoor portraits. Both are very heavy. I’m thinking of going to 24-70 4 and 50mm (while keeping the 28-400). It seems silly to have 3 lenses that all cover 50mm, but that lens is sooo good.

[lorenschwiderski]

That combo is perfect, or near perfect, for street photography. I love it! The Zeee5 😁 $996 USD when on sale in USA -- 40mm less is also low priced.
You mentioned the old Samy, of Samy's Camera has passed away. He will be missed.

[reynaldohernandez]

The z5 is the closest to the a7iii. But I think the z5 still is better in price specially for a beginner.

[kokhualow]

When I just started in photography, Z5 was my cam and it was still a cam that I really missed a lot. The images are just amazing!

[danettepatrickMP]

I may be two months late but I have been rocking the Z5 for a few months now and I mapped the AF on one of the buttons on the front, when I click it, I could scroll the back dial to whether I want AF-s or AF-C and then the front dial for each options for each AF mode. It definitely improves my workflow!

[VintageISO]

I agree it's an amazing deal. I've traded in / sold all of my F mount glass and cameras except for a D500 and Sigma 200-500 with a tele. Everything else I had is gone. I've purchased used Z series cameras and lenses. I've been able to accomplish a setup where I use a Z5 with a 85mm 1.8s, a Z6 with the 40mm 2, and a Z7 with the 20mm 1.8s. With the D500 setup I'm covering all of my different photography pursuits. Buying used off MPB and KEH I haven't broken the bank either. I'd love to be able to stay all within Z for sports / wildlife but until a "budget" d500 replacement gets here or the Z8 drops in price (5 years from now) I'll stick with it. It's a lot of gear but it's freeing having a camera dedicated to a different type (portraits, street / travel, landscape, sports / wildlife / kids). It's forced me to be better at composition not relying on the functionality of zooms while gaining the extra f stops.