The Nikon ZR is generating quite a hype since it was released shortly before IBC 2025: it offers a compact, full-frame body with internal 6K REDCODE RAW NE (Nikon EXPEED) recording and a joint RED / Nikon label screaming “cinema” at the back at a really attractive price! We were eager to run it through our CineD Lab Test procedures to see if the image quality lives up to the hype. Interested to hear more? Then read on … I have to admit that I wasn’t quite immune to the hype, and when the Nikon ZR finally arrived at our CineD headquarters here in Vienna, I couldn’t wait to grab my colleague, Florian, and together run it through our standard CineD lab torture test. Again, a big “thank you” to Florian for helping me shoot and analyze this test. This time, it was really three lab tests in one, as we wanted to compare the three different RAW codecs available in this camera: REDCODE RAW NE, N-RAW, and ProRes RAW. Also, please stand by for Johnnie’s camera review, coming very soon too. The Nikon ZR in our CineD studio. Image credit: CineD So, let’s start as usual with rolling shutter. Rolling Shutter of the Nikon ZR Again, we use our strobe light at 300Hz to determine the rolling shutter via the sequence of black and white bars. For full frame REDCODE RAW NE, we get the following image, 9.4ms rolling shutter (less is better). For a full-frame 6K readout, this...
Published By: CineD - Today