The Nikon Z30

 

Didn't I promise not to post technical articles and gear reviews? Yet, we are going to talk about a camera and its lens system below. But for me, the decision to use this camera is not technical. It is a practical decision. On the other hand, I too have seen Youtubers defending gear from the lower end of the scale and praising its merits, or at least the money you can save by not going for the top-of-the-line gadgets. That's true, but even if you are on a tight budget, buying cheap is not always the best advice. And you should know that there are shortcomings and things you will miss. So, let me tell you.

I currently use mainly the Nikon Z5 II. It is my workhorse and a camera I love. I have some stellar lenses from the S-line of the Nikon Z system, f/1.8 lenses, the 105 MC and also zooms. I love their natural rendering and their flare resistance. Would it make sense to upgrade to the f/1.2 lenses or the Nikon Z8. Not for me. Both are way to heavy and clunky for my non-professional travel and family photography. The downgrade to the Z7 II (in terms of AF) would make more sense because of the higher resolution for landscapes. But I never could convince myself after the Z5 II came out. It is the best camera for my purposes.

Comparison Z5 II versus Z30

The Nikon camera system is not only technically on a high level. I also would not want to miss its useability. Their cameras all have a good grip which lies nicely in my hands, bright EVFs and displays, many configurable buttons, and  a solid build quality. I tried others too, but liked the Nikons the best. So I would not leave the system unless forced to do so. Clearly, being acquainted with their logic also helps.

Sorry for not reaching the point of this post yet. So, why the Z30? 

The Nikon Z full frame cameras are heavy and large. The Z5 is the smallest of them, and yet it weighs over 1kg with each of the better lenses and is not at all pocketable. You could use the smaller 28mm f/2.8 or the 40mm f/2. I do that sometimes. But what it the sense in having the best lenses and not using them? And even with these smaller options the Z5 is not compact. 

So, the logical choice for a second camera which you can have with you more often is the Nikon DX line of cameras, the Z30 being the most compact of them. You could even use your full frame lenses, couldn't you? Well, here lies a problem. None of the Nikon Z DX cameras have IBIS, and none of the full frame lenses have VR (with the exception of the 105mm macro lens). For my photography, this lack of image stabilization is a big disadvantage. If you are shooting moving objects anyway, it would not matter. You will only have to overcome one stop of less noise performance or dynamical range. More on this later.

But all zoom lenses for the Nikon Z DX system do have VR. That saves the day for me. Many zoom lenses are slower than their FX counterparts, however. The exception is the 16-50 f/2.8 DX VR which is equivalent to the 24-70 f/4. I could live with that. This combination makes the Z30 an ideal travel camera, very compact and totaling only 735g. Only the default kit lens is smaller and lighter with the same zoom range, but at f/3.5-6.3. If you are content with these f-stops, the 18-140 travel zoom is an alternative, at the same size and weight as the 16-50 f/2.8. But I would always select the latter because of the full frame equivalent f/4 aperture, even at 75mm focal length.

In fact, I went for the 12-28 f/3.5-5.6 DX PZ VR. I love wide angle and this lens starts at 18mm full frame equivalent. It ends at 42mm which is almost a standard focal length. It has a reasonable short focus distance too. I tested it extensively against my 14-30 f/4 lens for full frame, and it holds well for all practical situations. The combo with the Z30 weighs only 610g. The Z5 feels like a brick in comparison. This makes a huge difference for me.

At that point we need to discuss the things we will miss when we use an APS-C. I already covered the much slower standard zooms. This matters in two cases, namely for low light and for object isolation. There are some situations you cannot handle anymore. E.g., to compensate a 85mm f/2 lens for portraits, you'd need a 50mm f/1.4 APS-C lens. The zooms are way slower. You could try the long zoom end at 140mm and f/6.3, but it does not work as good and is optically inferior. For another example, you might be able to shoot at f/2 in a museum with an ultra-wide 14mm lens hand-held. To compensate, you'd need a fast 8mm lens for DX. But aside these extremes, those VR zooms for Nikon DX can handle a lot.

In terms of picture quality, the Nikon Z DX lenses are very good. They can hold against the corresponding full frame lenses, albeit not against the primes. In theory, the resolution of the APS-C system is lower by the simple fact that the image has to be magnified more. You could argue that the lenses can be made sharper across the smaller sensor. But in fact, the Nikon Z for full frame are sharpest in the center. In practice, however, the difference in sharpness is much less pronounced than we think. The primes are a different story. They might even visibly provide better results. As a warning, one should add that light and technique always matter more than the lens, not to mention the content of an image. For the finest results in the best situations and using the best techniques, full frame is better, no doubt.

How about noise handling? The APS-C sensor gets the same light per area at the same f-stop. That is the point of f-stops. Consequently, at almost the same pixel count (20 MP versus 24 MP), each pixel gets only half the light. To compensate, we need to lighten up the image with one stop of ISO. That also increases the noise by one stop. As a result, the levels of brightness in the image are one stop closer to the noise. In darker areas, the consequence is more visible noise. Because the dynamic range is defined as the distance between the noise and the maximal capacity of the pixels, you can also say that it decreases by one stop. In some scenes, you either have to blow out the highlights to white, or to live with a bit more noise in the darker areas. Unfortunately, scenes with much contrast are very common. To handle them without much issues, I simply accept the blown out lights or the dark areas.

Are there any other issues that I met at the Z30. Indeed, there are. The most obvious one is the missing viewfinder. I used it rarely anyway, but sometimes was happy to have one. For the low or high angles, it is useless. But at bright sunlight and for precise focusing, a viewfinder is almost necessary. It also does not help that the Z30 screen is not as bright as e.g. the one on the Z5 II. Another issue is the underpowered battery. I recommend a spare one. Due to less space, the Z30 has not as many buttons as the Z5 and no joystick. None of this is a problem for me. The AF buttons is still placed nicely for back-button-focus, and there are still two wheels and two front buttons. Almost everything is working as on the bigger cameras.

In summary, this camera is very capable and can be recommended as a walk-around camera, especially for photographers who are acquainted with the Nikon system and also use the Z full frame cameras. The combo of this APS-C with equivalent lenses is always considerably more compact and lightweight than the full frame version. Even the Sony full frame line cannot cope with this form factor. The low prize will also be very welcome by users, and some will be selecting this camera because of it. 

There are alternatives. I can think of three. The Fuji cameras have a more traditional interface, and are well known for their emphasis on colors for those that shoot out-of-camera. I don't and I also find the modern PSAM style more practical. Sony's A6000 line is very similar and has now a modern menu and user interface too. Both systems have IBIS, the recent Sonys even a very good one. But they are also much more expensive. Canon has an alternative too at a reasonable price. But it cannot cope with the compactness of the Z30.

I have to excuse myself for not considering the video features of the Z30. After all, this is a camera that was made for video. It has a stereo microphone and input line, but sadly no headphone jack. Video modes are okay, but some log formats will be missed by users. The videos are stabilized by software. I cannot really comment on the quality.