Nikon ZR: A Game Changer for Video Lovers

Nikon has always been known for its photography, but now it's making waves in the video world. The new Nikon ZR is a full-frame mirrorless camera that's giving high-end cinema cameras a run for their money. It's the first consumer camera to use RED's 12-bit RAW format, but unlike RED's expensive Hollywood cameras, it has fast and accurate autofocus. The ZR is a bit lighter than Nikon's Z6 III, but it feels solid. It has a boxy design, but it's smaller than some other cameras. The grip is smaller because it's designed to be used with rigs and handles. The ZR has a huge 4-inch display, which is the largest on a mirrorless camera. It's bright, sharp, and flips out for vloggers. The handling is great, with two shooting dials, a joystick for autofocus, and five customizable buttons. The ZR has a lot of video settings, including RED's RAW R3D NE light codec and Nikon's N-RAW. It can shoot 6K RAW video continuously for 125 minutes without overheating. The 24MP sensor has a dual ISO system with native 800 and 6, 400 ISOs, providing a nice range for indoor and outdoor shooting. The company claims 15+ stops of dynamic range, which is more than just about any other mirrorless camera. To test the camera's features and video quality, a short film was shot in a mix of indoor low light, outdoor daytime, and a mix between the two. The video quality was outstanding with little noise in shadow regions, even after boosting black levels in post. The RED R3D codec and Log3G10 gave extra latitude to reveal shadow detail and dial down highlights when shooting the subject against a bright window. The ZR has the best autofocus system on any of Nikon's models, consistently nailing focus even with moving subjects. It also handles manual focus well, thanks to a built-in display that's big enough to check focus accurately and Nikon's focus peaking setting with three levels of sensitivity. The ZR's primary competition is in the low-end cinema cameras, particularly Sony's FX2 and the Canon R5C. While more expensive, both come with an electronic viewfinder that the ZR lacks, and the R5C can shoot up to 8K video. Compared to those options, Nikon's ZR delivers better dynamic range thanks to the inclusion of RED's R3D RAW codec. It also comes with an excellent autofocus system and decent in-body stabilization.