OMG Nikon Z7 Review by Robin Wong! Kidding. Just Some Quick Thoughts

Nikon has just launched their much anticipated new Z-series full frame mirrorless cameras, Z6 and Z7. There was so much hype and excitement that in an extremely rare occurrence the Amazon owned DPReview crashed after the major Nikon announcement. I did think of trying to get myself an invite to the launch event in Malaysia but knowing how cold the industry has been to myself and other prominent photography bloggers, my chances of getting in would be near impossible. It gets very frustrating that the work photography bloggers do (helping with product announcements, reviewing etc) are generally not appreciated by the brand representatives here. So what else can I do? Just sit back and enjoy watching all the dramas happening from a distance, and maybe, just chime in a little and jot down some of my thoughts on Nikon's latest announcement.

Nikon Z7, they say that if you rotate the letter Z, it becomes N, which is for Nikon. Get it? Get it?

DPReview, the world's largest photography-centric news and review site was unable to handle the heavy load following the Nikon huge announcement. I am sure they have foreseen this coming, yet with preparation, the hype exceeded initial expectation. GGWP Nikon, you have successfully crashed DPReview, that was no small feat. 

There was nothing really new in the photography world when it comes to the Nikon Z series. In fact, Nikon has been terribly late to the game. Sony released the world's first mirrorless full frame camera in 2013. Sony has had many chances to do trial and error and field experimentation with their Alpha series, and they have already so many A7 cameras that it is getting difficult to keep track of the numbering variations of A7 bodies. Nikon taking bite at this chunk of pie this late only meant they are playing very safe, and they better get things right. They have the time to watch and learn from mistakes done by other mirrorless manufacturers. Did they successfully create the perfect mirrorless full frame machine in 2018?

Running down through paper specifications, while the technical aspects of the Nikon Z-series were impressive and possibly spotting some of the class-leading numbers, there were nothing new or revolutionary in the new cameras. 5-Axis Image Stabilization, Olympus got that since 2012, and Sony even implemented their own 5-Axis IS in their A7 Mark not-sure-which-one now. Large and bright EVF, possibly as good or better than the best of what mirrorless today has to offer, but I do not think it is that far from what is in the Panasonic Lumix G9. UHD 4K video shooting with 30fps? I am sure the video will be good, but will not be anything to write home about. The AF bells and whistles, I am sure Nikon being Nikon, they will excel in the AF department, perhaps even best out what Sony has offered. The Nikon Z series seem to be confident and bold and can deliver. They took bits and pieces of the best from many other manufacturers and piece all the puzzles together into a machine that works. 

I am sure the image quality of Z7 will be similar or may even surpass what the current amazing D850 can do. I am sure the Nikon Z series will perform admirably across all aspects, and it will just work. I think the Z7 and Z6 are the mirrorless cameras that Nikon needed to get back into the game. Will they be better than Sony full frame mirrorless cameras? Maybe, but as far as making a product that works, I am sure Nikon will not miss this time. They cannot afford to lose, not this late into the game. 

The more important question now would be: what will the smaller players do? Everyone knows the Nikon full frame mirrorless was coming, and Canon may not be too far behind. What does this mean for Olympus, Panasonic and Fujifilm? Previously, smaller players had many product differentiation factors in the earlier game - Olympus E-M5/E-M1 at that time were the only mirrorless cameras to be fully weather sealed and have 5-Axis IS. Panasonic had their wonderful 4K video implementation. Fujifilm's X-Trans sensor was showing promise but honestly was not going anywhere either. The specialized features were not so exclusive anymore, everyone else has drastic improvements in Image Stabilization, everyone else has good 4K video capture now. The advantages of these smaller players are vanishing. What will they do?

I am interested to see the smaller players fight back. Create a new revolution. 

As impressive as what the Nikon Z series cameras are, they have nothing new, as I have argued earlier. They basically just adopted what everyone else have been successfully doing. If the big players are playing too safe and just work on formula that guarantee results, then the smaller players will have to be more creative and daring in pursuit of stronger product differentiation advantage. Sony has been known to be very disruptive when it comes to product strategies. I think Fujifilm, Olympus and Panasonic can benefit from the same and release something completely unexpected and shake the ground a little bit. 

I am thrilled about the announcement myself and cannot wait to read full reviews from reputable sites on the Nikon Z series. Comparisons against Sony is inevitable, and I am not the only one anticipating this. Also, it is about time that Sony is not being the only full frame mirrorless maker anymore. Canon, please do something already. 

What are your thoughts on the Nikon Z7 and Z6? Do share your thoughts! How do you think these new Nikons will change the dynamics of the imaging industry?