Just like its predecessor, the Nikon Z50 II is aimed at beginner photographers looking to trade in their smartphones for dedicated cameras. Unlike it, the new mirrorless camera takes cues from what works with other entry-level camera manufacturers, bundling together a nice set of features that make taking excellent photos and videos easier than ever.
The successor to the outfit’s five-year old entry-level mirrorless camera aimed at content creators, the device uses the same APS-C sensor, but beefs it up with a new image processor for better all-around performance, improved autofocus, and a bunch of new shooting modes that make specific types of content much easier to achieve. From built-in color presets and downloadable imaging recipes to a product review mode that puts the focus on objects at the forefront, this thing is built to shoot photos and videos tailored to make the most of your social media feeds.
The Nikon Z50 II is equipped with the same 20.9 megapixel APS-C sensor found in its predecessor, but combines it with the newer EXPEED 7 image processing engine. The latter brings enough muscle to bring noticeable performance improvements across multiple fronts. For instance, it now has a pre-release capture, which records images in a buffer of up to one second before the shutter release is fully pressed, while burst shooting is available up to 30 fps (JPEG only) in electronic mode and 11 fps (RAW) using the mechanical shutter. For video, it captures 4K footage oversampled from 5.6K at frame rates of up to 60 fps, with N-Log 10-bit shooting available for much-improved dynamic range. The camera also offers 2x hi-res zoom for full HD video with no loss in resolution.
It offers the same subject detection autofocus options as the outfit’s Z8 and Z9 professional cameras, allowing you to choose among people, birds, dogs, cats, cars, bikes, motorcycles, trains, and airplanes. There’s also 3D tracking to keep the subject in focus as it moves through the frame, custom autofocus area sizes, and a smarter AF-A option that’s much better at automatically choosing the subject on the fly.
The Nikon Z50 II has a new Picture Control button that allows you to cycle through 31 preloaded color presets for both photos and videos, the effects of which you can immediately see on the live view screen, similar to what Fujifilm offers with their Tiktok-famous X100VI. You can also download Imaging Recipes from the Nikon Imaging Cloud for even more custom presets with one-touch changes to color, brightness, hue, and more, complete with the option for the users to design their own, so they can craft their own distinct look for different scenes.
Also new for this iteration is a Product Review mode that mimics the Product Showcase feature on some of Sony’s cameras, as well as a video timer that allows you to set a delay before video capture starts. The camera has electronic vibration reduction, but no in-body stabilization. Other features include a built-in flash, a tally lamp, a 3.2-inch vari-angle touchcreen that can twist and rotate, a 2.36-million dot EVF with 1,000 nits of brightness, a single UHS-II card slot, mic and headphone jacks, and USB streaming support.
The Nikon Z50 II is now available for preorder, priced at $960 for the body only.