Nikon Z30 as a Street Cam | First Impressions
The Nikon Z30 is the newest (at time of writing) in Nikon’s mirrorless camera lineup. Touted by most as a ‘content creation’ camera, aimed at being one step up from an iPhone for vlogging or making TikToks.
Personally, my interest in the camera started back when Nikon Rumors leaked the patent, and my mind instantly went to a stealthy street-shooter, something previously missing from the Nikon mirrorless lineup. Now that the camera is finally out and available, and especially now that its reputation has been chosen for it by the YouTube Review echelon, I decided to test the camera out for myself and see if it really is just a vlogging camera, or if maybe my inclination was correct.
Watch below to see my First Impressions:
Summary of my First Impressions
Very small and light, yet excellent grip for those (like me) who need it
Articulating screen isn’t optimal for stills photography, but is useful for taking low shots from the hip
If you do any talking-head-type videos on the side of photography, then the screen and tally light are great, bonus points for a dedicated phot/video switch which remembers settings (looking at you Fuji)
Camera is so small, lack of a viewfinder isn’t that big of a deal, it can function much like a Ricoh GR or other point-and-shoot. A manual-focus lens and zone-focusing makes this easier too, though Nikon’s AF is definitely good enough for Street in the year 2022
The function buttons on the front of the camera make it easy to use this one-handed which is nice, mine are set to zoom in for fine-tuning focus
Highlight-weighted metering is a godsend for harsh-light shooters like myself
Build quality - this thing feels way more solid than, for example, the Fuji X-E4. I have seen some reputable sources say it is weather-sealed, though I can’t find any Nikon source confirming this
The price - this camera is so reasonably priced it almost makes it a no-brainer for me, for $850 new you can get this camera and the incredibly tiny, yet sharp 16-50 DX kit lens
The Cons:
Lack of a viewfinder will be the big one for most, but optical viewfinders can be purchased for much less than the $300+ you would spend on the Nikon Zfc
The articulating screen isn’t the best design for a stills camera, but also not the worst. At least you can take waist-level or overhead shots
The lack of Fuji’s film simulations and color science is what ultimately kept me from buying this camera, and as much as I liked this, that’s kind of an unfair comparison. For the record, you can get some custom profiles from https://nikonpc.com/
