Nikon Z5II Review: Fantastic Camera at a Budget Price

Other nice extras include solid battery life (rated to 330 shots, good for a full day of shooting in my testing), a joystick to control the autofocus point (something I sorely missed in the Zf), dual SD card slots, and weather resistance. That is, in short, a hell of a full-frame camera for under $2,000.

Competition

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

Buying a camera isn’t just buying a camera, it’s buying into a system of lenses, a particular type of color science, and a potential upgrade path. All of these things together still make the Nikon Z5 the best deal out there. The Nikon lens system is fantastic, with everything from massive wildlife lenses (the Nikkor Z 180-600mm being a standout) to the surprisingly capable 40mm pancake. The image quality from the Z5II is excellent. I find Nikon’s JPEG noise reduction to be a bit much, but the results are great when shooting RAW. There are obviously higher-resolution sensors, and that’s part of what makes this a compelling buy: Invest in the Z5 now, spend more on lenses, and if you really feel you need more resolution and speed, the Z8 or Z9 are available.

On the Canon side, there’s the EOS R8, but it doesn’t have in-body image stabilization. Then there’s the Panasonic S9, which is a fine camera if you can live without a viewfinder, but I find the Z5 II a better buy than both. Sony doesn’t have an entry-level full-frame camera, unless you count the A7 III, which, despite being completely outdated compared to these others, is somehow still for sale (not recommended).

There is, quite frankly, no real competition to the Z5II. If you’re in the market for a good, full-frame mirrorless camera with nearly all the features most people need, without paying for the ones you don’t, this is the camera to get.