I received a Nikon D40 a couple years ago when my grandfather died and I enjoyed the camera. I just wished there was a video mode to play with. Which brought me to the Z series cameras. Z6 and Z7 were just too far out my price range. Settled for the Z50 and the mount adapter for my other lenses. I enjoy this camera very much. images are great and the different video settings such as the 120fps slow motion is a lot of fun to play with. So far, my only downside is the flip down screen. The overview for the Z50 says great for selfies and vlogging. Selfies, sure. But vlogging, I find the fold down screen to be an obstacle. I personally feel like i don´t get a good grip by holding the camera on the side. Much prefer to use one of those flexible tripods to hold it. And that´s where the issue takes place. Because I can´t fold the screen out to the side, I can´t really view myself to make sure the framing and focus is right when the screen is being covered by the tripod or gimbal. Other than that mild inconvenience, I love this camera and it´s fantastic for it´s price!

I see a lot of review websites calling this an ´´entry-level´´ camera, and I just don´t get it. Yeah, if you´re comparing the Z50 to a Z6 or Z7 or any other full-frame camera, it´s going to be more ´´entry-level´´. That´s going to be the case with any crop-sensor camera. But if you´re into crop sensors (for cost or portability or whatever), I really think this camera can hold its own against the best out there, whether mirrorless or DSLR. Here´s why:

For some context, I am mainly a stills shooter; I don´t do that much video, so this review is mostly stills-focused. My main ´´work´´ camera for the past 5 years has been a Nikon D7200, an upper-end APS-C DSLR. I loved that camera, but it was big and heavy, especially when you add on a Nikon Speedlight. At home, I own a Sony a5100, which I love for the compactness and overall image quality. So when it was time to change out my work camera, I thought I would go with the Sony a6400, which seemed to be a nice balance of image quality, durability, and portability. So I ordered one. But then I started looking into the Nikon Z50 a little more carefully. It bugged me that there were basically no lenses that fit my shooting needs (in my line of work, I need a good quality zoom lens with a decent range). That just didn´t exist for the Z50. Plus, all the reviews seemed lackluster, and it usually fell behind the a6400 when comparatively ranked. But I was curious enough that I decided to make a trip to Best Buy to handle the two models side-by-side.

LET ME TELL YOU - that hands-on side-by-side comparison changed EVERYTHING for me. Yes, the Sony was smaller and lighter, but sometimes that´s not necessarily the best thing. For me, ergonomics is a big deal. Being able to comfortably hold my camera for long sessions and having quick easy access to buttons and settings is crucial. The Z50 button and dial layout is excellent, and very familiar coming from the D7200. The Sony - well, it just doesn´t have as many buttons, which means digging into menus more frequently. When you´re trying to get a job done quickly, this matters. The Sony also doesn´t have the excellent grip that the Z50 does. To me, the Sony feels more like a cool toy for hipster-millennials; the Nikon feels like a purpose-built tool for professionals.

So about this ´´entry-level´´ idea. I don´t know where that´s coming from, but this thing has (almost) all of the fine-tuning and adjustment you could possibly need. And like I said earlier, most of it is accessible at the tip of your fingers. The one thing I think I´ll miss compared to the D7200 is on-board remote flash control. The Z50 doesn´t have it. Otherwise, the menu is very deep and has plenty of customization built in.

THE BAD: The kit 16-50mm lens is not good. Sorry, but it´s just not. It´s wonderfully compact, especially in the ´´stowed´´ position, but beyond that, it´s just a cheap kit lens. There´s a tremendous amount of vignetting. You can correct for some of that in-body in the settings, but it won´t eliminate all of it. It´s also pretty soft at the edges. It works, and it focuses quickly and accurately, but you just can´t expect top-notch images from this lens. The one bright spot is that, for as bad as it is, it is still better than the Sony kit lens. That thing is a piece of garbage. At least the Nikon is manual zoom (as opposed to power zoom in the Sony).

The other thing I´m not too stoked about is the lens options. For now, for me, it´s just the 16-50mm. Nikon has announced an 18-140mm, which would fit my needs quite well, so I´ll have to wait and see where it comes in from a pricing standpoint. I don´t see that Nikon has a lot of other lenses planned for this camera. The ONE BRIGHT SPOT is the FTZ adapter that allows you to use ANY existing Nikon lens with this camera. That´s HUGE. I HIGHLY recommend you get a kit that includes the adapter, even if you don´t currently have any old Nikon glass. Just the mere fact of having the adapter expands your lens options IMMENSELY, and you´ll appreciate having it down the road when you finally save up enough dough for a new lens. The unfortunate thing is that it adds bulk and weight, almost negating the benefits of the mirrorless platform (almost, but not quite).

I could go on an on about the things I love about this camera, but my fingers are tired of typing. The biggest thing to know about this camera is that if you are anything more than just a casual amateur shooter, you will appreciate the ergonomics and the button layout of the Z50, particularly when compared to the Sony options. This will pay dividends in the long run, even if the Sony has some advantages in a few areas. Forget the specs sheets! For the way you actually USE the camera, the Z50 is a better choice. In short, if you are familiar and comfortable with the old DSLR way of life, the Z50 will feel like home. A slimmer, trimmer home. But home.

I´m enjoying my Z50. I´m new to mirrorless, so there are few things to get used to, but going from a D800 to the Z50 was an easy transition. I almost strayed away from Nikon when debating on which mirrorless to purchase. But I guess I am really partial to Nikon since I have been shooting with this brand for more than ten years.

I also purchased the FTZ adapter, so now I can use my old prime lenses that I bought with my D60! It´s great because I took good care of ALL my lenses, so now I can put my DX lenses back to work and also use my FX/G series lenses.

The body size of the Z50 is great, I feel light and more mobile using it rather than when using my full frame body. Which is the main reason why I decided on purchasing the Z50. I wanted it to be my daily camera, and I wanted to easily post/send photos without having to connect with a computer. The WiFi/Bluetooth option was greatly need for me and has been good so far. There are a few kinks in the app that I don´t really like, but for the most part, it does the job.

All in all, the Z50 is a great daily camera for the advanced hobbyist as well as for beginners. For professional work, I will still primarily use my D800, but will definitely bring my Z50 along and work in tandem until I feel 100% comfortable using it for an entire job.

I purchased the Z 50 with the kit option because I didn´t want an adapter to use my other Nikon lenses. I´m getting comfortable with the camera´s features but what I really love is the size and weight. I keep it with me all the time, compared to the size of my 750´s camera bag and stuff, everything I need is in a bag about the size of a old fanny pack. It will become my family vacation camera, with the two kit lenses it´s all I need. My 750 and all it´s stuff is still my number one camera.

My first mirrorless camera. I like the smaller size and weight. Also with the adapter all my other seven lenses work well, most used is my 40mm DX Micro, excellent results. The silent shutter is great for candid shots. I only have two issues: Silent shutter doesn´t work with the built in flash and recovery time between exposures is relatively slow compared to my D500 and P1000. Otherwise I love it.

As a fairly recent (approx. 18 months) convert to the Nikon ecosystem, I have really been enjoying the D500, D850, and Z6.
When the Z50 was announced, I was immediately intrigued as crop sensor bodies frequently offer benefits to wildlife photographers. I picked up a Z50 on release day, just one day prior to a trip to southern Florida. Embracing life on the edge, I took the Z50 with me and put it to the test. It passed with flying colors! What a wonderful ´´little´´ body. It´s light and agile, preforms very well at elevated ISO levels, and it produces stunning images.
I have really grown to love the ´´Baby Z´´ - so much so that it has been seeing more action than any of my other bodies.
Like all the ´´Z Bodies´´, I would love to gain the ability to custom cfg different ´´AF-On AF Area Mode´´ settings to different programmable buttons (like I can with the D500, D850, etc.). Perhaps that will come with a firmware update. :)
I forgot to mention above, the Z50 accepts TC´s VERY well! I´ve used 1.4x, 1.7x, and the 2x with wonderful results from the Z50.
All that said, the Z50 is becoming one of my favorite bodies.
Buy with 100% confidence and ENJOY!!!

I have had three prior Nikon DX cameras (D70,D5200,D5300).
I wanted to get more fps, for sport and bird shooting.
I have acquired many lenses over the years so I was looking at the D500,but when the yellow offer came out I figured that it would be a good thing to try.
I did have to go to Tamron to get the firmware updated on my 18-400 zoom, which would have been a deal breaker if I could not have been able to use that lens.
All in all using a mirrorless camera is a new experience, which I´m learning.
Some times I feel that the kit lenses work better than my Tameron zoom for closer shooting.
The fps is much greater which allows me to get more exposures of my grandchildren,making better photos.
The size makes it easier for my grandchildren to try to shoot,I hope to take them on photo trips with me,but grandpa will get the older gear.
New technology,new learning period. This helps keep me young.

I´ve been a long time Nikon shooter and really enjoy the features and ergonomics of the Z series bodies. The lenses that come with this kit are very nice quality. If you´re familiar with Nikons menus, then this camera is a breeze to use. It´s also nice to have the built in flash just in case. Overall very happy with my purchase.

Have put this camera through a few paces but need more time to truly test it. So far the pictures come out very crisp and clean with brilliant colors even in low light. The 16-50 lens is a great plus wit a surprisingly strong zoom. Love the touch screen with ability for selfies but disapointed in not being able to use it on a tripod. I know there is a tripod adapter for it and will order it soon. Got my Z50 direct from Nikon with the adapter ring to use my other lenses. Will look a little odd with my 200-500mm lens, lol, but love that I can use it when needed. Have not been able to get the 16-50mm lens to fully colapse however. Will put it through a fun test when we go to Disney World in a couple of months. Waiting on my order for the camera case made for it that will be delivered today. Great little camera. Recomend it highly.