Nikon Z5II review: A great camera at an affordable price

Other nice additions include solid battery life (up to 330 shots, good for a full day of shooting in my testing), a joystick for controlling the AF point (something I sorely missed in the Zf), dual SD card slots, and weather resistance. In short, this is a full-frame camera for under $2,000.

a race

Photo: Scott Gilbertson

Buying a camera isn’t just about buying a camera, it’s about buying a lens system, a certain kind of color science, and a potential path to upgrade. All of these things together still make the Nikon Z5 the best deal ever. Nikon’s lens system is great, with everything from massive wildlife lenses ( Nikkor Z 180-600mm being outstanding) to amazingly capable 40mm pancake. Image quality from the Z5II is excellent. I find Nikon’s JPEG noise reduction to be a bit steep, but the results are great when shooting in RAW. Obviously there are higher-resolution sensors, and that’s part of what makes this a compelling buy: invest in the Z5 now, spend a little more on lenses, and if you really feel you need more accuracy 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 great camera if you can live without a viewfinder, but I find buying the Z5 II better than both. Sony doesn’t have an entry-level full-frame camera, unless you count the A7 III, which, despite being quite dated compared to those other cameras, is somehow still on sale (not recommended).

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