Nikon Z7 Performance

Generally good performance for its class, but somewhat limited buffer.

About average startup time to first shot for a mirrorless, but much slower than most DSLRs. Switching from Play to Record and taking a shot was faster, but also slower than most DSLRs. The D850 for instance powered up and took a shot in about 0.2 second, and switched modes and took a shot in only about 0.1 second.

In terms of the Z7's ability to determine that it's properly focused when shooting the same target multiple times (with no change of focus setting between iteration, to remove the impact of lens AF speed), its speed was good but not exceptional. The Z7's full AF shutter lag measured 0.215 second with the mechanical shutter (default mode), 0.207 second with electronic first curtain shutter (EFCS) enabled and 0.156 second when using the all electronic shutter. By comparison, the D850 managed only 0.076 second with the mechanical shutter, and that includes flipping its mirror up out of the way.

Manual focus lag was 66 milliseconds with the mechanical shutter, 60 milliseconds with EFCS and interestingly, 0.136 second with the electronic shutter The D850 tested at 52 milliseconds.

When prefocused, shutter lag was very similar to manual focus lag at 65, 59 and 134 milliseconds respectively. The D850 managed 46 milliseconds.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Single-shot cycle times were quite good at under 0.5 second for both best quality JPEG and RAW+JPEG frames. (Note that we no longer test single-shot mode with just RAW files, as the results are usually somewhere in between JPEG and RAW+JPEG.)

We tested the Z7's fastest Continuous H Extended burst mode which supports continuous AF but AE is locked at the first frame. Performance matched Nikon's specification of 9 frames per second for JPEG and 12-bit NEF files, and 8 frames per second with 14-bit NEF files. Continuous H mode with full AF/AE support is rated at 5.5 fps or 5 fps with 14-bit NEFs, and the Continuous L rate is programmable from 1-5 fps. When using the all-electronic shutter (Silent mode), the maximum frame rates are a little slower, toping out at 8 fps in Continuous H Extended for JPEGs or 12-bit NEFs and 6.5 fps with 14-bit NEFs, while Continuous H and L modes top out at 4 and 3.5 fps respectively.

Buffer depth when shooting JPEGs was limited to only 26 frames before slowing down, though that's one more than Nikon's 25 frame spec. Note that Nikon says it doesn't matter what the size or quality is for JPEGs -- the buffer depth remains at about 25. When shooting losslessly compressed 12-bit NEF files, the buffer depth was 23 frames in our tests, falling to 20 frames when shooting RAW+JPEG. As mentioned previously, shooting 14-bit NEFs reduced the maximum frame rate to 8 frames per second, and also reduced RAW and RAW+JPEG buffer depths to 19 and 17 frames respectively.

Buffer-full rates averaged from 4 fps to about 2.7 fps depending on the file type, but cycle times can vary a lot when the buffer is full, oscillating between full speed and cycle times as long as almost a second.

Buffer clearing was pretty fast with our Lexar Pro 2933x XQD 2.0 card, even with the large file sizes the Z7 generates. We measured clearing times ranging from only 4.6 to 6.4 seconds depending on the file type, and the camera lets you adjust settings while clearing but you can't view just-shot photos while the buffer is clearing.

To see how buffer depths and clearing times varied with RAW file type, we also tested Compressed (lossy) and Uncompressed NEFs, at 12 and 14 bits:

As you can see, shooting in 12-bit mode not only increased the frame rate but also buffer depth, though clearing times were also a bit higher. And as expected, clearing times improved as compression was increased.

Bottom line, the Z7's performance in the lab was generally good for its type. Startup and play to record times were about average for a mirrorless, but sluggish compared to most DSLRs. Autofocus speeds were good as was shutter lag, but again not as fast as most prosumer DSLRs. Cycle times and the fastest burst rate were quite good for its class and resolution, however buffer depths, while decent, weren't anything to write home about. Buffer clearing times were pretty fast, though, thanks to the use of a fast XQD card.

Battery Life

Below average CIPA-rated battery life.

The Z7 uses a custom EN-EL15b rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with both a single battery and dedicated charger, though in-camera charging via USB is also supported. Older EN-EL15a and EL-EL15 batteries can also be used, but battery life is lower and they can't be recharged in-camera.

The CIPA-rated 330 shots per charge using the EVF and 400 shots with the LCD are below average for a mirrorless camera, and keep in mind the Z7 doesn't have a built-in flash which would only reduce CIPA battery life (it's fired for 50% of shots in the CIPA battery-life test). On the other hand, real-world battery endurance is far better than these CIPA figures suggest. Still, we recommend getting a second battery for your Z7. As of this writing, a battery grip is not available for the Z7, though Nikon is apparently developing one.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of on fully-charged battery, based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions. While real-world battery life tends to be much better for mirrorless cameras, CIPA-rated battery life is still very useful for comparison purposes.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))