If you asked me to list the specs I’d want from the Nikon Z5 II, prior to its release on April 3, the last thing on my mind would have been RAW video. But that’s exactly what the folks at Nikon have gone and done, making it the first Z-Series camera capable of recording N-RAW to an SD card. Add to that 4K 60p, albeit with a 1.5x crop (4K 30p is full width though), full HD up to 120p, and a proper articulated screen, and this has the potential to be the best camera for video in its class.
I should mention that RAW video is only available up to 4K 30p and according to Petapixel, 4K N-RAW shot with the full width of the sensor is line skipped – a limitation of recording to an SD card – meaning you’ll experience a drop in image fidelity in comparison to shooting cropped N-RAW, where every available pixel is read. If you’re looking for optimum quality or want to crop into the footage in post, shooting RAW with the full width of the sensor probably won’t be the way to go.
But don’t take that as a negative. On this camera, in this price range, RAW video is still a big deal. And maybe it should have been on my mind, because it’s Nikon’s MO nowadays to really provide when it comes to video. After all, for the longest time, video was an afterthought for the ‘Big N’. But in a world where Nikon owns one of the best cinema camera brands, RED, and is spitting out RAW-video capable cameras for a pastime. It’s really giving this video malarkey the old college try. And then some! Just yesterday I delivered an article on how Adobe Premiere Pro will finally support Nikon N-RAW. It’s all coming together.
And all of this is in stark contrast to where Nikon was at the time of the original Nikon Z5’s launch. It had a meh video spec, even way back in 2020. I’m talking 4K 30p, with a 1.7x crop, and full HD maxed out at only 60p. The Nikon Z5’s autofocus was also pretty lacklustre, so the Nikon Z5 II’s Nikon Z8 / Nikon Z9-inherited autofocus is surely going to be a huge step forward.
Now, I’d wager that most Nikon Z5 II users will never even touch RAW video. But that doesn’t matter. It’s there. And it’s yet another statement from Nikon that it’s serious about video.
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