Nikon Z fc First Shots: Sample images from Nikon’s new retro-inspired, APS-C Z mirrorless camera
posted Monday, August 2, 2021 at 4:30 PM EST
Click here to browse our Nikon Z fc First Shots
Earlier this summer, Nikon unveiled its second Z mirrorless camera with an APS-C-sized sensor. However, instead of following a similar modern design to the earlier Z50 -- and the full-frame Z-series models -- the new Nikon Z fc looks squarely into the past, drawing design cues and overall styling from Nikon's famed FM2 film camera from 1982. Yet, despite its eye-catching retro-inspired exterior, the Nikon Z fc sports the modern imaging pipeline and performance features that customers expect, offering a solid array of amenities for photo and video creators alike.
Indeed, design aside, the new Nikon Z fc isn't too far off from the earlier Z50 DX-format Z-series camera in terms of overall imaging features, though the Z fc does include a few new features that the Z50 doesn't offer, such as USB C Power Delivery, wireless firmware updates and Eye AF in Movies and wide-area AF with Eye AF for people and animals. The imaging pipeline is essentially the same, with the Z fc using the same 20.9-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor and an EXPEED 6 image processor. The ISO range, much like the Z50, is a rather expansive one, ranging from a base ISO of 100 up to 51,200 and even further with two expanded high ISOs of 102400 and 204800. The Z fc captures 12- or 14-bit RAW (.NEF) images, plus JPEG images, and includes a wide range of user-customizable Picture Controls for in-camera image processing.
We just received our Nikon Z fc review sample, and as is usually the case, the first step in our review process is a trip to the testing lab for First Shots. Curious to see the camera's image quality looks at base ISO or at its super-high ISO settings? Jump over to our Z fc Samples Page for our standard Still Life sample image series. As always, our Nikon Z fc First Shots series lets you see how the camera's image quality performs across its full ISO range, and we have straight-from-camera JPEGs as well as RAW files available for download. Like most First Shots series, our Z fc sample images have JPEGs in two flavors, one (suffix NR2D) with the camera's default level of in-camera noise reduction processing and another (suffix NR0) with in-camera NR turned off.
Ready to pixel-peep sample images from Nikon's new retro mirrorless camera, head over to our Nikon Z fc Samples Page for all the images. And, of course, stay tuned for more to come with our Nikon Z fc Review!