Nikon Z50

Nikon Z50 was announced in 2019 and is an APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) Mirrorless camera with 20.9 Megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor. Its native ISO ranges from 100 to 51,200 and expands to 100 - 204,800 in boosted mode. The camera has a Tilting 3.2" screen with 1,040k dot resolution and built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution.

Nikon Z50 can capture video up to 3840 x 2160 resolution.

Here is the Nikon Z series lineup, where you can view and compare the main specifications of the cameras within the same series.

Nikon Z series lineup

	Model	Date	Sensor	Native ISO	Screen	Price
	Nikon Z f Compare	September 2023	24.4 MP Full Frame	100 - 64,000	Articulated 3.2" 2,089k dots Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z8 Compare	May 2023	45.7 MP Full Frame	64 - 25,600	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z30 Compare	June 2022	20.9 MP APS-C	100 - 51,200	Articulated 3.0" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z9 Compare	October 2021	45.7 MP Full Frame	64 - 25,600	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z fc Compare	June 2021	20.9 MP APS-C	100 - 51,200	Articulated 3.0" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z6 II Compare	October 2020	24.5 MP Full Frame	100 - 51,200	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z7 II Compare	October 2020	45.7 MP Full Frame	64 - 25,600	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z5 Compare	July 2020	24.3 MP Full Frame	100 - 51,200	Tilting 3.2" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z50	October 2019	20.9 MP APS-C	100 - 51,200	Tilting 3.2" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z6 Compare	August 2018	24.5 MP Full Frame	100 - 51,200	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z7 Compare	August 2018	45.7 MP Full Frame	64 - 25,600	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H

You can view their side-by-side comparison here: Nikon Z f vs Z8 vs Z30 vs Z9 vs Z fc vs Z6 II.

In this section we present pros and cons of Nikon Z50.

Tilting Touchscreen

Nikon Z50 has a 3.2" Tilting touchscreen with 1,040k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes this camera very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder

Camera has a built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 1.02x (0.68x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

BSI-CMOS Sensor

Nikon Z50 features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 369 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 100 - 204,800 in boosted mode.

The camera has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how Nikon Z50's APS-C sensor compares with other types of sensors:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.5 x 15.7 mm	369 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Camera is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon Z50 has Nikon Z lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor its crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is 1.5x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

No In-Body Image Stabilization

The camera does not have in-body image stabilization (IBIS) so it needs lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Camera has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth

Camera has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Input and HDMI Output

Nikon Z50 has a USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) input for data transfer and battery charging. There is a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z50 comes with EN-EL25 battery pack with battery life of 320 shots.

External Storage Slots

The camera has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z50 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec. Camera can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z50 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 209 focusing points and from -2 to +19 EV detection range. Touch-to-Focus allows users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording. There is also face detection feature which automatically finds and focuses on faces and additional eye detection further locks the focus on one of the eyes and tracks it down during the motion.

Exposure

Camera's exposure metering ranges from -4 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment.

Flash

Nikon Z50 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 7.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec. Flash compensation can be set from -3 to +1 EV with 1/3 or 1/2 EV step increments.

Nikon Z50 has dimensions of 127 x 94 x 60 mm (5 x 3.7 x 2.36"). It weighs 450 g (0.99 lb / 15.87 oz), so it is a lightweight camera.

127 mm (5")

94 mm (3.7")

94 mm (3.7")

60 mm (2.36")