All Activity

The lack of a full size HDMI doesn't bother me too much because it doesn't support RAW over it anyway, and the 4 inch screen looks really nice that I don't think an external one is necessary. I suppose it might be frustrating for those who want to rig it out or absolutely need an external monitor, but there are quite a few things about this camera that makes that impractical regardless of what the promotional photos show. It'd be nice to have a full size HDMI, and anything that limits how you can use a camera sucks, but it'd also be nice to have two of the same card slots and not located in the battery compartment. If you need that, or want to rig it up, this camera just isn't for you.

My turn to be nitpicky: Red cameras do offer true open gate. The sensor itself is 17:9. Open gate refers to using the entire sensor to record. Open gate on a Micro 4/3 camera or GFX would be 4:3 aspect ratio. On most mirrorless or DSLR's, it will be 3:2. Open gate and 3:2 get conflated a lot because that's the ratio for the sensors in the cameras that a majority of people have. Micro HDMI sucks really bad. One of the worst connectors I've ever seen. That said, there's also a very nice 4" screen built into the camera and I'd still say that the camera's strength is not in being built out for cinema, but in being small and relatively inexpensive. If you're rigging the camera with a cage, you could use a cable clamp to avoid the connector breaking as soon as somebody breathes near it. If I'm using the camera as a tiny handheld, I'm not connecting an external screen. But definitely, if your use case is to put an external monitor on the camera without a cage, this camera is a terrible choice and you definitely should not buy it. FWIW, the EOS R5 also has a micro HDMI port. I think that was improved in the II, but in a couple of years of owning and casually using the R5 as my small/handheld camera (similar to how I see thie ZR), I don't think it's ever bothered me because I've never connected an external display to it. Anyway, for me, if I were going to rig up a camera, I'd just use an OG Komodo (available used for not much more money than the ZR costs new). I have a pretty nice minimal Komodo rig for handheld and it's pretty light. Still a lot bigger than my R5 which is, in turn, bigger, I think, than the ZR.

Greetings Creatives! I have some brand new music tracks to share with you all...100% free to use with attribution. They are: On my Fantasy 13 page: "DRIFTING IN A HOT AIR BALLOON " https://soundimage.org/fantasy-13/ And on my Sci-Fi 14 page: "CYBER CITY FEVER DREAM" https://soundimage.org/sci-fi-14/ PLEASE READ If you can, please consider making small contribution to support my efforts. I honestly hate asking, but I do pay for everything myself including my gear which is very expensive, so contributions from the community really help me a lot. Here are some ways you can help: https://soundimage.org/donate/ https://soundimage.org/ogg-game-music-mega-pack/ https://soundimage.org/ogg-music-packs-2/ I sincerely hope some of my tracks are helpful in your projects. Please feel free to share your projects if you wish...I love to see how my fellow creatives are using my music! 🙂

This is the most exciting cinema camera I've seen since the 5D3 got cDNG RAW with Magic Lantern. Not a fan of Z mount but the camera specs make it irrelevant. I may even buy into their lens ecosystem now. Hopefully Sigma starts making FF natives for their system. Anyway. Instant buy. It's amazing, cuz I never thought I'd own a RED. Nikon buyout is the best thing ever. Edit: Note to self, buy Megadap ETZ21 Pro+ and Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 in Sony E.

Hummm, IDK if this could be an everyday camera for all the v-loggers out there. IIUC according to Gerald, all of the codec implementations, with the exception of RedCode, are more than mediocre and are anyway worse than on other Nikon Z cameras. In practice, if you want to use it, you have to use RedCode, but at 6K@60p, it consumes 470MB per second, and a 320GB CF Express card is full in 28 minutes. Surely the FW is alpha or beta, and then with updates, things will change but ATM, we're shooting ants with a cannon.

This is interesting. Now, what I want to see is software that converts CinemaDNG in to ProResRaw.

I get that RED cameras don’t offer media redundancy or true Open Gate, but in a small mirrorless form factor, some form of redundancy is more expected, especially with a hot CF/SD slot near the battery that could potentially cause failures. RED at least has RED Connect / IP streaming for backup, and SDI. All we have here is micro HDMI not exactly safe externally either. Even a “pseudo” Open Gate mode could’ve been implemented without needing a bigger sensor, just flexible readout. Maybe I’m being nitpicky, but these shortcomings feel like crippling.

And with the Techart Pro MZ adapter you can have them autofocus as well.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HS8B2ZM/A/blackmagic-camera-prodock There's also an iPhone dock for timecode in, HDMI out, power, audio, accessories. iPhone Models iPhone 17 Pro iPhone 17 Pro Max iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max

Keep in mind that most, if not all of the actual Red cameras from Red don't support redundancy recording. I don't think I ever saw an older one with more than a single Red mag slot. Komodo has a single CFast card. Komodo-X has a single CF Express card. I'm not sure about V-Raptor. As far as open gate, yes, Reds do this, but their sensors are 17:9 so open gate matches that. If they support 3:2 recording, it's by cropping the left and right edges of the frame. I'm not sure if all of their sensors are 17:9, but again, every one that I've seen has been.

With dynamic range, the actual number that results from a measurement depends on a number of factors, what SNR level is used as the lower end limit of acceptable quality, and whether the SNR is calculated based on patches or pixels, or something in between. An 8K camera at pixel level will have lower DR than a 4K camera or 8K camera downsampled to 4K which in turn will have lower dynamic range than 2K native camera or a 4K/8K downsampled to 2K, and so on. Noise reduction that is applied to the footage also affects the dynamic range. Only by applying an equal test at equal final presentation resolution can a fair measurement of DR be made. In stills there are well-defined standards (PDR at photonstophotos and engineering DR by DXOMark, for example, all evaluated after resampling the images to 8 MP size) but for video there doesn't seem to be any unified standard which would result in comparable numbers.

https://www.nikon-asia.com/cinema-z-r

I think that's why I like it! I loved the fp because it was so small, but I ended up resenting it because using the best codecs involved adding an external SSD which would end up with a camera that was bigger and more awkward to use than my R5. Internal raw recording and a flippy screen makes this perfect for an everyday carry camera, especially combined with some of the smaller M mount glass (Collapsible 50/2, Elmar 35) and it also should be easier to mount on the inside of a windshield than the R5 since it looks a little less wide.

Yeah I can't help but feel that Jarred tweeting "the Nikon ZR is not a replacement for any RED camera" gives the indication RED team wanted to protect their line and purposely not give the ZR too many pro features like redundancy recording, open gate, active cooling, proper I/O and media storage. Also the 12-bit non linear R3D code. I guess its all fair trade and still nice to see a $2K camera with REDCODE inside.. but now Nikon has a cine line to protect which may hinder them/us paradoxically.. I feel like Canon gave us the real surprise and actual FX3 competitor by not holding back on specs and in quite a few ways surpassing the more expensive C80/C400 (although I hear C400 will get open gate in an update). ZR is still a banger even if we were expecting a more pro body and Nikon is being very agressive on pricing.

Thank you! From what I understand, this is how it works for both the types of raw where Resolve has the option. Maybe sometime, I'll play with those suggestions, but it'd still be more work than just clicking a box for supported footage. Though it's not a huge loss since the difference is fairly subtle anyway. Yeah - if the info is there, there's also the option of bringing down the ISO/exposure in the raw tab and then using curves or lift to bring up the exposure in the shadows.

My guess, they didn't want to kill their RED brand. It would also have cost minimum, 5000+ USD to 10 000 USD, and not many Nikon shooters could have afforded this. I would have liked a bit better spec even with a more costly body. But in the end, this will be found in a lot of Nikon shooter camera bag, as a secondary or third body for professional. And it would become their primary body for video. For photographers, 5000 USD is already flagship level camera bodies. This is also the ultimate content creator camera, people might not care or even despise it, but it is a big market. Nikon has loss so much market share, and more importantly in the younger demographic, that it might revive a new generation of shooters for the company. It is a bit of a jack of all trade, from someone who would just pick the camera and either film himself or do some content filming some dancers or skaters. To someone rigging it and going to shoot a doc or a short film.

I like this camera. The problem is I like about twelve other ones as well. The indecision is saving me a fortune.

Where did you get these. In the gerald Undone test, the DR imatest test, it around the 12.5, which is about the good/middle ground.

I saw the loooong CVP review but if you want a review in a nutshell, this time GU is spot on:

Nikon cornered themselves with nomenclatures in this one. They wanted to make a first RED semibranded product to buzz the market. But at the same time, they want a piece of the VERY profitable "creator camera" market (the Sony ZV-E10s sells a boatload). And got the Zr stucked in the middle. This is not a "cinema camera". Is a ZV-E1 competitor / step up ZV-E10 camera, compared it (and Nikon is promoting it) to the FXs is a mistake. If you see it as a top "creator camera" or a B-cam / crahs cam for REDs, it makes more more sense. And is an amazing value - if fact, for amateurs like me, it is one of the most interesting cameras of the year. I hate cameras without EVFs, but with a 4 inch display, for the first time it could be acceptable. It have a af joystick. It have internal 32 bit audio without adapters - amazing for shotguns use. It will make a lot of people to wet their feet on REDCODE (even a lesser version of it). Is small and light, great for gimbal work if needed. Compared to a ZV-E1 for $100 more, it trounces it completely. And we have to see how is the overheating issues, but it could yes be used (albeit with compromises) in pro shooting. And if Nikon makes a hybrid camera with this form factor, they would get a new customer instantly.

Ditto. I see this new Zr as more comparable with the S9 than anything else within the Lumix lineup. It’s build by all reports is a notch up and the rear LCD on another level. It’s a ‘red cinema colour’ Nikon camera though rather than ‘RED in a Nikon body’. I like it and would have one if I was in the Nikon ecosystem, but nothing I’d switch to or build a system around. And as a 50:50 hybrid shooter, vs the S1Rii, it’s not even a conversation.

Well, Nikon have come a long way in 10 years since the D750 at least. R3D, a proper screen, 32bit float, IBIS all very welcome as you say. But Nikon should have made a much bigger splash with the first Cinema Z camera. It should have been a cutting edge flagship at a really aggressive price. Instead they have gone with what is practically a point & shoot camera. It fits the philosophy of the "DSLR video revolution" though doesn't it? Cheap (by today's norm), small, light, cinematic image quality, great codec and hybrid photo/video features. Micro SD and HDMI is idiotic though.

RED's bullshitting about DR infiltrated Nikon. No way this chart translates to reality. Gerald's imatest result and CVP's latitude test shows the useable DR is way less than this

Right, but for those of us familiar with other Nikon products and their video-related features, we can guess that the feature would be supported in the ZR. For people who are not already users of other recent-generation Nikons, it may be unclear which features are in fact supported until the manuals actually show up online. In fact some features can't be found even in the manuals.

There are some great things in this camera: R3D code, huge screen, 32-bit float audio, IBIS etc but then some real head scratchers like the micro sd, micro HDMI, battery card slot, no fan, no open gate and overall confusion with the dual color sciences that indeed makes this a Frankenstein camera. Clearly feels like a first gen collab product. I think I'll wait to see the next iteration but it's still very encouraging and solid effort.