A Stepping Stone for Serious Cinematography
Words: Ashok Kandimala
The ZR is the culmination of Nikon’s much-publicised partnership with RED Digital Cinema, two giants
in their respective fields. With that heritage, it is no surprise that the Nikon ZR has been received positively in the markets, with many experts declaring it as a new benchmark setter. Some detractors have also called it a Nikon Z6III (an excellent camera no doubt) in a bespoke new suit. So, what is the truth?
We at Smart Photography brings to you as usual an unbiased and unfiltered review. So, read on.
Design & Build Quality
Nikon might have bought RED but it appears that the latter took over for the design department! The ZR bears no resemblance to its siblings in the Z-line. The on/off switch surrounding the shutter button, a feature that harks back to decades is gone and moved to the left side. The shutter button is now the
video recording start/stop button and the surrounding switch is the power zoom control. There is an additional recording button in the front just below the lens release button. The top deck has three more buttons. While these are marked with icons, they are also fully customizable. The top deck display is
absent but there is slider switch to shift between Photo and Video modes. As with many video cameras there is no EVF but there is a huge 4-inch fully articulating touch sensitive, high resolution, ultra-bright monitor (the biggest and brightest in its class). It supports DCI-P3 colour gamut, which virtually eliminates the need for an external monitor. The back of the monitor has the words Nikon RED in case you have any doubt about its lineage. The large monitor leaves little space for anything else. The multi-selector
pad that was a staple control on Nikons from the film-SLR era is gone. There is however a joystick that is called the multi-selector, for the AF point selection and menu navigation. There are just two more buttons (menu access and playback) at the rear and that is about it. Other design features are two control
dials and a front facing tally light. While it is small and light, the body made with a magnesium alloy feels solid. The ZR uses a sophisticated thermal design employing passive cooling technology thus eliminating the need for a cooling fan. This feature along with weather sealing make the camera impervious to dust and moisture ingress. Ports provided are, audio in and out, USB port (for power and image/video transfer)
and a mini-HDMI (needs Type-D cable) in case you want to connect an external monitor /recorder. The mode dial, a feature on all Nikon midrange bodies is gone and replaced with a mode button.
The strap lugs are slot type unlike previous Z series cameras making the camera more streamlined.
Key Features
We will start by issuing a ‘RED’ alert to our readers! The ZR starts with a Z6III sensor and Expeed 7 engine but that is about it. Thanks to its modern, software-oriented modular design that offers flexibility, Nikon has created an entirely different camera that is video centric.
The most important feature is the migration of RED technology into a body that is more affordable bringing benefits that were simply out of reach for many. The flagship feature is the capability of the ZR to record the renowned cinema grade, 12-bit raw footage in REDCODERAW at 6K, internally. As implemented on the ZR, it is called R3D NE where NE is stands for the Nikon Edition. This brings access
to the well established workflows used in the professional cinema field. All the RED related features ensure uniformity between the recordings of high-end Nikon has not neglected the audio part either. There are three built-in RED Cinema cameras and Nikon ZR enabling mixing of the footage from
both high- and low-end cameras, while maintaining consistent colour and other parameters. The R3D NE also offers a dynamic range of 15+ stops (a class leading spec) and dual base ISO values of 800 and 6400. It is also the first Nikon to store LUTs (up to 50) on board and this includes RED LUTs. On-screen LUT
previews are also possible.
There also is support for two more RAW types, N-RAW and Apple ProRes RAW HQ. That is not all, the standard H.265/HEVC (10 bit) and H.264/AVC (8 bit) codecs are also supported. This comprehensive support lets user choose between flexible but cumbersome raw or easier to use and edit standard codec based streams. Three video containers are supported, viz., .R3D, and the well known .MOV and MP4. Coming to Log curves, the REDLog3G10 that is associated with R3D workflow and Nikon’s own N-Log are supported along with HLG and SDR options. microphones (on the top deck) two of which are used to record stereo sound. A very interesting feature is the support of OZO technology that can be configured for different directionalities. The Nikon is the first among its peers to offer 32-bit float audio. This will enable recording over a very dynamic range and prevents distortion at high volume. It is particularly useful when the volume levels are difficult to predict. The accessory shoe, now called the Digital Accessory Shoe incorporates an interface to make a cordless connection with accessories. Nikon is currently offering an optional shotgun microphone that can exploit this feature. For precise exposure control, you can use Zebra patterns to identify overexposed highlights or specific tonal ranges within your frame. The colour of the pattern can be chosen for better visibility. In addition, there is the wave-form monitor (customizable for size and position) that provides a visual representation of the brightness levels across the frame, allowing you to judge exposure more accurately than a standard histogram which is also an available option. An important missing feature is the mechanical shutter and this is the main hardware difference (apart from the body style) compared to the Z6III. The impact will be felt when the ZR is used for photography. More of that later.
Ergonomics
Traditional Nikon users will take some time to get used to the completely redesigned body and controls but that will not be difficult due to the very neatly laid out controls. The body has a body contour which helps in giving a grip but not by much. Nikon has been criticized for the short life of the ‘skin’ covering the body and hence we were pleased to see a new one that was just as nice to feel and grip. We hope that the durability has improved too. Missing sockets and the small size of the necessitate the use of a cage (and a grip) except for the simplest work. Lack of EVF will force the use of the camera at ‘arms’ length but the monitor is superlative with high brightness and we had no problem in using it even in harsh light. The on/off switch is the ‘soft type’ (not a mechanical type) and has a green light surrounding it to show that the camera is on. The front record button was handy and the tally light was bright and highly visible. The Photo/Video slider switch on the top was very useful for instant switching between the two modes. The usual “I” menu button is present in a new guise and is called the ‘menu access button’. As short press invokes the “I” menu and a long one the main camera menus. It can be identified by an icon with three horizontal lines. Nikon has drastically cut down on the buttons. Apart from the already mentioned missing multi-selector pad, the Delete button is also absent! However, you can assign a function button to do that job. On the positive side, many functions that needed access to menus can now be accessed by touching the monitor. We were particularly impressed with the monitor brightness control which can be made with a finger swipe. We were also pleased to note that the menu structure is the same as before, thus easing the migration.
Performance
The AF is virtually the same as the already reviewed Z6III offering the same types of AF modes, AF-Area modes and subject detect features. It performed similarly when comes to AF speed, target acquisition and tracking. The frame rate (in still photography) extends to 120 fps (for JPEGs only) and 20 fps for Raw. IBIS worked well. The noise level was also same as the Z6III. Coming to video, the Nikon ZR camera can record continuously for up to 125 minutes without overheating due to the smart thermal design. However, we could not verify this practically as we always ran out of battery charge before that. If you are a regular videographer then we suggest you power the camera through an external power bank connected to the USB-C port provided. One drawback is that external power will run the camera when it’s switched on, or charge the battery when it’s off—but it cannot do both together. All the AF features available in the photo mode are carried over to the video mode and they performed just as expected. We also did some test recording with the RED codec and found the footage can be processed following the same workflow used for RED Cinema cameras. This is a huge boon and perhaps the main justification for this camera’s existence. However, note that the raw footage in R3D NE is 12- bit and not 16-bit as given by its big brother. Compared to NRAW, R3D video was slightly brighter and shadow details were also better. Skin tones were similar. Special mention needs to be made of the enormous dynamic range. It was truly impressive and was above our expectations.
ZR as a photo (still picture) camera
Yes, it can be used as one, and the ZR can indeed double as a compact full-frame camera but there are a few caveats. Let us start with the absence of a mechanical shutter that will result in two problems. The first is the rolling shutter distortion that will be apparent when shooting fast moving objects like propeller blades. The second is the slow X-Sync (the fastest flash shutter synchronization speed) which is limited to 1/60 second. Also, those of us who have taken for granted the Delete button will find its absence an irritant. The other missing feature is the EVF so you have to rely on the monitor. Other than this, we found virtually no difference in performance (including AF, subject detect, etc.), or image quality as compared to the Z6III. To conclude the ZR will be excellent for travel, street, landscape photography or as a second body giving the nearly the same versatility as the popular Z6III. However, we do not think it will be useful for action photography for the reasons mentioned.
Value for Money
The Nikon ZR body is currently priced at Rs. 1,86,995.00. At this price it is an unquestionable price/performance leader. It is priced slightly lower than its sibling Z6III.
Verdict
While Nikon was the first company to have bring video to the DSLR cameras with the D90, its efforts to capitalize on this were lacking. The first Z cameras showed its renewed interest in this area. However, the real knockout blow came in the form of the ZR. This is by far the Nikon’s most ambitious hybrid cinema effort to date and no doubt the acquisition of RED helped in no small way. The end result is superb camera that brings high end cinema features (well known codecs and workflows) to a proven hardware platform. With one stroke Nikon managed lay down the path for filmmakers stepping into serious cinema workflows without buying an expensive cinema camera. The ZR is a bridge between mirrorless and true digital cinema. Apart from this, it is also a handy full-frame stills camera! Take bow, Nikon!!
Plus
- REDCODE RAW 12-Bit recording
- Class leading dynamic range of 15+ stops
- RED log curve
- Wide codec options
- Large monitor with high brightness and
DCI-P3 colour - Internal 6K raw recording
- Proxy recording
- 32- bit float audio
- Excellent AF
- Compact size and weight
- Great Value for money
Minus
- No open-gate video recording
- Very few buttons
- Needs a cage for any serious work
