Nikon Z50: Everything we know about the mini Z Series camera

Nikon Z50 price, specs and release date: All the rumours about the mini Nikon Z Series camera

Nikon’s two Z Series cameras, namely the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7, are excellent full-frame mirrorless all-rounders. But what if you want a mirrorless Nikon that’s smaller and costs less than the Z6’s £1,699 asking price? That’s the sweet spot the incoming Nikon Z50 is looking to fill.

With a smaller APS-C sensor and design, it’s shaping up to be a mid-range rival to the likes of the Sony A6400 and Fujifilm X-T3, for those with Nikon lenses. Or, potentially, photographers who don’t have any Nikon glass and want a powerful travel camera or second body to complement their larger workhorse.

So how’s the Nikon Z50 shaping up? Here are all of the rumours and leaks so far – including what looks like the first photo of the new APS-C camera.

Related: Best mirrorless camera

Nikon Z50 price and release date – When is it out and how much will it cost?

All of the rumours so far point towards an October 10 launch date for the Nikon Z50. But we may now also have a good idea of US pricing for the camera, thanks to recent Tweet from the rumours site Nokishita.

According to the Tweet, the Nikon Z50 will cost $856.95 (body only) in the US, although this probably doesn’t include sales tax (which can vary between 4% and 8% depending on the State).

北米の販売店に先程登録された価格によると「Z 50 ボディ」が856.95ドル、「Z 50 レンズキット」が996.95、「Z 50 ダブルズームキット」が1,346.95ドル、「NIKKOR Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR」が296.95ドル、 「NIKKOR Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR」 が349.95ドル、「MB-N10」が196.95ドルらしい。#噂

— 軒下デジカメ情報局 (@nokishita_c) October 7, 2019

This would put it slightly below the expected $1,000 (body only) price tag, but it remains to be seen whether it would convert to an £800 UK price tag. We expect the Nikon Z50 to come in at £900 or above in the UK, which would still be very competitive considering the Sony A6400 is £999 (body only).

Given the Nikon Z50 is likely to have an APS-C sensor, Nikon will need to bring out some lenses made specifically for that format. And the leaks so far point to these being the Z-Nikkor 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 and Z-Nikkor 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3. Neither of these are very high spec, so should be relatively affordable.

Nokishita claims to have US pricing for bundles containing these. The Nikon Z50 Lens Kit (including the 16-50mm) will apparently cost $996.95, while the price for the Z50 Double Zoom Kit containing both lenses will $1,346.95. With Sales Tax and international price variations to factor in, it’s difficult to say how these will convert into UK prices. But it suggest the kit lens bundle could come in at around £1,000, with the two lens bundle costing around £1,200.

Nikon is also expected to announce the retail release of the 58mm lens f/0.95 at the same time. This is a very high end lens that Nikon has talked about since early 2019. It’s an obvious choice for portraiture, but is primarily for Nikon’s full-frame cameras as it’ll cost many times the price of the Z50.

Nikon Z50 design – What will it look like and what screen will it have?

The Nikon Z50 is in an unusual position. Most new cameras are part of established ranges, with a predecessor to base their design on.

This camera is Nikon’s first mirrorless model with an APS-C sensor, so there’s no like-for-like frame of reference for the design. But if the recent leaked image from Nokishita (below) is correct, we won’t be seeing anything too dramatic.

この画像の機種がニコンZ50だと確認が取れました。#噂 pic.twitter.com/EjPcTzHJML

— 軒下デジカメ情報局 (@nokishita_c) October 8, 2019

As expected, the Nikon Z50 looks very much like a miniature version of the full-frame Nikon Z6, with an electronic viewfinder and slightly smaller dimensions. It’s not tiny, because it still has that large Z Mount and an EVF, but it certainly looks more travel-friendly, particularly with the new kit lens attached.

As earlier rumours suggested, the Nikon Z50 looks to have a single SD card slot, which is predictable given the Nikon Z6 and Z7 do too.

What kind of slot this will be is the important question. Nikon’s full-frame cameras use the new XQD format. It’s very fast, with SSD-like writes of 400MB/s, but means your pile of SD cards is now more-or-less useless.

It seems more likely that Nikon will stick with the SD format for the Z50, as to do otherwise is to ask buyers to spend 10-15% of the cost of the camera on a memory card. XQD cards aren’t cheap, at around £80 for 32GB. You can find decent 32GB SD cards for under £10 these days.

ニコンZ50の紹介広告が公開されました。#ニュース pic.twitter.com/qCgUNGMfCq

— 軒下デジカメ情報局 (@nokishita_c) October 9, 2019

These images also suggest that the Nikon Z50 will have a flip screen, which can pull down 180 degrees below the camera for vlogging. It’s been built this way because the large EVF mound on the top would block the screen when flipped up.

Related: Nikon Z6 review

Nikon Z50 sensor and features – Which sensor will it have and will it have an EVF?

The Nikon Z50 is likely to use a 20-megapixel sensor, and many rumours claim it will be the same one used in the Nikon D500. That’s a camera released more than two years ago, back in 2017.

Rivals also use higher-resolution, newer sensor hardware. The Sony A6400 has a 24-megapixel sensor, the Canon EOS M6 Mark II a 32.5-megapixel sensor. Nikon’s Z50 is at risk of seeming slightly behind the time as soon as it arrives unless it also has some pretty remarkable low light/high ISO chops to show off.

The leaked images seem to confirm rumours that the Nikon Z50 will have an EVF, which would put it close to the Sony A6400 than the Canon.

While I barely use the EVF on my own FujiFilm X-T20, partly as the camera tends to be mounted to a tripod sat at an awkward position, there remains a pervasive sense that cameras without any kind of viewfinder are in some way “flimsy” or not serious (Canon does sell an EVF attachment for the M6 II).

The Nikon Z50 is not expected to feature IBIS, in-body image stabilisation, though. This is not a great surprise. The Canon M6 II is not stabilised and neither is the Sony A6400, even though mirrorless stabilisation is something of a Sony calling card.

Burst performance is likely to top out at 11fps. This matches the Sony, and sits in-between the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7, the Nikon Z50’s full-frame siblings. Canon has the upper hand here, though, as the EOS M6 II manages 14fps. All these cameras are easily fast enough for casual sports photography.

And for video? While there do not appear to have been specific leaks of these specs, the basics are all but guaranteed. The Nikon Z50 will have 4K video capture, but at 30fps rather than 60fps.

Finer points like external mic connections and “flat” video formats for manual colour grading are not known yet. But if the Nikon Z50 does have a vlog-friendly rear screen, the video side could give the camera an important edge over the Sony A6400.

Nikon Z50 – First Impressions

The Nikon Z50 is an important part of the Nikon mirrorless expansion. It’s the first APS-C entry in the series, and brings the price of entry down a substantial amount.

Nikon does not seem to be doing anything too radical here, though, and its worth rests on how it compares to cameras like the Sony A6400. Its use of what seems to be a fairly old 20-megapixel sensor means you should definitely check the reviews carefully before bringing the credit card out.

We’ll bring you our first impressions as soon as we get official news of the Nikon Z50.

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