I've been working on more reviews, trying to fill out the lens section and add in the Z6 II camera evaluation. As part of this, I needed to start thinking through what I'd put in the tables that contain my short-hand recommendations (cameras, lenses). The lens table has been updated with the latest reviews, but the camera table has me rethinking my ratings and hasn't been updated yet.
One thing about my star ratings (for Performance, Features, and Value): they don't work like many of you think. My stars are more like a serious and careful teacher's grades, where F (one star) is a failure, and A (five stars) is exceptional. C (three stars) is average, or what you should expect generally. Moreover, like grades in school, they're subject to change.
The real question I keep asking myself about the Z Series cameras is this: do they meet expectations, or do they exceed expectations? In other words, is Nikon an average student or a better-than-average student, particularly when it comes to performance and features?
I think I've been a bit lenient in my grading of the Z's previously. As the term has progressed, I'm finding my assessment slowly moving some of my exceeds ratings into meets.
This isn't a terrible thing, but it illustrates one of Nikon's many problems at the moment: they're once again moving from being in front of the pack (D1, D100, D3, D300, D5, D500, D850, etc.) to being in the pack (D2, D40/60/80, D4, etc.). That puts stress on pricing, which in turn is already stressed by lower sales volume.
But the real problem with the Z cameras is this: there's really only a middle.
The Z5, Z6, Z6 II, Z7, and Z7 II are technically the same camera with some sensor/processor differences. Those differences aren't exceptional, they're much more modest in terms of what they do or don't provide. Now perhaps Nikon is "holding off" some features that would require the second EXPEED processor for later Z6 II and Z7 II firmware updates, but that still isn't likely to push those II models particularly far from the jumbled middle.
At the bottom, we really only have the Z50 and two lenses. At the top we have nothing, though I suppose some of the lenses are ready for top cameras, and the Road Map suggests more that will be.
With cameras, Nikon needs to move faster, more broadly, and at the top, with features and performance that once again move Nikon to the front of the pack. In the meantime, expect me to be moving some of my star ratings from exceeds to meets expectations.
