Nikon Z5 vs Nikon Z50 for long telephoto: I had a cloudless night so decided to do a comparison of the Nikon Z5 against the Nikon Z50 with a moon shot. I was really interested in...

azemon Loc: Saint Charles, MO, USA

I had a cloudless night so decided to do a comparison of the Nikon Z5 against the Nikon Z50 with a moon shot. I was really interested in getting past the theoretical arithmetic around sensor size and megapixels. I wanted to get the same shot with two bodies and compare them on a full size monitor.

For those not familiar with the two bodies:
Z5, 24 MP, FX sensor
Z50, 20 MP, DX sensor

I shot the two images 16 minutes apart, at ISO 100.

side by side
side by side...

(Download)

Z5 image
Z5 image...

(Download)

Z50 image
Z50 image...

(Download)

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

I can’t see much difference. That’s viewing on my phone, maybe a large computer screen can show some difference.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

In the first image, with the two side by side, the Z50 image definitely appears to have more fine detail.

But in the second and third images they appear more alike. I'm not sure why this is the case. ???

The Z5 is full frame (FX) and 24MP.

The Z50 is APS-C (DX) and 21MP.

I would expect the Z50 to be better for long telephoto work, since it provides "more pixels on target" with its 1.5X crop effect. The first image supports this theory, while comparing the second and third doesn't.

azemon Loc: Saint Charles, MO, USA

To see the differences between the last two images, you will want to use the Download links to grab copies of the original images. Then look at them full size on a 4K monitor. Be aware that the Z50 image is taller than a 1080 monitor so you definitely need a 4K monitor or at least zoom it to 100% and realize that you will only see a portion of it.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

Can’t see much difference; but, maybe the z5 has a very slight edge on the z50. However, the z5 seems to me to catch more light which has an effect.

—-Michael

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

The image from the Z5 shows more detail on my M1 MacBook Pro. I have the Z50 and like it very much but clearly the Z5 has better resolution. With the next full moon, if the sky is clear I'll do a similar comparison between the Z50 and the Z9.

azemon Loc: Saint Charles, MO, USA

ecobin wrote:

The image from the Z5 shows more detail on my M1 MacBook Pro. I have the Z50 and like it very much but clearly the Z5 has better resolution. With the next full moon, if the sky is clear I'll do a similar comparison between the Z50 and the Z9.

I would love to see that! I still don't understand why but my wife wouldn't let me buy a Z9 just to take pictures of the moon.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

ecobin wrote:

The image from the Z5 shows more detail on my M1 MacBook Pro. I have the Z50 and like it very much but clearly the Z5 has better resolution. With the next full moon, if the sky is clear I'll do a similar comparison between the Z50 and the Z9.

I am looking at the z50 w/2 kit lenses. Had not met anyone that owns one. What do you think of the z50 & what lens(es) are you using on it? Would stretch my budget but I would like to get one when I can for the times when I want to carry something smaller & lighter than my d7000 is d7500. Your opinion would be appreciated.

—-Michael

azemon Loc: Saint Charles, MO, USA

whatdat wrote:

I am looking at the z50 w/2 kit lenses. Had not met anyone that owns one. What do you think of the z50 & what lens(es) are you using on it? Would stretch my budget but I would like to get one when I can for the times when I want to carry something smaller & lighter than my d7000 is d7500. Your opinion would be appreciated.

—-Michael

I love my Z50! Highly recommended. I bought it a couple of years ago with the Z 16-50. This winter I bought a Z 50-250 to replace what I had been using, which was an F-mount 70-300 paired with the FTZ adapter.

Dan Ausec

whatdat wrote:

I am looking at the z50 w/2 kit lenses. Had not met anyone that owns one. What do you think of the z50 & what lens(es) are you using on it? Would stretch my budget but I would like to get one when I can for the times when I want to carry something smaller & lighter than my d7000 is d7500. Your opinion would be appreciated.

—-Michael

Highly recommend..I kept my D7100 but more and more pick up my Z50 with the 2 kit lenses, which are surprisingly good ! I've added the 28mm prime for street photography..you will love the size and weight difference and the menus will be very familiar to you..not much of a learning curve..check reviews..hard to find much criticism with this combo..enjoy !

photonaut Loc: Albuquerque, New Mexico USA

I have had the Z50 since last fall. I purchased it as the two lens kit from the Nikon store. I have used virtually every Nikon body made since my first Nikkormat FT2, including most of the digital bodies including the D800. Plus I have an extensive Olympus EMD MIII kit that I bought for the lighter weight. The Z50 kit far exceeded my expectations and that is my go-to kit almost all the time now. The quality of the files both JPG and NEF are excellent and both lenses are much sharper than I expected. Having gone past the 75 mark in age I truly appreciate getting excellent quality of images from such a light kit. And the ergonomics of the camera body are very good. Hard to think of another kit that gives such quality for such little dollar investment.

dmeyer Loc: Marion, NC

azemon wrote:

I had a cloudless night so decided to do a comparison of the Nikon Z5 against the Nikon Z50 with a moon shot. I was really interested in getting past the theoretical arithmetic around sensor size and megapixels. I wanted to get the same shot with two bodies and compare them on a full size monitor.

For those not familiar with the two bodies:
Z5, 24 MP, FX sensor
Z50, 20 MP, DX sensor

I shot the two images 16 minutes apart, at ISO 100.

In taking a closer look at the Z5, I could not find where it had an Auto-Exposure Bracketing option. Am I missing something, or is WB Bracketing the only bracketing available on this model?

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

Thank you for all the replies. Very encouraging. 👍

Arca

azemon

It appears to me the Z5 produces slightly more contrast and resolution. Perhaps this is a function of the elapsed time of 16 minutes, but I don't really think that is the case. Both are fine shots.

Arca

rangel28

whatdat wrote:

I am looking at the z50 w/2 kit lenses. Had not met anyone that owns one. What do you think of the z50 & what lens(es) are you using on it? Would stretch my budget but I would like to get one when I can for the times when I want to carry something smaller & lighter than my d7000 is d7500. Your opinion would be appreciated.

—-Michael

I love the Z50 and am using it with the two original kit lenses, plus some FX lenses like the 24mm-70mm f4, the F mount 70mm-300mm AF-P lens, etc. It's a very small and light camera, and with the two kit lenses makes for a very portable travel kit. The kit lenses do not have a metal mount (plastic) but I really don't see that as an issue as I tend to baby my cameras and lenses anyway. If you do get one make sure you update to the latest firmware, as it improves focusing.