Canon has two separate, incompatible mirrorless mounts: The M mount APS-C system and RF mount for its full-frame EOS R and EOS RP cameras. Meanwhile, Nikon stuck with the same mount used on the full-frame Z6 and Z7 cameras. So, why has this caused some controversy?

Critics have argued that since many folks buy APS-C mirrorless cameras for their compact size, the large Z mount could reduce its potential in that area,. Another point is that unsophisticated buyers could easily purchase the wrong lenses for each system.

To me, though, what Nikon did was smart. Having the same mount for both systems likely made development easier, and the company has a lot of ground to make up. Considering that it only has two native zoom lenses for the Z50 so far (the DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 and DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3) it also means that buyers can use full-frame Z mount lenses if they really need a prime.

On top of that, you can use Nikon's DX and FX DSLR lenses on either system with the same adapter. Finally, a wider mount has physics on its side, making it easier for Nikon to build sharper, more compact lenses -- or just crazy fast ones like the Z-Noct f/0.95.

Anyway, while the mount does look comically huge on the tiny body, the Z50 is a very compact APS-C camera. It weighs in at just 397 grams with a battery and memory card, compared to 408 grams for the M6 Mark II -- which doesn't even have a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF). Despite its petite form factor, the Z50 doesn't feel cheap and it's weather-sealed (though not weather-proof), so you can confidently take it into mildly adverse weather.

With the tiny, pancake-like 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens, the Z50 is a great camera to carry around for street, tourism and family photography. At the same time, it has better handling than any other APS-C mirrorless camera I've ever tried. With the deep, chunky grip, it truly feels like a mini DSLR, which gave me confidence shooting in any situation.

The Z50 also has lots of physical dials and buttons, including a four-way control wheel, two top control dials, two function buttons and a main function dial. Those let you change most settings including aperture, shutter-speed, ISO and exposure compensation without resorting to the menus. You can also program the two front function buttons to do whatever you want.

The one thing it lacks is a joystick, which can make it tricky to move your focus point, particularly with the EVF. And unlike with its rivals, you can't use the rear screen as a touchpad with the camera to your eye. Rather, I was forced to use the four-way control wheel, which did slow me down at times.

I like that there's a dedicated switch to select photos or video, with separate ISO, aperture and other settings for each. It keeps photos and video separate, but makes it easy to switch back and forth. (For some reason, the "S" shutter-priority setting doesn't seem to change anything in video mode. I'm not sure if that's a bug, but Nikon needs to address it either way, as that mode is vital for video shooting.)

Nikon's menu system is second only to Fujifilm's, so it's relatively easy to find the settings you need. Overall, the Z50 has the best handling of any APS-C mirrorless camera in this price range. Considering it's the company's first model, kudos to Nikon for that.

It's not all good news, though. The Z50 lacks the in-body stabilization (or "VR" vibration reduction, as Nikon calls it) available on the full-frame models. However, the first two lenses for the system do have VR with five stops of shake reduction. That should let you shoot down to about 1/15th of a second without any blur, and it will help vloggers make less shaky videos, to boot.

The EVF is similar to what you get on rival cameras, which is to say that it's clear, bright and does the job well. As for the display, the Z50 has a 3.2-inch, 1-million-dot touchscreen that can control just about everything on the camera. It tilts out and 180 degrees downward, making it handy for selfies or vlogging. However, it's arguably less useful than the upward-tilting displays on the A6400 and M6 Mark II -- more on that in a minute.

The Z50 also has a built-in pop-up flash that's useful for fill or very dark rooms, like all its rivals. As for the storage situation, unlike the M6 II and X-T30, it only supports SDXC UHS I cards. As you'll soon see, that can make for slow buffering times.

Performance

The Z50 can shoot at 11 fps with autofocus and auto-exposure. That's impressive, but unfortunately, it couldn't do that for very long. Thanks to the UHS I card, I was only able to get off about 10-15 shots in RAW/JPEG mode before the buffer would fill up entirely, and it can take up to 20 seconds or more to clear. If you don't need RAW and can shoot in JPEG only mode, however, it'll hit faster speeds for a much longer period of time.

The Z50 has a silent shooting mode, and you can use it for both single shooting and burst modes. With the M6 Mark II, by comparison, you can only use silent mode for single shots.

Talking of the competition, Sony's A6400 is the gold standard for autofocus on APS-C cameras, so how does the Z50 measure up? It should do well in theory, with a 209-point phase-detect system that's similar to the one on the Z6.

It fared pretty well in my tests, delivering a good percentage of in-focus shots on fast-moving subjects. For most regular autofocus chores on static subjects, it worked great, but was occasionally stymied in low-light conditions.

However, Nikon lacks Sony's software and electronic chops, so the face- and eye-detection system is not nearly as good. The main problem I saw was that it tended to lag behind the subject, unlike the real-time performance on Sony's camera. As a result, it can miss focus if your subject moves or turns around.

If you're doing family photography, parties and the like, the Z50's AF is just fine. However, for the same price, the A6400, and even Canon's M6 Mark II, have superior systems.

Since the Z50 lacks vibration reduction, you'll need to depend on the lenses for that. As mentioned, both the new zooms have that feature, which works well for shooting both video and photos. However, if you need a prime lens, none of the full-frame Z mount lenses are stabilized.

As for battery life, Nikon is using an all-new 1,120mAh EN-EL25 battery, promising a middling 320 shots per charge according to the strict CIPA standards. As usual, I found I could at least double that number in real-world shooting.

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