With a retro-styled design reminiscent of a 1970s film camera advertisement, the Nikon Z fc ($959.95, body only) is without a doubt one of the most stylish cameras available for a reasonable price. The Z fc has a DX (APS-C) digital sensor and is compatible with mirrorless Nikkor Z lenses despite these analog influences. It is a wonderful option for photographers who are drawn to its aesthetics or who favor small prime lenses for landscape and documentary work, but it struggles with large lenses and subjects that move quickly. The Fujifilm X-T30 II ($899.95) is our Editors’ Choice winner in this price bracket if you require a more adaptable interchangeable-lens camera (ILC) but don’t want to give up the retro aesthetic cues.
Nikon Z fc release date and price
You can get the Nikon Z fc in a number of packages. It costs $959 / £899 / AU$1,499 to purchase the camera body alone, but you can also purchase it with additional lenses or in a lens kit that includes both wide-angle and telephoto zooms.
The Nikon Zfc and the new Nikkor Z 28mm f/2.8 SE prime lens, which together will cost $1,199/£1,129/AU$1,899, are expected to make the best kit for street photographers. If you prefer the Zfc, you can purchase it with the Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR lens for $1,099, £1,039, or AU$1,699.
For AU$2,000, a two-lens kit including the Zfc body, the aforementioned 16–50mm glass, and the Nikkor Z DX 50–250mm f/4.5–6.3 VR zoom is also offered in Australia.
A vlogging kit with the NIKKOR Z 16-50mm VR silver lens, a Sennheiser on-camera directional microphone with wind protection, and a SmallRig tripod grip is also available in the UK for £1,169. The Nikon ML-L7 remote control (included) is held in a magnetic recess on the tripod handle.
Design
The design of the Nikon Z fc can be appreciated by those who are not fans of the Nikon FM2. It looks like a lovely camera. We have fond memories of the Nikon FM2, a camera that fans aspired to own. The painstaking attention to detail that went into modernizing the FM2 is impressive.
The Nikon Z fc has a lot to recommend it. From the front, it almost exactly matches the FM2’s size, indicating that this camera is tiny and not even a handful. Everything about it sings FM2—its form factor, design cues, etc. Even the typefaces are influenced by it.
The view is equally breathtaking from the top. It is still equipped with exposure settings for ISO, shutter speed, and exposure correction despite being slimmer than the FM2. The little window with an LCD showing the current aperture setting is one of our favorite features. Nikon has largely succeeded, but hold on—the lenses.
Together with the Z fc, a brand-new Nikkor Z 28mm f/2.8 SE lens was introduced, and like the camera, it has a retro aesthetic. But why doesn’t this limited-edition full-frame lens have an aperture adjustment ring? We severely missed an aperture control ring on the lens, and you won’t find one on any other Nikon Z lenses, because the camera’s top plate already had a full complement of exposure controls.
The 28mm lens’s solitary control ring can be switched between controlling the focus and the aperture, but not both at once. Instead, you can change the aperture using the camera’s front command dial, although doing so is less natural than doing it on the lens, especially if you’re also using the same right-hand fingers to change the shutter speed dial.
In the end, the absence of a dedicated lens aperture control ring makes using the Z fc in auto and avoiding using the top knobs to change the exposure necessary (the main point of this concept). We anticipate new limited-edition heritage lenses for the Z-series that have an aperture control, just as the bulk of Fujifilm’s X-series lenses. But who cares if you don’t use aperture priority, right?
Characteristics and effectiveness
Despite its emphasis on manual control and antique appeal, the Nikon Z fc is no slouch and boasts a competitive feature set.
The camera powers up quickly and is ready to shoot in less than one second. There is no time to waste here. For typical settings, Z-series lenses focus swiftly and silently while also providing a manual focus override. On-screen touch tracking auto-focus is sticky to your subject, and the Z fc reliably, quickly, and accurately recognizes faces and eyes.
While using the viewfinder, pressing the OK button will also display a manual AF selection area; however, you cannot select an autofocus region by swiping the open touchscreen.
With continuous auto focus and auto exposure, extended mode allows for the creation of high-speed action sequences at up to 11 frames per second. These sequences are only sustained for around 22 frames, or about two seconds, because the camera only supports the older and slower UHS-I SD card, and you’ll need to wait a while for those frames to be processed before you can resume operating at full speed.
Performance
Performance of the Z fc is predictable because image quality is the same as that of the Z 50, on which it is based. The trade-off is improved dynamic range and low-light performance over a more typical 24MP sensor, despite the fact that you “only” get 20.9MP because to the slightly larger photosites distributed throughout the same APS-C sensor area.
Performance of the Z fc is predictable because image quality is the same as that of the Z 50, on which it is based. The trade-off is improved dynamic range and low-light performance over a more typical 24MP sensor, despite the fact that you “only” get 20.9MP because to the slightly larger photosites distributed throughout the same APS-C sensor area.
The Z fc is more than capable of resolving a great deal of fine detail, though not quite as much as you’d get from a 24MP APS-C camera like a Fujifilm X-T30. This is because the unusually low 20.9MP sensor resolution does of course result in images being physically smaller at 5568 x 3712 pixels, but that’s not a huge reduction on a typical 6000 x 4000MP shot from a 24MP sensor.
Conclusion
The Fuji X-T30 II is a good substitute if you don’t own any Nikon equipment but still like the Z fc’s design. It boasts a somewhat better sensor, more interesting film-like image characteristics, and supports the significantly larger X system lens library, among other improvements. We also like the ergonomics of the X-T30 II because, in contrast to Fuji, Nikon makes a lot of mistakes with the Z fc’s control layout. Another more adaptable option is the Canon EOS R10, particularly if you depend on on autofocus performance for subjects that move quickly or just prefer conventional PASM controls.
