Nikon Z5 vs Fujifilm X-S20

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z5 and the Fujifilm X-S20, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon Z5 was introduced in July 2020 and Fujifilm X-S20 was introduced in May 2023. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z5 over Fujifilm X-S20.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Fujifilm X-S20 over Nikon Z5.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon Z5 has a 3.2" Tilting screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Fujifilm X-S20 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,840k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Nikon Z5 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Fully articulated screen makes Fujifilm X-S20 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing 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.

Viewfinder

Nikon Z5 has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution and Fujifilm X-S20 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Nikon Z5 features a 24.3 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Fujifilm X-S20 features a 26.1 megapixel APS-C BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 160 - 12,800 and expands to 80 - 51,200 in boosted mode.

Fujifilm X-S20 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 different sensors compare with each other:

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	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 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

Nikon Z5 is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 6016 x 4016 resolution. Fujifilm X-S20 is equipped with X-Processor 5 processor and can take pictures up to 6240 x 4160 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon Z5 has Nikon Z lens mount and Fujifilm X-S20 has Fujifilm X lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Nikon Z5 its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to APS-C sensor in Fujifilm X-S20 its crop factor is equal to 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 on Fujifilm X-S20

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Fujifilm X-S20. 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (5 stops of compensation in Nikon Z5 and 7 stops of compensation in Fujifilm X-S20). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have 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

Nikon Z5 and Fujifilm X-S20 have built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 on Nikon Z5, version 4.2 LE on Fujifilm X-S20) 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 Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) Type-C inputs for data transfer and battery charging. Nikon Z5 has a Micro Type C HDMI and Fujifilm X-S20 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z5 comes with EN-EL15c battery pack with battery life of 470 shots and Fujifilm X-S20 comes with NP-W235 battery pack with battery life of 750 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z5 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots. Fujifilm X-S20 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) [2 TB Maximum] card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z5 and Fujifilm X-S20 have Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane. shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Z5, and up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/4000 sec with mechanical shutter on Fujifilm X-S20. Nikon Z5 can shoot continuously up to 4.5 fps. Fujifilm X-S20 can shoot continuously up to 20.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 8.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Focusing

Nikon Z5 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 273 focusing points and Fujifilm X-S20 has Intelligent Hybrid AF (TTL contrast AF / TTL phase detection AF) system with 425 focusing points. Nikon Z5 has detection range from 3 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z5 ranges from -3 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z5 and ±5 EV range on Fujifilm X-S20. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z5 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Fujifilm X-S20.

Flash

Fujifilm X-S20 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 7.00 m at ISO 200 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Proprietary. Nikon Z5 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon Z5 and 1/180 sec on Fujifilm X-S20.

Nikon Z5 body has dimensions of 134 x 101 x 70 mm (5.28 x 3.98 x 2.76") and Fujifilm X-S20 body has dimensions of 127 x 85 x 65 mm (5 x 3.35 x 2.56"). Nikon Z5 weighs 675 g (1.49 lb / 23.81 oz) and Fujifilm X-S20 weighs 491 g (1.08 lb / 17.32 oz).

Nikon Z5

Fujifilm X-S20

134 mm

101 mm

127 mm

85 mm

101 mm

85 mm

70 mm

65 mm