Nikon has recently launched its retro-inspired mirrorless camera, the Z FC. As previously reported, details and images of the new camera were leaked online ahead of its official unveiling, thus shedding some light on its vintage Nikon FM-series inspired design as well as some hardware specifications.
The Z FC in a way succeeds the brand’s earlier retro styled release back in 2013, the Nikon Df, where it too sports a classic silver and black body. But this retro look appears to work even better on the new camera, thanks to the more compact bodies of mirrorless cameras that are more in line with the film cameras of old. While the iconic silver and black look is the “hero” colour prominently shown in the promotional materials, Nikon is actually offering the Z FC in six colour options: white, pink, mint, grey, brown and beige.
The whole retro-inspired look mostly applies in an aesthetic sense, as the rest of the device comes with all the familiar modern day mirrorless camera related features. These include its various dials, Z-mount support, rear vari-angle LCD touchscreen, wireless connectivity, OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF), SD card support, and also USB-C data transfer and charging capabilities.
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As mentioned in our last article, the Z FC’s specifications match Nikon’s 2019 Z50 mirrorless camera to a key. It is equipped with the same 20.9MP APS-C sensor, an ISO range of up to 51,200, high autofocus at -4 EV, 11fps of high-speed continuous shooting, and up to 4K UHD video recording at 30fps with no crop. Granted, this might make the Nikon Z FC feel more like a refurbished Z50 rather than an all-new product on its own, but such approaches are pretty common by camera brands for tribute cameras such as this.
Also unveiled during the launch are two new Nikkor lenses, a 16-50mm pancake and 28mm prime lens, which are decked out in silver to match the Nikon Z FC. The brand is also planning to launch a retro-styled DX 18-140mm travel zoom lens much later this year.
The newly launched Nikon Z FC is slated to be released in late July, with the camera on its own priced at US$960 (~RM3,985). There’s also an option to have it bundled together with the 16-50mm kit lens or the 28mm, which are priced at US$1,100 (~RM4,566) and US$1,200 (~RM4,980) respectively. It is certain that the camera will eventually be sold in Malaysia, evident of it being promoted on Nikon’s local website and social media channels. Unfortunately, we have no information on when that may be.
