Nikon Z5 II - Hands-On First Impressions With Nikon’s New Powerhouse Mirrorless

Nikon has unveiled the Z5 II, an "affordable" mirrorless camera with features that rival the new Z6 III. The Z5 II has advanced still and video capabilities and a price of $1700, which is $1000 less than the Z6 III sticker price.

If you'd like to read the full and specifications for the Nikon Z5 II, you can find that in our news coverage of the launch. 

I had a chance to meet with Nikon and shoot the Z5 II at the WPPI tradeshow in Las Vegas, and I was impressed with both the powerhouse camera and Nikon's overall trajectory.

The Nikon Z5 II should prove to be a powerful hybrid camera, and I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time with it. We’ve been testing both the Z6 III and Z8, and in my time with the Z5 II it felt like a more compact version of both cameras.

Many of the internals of the Z5 II are borrowed from the Zf, a camera that has had a mixed reaction. The photo and video capabilities of the Zf have been lauded, but some of the design and operation feels out of place with the retro styling.

Like the Z5 before it, the Z5 II has a modern mirrorless design, with no anachronistic ties to the past. It is compact yet comfortable to hold. The controls are easily accessible, and operation is as smooth as the Z6 III and Z8/Z9.

Nikon's first few mirrorless cameras were part of a transitional phase to transition photographers from its legendary SLRs to the new platform. The Nikon Z6 and Z7 were durable and capable but weren't on par with what came before.

The company started hitting its stride with the flagship Z9 and the subsequent Z8, which put Nikon's Z-system on par with its legacy cameras and competitors' offerings.

Now, Nikon has entered an era of releasing updates to its key cameras that are so much improved over the previous model that it can seem like they share only the name and the body with their predecessors. The Z6 III performs so much better and has so many more features than the Z6 II that it might have been better to ditch the Z6 moniker.

First Impressions of the Nikon Z5 II

These are my initial impressions of the Z5 II. We will provide a full review once we have more time to work with the camera.

One note: During my brief time with the camera, I didn't have the opportunity to test its video capture feature set. On paper, the Z5 II is a videographer's dream. It can capture 4K 30 with no crop and 4K 60 with a 1.5x crop. Impressively, the Z5 II can capture N-Log and N-RAW and record both to the internal SD card slots.

Our Nikon First Look Hands-on Video

Low Light, No Problem for the Nikon Z5 II

The WWPI tradeshow primarily serves wedding and portrait photographers, and the bright, sunny skies are the backdrop to the workshops. Any cameras on display at WPPI can take an incredible portrait in bright light, but not all of them can produce stellar results when the lights go off.

With the new Backside Illuminated (BSI) sensor in the Z5 II and its claimed low-light capabilities, I decided to take the camera to a more secluded, darker location to test its capabilities. The Rio Hotel hosted the show, and it has a particularly odd, nearly empty shopping section near one of the towers.

In that section is a strange KISS museum and video game arcade. Or maybe it's a video game arcade with a KISS museum? In any case, it's a location free of the type of WPPI attendee that might be able to spot a not-yet-released camera.

I concentrated on the arcade's low-light autofocus capabilities and the image quality the new BSI sensor yields. I also wanted to see how the color shifts caused by the combination of LED and neon lights would affect the arcade's functionality.

Some frequencies of LEDs threw off early mirrorless cameras, resulting in improper metering, blown-out highlights, and problems with focus. The Z5 II excelled in the dark environment.

Since the camera was a prerelease model, I couldn't open or share raw files but wouldn't do much to these images. From a creative standpoint, I wanted the LED colors to be a component of the shots. I particularly liked the hues the pink and purple lights cast.

Autofocus was instantaneous, instantly locking onto subjects. With the statue of Gene Simmons, eye detection even picked the right spot despite being surrounded by the iconic black makeup. The AF locked on quickly despite a shallow aperture and low light for non-human" subjects, such as the edges of the motorcycle handlebars.

The only place I felt the color overwhelmed the sensor was in a portrait of me taken by my Nikon contact, with a heavy red cast on my face. This would be correctable in a raw file, but it is expected under these conditions.

Despite the color baked in by the JPEG output, I’m impressed with how well it locked onto my eyes. Being the only subject makes eye detection easier, but there’s a lot going on in that photo, and the lighting is awful.

Even though I only shot a hundred photos, I'm very happy with the outcome. When we get the camera for our extensive testing, more photos and thoughts will come.

I'll also test the Z5 II's video capabilities, including using it as a dedicated studio camera for budget-conscious creators.

Quick Overview of Nikon Z5 II Features

For complete specs for the Nikon Z5 II, check out our full news coverage. 

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The Nikon Z5 II maintains the same compact size and weight as its predecessor but introduces a host of internal upgrades. It features a 24.5-megapixel full-frame BSI CMOS sensor and the powerful EXPEED 7 image processor, enabling continuous shooting speeds of up to 14 frames per second in RAW and 30 frames per second in JPEG.

Autofocus performance, inherited from the Z8 and Zf, shows significant improvement. It features advanced subject recognition, including bird detection, while pixel shift shooting enables ultra-high-resolution image capture—perfect for landscape and travel photography.

The Z5 II supports internal N-RAW video recording, offering uncropped 4K at 30p and 10-bit DX-cropped 4K at 60p. It can record up to 125 minutes in 10-bit H.265, with support for SDR, HLG, and N-Log tone modes. The camera comes with a fully articulating rear LCD screen that supports selfie mode, making it a great option for content creators. It also includes a dedicated Picture Control button on the top plate for quick access to image settings. Dual SD card slots offer accessible, consumer-friendly storage, prioritizing affordability over pro-tier formats like CFexpress.

Nikon Z5 II Purchase Thoughts

For newcomers to the Nikon mirrorless platform—whether from another camera brand or from Nikon’s DSLR lineup—the Z5 II is an excellent first camera. The $1700 price is only a tad above $1500, what I consider the sweet spot of enthusiast camera value.

Existing Nikon shooters could easily use the Z5 II as a high-performance backup for critical shoots like weddings and events. I would have no problem using a Z6 III or Z8 as my primary body, and a Z5 II as a secondary. Before the release of the Z5 II, I’d have gone for a Z8 as my primary body, and a Z6 III as the secondary shooter.

For video-centric creators, the Z5 II probably has everything you need whether for a YouTube studio or a gig. If it performs as well as I suspect for video, I could easily see using a Nikon Z5 II for A-roll and another for B-roll.

Where to Preorder the Nikon Z5 II

The Nikon Z5 II is available from major camera retailers like B&H and Adorama.