My Settings for the Nikon Z5

 

Nikon Z 105mm MC

The Nikon Z system has now been around for six years. I bought into it three years ago, replacing my almost new Nikon D7500 with a Nikon Z5. I am an amateur and cannot justify to spend too much on cameras. Nowadays, I consider the camera the least important ingredient for image quality. The lenses and the ergonomics of the camera are far more important. So I decided for the Nikon Z5 and the beautiful Nikon Z lenses.

Shortcomings

There are some points where the relatively affordable Z5 lacks behind other models.

• In low light, the camera focusses far worse than the the Z6 and above. The published specs clearly show the difference. You can overcome the issue by other focusing techniques. But I would not use this camera if I had to shoot fast action in low light.
• I'd love to have a display that tilts also in vertical orientation. I would not want a fully articulating one, but the one from the Nikon Z8 looks just right. A workaround is to shoot and focus horizontally, and crop or recompose in awkward angles.
• The Z5 has also less resolution in the display, but gladly not in the viewfinder. 
• Very rarely I wished that I had a faster burst mode. The Z6 is already twice as fast.

That's it for me. There are some other quirks which the other Nikon Z cameras share. More on this below.

Nikon 24-70mm f/4 at 62mm f/4.5 1/60 ISO400

Overall

My overall impression is that the Nikon Z5 is a well designed working horse at an affordable price. The ergonomics are great. I like the big grip especially, the two dials in easy reach, the two card slots, the overall good configurability (though I sometimes wished more), and the big and detailed electronic viewfinder. 

The goal of this posting is to talk about the settings that are important to me, and to explain why I set them the way I did. 

Nikon 24-70mm f/4 at 24mm f/4 1/100 ISO1400

Lenses

All images on this page are done with the Nikon Z5 with various lenses. It is mainly the lenses which draw me to this system. So it should be okay to talk very briefly about the ones I use.

• Nikon Z 24-70 f/4 S. This should not be called a kit lens, because it is way above the usual 18-55 lenses that accompanied earlier APS-C cameras. My advice is to use it at f/5.6 for maximal sharpness across the frame and maybe f/8 on the 70mm end. But, of course, f/4 is most welcome to isolate subjects, with great sharpness in the center. The S marks the high level S-line lenses with resistance to flare and chromatic issues. Like all lenses, diffraction starts to become visible at f/11.
• Nikon Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 VR. This ultra zoom is on a very high level with some relative weakness at 24mm and in the long end. I am always surprised how good this lens performs, even at the weaker spots. In real life, you get the same images as with the 24-70 f/4. I prefer the 24-70 f/4 mainly because it is smaller. To isolate objects, the faster aperture of f/4 at 70mm of the 24-70 can be compensated by taking a longer focal length like 135mm. I suggest to stay away from f/11 and beyond due to diffraction. On the longest end, stop down to f/8. On the short end, prefer 35mm to 24mm, because the lens is much better at 35mm, maybe stopped down to f/5.6. The alternative 24-120 f/4 lens forbids itself to me because of its bulkiness. 
• Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8. This is my favorite for any situation where I expect low light or where I wanted to isolate subjects by open apertures, actually for almost anything where I can get away with 50mm. I use it for portraits of kids (which I do not want to share). It is relatively big for a nifty-fifty, just like Nikon's other f/1.8 lenses. A smaller option would be the Nikon Z 50mm MC. But it is optically a lot worse. The lens is at its best at f/2.8. But center sharpness at f/1.8 is very good.
• Nikon Z 105mm f/2.8 MC. This macro lens is excellent. It doubles as a portrait lens too. Or you can take it into a museum where you expect smaller items too. I love this lens. It is one good reason to go into the Nikon Z system. If you compare it the Lumix 40mm f/2.8 macro lens, you wonder why the Nikon has to be that large. But good optics and doubled front diameter takes its toll. There is the 50mm macro for Nikon Z. But I do not consider that a good macro distance. You can use this lens at any aperture up to f/8 for excellent results. In the macro range it will not open to f/2.8 which is normal for a macro.
• Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8. This is a small and affordable walk-around lens which performs very well at f/4. I like it a lot. The main argument to prefer it over the 24-70 f/4 is the weight and the size. Otherwise, it has more chromatic aberration and flaring. And there is still the option to use the somewhat underwhelming f/2.8 end. 

Nikon 24-200mm f/4-63 at 115mm f/6.3 1/250 ISO1600

RAW

You have to decide if you shoot RAW. I'd understand it if you didn't. Some do not want to process the images. But I strongly advice to rethink that decision. You miss a lot of what this camera has to offer.

I shoot RAW and have the second card slot set for backup. The 128MB card in that slot never leaves the camera. Occasionally, when I am sure to have the images on the PC, I format the second card. The most mishaps with a card happen when the card is outside the camera. The disadvantage of this procedure is that the camera will show the backups too in replay. I have no way yet to stop this. When deleting an image, you can select to delete the backup and the image.

Nikon Z50mm f/1.8 at f/2.8 1/100 ISO400

User Modes

One of the main advantages of PSAM are the user modes. The Nikon Z5 has three which I encourage you to use. The user modes save almost everything. Once you switch the camera off and, after a delay, back on, or switch the dial away from the user mode and back, the user mode is reset to where it was. I need this for fast response. 

To create a user mode, select one of the PSAM modes and change the settings to your liking, including tings like button settings or special ISO settings. Then save into a user mode with the Setup menu. Unfortunately, you cannot simply change P/S/A/M in a user mode afterwards. This is one of the quirks I mentioned above.

Here are some ideas for user modes.

• A landscape mode might consist of aperture priority A at f/11. ISO could be at AUTO limited to ISO1600 and set to slower in the specific settings for AUTO ISO. You could select a single point auto-focus for AF mode.
• A point and shoot mode might be A at f/5.6, ISO to AUTO and set to faster, AF to large area with eye AF on.
• An action mode might be A at f/2.8, ISO to AUTO limited to ISO1600 and faster than 1/200 second, AF set to AF-C. 
• A bird mode might be S at 1/500, ISO to AUTO limited to ISO 6400.

I think you get the idea.

Nikon Z 24-70 f/4 at 38mm 1/40 f/8 ISO110

Dials and Buttons

There are a few things that are so indispensable to me that I would wish to have them at every other camera I use.

• Back Button Focus. The idea is that focusing is no longer done by a half-press of the shutter release, but with a separate button. I use the AF-ON button on the back of the camera with my thumb. It is already at AF-ON by default. If not, set it in f2. You also need to remove the focusing from the shutter release in c1. The advantage is that you can now concentrate on correct focusing and then take the shot. In AF-C, you can simply stop focusing by releasing your AF-ON button and effectively get AF-S in AF-C.
• The other dial is set to Easy Exposure Correction in b2. I have it on RESET, which means, that the correction is reset when you turn off the camera. This is not the case for the correction done with the +/- key. Most cameras do not offer this option.
• I used to set one of the front buttons to Focus Tracking in f2. The OK button enables tracking too, but does not easily release it by a second press (another Nikon quirk). You need to press the - key. With the front button, you can enable and disable the Focus Tracking with one key. I stopped using the front button, because I pressed it too often accidently with my big fingers which goes unnoticed when using the display. I now use these buttons for changing AF and AE modes.
• I have set the red video button to zoom 100% in f2. This applies only in stills mode, of course. AF at 100% is very accurate, but slow. Since I use back button focus, I can release the AF-ON button and the zoom out to compose the shot. I found this way of focusing the most accurate on this camera.
• I often use Manual Override. Whenever you turn the focus ring while focusing with AF-ON, you can override the AF system of the camera. You could then use the focus indication in the lower right of the display. But it is easier to enable focus peaking in d9. I have it at sensitivity 1. This will highlight sharp areas in the image in red (by default). After some practice it can be used to set the focus. Note, that back button focus comes in handy, because you can release AF-ON after focusing and compose your shot. Focus peaking is not very precise, and I prefer zooming in.

Nikon Z 28mm at f/4 1/30 ISO1100

Sharpness

Clearly, sharpness is influenced by many things like motion blur, camera shake, focusing, DOF, the lens, good light and even post-processing. Here are my top tips for sharper images.

• In Lightroom, sharpen at least at 40%. I use 100% simply, or 80% if over-sharpening is visible by white borders. Details should be at 25, radius at 1.0 or below. For JPEGS out of camera, set a medium sharpening.
• The most accurate focusing is done by zooming in to 100% and sharpening there. Alternatively, use the slow single point focusing. 
• Avoid camera shake and object movements with slow shutter speeds. Kids require 1/200, and sports and animals may require 1/1000. Rather use high ISO than blurring due to motion blur. Shoot more then one image in burst mode.
• Do not expect sharp images in bad light with high ISO. This is physically not possible. If there is no good light, there is no good image

Nikon Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 at 135mm f/8 1/160 ISO180

Alternatives

Let us quickly talk about alternatives to the Nikon Z5. There is the Z6, albeit with only one card slot. For a bit more money, you can get the Z6 II, which should be your camera of choice in the lower Nikon Z full frame selection. Only if you print large, crop heavily or use DX lenses, a Z7 is required. The ZF is a retro gimmick with advanced features. I do not like it. The Z8 and Z9 are way more expensive.

But why full frame? Nikon offers a DX-line with the Z mount. No cameras in that line does have built-in image stabilization (IBIS). Thus you should buy the DX VR (vibration reduction) lenses designed for these cameras. You can also use the full frame lenses. But remember the factor of 1.5 to be applied to the focal length and the f-stop (for equivalent DOF and background blurriness). Most full frame lenses do not have VR, however.

Another option in the price range of the Z5 is Sony's 6000 line with APS-C sensors. It has to be admitted that Sony cameras have a very good AF, beaten only by the Z8 and Z9. Otherwise, the cameras are still not as ergonomic as the Nikon cameras. And you can hardly beat the Nikon S-lenses.

If you are in the Fuji system or on MFT, I'd need another posting to share my view. The same applies to Canon. 

This concludes my report on how I use my Nikon Z5. Clearly, I sometimes wished I had another camera for special purposes. But for day-to-day use, it is almost perfect.

Nikon Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 at 200mm, heavily cropped.