Let's get in the Wayback Machine. Back in 2021 not long after the Zfc first appeared, I wrote an article "What Do I Want in a Z50 II?" I listed a number of features I wanted, so let's see how I did:
- USB charging/power — Got it
- USB-C — Got it
- Articulating Rear LCD — Got it
- Focus changes — Got it, and more than I asked for
- Shutter speeds to 900 seconds — Got it
- Focus shift shooting — ?
- Real buttons instead of virtual — Got it
- Better mic position — Not really
So far, doing pretty good. However...
- Sensor-based stabilization — missing
- Faster focus positioning — Got it
- More than 20mp — missing
- Return of Optimal JPEG — Got it
- Better menus — half and half, didn't address the long PHOTO SHOOTING menu
- UHS II — Got it
- Lenses — Got it, but not from Nikon for the most part
- Dust cleaning — ?
- Headphone jack — Got it
So I was batting at least 11.5 for 17 (probably 12.5 for 17, but can't confirm that until I have a production camera in hand).
Two basic modes of improvement exist, evolution and revolution. The Z9 was a revolution. The Z50 II appears to be a nicely considered evolution. It's clearly a better camera than its predecessor. In one sense, the only things that are still exactly the same are the lens mount, image sensor, and flash tube. Almost everything else has been touched, even if only minimally. A lot of folk, for instance, haven't noticed that EFCT has been dropped from the Mode dial and replaced with U3, giving users more customization options. It's little things like this that make the Z50 II feel different in the hand and actual use.
What Did You Want in a Z50 II?
Basically the "complaints" all center around (with my comment in parens):
- No sensor VR. (Pretty rare at this price point)
- No higher pixel count. (It would have to get to at least 33mp to make a meaningful difference)
- No weather sealing. (Probably the one miss in the evolutionary approach)
Some also mention wanting the EN-EL15 battery, but that would make the camera even heavier and take up more internal space. A few lament the lack of thumb stick, though your thumb is now closer to the Direction pad than on the bigger FX cameras. Not much else about the camera gets mentioned, though a number of folk want more DX/VR lenses.
