Nikon Z fc Review | Photography Blog

Introduction

Ease of Use

It can’t have escaped Nikon’s notice that there has been a bit of a backwards trend towards retro-styled mirrorless cameras in recent years, as well as, separately, a rise in the popularity of film based photography – not only from people returning to the art, but from those of a younger, student generation.

Fujifilm and Olympus have been selling nothing but vintage in appearance digital cameras for years, so, by comparison Nikon is a little late to the party with the rangefinder-like dials and switches that now adorn its latest Z fc mirrorless offering, its implementation having taken inspiration from its old FM2 film SLR from the 1980s, including familiar pentaprism style design.

Be prepared to have strangers curiously asking whether you’re using an ‘old’ camera when out and about. We had the standard silver and black edition in for review, but the Z fc is available in up to five additional colours in overseas territories that include pastel shades, brown and grey.

A brief ‘getting started’ level print manual in several languages was included in our box, but if you want the ‘full fat’ version covering the camera in much more depth, you’ll need to get on the Internet and download it as a PDF.

Like Nikon’s earlier Z 50 model, this newest 20.9 effective megapixel example eschews a full frame sensor for an APS-C sized chip instead, which seems a shame when the Z fc’s rangefinder-like operation will surely appeal to photo enthusiasts and even pros seeking a very ‘hands on’ approach to image taking.

Nikon however sees the camera as having intergenerational appeal. Dad may have used the FM2 back in the 1980s; now he can share use of the Z fc with his tech-savvy son. At least opting for a consumer level sensor has made for a more affordable camera overall compared with its range-topping full frame Z 6II and Z 7II siblings at the time of writing.

The Z fc was retailing for £899 body-only on launch – with a couple of kit lens bundles, adding either a compact 16-50mm f/2.8 zoom in matching silver colour, which needs to be fully unfurled before a shot can be taken, or fixed 28mm f/2.8 lens in regular black, nudging the combined price north of £1,000, yet still making practical sense for any complete newcomer to Nikon’s ‘Z’ system.

Its price also makes the choice between this one and the existing Z 50 trickier, as many headline features such as resolution, 4K video up to 30fps and ISO range are shared and there is not a great deal between them in terms of a street price.

Like most of its competitors, the manufacturer has opted for a best of both worlds approach here when it comes to the Z fc’s handling and operation. To take one example, we get the chance to fire the camera’s shutter release either via the regular top plate button encircled by the on/off switch, so that we’re able to be very quickly up and shooting, or by simply tapping its LCD touch screen to alternatively capture a shot.

Yes, the more experienced can twiddle the top plate dials and knobs to their heart’s content to fine tune the results if they’re up to speed on what that’ll do to the end result, or, alternatively if less familiar, simply leave the camera set on auto and just point and shoot.

In other words, the Z fc provides room to grow for anyone weighing this option up as a natural step up from (or complementary accessory to) their smartphone. Talking of ‘weight’ this mirrorless model is solid feeling without being prohibitively weighty at 445g with card and battery inserted, but without lens attached.

Yes, it’s a good deal heavier and bulkier than your smartphone, granted, even with either of Nikon’s relatively compact and equally lightweight build compact duo of new lenses twinned with it, but the magnesium alloy and plastic construction of the camera body stops it from feeling a dead weight in combination.

It’s fair to say that the Z fc’s top plate is fairly crammed, with barely room to get a finger or thumb around the various dials and levels, with, in most cases, one stacked upon the other so individual dials actually have multiple functions.

The standard P,A,S,M shooting mode settings are accessed via a lever that sits beneath the dial for selecting ISO options, while a lever for swapping between stills aperture or video sits beneath the shutter speed settings.

That said, we quickly got used to the busy set up and found ourselves liking it that way; it makes the Nikon feel like a finely tuned sports watch with an impressive array of functionality literally to be found at our fingertips.

The top plate features three manual dials controlling shutter speed, exposure compensation (+/- 3EV) and ISO sensitivity, while a small window handily displays the aperture in use. Alternatively, simple access to a variety of settings is achievable via a press of the ‘i’ button and i menu and use of the touch screen LCD in tandem.

If you’re considering this one as a possible blogging/vlogging camera, then you’ll be pleased to learn the monitor can also be flipped fully outwards and the screen rotated to face whoever is in front of the lens. The increased articulation of the screen here is a first for the ‘Z’ series.

What we don’t get here however is a built-in flash, though there is a vacant hotshoe for an optional accessory flash, so in terms of light sensitivity options when taking photographs or video without, it’s worth noting that top plate dial offers direct access to incremental settings ranging from ISO100 to 52100.

However there are two additional settings on the same dial marked ‘H1’ and ‘H2’, which nudge this top setting the equivalent of one or two steps higher, respectively (a whopping, albeit noise-prone ISO 102400 or ISO 204800).

Obviously if the shooting mode dial has been set at ‘Auto’ however, the camera will choose the most apt ISO setting for the user. Interestingly, if ‘silent photography’ mode has been selected in the camera menu, then the topper-most H1 and H2 sensitivities are disabled, and even if the ISO dial has been set at either of those, the maximum recorded sensitivity is capped at ISO 51200. It’s also worth bearing in mind that in video mode, the available range narrows slightly, from ISO100 to ISO25600 – even if the dial has been turned to a higher setting.

While it boasts nostalgic appeal, as regards its performance and response times the compact and portable Z fc is distinctly up-to-date. For instance it ably supports Eye Detection AF and Animal Detection AF for both stills and video, as originally introduced on the higher-end and heavier Nikon Z 7II and Z 6II.

This means it’s possible to maintain continuous focus on the eyes of the intended subject when there are several people in the frame, or the tracking of the eyes of a pet in motion. Plus while it can be used for shooting high quality stills and video, it supports Nikon’s Webcam Utility, meaning that it’s bang-up-to-date in this age of Zoom and Microsoft teams apps by being able to be used as a web camera too.

OK, so while the camera feel durably solid when gripped with little obvious looseness to the components, one grumble given our natural climate is that the body isn’t fully weather-resistant, which would certainly have come in handy during the August showers of our review period, albeit pushed up the asking price.

We do get a eye-level electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a life-like image provided, plus the aforementioned convenience of a vari-angle tilting touch screen LCD. In terms of the camera finding focus, capturing a shot and committing it to memory, responsiveness is up there with the speed we’d expect from any DSLR, even when shooting JPEG + Raw files in tandem, so in that respect the Z fc quickly becomes an extension of our own hand and eye.

Showing its consumer status, perhaps, there’s just the one card slot for standard SD cards, but given the market it’s aimed at and price point, this isn’t something worth grumbling about.

Neither is it worth picking holes in the fact that the supplied rechargeable battery delivers around the standard issue 300 images from a full charge – especially since we also thankfully get a mains charger to go with it; the alternative being to charge the battery in-situ with the aid of the USB cable and a laptop or desktop PC to hand.

So what of the images the Nikon Zfc produces? Do they hold up as being worth the £900 investment – more if you need to add a lens if you don’t already own one that’s compatible?

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 20.9 megapixel JPEG image size option, which produces an average image size of around 10Mb.

As we’ve established, the Nikon Z fc offers plenty of operability at our fingertips to control how our images turn out. That said we’re dealing with an APS-C sensor camera, and lenses that have been constructed for practicality and compactness alongside image quality, so at their worst results can occasionally resemble snapshots.

No matter – simply delete, re-frame, re-focus and try again. It is possible to get pleasingly defocused backgrounds and sharp subjects with the provided lenses, and with a bit more of a considered approach.

We were also impressed with the realism of the colours delivered, which are rich and warm when conditions are perfect or impressively lush even when they’re not, without ever looking unrealistic or overly-saturated.

As for low light performance, while you’ll want to steer away from the four uppermost settings to avoid the usual noise-festooned results resembling those of the Pointilist art movement, unless absolutely desperate, we were pretty impressed with the Z fc’s performance.

Throughout our testing we came across little in the way of obvious camera shake, unless literally shooting handheld in the dark with only a street lamp for illumination.

When left on auto setting, particularly when it’s already sunny out, there is a tendency to overexpose, but this again is simply fixed with a quick twiddle of the top plate exposure compensation dial.

Overall, images deliver plenty of detail, yet little in the way of image noise. So ultimately what’s not to like here?

Noise

There are 12 ISO settings available on the Nikon Z fc which you can select at any time. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for the JPEG format.

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 51200 (100% Crop)

ISO 102400 (100% Crop)

ISO 204800 (100% Crop)

Night

Portraits

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon Z fc camera, which were all taken using the 20.9 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Nikon Z fc enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We’ve provided some Nikon RAW (NEF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).”

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Conclusion

Nikon’s future could well be boosted by its past, as its mirrorless Z fc takes inspiration from the 1980s to attempt to push its long-established heritage to the forefront and hook a fresh generation of photographers.

OK, so some will grumble that Nikon’s retro active offering is not full frame mirrorless, especially when there’s otherwise a lot for enthusiasts and pros to love here in terms of hands-on, manual functionality – but then its pricing reflects the fact that the manufacturer has newcomers as well as existing mirrorless photographers in its marketing sights.

The relative affordability of the Z fc in comparison with rivals and Nikon’s own Z series also in part excuses occasional corner cutting, such as a lack of weather sealing or on-board flash, and the backplate and baseplate feeling a tad plastic-y compared with the solid-feel dials and levers up top.

Nit picking for sure though on a camera broadly constructed to meet Nikon’s usual high standard and which has much to recommend as a device that anyone learning the photographic ropes won’t easily tire of.

Ultimately if you prefer a modern-looking Nikon mirrorless then the Z50 is a great option – but if the vintage bells-and-whistles hold an extra appeal and such nostalgia tweaks those heartstrings, then the Z fc is the one.

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Nikon Z fc.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Nikon Z fc from around the web.

Specifications

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