Nikon's new Z5 IIC is a cheaper Z5 II without the electronic viewfinder

Nikon has announced the Z5 IIC — a 24-megapixel full-frame mirrorless camera that gives up the electronic viewfinder to bring the price and the weight down. Preorders are open at $1,400 for the body alone, and nearly every other feature of the Z5 II is still on board, including internal RAW video.

A lighter body without the viewfinder

Electronic viewfinders are expensive components, and removing one let Nikon cut the price while making the camera lighter and smaller — the “C” in the name stands for “compact”. The Z5 IIC weighs just 537 grams, nearly 25 percent less than the 700-gram Z5 II. It still keeps a full-sized grip and a good set of manual controls, though it loses the Z5 II's joystick and a few other buttons. The 3.2-inch touch display is fully articulating with 1040K dots, which should suit solo shooters.

Video features of a pricier camera

Inside, little changes: the Z5 IIC carries almost all the features of the Z5 II, RAW video included. It captures 4K at 30 fps supersampled from the full 6K width of the sensor, 4K at 60 fps with a 1.5x crop, and 1080p at 120 fps. Footage can be recorded in Nikon's N-RAW format with N-Log, and H.265 is supported too. Autofocus comes from the Z5 II and, according to Nikon, now recognizes fish alongside humans, animals, birds and vehicles. In-body stabilization offers up to 7.5 stops of shake reduction — an unusual feature at this price.

Creator extras include 15 scene modes, from portraits and pets to food and twilight, a REC light on the front, and a “product review” mode that moves focus between a presenter and an object and back. There are also “imaging recipes”, some made with cinema camera maker RED, plus a waveform display, focus peaking and zebras. The main compromise is a single SD UHS-II card slot instead of two.

Stills, price and availability

For photos, the camera shoots bursts at 14 fps in RAW and JPEG with continuous autofocus, or 30 fps in JPEG-only electronic shutter mode, with the same subject detection as video. The expanded ISO range reaches 64,000, which should make it a solid low-light performer. The Z5 IIC is on preorder for $1,400 body-only, or $1,700 with the Z 24-50mm kit lens — a low price for a full-frame camera with in-body stabilization and RAW video.