A very capable cinema camera at a reasonable price

Video used to be the latest Nikon, but since the company bought a red year last year, content creators are now high on their priority list. A perfect example of that is Nikon’s New $2,200 ZR: A full-featured no-nonsense model that approaches dedicated cinema cameras at a fraction of the price.

It is the first consumer camera to capture video using the 12-bit raw format, but unlike Rell’s Hollywood cameras, it has a fast and accurate autofocus system. It comes with a large display, Pro video monitoring tools, body support and 32-bit recording After shooting a short film that tested its capabilities, I can confirm that the Nikon Zr offers amazing video quality at this price.

Body and management

While slightly lighter than NIKON’s Z6 III, the 1.19-port (540-gram) zr feels solid. It has a boxy design like Sony’s FX2 but a much smaller grip because it is designed to be attached to the cinema shooting cages and handles. However, unlike the FX2 which has multiple 1/4-inch cables that go up to make such cables, the Zr unfortunately has one of them at the bottom.

The ZR also lacks an electronic viewfinder like the FX2, but it more than makes up for it with its large one-inch display – the largest I’ve seen on a compact camera. At 1,000 points, they are bright enough to shoot on sunny days, they are very sharp (3.07 million dots) and the dots for vloggers come out. All of that makes it the perfect display for photo inspection and camera control.

Nikon has placed in the ZR group, too. While it may not be covered with buttons and dials like some models, it has two shooting dials for exposure control and autofocus fun. There is also a camera / video switch, two recording buttons, a power switch and five customizable buttons. Many Nikon lenses come with control rings as well, so more manual control is available.

The menu button is unusual: you press once for the quick menu and hold to see the full menu. Since I was given a large number of settings, I would advise anyone to buy this camera to learn all the important settings, and then customize the controls to avoid having to deal with dense menus while shooting.

Another difference is in the battery compartment. There is one fast CFEXPress Slot to handle raw video, and a MicroSD slot for proxies. The lack of a second CFEXPress slot or a quick SD Card Slot for Backup is not suitable for a professional camera, however.

Finally, the ZR runs on the same N-EL15C batteries as other Nikon headless cameras. Allow 90 minutes of HD shooting per case, or 390 images with CIPA standards with CIPA. That’s mediocre, so if you plan long shoots, look at the batteries.

Video

The Nikon Zr has the largest selection of green video settings I’ve seen. Codepec for Red RAW RAW NE Light Codec (designed by Red for Nikon) in Log3G10 format for Red3G10. It also supports Nikon Despite the small body, it can shoot 6K raw video continuously for 125 minutes without overheating.

The 24MP sensor uses a dual ISO system with native 800 and 6,400, offering a good range for indoor and outdoor shooting. The company claims 15+ stops of dynamic range, which is more than just another flawless camera. Other important video features include seven-axis in-midy support with swim reduction, waveform conversion and vectorcope and false color display for manual focus.

To test the camera’s features and video quality, I shot a short film in a mix of indoor low light, outdoor time and a mix between the two. I also shot handheld (including running with it) to test durability. I gave mainly to R3D raw, and NIKON’s N-Raw in the native Unos 800 and 6 400 to increase the dynamic range. (You can take 24mp stills with this camera, but I’m focusing on video as it’s mostly made for that.)

In order not to see a flat input profile when shooting, you will need to install a lookup table (LUT) designed for red cameras, such as “achromic,” bleach “or” caustic. ” Those are only for camera review only and can not be baked for video, but you can use those liuts later in Adobe Premiere Premiere or Davinci decide to get the same look.

With such a high native ISO, I was able to shoot indoors with Studio Studio. Video quality was outstanding with minimal noise in shadow regions, even after raising the black levels in post. Meanwhile, the Red R3D CODEC and Log3G10 gave me more freedom to bring out shadow details and dial in the highlights when shooting a subject against a bright window.

When using R3D COCEC, exposure is a rigid manual without the ability to set auto shutter speed (shutter angle) or if-stop. So, in a situation with varying lighting, I used Nikon’s N-Raw to see if it could give me the correct exposure at the beginning and end of the scene. It did a good job, except for noticeable jumps during shooting.

Video in the sun at ISO 800 was also sharp with accurate colors after downscaling to 4k from 6k in the Davinci Viewer. ISO 800 is the traditional high setting, though, and the ZR doesn’t have a built-in filter to reduce exposure. That means you’ll need to buy ND filters for outdoor shooting or a high shutter speed will result in choppy video.

Cinema cameras from the blackmagic design, arri or red to focus on Manual only. But the ZR is a Nikon camera, and it has the best AF system I’ve seen in any of the company’s models, always hiding focus even with moving subjects. You can also automatically track cars, birds and other animals. At the same time, the ZR Hankes Manual Focus well. That’s thanks to the built-in display that’s high enough to look for focus accurately and Nikon’s focus is more focused with three levels of sensitivity.

The body stabilization on the zr was not on par with the panasonic ii, however. Video was smooth with handheld shots when I gently moved the camera in, but all of my running and walking shots show the camera’s virtual camera. That said, the ZR at least has body stabilization, unlike most cinema cameras, and most cinema cameras will use a gigar will use a gigal of effective burst, no matter what camera they use. (Note that the bump you hear when the ZR is turned off is a sensor, which floats by design.)

In the end, I was able to capture good quality audio with an external microphone without any distortion thanks to the Nikon Zr’s 32-Bit Float internal audio capture. The company has also taken direct-path recording using its built-in MICs, but as with any such system, the sound quality isn’t up to par for production use.

Finish it

With ZR, Nr, has shown that it can finally reach and surpass its content creation competitors. Whether you’re doing social media, YouTube, documentaries or film production, this camera is flexible and powerful with few compromises. Video quality and ease of use even if the Beats models are double or triple the price.

The ZR’s primary competition is in low-end cinema cameras, notably Sony’s $2,998 FX2 and $3,899 Canon R5C. While more expensive, both come with an electronic display that the ZR lacks, and the R5C can shoot 8K video. Another option is BlackMagic Design’s Pyxis 6K Camera, but it only offers basic autofocus capabilities and lacks body stabilization.

Compared to those options, Nikon’s zr delivers a better range thanks to the inclusion of R3D raw. It comes with an excellent autofocus system and good in-body stabilization. If you’re a developer looking to get the best video quality for the money without losing those niceties, I highly recommend the ZR.