Nikon launches their flagship Z-series mirrorless camera lineup in India

Nikon has launched their fully mirrorless professional cameras-Z7 and Z6 in the Indian market. These cameras are company’s first such offering that competes against the likes of Sony and Panasonic. 

The two cameras come with several new features and new-generation hardware specifications for professional grade photography. You can dive into details of the two cameras below-

Nikon Z7

The Z7 has a 45.7MP (effective) pixel count and has a backside-illuminated (BSI) design to help with light capture, together with no anti-aliasing filter for better detail capture.

There's also a new lens mount, which currently accepts three native lenses, but many more are promised over the next few years. The flange depth measures just 16mm and the diameter of the lens mount is a wide 55mm, which bodes well for high-quality lenses with wide apertures. Next year will, for example, welcome a NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens, which Nikon has made a lot of noise about since the launch of the Z system.

Images from the Z7 are output at a maximum resolution of 8256 x 5504 and tend to weigh around 17-31MB, depending on what it is you're capturing, ISO setting and so on. Opened up in Photoshop, these measure a hefty 130MB at default settings. 

The Z7 can also be set to capture 14-bit Raw files, in either compressed, losslessly compressed or uncompressed formats, and you can also output TIFFs straight away if you need to.

One of the most significant changes between the Z7 and its DSLR cousins is that Vibration Reduction is located inside the camera, rather than in the lens. This system is said to be effective for up to five stops, and can work over five axes: roll, pitch, yaw and X an Y shift. 

Nikon Z6

While the 45.7MP Z7 is Nikon's high-resolution mirrorless offering, the Z6 features a back-illuminated 24.5MP full-frame sensor with a native ISO range running from ISO100 to 51,200.

Like the Z7 the Z6 features Nikon's new Z mount, with Nikon having dropped its long-established F mount for its new full-frame mirrorless cameras. The mount opening is 11mm wider than the F mount at 55mm, while the flange focal distance (the distance between the rear lens element and the sensor) is 16mm.

Nikon believes the larger design and short flange distance will enable its lens engineers to design optics that surpass current F mount designs and make the most of the full-frame sensor, allowing light to easily reach all the way to the corners of the frame. 

The Nikon Z6 features a 0.5-inch 3.6-million dot Quad-VGA electronic viewfinder (EVF) with an impressive magnification of 0.80x, which edges out the Sony Alpha A7 III's 2.36-million dot and 0.78x display. The Z6 also uses Nikon's own optics, which are supposed to deliver even greater clarity, while the EVF has a fast display rate of up to 60p. 

Supplementing this is a large 3.2-inch tilt-angle touchscreen with a 2,100,000-dot resolution, while the Z6 also benefits from a compact top plate LCD displaying key shooting information.

What's more?

While Nikon's DSLRs use a lens-based image stabilization system (which Nikon calls Vibration Reduction), for its new mirrorless cameras it's opted for an in-camera system, with the Z7 and Z6 featuring a 5-axis system that offers up to five stops of compensation. For those wanting to use their F-mount VR lenses on the Z6 via the mount MTZ adapter, the camera's built-in VR system will adjust itself to support the lens-based system. 

Launching with the Z6 and Z7 are the first three lenses in Nikon's new S-Line range: a 24-70mm f/4 standard zoom, a 35mm f/1.8 wide-angle prime and a 50mm f/1.8 standard prime. The new mount diameter also allows for lenses with maximum apertures as fast as f/0.95, with a high-end manual focus 58mm f/0.95 prime on Nikon's roadmap. 

For existing Nikon users who are looking to make the switch to the new mirrorless cameras, or who want to shoot with one alongside their Nikon DSLR kit, there's a new FTZ Mount Adapter that will be compatible with approximately 360 Nikon lenses, and will support the Z6's full AF speed with over 90 lenses.

Price and availability

The Nikon Z7 goes on sale from September 27 onwards with the new range of Nikkor Z lenses, while the Nikon Z6 will hit the markets from November. The Nikon Z7 starts at Rs 2,69,950 (for body only). If you would buy the Nikkor Z 24-70mm F/4 S + Mount Adapter FTZ Kit will cost Rs. 3,26,950, the Nikkor Z 24-70mm F/4 S Kit will cost Rs. 3,14,950, and the Nikon Z7 + Mount Adapter FTZ Kit will cost Rs. 2,81,950.

The Nikon Z6 body-only will cost Rs. 1,69,950, while the Nikon Z6 + Nikkor Z 24-70mm F/4 S + Mount Adapter FTZ Kit is priced at Rs. 2,26,950, the Nikon Z6 with Nikkor Z 24-70mm F/4 S Kit is priced at Rs. 2,14,950, and the Nikon Z6 + Z6 Mount Adapter FTZ Kit is priced at Rs. 1,81,950.

If you wish to buy the lenses and attachments separately, the Nikkor Z 24-70mm F/4 S will cost Rs. 78,450, the Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S is priced at Rs. 66,950, the Mount Adapter FTZ is priced at Rs. 19,950, and lastly, the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S is priced at Rs. 50,950.


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