Looking Good, And Somewhat Familiar – Understanding the Nikon ZR

The Nikon ZR is a particular breed. Providing spectacular video high quality, most likely the most effective in its section, the ZR manages to accommodate all of it in an impressively compact chassis, concerning the dimension of compact stills cameras. For those who’re studying this and considering, “Hmm, that sounds acquainted…” you’re not mistaken. The dream of a compact digital camera able to nice high quality is sort of as previous because the medium. One may even stretch this line so far as Oskar Barnack and the invention of the Leica digital camera, the Hasselblad 500, and extra. On this article, nevertheless, we’ll talk about some extra modern iterations of this idea.Whereas the Nikon ZR is probably not a fully-fledged cinema digital camera, it certainly delivers on the IQ entrance. I cannot dive too deep into the definition of cine cameras nor its specs, however we’ve lined this digital camera extensively. I invite you to learn my colleague Johnnie’s evaluation and mini-doc of the digital camera, as he figures out what this new particular beast is about, in addition to Francesco’s first-look evaluation, and the discuss we had with him at IBC. We, after all, additionally ran it by means of our lab exams and had a chat with Gunther on his findings. This text, nevertheless, will take a deeper have a look at the current historical past of the high-end, high-IQ compacts previous the Nikon ZR.Nikon ZR: Tech specs CAN improve creativityThe dream of capturing beautiful footage on a compact digital camera has at all times pushed photographers, filmmakers, engineers, and designers. Be it Henri Cartier-Bresson, Victor Hasselblad, Claudio Miranda, the common iPhone shooter, or numerous others – it’s at all times there. Compact cameras succesful of top of the range had been at all times a key to the democratization of the medium. Lately, with the numerous development in sensor expertise, the flexibility to seize versatile RAW footage, which can permit our consideration to “stray” away from settings into creativity and storytelling, is the documentarist’s and artistic’s dream.As a stills photographer, I vividly keep in mind the purpose at which I switched to capturing RAW, by no means worrying about white steadiness once more. Then got here the change from my trusty-but-demanding Canon 5DS R to the extra forgiving Panasonic LUMIX S1R and its IBIS. The improve to my present FUJIFILM GFX 100s launched me from most dynamic vary and determination worries. It’s fairly wonderful how some technical options launch you from technical nervousness and set your creativity free.Not the primary pocket cinema digital camera (pun supposed)The idea of a compact cinema digital camera, squeezing varied high-end options (corresponding to RAW recording, and many others.) right into a compact physique, is sort of uncommon, however not new. Blackmagic Design was arguably the primary to set its flag on this peak in 2013, with the Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Digital camera. A tiny, Cinema DNG-capable digital camera that gained fairly the cult following.Blackmagic Design’s basic Pocket Cinema Digital camera. Picture credit score: Blackmagic DesignThe BMPCC gained considerably of a cult following, in addition to varied successors (although none as compact a the unique). Not a basic hybrid digital camera, the BMPCC was about as hybrid because the Nikon ZR for its time. It did so within the sense of choosing the overall design of a compact stills digital camera over a basic handycam elongated design. Nikon did the identical right here, with a somewhat flush, flat, “rangefinder” design over the extra mainstream field design we often see on compact cine cameras.Giant sensor, small bodyAnother distinguished design philosophy utilized by the Nikon ZR is sort of widespread in compact stills cameras. We are able to spot these designs in some fastened lens cameras just like the minimalistic RICOH GR or the late ZEISS ZX1, the maximalist GFX100RF. The latest addition right here is the Sony RX1R III. It’s additionally current within the interchangeable programs. The SIGMA fp L could be the purest type of this design philosophy right here, with the Sony A7CR and the Panasonic S9 as a extra reasonably priced choice.The defining components of this style of cameras are based mostly round two non-compromisable pillars: compactness and picture high quality. Every part else is liable to compromise and even laborious cuts. Be it EVF, management factors, thermal administration, and many others. That is why I’m omitting cameras just like the FUJIFILM X100 sequence, SIGMA BF, Leica Q, and Nikon Z f, that emphasize different factors corresponding to type and workflow over pure IQ and compactness.Fastened-lens compacts. Picture credit score: Sony, FUJIFILM, Leica Who’re they for?One particularly difficult query relating to these cameras is the audience. Most of them will not be vastly well-liked. That is comprehensible, for the reason that compactization severely limits some well-liked and usable options for each hobbyists and professionals. Such compact powerhouses are fairly well-liked as second cameras, for leisure, walkarounds, location scouting, and generally as crash cams (although the comparatively excessive worth limits this use case). They will also be utilized by those that recognize the significance of limitations within the inventive course of, making each bug a characteristic, reworking defects into results. And there are, after all, the documentarists who historically recognize stealthy, low-profile imaging instruments, in addition to light-weight gear permitting for simple carrying wherever their toes carry them.Preserve compactness even when rigged. Picture credit score: CineDIs the Nikon ZR a dream come true?Most of all, the reply to that query will depend on the dreamer. However to place it in context – I see the ZR as one of many extra attention-grabbing makes an attempt to create a compact, field-ready, high-quality digital camera. By way of maximal picture high quality, it punches method over its weight, and whereas it is probably not an ideal cine digital camera (if in any respect worthy of the “cinema digital camera” title), it does one thing that not many others do. The talk concerning the necessity of RAW video stills lingers, but when any digital camera can use it, I imagine the Nikon ZR, with its doco-friendly, stealthy physique, could make nice use of this versatile format.I imagine its a worthy successor to the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Digital camera, and prefer it, this digital camera is held again by some questionable limitations (missing “mid-codec”, micro HDMIm, no 24P, no lively cooling, and so forth) however it does allow a particularly nimble, compact and stealthy package, and might extract spectacular footage from varied situations by pushing the envelope additional.Do you utilize compact, excessive IQ cameras for filmmaking or stills? What are your use instances and most well-liked workflows? 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