The little mirrorless Nikon Z30 is now cheaper than some trendy compact cameras, as price hits an all-time low

Nikon Z30
(Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World)

Compacts are trendy right now, but Nikon’s smallest mirrorless camera is now cheaper than many of the most popular compact cameras. The Nikon Z30 has dipped to $596.95 with a 16-50mm kit lens, its lowest US price yet.

The Z30 is the brand’s most compact current mirrorless camera, cramming a 20.9MP APS-C sensor into a body that weighs just 12.3 oz / 350g. While it won’t be as tiny as a point-and-shoot camera, it’s impressively small for a mirrorless, mixing a thin body with a comfortable grip for a camera that’s about 2.3 inches deep and under 3 inches tall.

But size isn’t the only thing the Nikon Z30 has going for it – it is also the brand's most affordable mirrorless body. And that’s just become even more true, as the new $596.95 price tag is the lowest yet for a camera that typically sells for $849.99.

Nikon Z30 + 16-50mm
Nikon Z30 + 16-50mm: was $846.95 now $596.95 at Adorama

The Nikon Z30 has dropped to the lowest price yet in the $US, cutting $250 off the usual price. The Nikon Z30 is geared towards vlogging, but the camera's small size also makes it a good compact camera alternative. Buy it if you want something affordable and small that still takes great images. Avoid it if you want a viewfinder or need to photograph fast action. If you buy from Adorama or B&H, you can get a memory card and camera bag at no extra cost.

The Nikon Z30 is geared towards beginner photographers and vloggers, but when I tried out the camera I couldn’t help but think it would make an excellent alternative to a pricey high-end compact camera.

The Z30 is small but without being uncomfortably so, as the camera still has a decent-sized grip to it. That grip means the camera won’t slide into a pocket like a compact camera, but it’s impressively small for a mirrorless camera.

Compact cameras with APS-C sensors tend to be pricey. The Fujifilm X100VI sells for $1,599, and the Ricoh GR III HDF for just above $1,000. Neither option is easy to find in stock in the US right now, thanks to a mix of compacts becoming trendy and tariffs pausing US orders of the X100VI.

(Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World)

The other feature that struck me about the Nikon Z30 is that it didn’t feel like a cheap camera. The Z30 uses a magnesium alloy body, so it doesn’t feel plasticky like a lot of budget cameras do.

One of the reasons that the Nikon was able to make the Z30 so small is by omitting the viewfinder. The lack of a finder may be a deal breaker for some, pushing photographers towards the pricier and larger Nikon Z50 II.

But for vloggers on a budget, photographers who don’t mind using the LCD screen, and anyone looking for an alternative to pricey high-end compacts, the discount makes the Nikon Z30 a tempting buy.

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Hillary K. Grigonis
US Editor

With more than a decade of experience reviewing and writing about cameras and technology, Hillary K. Grigonis leads the US coverage for Digital Camera World. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Digital Trends, Pocket-lint, Rangefinder, The Phoblographer and more.

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