Nikon Z30
No Viewfinder, 21 MP APS-C DX, 11 FPS, 4K/30, ISO 102,400, 3" flip LCD
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
Z9 Z8 Z7 II Z6 III Z6 II Z5 II Zƒ Z7 Z6 Z5
DX (APS-C): Zƒc Z50 II Z50 Z30
Z System Z Lenses All Nikon Lenses Flash
Nikon Z30 (14.2 oz./404g with battery and SD card, $607) and Nikon Z 16-50mm VR. bigger. I'd get mine at Adorama, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or eventually used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you get it elsewhere. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, dropped, incomplete, gray-market, store demo or used camera — and my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new Z30. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new Z30 before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
October 2023 Better Pictures Nikon Mirrorless Mirrorless Lenses All Nikon Lenses Nikon Flash All Reviews
Nikon Z30 and Nikon Z 16-50mm VR. bigger.
Nikon Z30 and Nikon Z 16-50mm VR. bigger.
Sample Images top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
(more at High ISOs)
These are just snapshots; my real work is in my Gallery.
These are all shot hand-held as BASIC JPGs; no tripods, NORMAL or FINE JPGs or RAW files were used or needed.
Purple Sunset, 7:28 PM, Thursday, 21 July 2022. Cropped square from Nikon Z30, Nikon Z 16-50mm VR DX at 34mm at f/10 at 1/400 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 15.3), boosted in Luminar Aurora HDR and then in Perfectly Clear. bigger.
The sun went down a half hour later at 7:57 PM; these next shots were taken 20 minutes or more after sunset when it was very dark and gray to our eyes. These are shot hand-held at high ISOs and then boosted to add color, but that also emphasizes the high ISO noise:
Orange Bluffs, 8:17 PM, Thursday, 21 July 2022. Nikon Z30, Nikon Z 16-50mm VR DX at 31.5 mm wide-open at f/5 hand-held at 1/50 at Auto ISO 9,000 (LV 3.8), Luminar Aurora HDR to lighten the dark hill and darken the light sky, perspective correction in Photoshop CS6. bigger.
Relaxing Sunset Turns to Dark, 8:18 PM, Thursday, 21 July 2022. Nikon Z30, Nikon Z 16-50mm VR DX at 50mm wide-open at f/6.3 hand-held at 1/80 of a second at Auto ISO 3,200 (LV 6⅔), Luminar Aurora HDR to lighten the shot and add color. bigger.
By lightening and enhancing this image I'm emphasizing the noise typical of much higher ISOs; the original file isn't this noisy.
Blue and Gold, 8:19 PM, Thursday, 21 July 2022. Nikon Z30, Nikon Z 16-50mm VR DX at 16mm wide-open at f/3.5 hand-held at 1/25 of a second at Auto ISO 1,800 (LV 4.1), as shot, perspective correction in Photoshop CS6. bigger.
Corroded Storm Grate, 6:39 PM, Thursday, 28 July 2022. Square crop from the right side of a Nikon Z30 file, Nikon Z 16-50mm VR DX at 50mm wide-open at f/6.3 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 250 (LV 10.3), boosted in Luminar Aurora HDR and then in Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Blue and Gold, 7:10 PM, Thursday, 28 July 2022. Crop from Nikon Z30, Nikon Z 16-50mm VR DX at 50mm wide-open at f/6.3 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 140 (LV 11.1), boosted in Luminar Aurora HDR. bigger.
Golden Lanterns and Walkway 8:06 PM, Thursday, 28 July 2022. Cropped from Nikon Z30, Nikon Z 16-50mm VR DX at 50mm wide-open at f/6.3 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 8,000 (LV 5.3), Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Pedestrian Crossing, 8:43 PM, Thursday, 28 July 2022. Nikon Z30, Nikon Z 16-50mm VR DX at 18.5mm wide-open at f/3.8 at 1/30 at Auto ISO 11,400 (LV 1.9), Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Holy cow! Do you remember the olden days with cameras couldn't even get to ISO 12,000, and if they did, looked like complete mud? Back in the days of film, light meters often couldn't meter this low, and if they did, they'd tell me that this would be a three-minute exposure at f/16 at ISO 50, which due to reciprocity failure, means I'd have to have been carrying a tripod and make a ten-minute exposure at f/16 (f/16 to get depth-of field on my HASSELBLAD or view camera).
Today, I can point and shoot as I walk around. How cool is this!
Introduction top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
The Nikon Z30 is a tiny APS-C (DX) mirrorless camera with a flippy screen, but no viewfinder.
It's fun to shoot and the pictures look great!
The Z30 is awesome, with ergonomics so good that it's easy to set, frame, focus and shoot, even held at arm's length, and we get unbeaten Nikon image quality, with ultra-high ISO performance as good or better than the full-frame Z9!
The Z30 is far superior to the Sony ZV-E10 because the Z30 handles so well, with better in-hand feel, far better control and menus, and far better-looking images due to Nikon's superior real-world color rendition.
Be sure to get the Z30 as a kit with the tiny Nikon Z 16-50mm VR for the ultimate tiny camera experience.
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
New intro top
First Z camera with no viewfinder, just a tiny flippy screen.
Since there are no finder optics, this could be the first glass-free Nikon camera ever, if you ignore the microlenses in the sensor!
Nikon's smallest, lightest and least expensive Z camera.
Front tally light.
Good intro top
U1, U2 and U3 universal recall modes to recall entire sets of camera settings in one click.
Dedicated MENU and [▶] PLAY buttons on the right side for one-handed use.
The electronic level works great: it's easy to see from a distance as it turns green, and it doesn't interfere with composition.
Great ergonomics; this tiny camera feels great in my big American hands, easy to set and shoot with brilliant menus and controls and a grippy rubber covering.
The Program exposure mode is constant regardless of focal length, shooting at 1/30 at f/2.8, 1/60 at f/4, 1/125 at f/5.6, 1/250 at f/8, 1/500 at f/11 and etc. This is better than the Z9, which shifts its program with focal length. This is weird because typically pro cameras keep it constant and it shifts in 8 consumer cameras.
You can program the first three characters of the file name. I set mine to "Z30."
Menu settings can be saved to a card, where they are in an NCSET011.BIN file. (That link will let you download my file to put on a card and load into your camera; it won't run or do anything here in your browser.)
Small.
Light.
Flippy screen for selfies.
Stereo mic built in.
Bad intro top
No viewfinder.
While everyone thinks that the 180º flippy screen makes selfies easy, it doesn't because all the buttons are still on the back of the camera! You can snap yourself; but you need to flip the screen around again to be able to hit the PLAY button and navigate around. An iPhone makes this so much easier because you can see all your controls at the same time as you can see the screen.
Every image folder is polluted with a junk NC_FLLST.DAT file.
Production offshored to Thailand, not made domestically in Japan.
Missing intro top
No viewfinder.
No ultrasonic sensor cleaner.
Shooting icons and data don't rotate when held vertically.
Menus don't rotate when held vertically.
Simple ON/OFF menu entries still require selecting that item, choosing the other OFF or ON option, and then hitting OK to register your selection. You can't simply toggle them directly at the menu listing as you can in the Z9.
No built-in flash.
No battery percentage indicator; just a three-segment bar graph.
No search ability in menu system.
No timed manual exposures longer than 30 seconds. You have to use the TIME setting and an external timer instead. Even the first Nikon F5 of 1996 gave manual exposures out to 30 minutes, sorry.
No 4:3 or 4:5 "Ideal Format" crops (square and 16:9 only).
No pulled ISOs below ISO 100.
No Quality Priority (FINE ★, NORMAL ★or BASIC ★️) JPG options; just the usual FINE, NORMAL and BASIC Size Priority options.
No sensor-shift Image Stabilization.
Playback images can't rotate as you rotate the camera, as iPhones do.
My American version only has languages for The Americas: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. There are no other language options.
Nikon Z30 and Nikon Z 16-50mm VR. bigger.
Lens Compatibility top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
Nikon Z30. bigger.
It works with Nikon's Z Lenses.
With the FTZ adapter it should work with most Nikon AF-S lenses. See Nikon FTZ Lens Compatibility. It doesn't work well with other kinds of Nikon lenses.
You can use other adapters to adapt just about anything to this camera, especially Canon EF lenses to Nikon Z. You can adapt Nikon's Manual-Focus and Rangefinder lenses from the 1940s, but it's rarely worth the trouble as there is no autofocus, no data communication and no automatic diaphragm control.
The FTZ adapter is big and clumsy, and it only works well with Nikon AF-S lenses. It's disappointing with every other kind of Nikon lens, and all the other adapters deal in varying degrees of crappy. I'd avoid them all; don't expect them to "just work.'
Specifications top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
Image Sensor specifications top
Nikon Z30. bigger.
5,568 × 3,712 pixels native (20⅔ MP or 20,668,416 pixels).
APS-C (DX).
15.7 × 23.5 mm CMOS.
3:2 aspect ratio.
1.53 × crop factor.
NO ultrasonic cleaner.
ISO specifications top
ISO 100 ～ 51,200.
Stills also offer pushes to ISO 102,400 (H1) and ISO 204,800 (H2).
No pulled ISOs.
Stills also offer pushes to ISO 102,400 (H1) and ISO 204,800 (H2).
Still Image Sizes specifications top
5,568 × 3,712 pixels native (LARGE, 20⅔ MP or 20,668,416 pixels).
4,176 × 2,784 pixels MEDIUM (11.6 MP).
2,784 × 1,856 pixels SMALL (5.2 MP).
(Also video-native resolution stills captured while rolling video)
Cropped Aspect Ratios
Square and 16:9 (no 4:3 or 4:5) crops from the above.
Still Formats specifications top
JPG and/or raw.
sRGB and Adobe RGB.
Video specifications top
Longest take: 2 hours.
File Formats
MOV and MP4.
Frame Sizes and Rates
4K at 23.98, 25 or 29.97 FPS.
1,080 at 23.98, 25, 29.97, 50, 59.94, 100 or 119.88 FPS.
Audio specifications top
Recorded only along with video.
S - t - e - r - e - O microphone built in.
Mic-in jack with plug-in power overrides built-in mic.
Autofocus specifications top
Hybrid phase and contrast detection.
209 points.
-4.5 ~ +19 LV with an f/1.8 lens.
Light Meter specifications top
-4 ~ +17 LV (spot meter).
Finder specifications top
NONE; tiny LCD only.
Shutter specifications top
Mechanical and Electronic Shutters
1/4,000 ～ 32 seconds, BULB and TIME.
1/200 flash sync speed.
Frame Rates specifications top
To 11 FPS.
Flash specifications top
No built-in flash.
1/200 sync speed.
Dedicated hot shoe.
No Prontor-Compur (PC) terminal; use a hot-shoe adapter for corded sync.
LCD Monitor specifications top
Nikon Z30 and Nikon Z 16-50mm VR. bigger.
3" (76 mm) diagonal.
1,040,000 dots.
Connectors specifications top
USB-C
HDMI D.
Wi-Fi specifications top
Yes.
Bluetooth specifications top
4.2 (primitive!).
Storage specifications top
SD (up to 2GB), SDHC (up to 32GB) and SDXC (up to 512GB) cards.
UHS-I.
Power & Battery specifications top
The Z30 uses the same battery and chargers as the Z fc and Z50:
Battery
The EN-EL25 is rated for 330 shots or 75 minutes of video.
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EN-EL25 Lithium-ion rechargeable.
1.820 oz. (51.6 g) actual measured weight.
Charging
It charges through USB-C or the optional MH-32 external charger.
You won't need the optional MH-32 plug-in external charger unless you want to charge a second EN-EL25 battery at the same time you're charging your first one in your camera via USB:
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Nikon rates this charger for a full charge in 2.5 hours.
Size specifications top
2.9 × 5.1 × 2.4 inches HWD.
73.5 × 128 × 59.5 millimeters HWD.
Weight specifications top
14.2 oz. (404 g) with battery and SD card.
12.4 oz. (350 g) stripped naked.
Quality specifications top
Nikon Z30. bigger.
Made in Thailand.
Operating Environment specifications top
0º ～ 40º C (32º ～ 104º F).
0 to 85% RH
Nikon's Model Numbers specifications top
Z30 body-only: 1737.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown at top: 1749.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: 1743.
Included specifications top
Z30 body.
EN-EL25 Lithium-ion rechargeable battery.
$30 UC-E24 USB-A to USB-C Cable.
AN-DC25 "Z30" Strap.
BF-1N body cap.
Printed 1-year warranty card.
Announced specifications top
12:15 AM, Wednesday 29 June 2022, NYC time.
Promised for specifications top
The middle of July 2022.
Price, U. S. A. specifications top
20 October 2023 (12-28mm kit option added)
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
21 April 2023 ($100 ~ $150 less than July 2022)
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $550 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
21 July 2022
Z30 body-only: $707 at Adorama, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $847 at Adorama, at B&H and at Crutchfield ($850 at Amazon).
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $1,097 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
June ~ July 2022
Z30 body-only: $707 at Adorama and at B&H.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $847 at Adorama and at B&H ($850 at Amazon).
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $1,197 at Adorama and at B&H.
Box, Nikon Z30 and Nikon Z 16-50mm VR. bigger.
Optional Accessories top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
MH-32 external battery charger.
NEW: SmallRig cage for Nikon Z30. (also at Adorama.)
Getting a Legal U. S. A. Version top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
Nikon
This section applies in the U. S. A. only.
Your box should have "US" on the UPC sticker by the model number (BK means black):
USA Nikon Z30 Kit box, with serial numbers of body and lens. bigger.
Most importantly you need a USA Warranty Card, and the serial number must match the one on the back of your camera, otherwise you have no warranty.
Z30 U. S. A. Warranty Card. bigger.
If you don't have this card, if the card doesn't say "VALID IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES" or the serial number on the card doesn't match the one on your camera lens exactly, you got ripped off with a gray market version from another country. All legitimate cameras and lenses come with printed warranty cards, even if you prefer to register online. (The serial number on the outside of the box doesn't have to match, but if it doesn't it means you bought from a shady dealer who took cameras lenses out of boxes and then resold these used lenses cameras as new.)
The warranty is also valid only if you are the original purchaser and only if it was purchased from an authorized dealer. All because a store or someone claims to be authorized doesn't mean they are. That's why I only buy from my personally approved sources.
Shifty dealers may include copies of a card from a legitimate U. S. A. product in a gray-market box, hoping you won't check serial numbers and catch their fraud. A card with the wrong serial number means nothing other than that you have no warranty coverage.
Did you notice the clever nod to ancient computer technology? This is printed on tractor-fed paper with tear-off sides and dot-matrix printing of model and serial numbers! If your card lacks these side perforations, beware. Everyone counterfeits laser holograms, but few people have dot-matrix printers floating around to fake these.
Always be sure to check your box, warranty card and serial numbers while you can still return it, or just don't buy from unapproved sources or at retail so you'll be able to have your camera serviced and get free updated firmware as needed.
This is why I never buy anyplace other than from my personally approved sources. You just can't take the chance of buying elsewhere, especially at any retail store, because non-USA versions have no warranty in the U. S. A., and you won't even be able to get firmware or service for it — even if you're willing to pay out-of-pocket for it when you need it!
Nikon U. S. A. enforces its trademarks strictly. It's unlikely, but possible that US customs won't let your camera back in the country if you bought a gray-market version in the U. S. A., carried it overseas, and try to bring it back in. (If you take the chance of buying one overseas, be sure you have a receipt to prove you bought it overseas and be prepared to pay duty on it.)
If a gray market version saves you $300 it may be worth it, but for $200 or less I wouldn't risk having no warranty or support.
U. S. A. versions include two big-folded-sheet manuals, one in English y uno en español.
Get yours from the same places I do and you won't have a problem, but if you take the risk of getting yours elsewhere, be sure to check everything while you still can return it.
Performance top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
Overall Autofocus Manual Focus
Auto ISO Auto White Balance Color Rendition
Crop Modes Ergonomics Exposure High ISOs
Lens Corrections Long Exposures Mechanics
Rear LCD Data Power & Battery Clock Accuracy
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
Overall performance top
The Z30 is a great little camera. It's surprisingly easy to use and makes great images.
Surprising is how much easier to use and better the pictures are compared to the similar Sony ZV-E10, whose menu system and controls make it unpleasant to use, and its images don't compare.
Autofocus performance top
Autofocus is fast and accurate.
I'm impressed! I usually use the All-Area AF modes with face recognition, and it just finds my subject and focuses without needing manual fiddling. I love it!
To be perfectly honest, it seems more reliable than every other Z camera, including the Z9. All of the older Z9, Z7 II, Z6 II, Z7, Z6, Z5, Z fc and Z50 often select the wrong AF area (typically the background rather than the subject) in the All-Area AF modes which I usually use. So far with the Z 16-50mm VR it seems to work as it should, a first for Nikon mirrorless.
Manual Focus performance top
Manual focus is great, especially with native Z or CPU (AF, AF-D, AF-I, AF-S, AI-P and AF-P) lenses on the FTZ or FTZ II.
You have all the usual tools (peaking, magnification and a three-section ▶●◀ display), and the selected focus area changes from red to green when in-focus in manual focus (or manual-focus override), even if the lens is untouched and the camera or subject moves instead.
With non-CPU lenses (that means manual-focus lenses on any kind of adapter, the focus area won't change to green and you no longer have the ▶●◀ arrows at the bottom left of the finder to help, but so what, you still have peaking and magnification.
Sadly you can't have all focus areas active in manual focus (only one at a time), which would be nice because then you could just turn the focus ring until the area of interest went green. Sorry.
Auto ISO performance top
Auto ISO has the usual upper and lower limits and fixed and Auto (variable-with-focal-length) lowest shutter speed settings.
Auto White Balance performance top
Auto White Balance works extremely well, as with most mirrorless cameras.
The automatically-chosen Kelvin color temperature reads-back if you select that data for playback in-camera.
There are now four different AWB modes. Here's how to use them.
Color & Tonal Rendition performance top
Color rendition is how pictures look in the real world. Real-world color rendition has nothing to do with color accuracy measured in a lab. Color rendition is dependant on how a maker programs all the color matrices, curves, and look-up tables to generate color from the data read from the sensor. It varies widely between makers once you set a camera away from its defaults. I never shoot at defaults.
If you shoot raw data instead of JPG images then your colors and tones aren't created until you process that raw data later in software, and your choice of software will have as much effect on your images as the camera itself.
I love the colors I get from my Nikons as JPGs. Z30 images look the same as all my other Nikons introduced since 2007 with the same Picture Control settings. Nikon sticks to the same color targets. Bravo!
Crop Modes performance top
Paradoxically the Z30 lacks a 4:5 crop setting, although it does have a foolish 16:9 crop and the very useful 1:1 square crop, but not 4:5 or 4:3.
Weird.
Ergonomics performance top
It feels great in hand, which is paramount when you shoot all day. It's a tiny little camera, and oddly it fits my big American hands just great. Nikon is the best brand for consistently making great-feeling cameras.
Big, professional mode dial is easy to spin with your thumb — much better than having to hold down a button and spin another dial as on many more expensive Nikons.
Dedicated MENU and [▶] PLAY buttons are both on the right side for one-handed use. No more do I have to use a second hand to hit PLAY or MENU. Bravo; it's about time.
Universal preset U1, U2 and U3 memory modes to recall entire sets of camera settings on the top mode dial. YES! Each setting recalls just about everything like AF, ISO, WB and advance modes, picture controls, image sizes and just about everything else, making it faster to swap between different sorts of assignments on my Z30 than it is on my Z9 or D850!
Simple ON/OFF menu items still need to go deeper into that menu option to select ON or OFF and then back to OK. Boo! The older Z9 lets us toggle simple ON/OFF options right at each menu entry.
Shooting icons and data don't rotate when held vertically.
Menus don't rotate when held vertically.
While everyone thinks that the 180º flippy screen makes selfies easy, it doesn't because all the buttons are still on the back of the camera! You can snap yourself; but you need to flip the screen around again to be able to hit the PLAY button and navigate around. An iPhone makes this so much easier because you can see all your controls at the same time as you can see the screen.
The memory card sits next to the battery and is accessed from a weak little door in the bottom of the camera, making it harder to get than when cards pop into the side of the camera behind a big hand grip.
No rotation lock on the power switch around the shutter button. It's easy for the power switch to get knocked to OFF accidently and disable the camera. Better designs put the power switch where it won't get knocked accidently.
Exposure performance top
Exposure is typical for mirrorless cameras, which is very, very good.
The Program exposure mode is constant regardless of focal length, shooting at 1/30 at f/2.8, 1/60 at f/4, 1/125 at f/5.6, 1/250 at f/8, 1/500 at f/11 and etc. This is better than the Z9, which shifts its program with focal length; weird as typically the pro cameras keep it constant and shift in the consumer cameras.
The front dial is ignored in Program mode, likewise only one dial works in the Shutter- and Aperture-preferred modes. You can change which dials do what in the custom settings, but sadly you can't leave both active except in Manual mode.
High ISO Performance performance top
High ISO performance is extraordinary; as good or better than the full-frame Z9!
Complete Images details dark detail performance top
As seen at normal image sizes below, the Z30 makes the same images from ISO 100 to ISO 25,600.
ISO 51,200 gets a little grainier, but that's about it. It looks fine!
ISO 102,400 (H1) is grainier and colors can be a bit blotchy, but still quite usable if you have to use it for a normal-sized image, and not that far off overall from the lower ISOs, at these reasonable image sizes.
The insane ISO 204,800 (H2) is very grainy, but still amazingly well controlled and usable if you really need to use it. It's certainly better than the stupid-high ISO 3,276,800 (H5) of the D5 that's completely useless, and way better than any previous camera I can recall. Cameras used to look really nasty with strong color shifts and lines across the images, while these are simply softer and grainier. Bravo!
This is magnificent performance.
There's no mystery to comparing cameras; I shoot this same test at all the ISOs of every other camera I review so you can see for yourself.
Click any for the camera-original © 21 MP LARGE FINE JPG files (about 6 MB each):
Click any for the camera-original © 21 MP LARGE FINE JPG files (about 6 MB each).
600 × 450 Pixel Crops (4.64× magnification) High ISOs details dark detail performance top
What we see at the high magnifications below is that fine details go away as the ISO increases. This happens with all cameras and our own eyes and is an artifact of noise reduction working harder as the ISO increases.
In the Z30, the most detail is at ISO 100 and becomes softer at every higher ISO. This is normal and how noise reduction works in every camera.
Impressive is that it's just about as sharp at ISO 200 and ISO 400, and even ISO 800 is almost as sharp as ISO 100. Bravo!
ISO 1,600 is softer, and at ISO 3,200 it's soft enough that most of the detail in the scrollwork between clock numbers is gone.
By ISO 6,400, most of the detailed scrollwork between the clock numbers is gone.
At ISO 12,800 the minute marks are starting to go.
At ISO 25,600 the minute marks are mostly gone. leaving the hour markers.
By ISO 51,200 all the detail is gone from the clock face, leaving only the numbers.
At ISO 102,400 (H1) even the big numbers are starting to disappear.
At ISO 204,800 (H2) the big numbers are gone further, and the gain has taken an odd brushstroke quality — but look at the sharp lines of the clock case are still sharp! This is brilliant performance.
It's normal for details to go away at higher ISOs in all digital cameras.
These 600 × 450 pixel crops will vary in size to fit your browser window.
If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 12.4 × 18½" (31 × 47 cm) at this same high magnification.
If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 24¾ × 37" (2 × 3 feet or 63 × 94 cm) at this same very high magnification.
If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 49½ × 74¼" (4 × 6 feet or 1.3 × 1.9 meters) at this same extreme magnification.
Click any for the camera-original © 21 MP LARGE FINE JPG files (about 6 MB each):
Click any for the camera-original © 21 MP LARGE FINE JPG files (about 6 MB each).
Dark-Area 600 × 450 Pixel Crops (4.64× magnification) High ISOs details dark detail performance top
Here are different crops from the same images as above, now showing the dark grillwork of the fireplace.
Higher ISOs greatly reduce the details in the shadows, as we expect.
Note how the most detail in the fine screen is at ISO 100.
Detail in the screen starts to dull even at ISO 200, and get softer as ISO increases. This is as expected.
The big diagonal lines between the bricks behind the grill are half gone by ISO 1,600.
The diagonal lines are completely gone by ISO 12,800, and even the big iron scrolls of the grill are starting to disappear.
At ISO 51,200 the iron bars are all but gone, and all you have is noise in the shadows.
At ISO 204,800 (H2) you have purple haze along the bottom of the image, and nothing but noise in the shadows — no details and no grill. As was the Earth in the beginning, it is a void without form.
Again, it's normal in all digital cameras for details to go away at higher ISOs.
These 600 × 450 pixel crops will vary in size to fit your browser window.
If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 12.4 × 18½" (31 × 47 cm) at this same high magnification.
If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 24¾ × 37" (2 × 3 feet or 63 × 94 cm) at this same very high magnification.
If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 49½ × 74¼" (4 × 6 feet or 1.3 × 1.9 meters) at this same extreme magnification.
Click any for the camera-original © 21 MP LARGE FINE JPG files (about 6 MB each):
Click any for the camera-original © 21 MP LARGE FINE JPG files (about 6 MB each).
Lens Corrections performance top
The Z30 corrects for any or all of distortion, diffraction and falloff (Vignette Control), any of which you may turn ON or OFF. (Some lenses, like the Z 16-50mm VR, won't let you turn off distortion control.)
The Z30 always corrects for lateral color fringes (chromatic aberration); this is part of Nikon's secret sauce and never appears in any menu.
You'll need a Z lens, or at least an AF-D, AF-S, AF-I or AF-P lens on the FTZ, for these corrections to work.
Long Exposures performance top
The Z30 works great for long exposures. It has both TIME and BULB settings.
Select TIME in manual exposure mode, one click to the left of BULB, which is to the left of the longest time settings. Easy!
In TIME, press the shutter and it stays open until you press it again. Use the self-timer to start and put your hand or a hat over the lens when you press the shutter to stop and you don't need a remote release!
Sadly the LCD turns off so there's no time counter; you'll have to use your watch or stopwatch.
There are no timed manual exposures longer than 30 seconds; you have to use TIME or BULB.
Mechanical Quality performance top
Nikon Z30 and Nikon Z 16-50mm VR. bigger.
It's made as well as we expect from a quality consumer camera in 2022. It fits and feels well:
Metal
Strap lugs, hot shoe, lens mount, tripod socket.
Plastic
Top cover, back cover, sides, bottom, battery door, every button, dial, knob and lever, top mode dial, side connector cover flaps, LCD cover and frame.
Glass
None that I can see other than in the sensor; possibly the first glass-free Nikon camera, ever!
Rubberized
Grip materials.
Serial Number
Printed on a sticker behind the flipping LCD:
Nikon Z30. bigger.
Made in
Thailand.
Date Code
None found.
Noises When Shaken
Some very minor clicking.
Rear LCD Monitor performance top
Nikon Z30 and Nikon Z 16-50mm VR. bigger.
The rear LCD is tiny compared to an iPhone, but at least it's very sharp and I can't see any of the individual pixels — like an iPhone.
Data performance top
You can program the first three characters of the file name. You only can use CAPITAL LETTERS and D1G1Ts only, no blanks, punctuation marks or other characters. I set mine to "Z30."
Every image folder is polluted with a junk NC_FLLST.DAT file.
ISO 100 ~ 204,800 reads AOK in Photo Mechanic 6.0.
Cards are titled properly as "NIKON Z30."
21MP JPG NORMAL files are about 6 MB each.
21MP JPG BASIC files are about 2.5 MB each. They'll be about 1.5 MB if the frame is mostly empty, or 3.1 MB if crammed with details and textures.
Power & Battery performance top
Charging
The little battery charges via USB-C.
It draws 9.5W charging at 5V at 1.9A.
It draws only a 2.7mW trickle when done.
External Power
The Z30 also can be powered via USB-C. You do need a battery in the camera, and it should run indefinitely while connected to USB-C power.
It draws 3.75 W with the back screen showing Live View, but otherwise idle.
It draws 5 W when autofocusing and shooting.
It draws 2 W playing still images.
It draws 2.7 mW sleeping.
Clock Accuracy performance top
Every sample is different, but mine runs fast by +429 ms/day (+13s/month), which isn't very good.
This matters when you shoot multiple cameras (or this camera and an iPhone) and then sort all the images based on capture time to compare the similar views of each scene.
Recommendations top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility Specifications USA Version
Performance Accessories Recommendations
The little Z30 is great little camera!
High ISOs are as good as the Z9, and everything works great on this little gem. It's fun to shoot and the pictures look great; I can't say anything better than that.
Get the kit with the Z 16-50mm. Not only is it a fantastic lens, it's tiny and collapses, making it a perfect lens for this tiny camera. Get it as part of a kit and it's much less expensive than getting it alone.
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
I prefer a viewfinder, for which you'd want the slightly larger Z50 or Z fc. The Z50 even has a built-in flash, which is invaluable for most kinds of photography for fill-flash use.
Personally I prefer my iPhone 13 Pro Max for video and selfies. It has stabilization so good that I never need a gimbal or stabilizer and my hand-held tracking shots look like they're shot on dollies. My iPhone effortlessly tames difficult real-world lighting so foreheads never wash out and shadows always have detail. Unless you're in Hollywood with an ASC member doing your shoot with three trucks of grip and lighting required to get pro results with a regular camera like the Z30, you'll get better video with the iPhone, which also shoots at higher frame rates at 4K than the Z30 can — and an iPhone has a screen much, much larger than the pathetic little excuse on the Z30. I'm not a video maker, but even KenRockwell.TV has over 45,000 subscribers and over 3,000,000 views, and it's all shot on my iPhone.
Z30 body-only: $607 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Z30 & Z 16-50mm VR as shown: $697 at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30 & Z 12-28mm PZ VR: $847 at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 16-50mm VR & Z 50-250mm: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
Z30, Z 18-140mm VR: $1,244 at Adorama.
This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you get it elsewhere. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, dropped, incomplete, gray-market, store demo or used camera — and my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new Z30. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new Z30 before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
Thanks for helping me help you!
Ken.
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