Nikon just announced temporary rebates on most of its mirrorless cameras, up to $600 off. As always, we’ll list the deals below and then analyze which ones we think are worthwhile for photographers considering a Nikon Z camera.
Here they are:
If you buy any of the above deals, you can bundle an FTZ adapter to your order for $100, when it ordinarily costs $250. If you don’t have an FTZ adapter already, and you have Nikon F lenses in your collection, we highly recommend getting the FTZ.
Of the deals above, the best value here is the Nikon Z5, either body only or with the 24-200mm f/4-6.3 lens. When we reviewed the Nikon Z5 a few months ago, we gave it high marks and our Gold Award for its low price and great image quality. It lacks a few video features and only shoots at 4.5 FPS, but otherwise is comparable to the more expensive Nikon Z6. At $1000, that’s especially true. In terms of lenses, the 24-200mm f/4-6.3 is the best superzoom we’ve ever used at Photography Life. With that combo at $1700, it’s a very good deal and one we highly recommend.
The Z5 kit with the 24-50mm f/4-6.3 is also a good price, although it’s not our top recommendation. The 24-50mm f/4-6.3 is a fairly limited lens for some types of photography because of its small focal length range and narrow maximum aperture. It would be better to get the 24-200mm if you want a single do-it-all lens, or the exceptional 35mm f/1.8 prime if you don’t need a zoom (see our review). However, both of those are more expensive options than the 24-50mm, so the deal here is still worth considering.
The Z6 and Z7 deals are good if you don’t need the features on the new Z6 II and Z7 II. If you were to buy the Z6 II or Z7 II instead (body only or not), you’d be paying $600-700 more in total. That’s right on the edge of what I’d consider worthwhile, although I’d probably lean toward the Z6 II and Z7 II at that point because of their wide-ranging updates. But I’m sure just as many photographers would rather save the extra $600-700 or put it toward lenses instead. See our articles on the Nikon Z6 vs Z6 II and Nikon Z7 vs Z7 II for more info on the new features.
The only deal here that I would not recommend at all is the Z5 with 24-70mm f/4. That’s because the Nikon Z6 kit with the same lens is just $100 more, at which point, it’s worth upgrading to the higher end camera.
Until B&H runs out of stock, you should go for the bundles with the free 32 GB memory card and bag. It’s the same price!