We’ve been wondering what would happen after Nikon acquired RED in 2024, a big move for the heritage camera maker that has lost video street cred to Canon, Sony, and Blackmagic Design (BMD) even though Nikon beat its competitors to be the first major manufacturer to bring HD video to DSLRs with the D90 in 2008. Acquiring RED offers Nikon a chance to regain lost ground, and our first look at the newly released Nikon ZR does not disappoint, especially for churches seeking an affordable video solution.
The Nikon ZR is essentially a mash-up of Nikon’s prosumer ethos and RED’s cinematic image technology, and it rings in at just a tick over $2,000, making it a direct competitor with BMD’s Pocket Cinema Camera, with a few caveats.
Advantages: RED Image Tech, Body Size, and Audio.
The core of the camera is the full-frame sensor equipped with “R3D NE*1, a new video recording file format based on RED's R3D RAW video recording codec and developed exclusively for Nikon cameras. It uses color science and exposure standards of RED cameras to ensure accurate color matching,” according to Nikon’s ZR press release.
Now, that’s not exactly earth-shattering. However, while BMD’s color science, image quality, and codec are really good, it is arguably not as good as RED’s, so there’s an immediate advantage for church productions because the ZR makes RED film much more approachable. It also shoots all of that at speeds up to 59.95p in 6k with 15 dynamic stops of range.
I mean, come on, right? That’s nice.
But that’s not even the full kicker for churches, here. The ZR’s compact size edges out the Pocket Cinema Camera and even the Canon R5-C. The ZR is wildly small, on par with offerings from Sony, and while BMD and Canon have minimized their camera bodies about as much as they can, they can’t get close to what Sony packs into small packages. But, if you want Sony’s small footprint, you have to pay Sony’s price.
Not anymore with the ZR. It offers bang for buck that’s just about unbeatable, packing RED image technology into a mid-2000s, digital point-and-shoot footprint with a big monitor on the back for easy run-and-gun shooting.
It’s also powered by USB-C, so building a rig around it (there’s a SmallRig cage and cinemana build-out on the way) is no big deal.
Oh, and you get 32-bit float audio recording just for fun.
Tradeoffs
There’s no SDI out. Also, the video output is mini HDMI. Not great, but you can’t have your cake and eat it too, friends. It just means you’ll have to get creative if you want to stream with this camera, although the onboard monitor means you only need one out for your stream feed.
Additionally, it features the Nikon Z mount, so if you want to use your Canon lenses, you’ll need to buy an adapter, but those are a dime a dozen on Amazon or B&H. Tamron makes some affordable and respectable Z-mounts if you don’t want to buy an adapter, and they’re a great option for churches on a budget.
Honestly, that’s it.
This camera looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun to use and a viable option for churches that need affordable image quality in a small footprint. Once we get to play around with one, we’ll let you know how it goes.
