Skip to content
SweetMemoryStudio.com is an Amazon Affiliate. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. More info

Nikon Z FC Review

If you’re looking for a camera that you can use for vlogging and photography, Nikon Z fc will sort you. It’s lightweight and captures clear images. The Z fc has good autofocus feture that quickly detects the faces and eyes with ease. One drawback of Z fc is it has no joystick essential for moving the AF point, and also, you can’t move the LCD when your eyes are focused on the finder.

The Nikon Z fc is manufactured by the Nikon Company, and it’s the second mirrorless camera after Nikon Z50. Although these two cameras are almost identical in appearance, the shooting experience and performance are different. The Z fc is a stylish, lightweight camera that uses a 20.9-megapixel CMOS image sensor.

Nikon Z FC Review

Buy it on Amazon.com

Nikon Z fc key specifications

  • 4K/30p video
  • Nikon Z mount
  • 20.9 megapixel CMOS sensor
  • USB power delivery
  • Supports eye AF while doing stills and video recording
  • 209 hybrid autofocus system
  • Retro-inspired operability and style
  • Native ISO that range from 100-51,200, shutter speed, and exposure compensation
  • Available in six edition colors
  • Burst shooting of 9 fps with 15-bit Raw
  • EXPEED 6 processor

Features

Body and Design

The body of Z fc closely resembles that of the Nikon FM and FE SLRs. It doesn’t have the protruding grip that is essential when holding a camera. However, it has a bolt-on accessory that screws into the camera’s base. The Z fc has a plastic feel, unlike most Nikon old versions that have a metallic feel. Also, the SD card slot is available at the bottom of the camera.

Nikon Z fc has a native ISO dial on its left side. Also, on the left side there are shutters and exposure compensation dials. The Z fc doesn’t have the Auto feature, so you need to enable and disable Auto ISO manually. You must also hold the central locking buttons if you want to rotate the ISO dial.

You need to rotate the dial to select the shutter speed, which locks at either B, T, X, and 1/3 Step settings. Also, the exposure compensation dial doesn’t lock. If you want to select the mode dial, you can rotate the small plastic knob beneath the ISO. Under the shutter speed dial, you will find the stills/video mode switch.

Nikon Z fc has a small aperture information display and a cool touch. The shutter release is surrounded by a power switch that has a decent feel. You will also see the video record button on the camera.

If you look at the back of this model, you will find different buttons such as the delete, display, AE-L/AF-L, view mode buttons. You will also see the zoom in/out buttons on the right side, and also there is a directional pad that has a central OK button. The Z fc has a fully articulated display that can easily spin around to take a selfie. You can flip the display inward to protect it. The back of this camera has a leatherette texture.

Autofocus and Performance

The Z fc camera has a 209-point hybrid autofocus system. It also has contrast detection and on-sensor phase-detect pixels. The AF covers about 85% vertical area and about 87% of the horizontal area. The Z fc supports different modes such as the single-point AF, pinpoint AF (photo only), wide-area AF (S), dynamic-area AF (photo only), wide-area AF (L-people), and many more. These autofocus areas work well and properly lock onto the eyes.

The autofocus of Z fc varies from that of Z50 since it offers full-time Eye AF if you’re recording a video. This feature makes it a good choice if you want to use the camera for webcam and vlogging.

The Z fc is a bit sluggish when using the slow lens. However, its performance is pretty good, especially when recording videos. It records 4K UHD videos using an APS-C image sensor and also uses full pixel readout. It supports 4x and 5x slow-motion videos as well as record time-lapses.

Image quality and shooting experience

Since the Nikon Z fc is easier to operate, it lets you control the image turnout. The APS-C sensor camera and lenses are made to enhance the image quality. The Z fc produces rich and warm colors when set to the right conditions. To avoid the usual noise, you need to prevent the four uppermost settings. However, you’ll experience overexposure if you select auto settings when shooting on a sunny day. Generally, the Z fc captures quality images even when in different situations.

Thumbs up

  • Produces excellent image quality
  • Solid4k video quality
  • Classic camera design
  • Reliable autofocus system
  • Supports still and video settings
  • Lightweight
  • USB port
  • Well-designed control dials
  • Supports microphone jack

Thumbs down

  • Have no headphone jack
  • It has no joystick
  • Sometimes it produces a blue cast, especially when one is using the auto white balance
  • No selfie-specific features

Buy it on Amazon.com

Nikon D850 DSLR Camera Reviewed