Ever since Nikon’s surprise announcement that it was buying high-end cinema camera maker Red in March 2024, we’ve been eagerly awaiting to see the outcome of the collaboration between two of the biggest and most respected names in photography and video. Now we have the answer: the Nikon ZR… It's the first camera in the new Nikon 'Z Cinema line', which combines Nikon’s camera hardware with Red’s expertise in high-end cinema.
The Nikon ZR is based heavily on the Nikon Z6 III full-frame camera, with the same 24.5Mp full-frame partially stacked sensor and all the autofocus finery and subject detection abilities that we’ve come to expect from Nikon Z-series cameras, recognizing and tracking nine distinct subject types with unerring accuracy. Five-axis In-body image stabilization allows for up to 7.5 stops of vibration reduction to counter shake, for ultra-smooth handheld video.
Above video: Advanced subject recognition and autofocus work hand in hand to ensure that your intended subject remains in focus at all times
The headline video specs are similar too – with a maximum 6K/60p resolution and frame rate – but with one important difference: the inclusion of Red Color Science for the first time outside a Red-branded camera (the Nikon ZR is co-branded ’Nikon | Red’).
To enable this, Nikon and Red have developed a variation of Red's Raw video file format, R3D. Rather than the huge 16-bit files generated by the fully fledged professional-line Red video cameras, such as the Red Komodo and Raptor, the new R3D NE (Nikon Edition) codec is a 12-bit Raw video format that optimizes the 12-bit output of Nikon's sensors into a file that integrates seamlessly with the full R3D codec, enabling videographers to mix and match video shot on all Red / Nikon Z Cinema cameras.
Above: Red Color Science enables Custom Control presets to be applied to video for a cinematic look straight out of camera
Red Color Science also enables four cinematic video modes and nine custom Red Picture Control presets to produce video with a cinematic look and feel straight out of the camera. It's easy to cycle through previews of the various presets in-camera before recording and deciding on the look you want.
The highest quality 12-bit files can be recorded as R3D NE, N-Raw, and ProRes Raw, but the camera also supports 10-bit formats, including ProRes 422 HQ, and 8-bit H.265 and H.264, for instances where reduced file sizes are important.
In addition to 6K 60p Raw, the camera can record 4K 120p Raw and Full-HD 240p non-Raw video for slo-mo effects. It is also capable of recording vertical footage, for use in social media and the like. The camera can record up to 125 minutes of video, and impressively that's without needing a fan to cool things down, which not only means there's no fan noise generated in-body, but enables a weather-sealed design as there's no need for vents, either.
While the new camera houses much of the tech of the Z6 III on the inside, it’s a very different matter on the outside. It has a rectangular slab-like appearance, with no pronounced battery bump and only the merest hint of a textured grip.
There’s no optical viewfinder, as is par for the course on video-centric cameras, and the entire rear of the camera is dominated by a huge 4-inch monitor, which is much larger than the 3.2-inch rear screen of the Z6 III and other Nikon cameras.
The large 4-inch rear monitor is not only the biggest found on any camera in its class, but it's also the brightest (at 1000 cd/m2), the highest-resolution (3070K-dots), and has the widest color space (DCI-P3). It's a full vari-angle screen, flipping out to the side and rotating up and down for a comfortable viewing angle, and Nikon says that its size and clarity mean that no external monitor is needed, and that the camera can be used as a completely standalone system, although it can, of course, also be integrated into a video rig.
The audio capabilities are also a cut above the competition, boasting the world's first in-camera 32-bit float audio. This Raw audio format automatically adjusts for the highest peaks without clipping, and works with the camera's three built-in mics, as well as external microphones. OZO audio uses the in-camera mic for spatial sound, emulating directional, shotgun, front, and rear mics for 3D stereo sound.
Further enhancing the ZR's sound capabilities, the Nikon ME-D10 hotshoe-mounted microphone launches alongside the camera. It uses a new digital interface integrated into the underside of the hotshoe mount to embed sound into the video footage, without the need for additional external cables. The microphone's 77dB signal-to-noise ratio helps minimize sound distortion.
The control layout is very different from Nikon’s still-oriented cameras, too. A lever sits around the prominent record button on top of the camera, which is used to zoom with compatible power zoom lenses. There's also a bank of three programmable buttons up top, and a switch for stills-shooting mode; while the camera is heavily geared towards video, it remains a very capable stills camera, able to produce images every bit as good as the Z6 III. Front and rear control dials are present and correct, mainly used to adjust aperture and 'shutter angle', as well as selecting options. The rear of the camera is very pared down, with a playback and menu button, plus a mini-joystick for navigation. A single 'Rec' button on the front of the camera duplicates the main top Rec button, and is positioned for convenient access.
Above video: Full HD has a maximum frame rate of 240p, for recording super-slo-mo footage
The camera supports dual card slots, with one super-fast CFexpress slot and, in what may come as a surprise to many, a microSD slot. This is undoubtedly due to space constraints in the slimline camera body. It takes the same Nikon EN-EL15C battery as used in the Z6 III and many other full-frame Nikon cameras, although V-Lock batteries can be used via an adaptor.
The camera weighs in at just 540 grams and is fully weather-sealed, unlike the majority of competing videocentric cameras, and this is made possible due to its fanless design.
The Nikon ZR is due to go on sale in October 2025, priced at £2,199 (we’ll bring you US and Australian pricing, as well as pre-order links, just as soon as we have them – come back soon!). This is significantly less than the Z6 III it is based on – thanks in part to the lack of EVF – and is very aggressively priced against competitor cameras such as the Sony FX3 and also-just-announced Canon EOS C50.
So the first Nikon Z Cinema-line camera looks very promising indeed, with an amazing feature set for an extremely competitive price. We will be bringing you our hands-on report imminently – watch this space!
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