Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Written guide at kenrockwell.com/nikon/z/z5-ii-users-guide.htm
Full Review & Original Sample Files kenrockwell.com/nikon/z/z5-ii.htm
I got mine at bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Nikon+Z5+II&N=0&BI=287&KBID=1037
I'd also get it at adorama.com/SearchSite/Default.aspx?searchinfo=Nikon+Z5+II&KBID=21866
or crutchfield.com/i-rKRWc000/shopsearch/Nikon+Z5+II.html
or amzn.to/4chqkPK
or get it used at ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Nikon%20Z5%20II%20camera%20body%20-(for,part,repair,read)&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5336071501&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
How to Win at eBay kenrockwell.com/tech/ebay/index.htm
I get all my gear at kenrockwell.com/links.htm#stores
When you click on the links above to various merchants and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
All Reviews kenrockwell.com/tech/reviews.htm
How to Take Great Pictures kenrockwell.com/tech.htm
SB-400 Flash kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb400.htm
Milky Way Photography kenrockwell.com/tech/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way.htm
FART First for Fantastic Fotos kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm
Contribute at paypal.me/kenrockwell
Lit with Norwegian-made Luxli lights at 3500K kenrockwell.com/tech/luxli/index.htm
Left & Right: Luxli Timpani at 67% with Angler soft boxes bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1334362-REG/angler_lcsb_1212_led_collapsing_soft_box.html?BI=287&KBID=1037 & Angler grids bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1334360-REG/angler_lcsb_grid_grid_led_collapsing_soft.html?BI=287&KBID=1037
Top rear: Luxli Cello at 35% bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1560011-REG/luxli_orc_cello_m2_10_rgbaw_led_light.html?BI=287&KBID=1037 with Luxli diffuser bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1375412-REG/luxli_orc_cello_10_dk_diffusion_filter_soft_box.html?BI=287&KBID=1037
Shot with iPhone 16 Pro Max kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-16-pro-max.htm at 2× zoom at 1,080/25.
Rendered from iMovie in Mojave at ProRes best (slower, "Z5 II Guide 17 July 2025 Pro Rez best from iMovie.MOV") and I uploaded the whole 113.31 GB MOV for about 11 hours. Every other coder (iMovie High or Custom, or export of the 113 GB MOV from QuickTime Player as H.264) to bring it down to 6-10 GB for faster upload, but they all macroblocked to different extents on the first fade-up from black. The crazy errors at 35:53 are in the Pro Res exported from iMovie, but OK in iMovie. What's with Apple's coders? It looked much better as a far smaller file transcoded in Handbrake at Q22!
Recorded with one of my Shure SM-81 microphones bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68479-REG/Shure_SM81_LC_SM81_LC_Cardioid_Condenser.html?BI=287&KBID=1037 and its included windscreen on an Auray desk stand kenrockwell.com/audio/auray/tt-6220.htm
on one stereo channel of my TASCAM DR-100 MK II kenrockwell.com/audio/tascam/dr-100mkii.htm set to High Gain and ALC, sampled at 16 bits at 44.1 ksps and saved as a 320 kbps MP3 file in the recorder. Exported from Garage Band at 256 kbps AAC, and in retrospect I don't save any .band filespace over if I had just saved in the TASCAM and Garage Band files as WAV. The crappy sound is from mic technique, not data-reduced audio formats in production.
A new mic setup and a high gain setting of my preamp hit the recorder's limiter so hard that plosives punched all sorts of holes in my dialog. This still sounds bad even after I tweaked all the levels word by word in my editing software. Next time I'm going to use an A81WS windscreen bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68646-REG/Shure_A81WS_A81WS_Windscreen_for.html?BI=287&KBID=1037 and not set the preamp gain so high.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
©KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
Ken Rockwell® is a registered trademark
00:00 How to Take Great Pictures
00:46 Charging & Power Conservation
02:27 Autofocus
04:28 Getting Green for GO!
04:54 Use the LCD to Select AF areas - While Using the finder!
05:44 Getting EVERY Frame in Focus
06:54 Rear-Button AF
07:42 Advance Modes & Frame Rates
08:16 EVF-LCD Switching
08:50 Finder Size
09:23 Release Indications
10:21 Level Display
10:39 Grid Lines
12:24 Custom Displays
12:51 Crop Modes
13:00 Custom Controls
14:09 Exposure Metering
15:16 ISOs in Full Stops
15:57 Bracketing
16:18 Dynamic Range Optimization
17:12 Picture Controls
18:56 Auto White Balance
21:40 HDR
22:15 Card Settings
22:33 Shooting
23:38 Shutter Modes
24:26 15 & 30 FPS
27:08 Flash
27:35 Long Exposures
28:51 Night Vision Preservation
29:20 Starlight View
29:30 Movies
29:42 Image Review
30:05 Playback Brightness
30:24 Voice Notes
31:21 Delete from Both Cards (option)
31:49 U1, U2 & U3
33:44 Auto ISO
35:28 My Setup Files
36:04 More Information
Written guide at kenrockwell.com/nikon/z/z5-ii-users-guide.htm
Full Review & Original Sample Files kenrockwell.com/nikon/z/z5-ii.htm
I got mine at bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Nikon+Z5+II&N=0&BI=287&KBID=1037
I'd also get it at adorama.com/SearchSite/Default.aspx?searchinfo=Nikon+Z5+II&KBID=21866
or crutchfield.com/i-rKRWc000/shopsearch/Nikon+Z5+II.html
or amzn.to/4chqkPK
or get it used at ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Nikon%20Z5%20II%20camera%20body%20-(for,part,repair,read)&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5336071501&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
How to Win at eBay kenrockwell.com/tech/ebay/index.htm
I get all my gear at kenrockwell.com/links.htm#stores
When you click on the links above to various merchants and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
All Reviews kenrockwell.com/tech/reviews.htm
How to Take Great Pictures kenrockwell.com/tech.htm
SB-400 Flash kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb400.htm
Milky Way Photography kenrockwell.com/tech/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way.htm
FART First for Fantastic Fotos kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm
Contribute at paypal.me/kenrockwell
Lit with Norwegian-made Luxli lights at 3500K kenrockwell.com/tech/luxli/index.htm
Left & Right: Luxli Timpani at 67% with Angler soft boxes bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1334362-REG/angler_lcsb_1212_led_collapsing_soft_box.html?BI=287&KBID=1037 & Angler grids bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1334360-REG/angler_lcsb_grid_grid_led_collapsing_soft.html?BI=287&KBID=1037
Top rear: Luxli Cello at 35% bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1560011-REG/luxli_orc_cello_m2_10_rgbaw_led_light.html?BI=287&KBID=1037 with Luxli diffuser bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1375412-REG/luxli_orc_cello_10_dk_diffusion_filter_soft_box.html?BI=287&KBID=1037
Shot with iPhone 16 Pro Max kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-16-pro-max.htm at 2× zoom at 1,080/25.
Rendered from iMovie in Mojave at ProRes best (slower, "Z5 II Guide 17 July 2025 Pro Rez best from iMovie.MOV") and I uploaded the whole 113.31 GB MOV for about 11 hours. Every other coder (iMovie High or Custom, or export of the 113 GB MOV from QuickTime Player as H.264) to bring it down to 6-10 GB for faster upload, but they all macroblocked to different extents on the first fade-up from black. The crazy errors at 35:53 are in the Pro Res exported from iMovie, but OK in iMovie. What's with Apple's coders? It looked much better as a far smaller file transcoded in Handbrake at Q22!
Recorded with one of my Shure SM-81 microphones bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68479-REG/Shure_SM81_LC_SM81_LC_Cardioid_Condenser.html?BI=287&KBID=1037 and its included windscreen on an Auray desk stand kenrockwell.com/audio/auray/tt-6220.htm
on one stereo channel of my TASCAM DR-100 MK II kenrockwell.com/audio/tascam/dr-100mkii.htm set to High Gain and ALC, sampled at 16 bits at 44.1 ksps and saved as a 320 kbps MP3 file in the recorder. Exported from Garage Band at 256 kbps AAC, and in retrospect I don't save any .band filespace over if I had just saved in the TASCAM and Garage Band files as WAV. The crappy sound is from mic technique, not data-reduced audio formats in production.
A new mic setup and a high gain setting of my preamp hit the recorder's limiter so hard that plosives punched all sorts of holes in my dialog. This still sounds bad even after I tweaked all the levels word by word in my editing software. Next time I'm going to use an A81WS windscreen bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68646-REG/Shure_A81WS_A81WS_Windscreen_for.html?BI=287&KBID=1037 and not set the preamp gain so high.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
©KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
Ken Rockwell® is a registered trademark
00:00 How to Take Great Pictures
00:46 Charging & Power Conservation
02:27 Autofocus
04:28 Getting Green for GO!
04:54 Use the LCD to Select AF areas - While Using the finder!
05:44 Getting EVERY Frame in Focus
06:54 Rear-Button AF
07:42 Advance Modes & Frame Rates
08:16 EVF-LCD Switching
08:50 Finder Size
09:23 Release Indications
10:21 Level Display
10:39 Grid Lines
12:24 Custom Displays
12:51 Crop Modes
13:00 Custom Controls
14:09 Exposure Metering
15:16 ISOs in Full Stops
15:57 Bracketing
16:18 Dynamic Range Optimization
17:12 Picture Controls
18:56 Auto White Balance
21:40 HDR
22:15 Card Settings
22:33 Shooting
23:38 Shutter Modes
24:26 15 & 30 FPS
27:08 Flash
27:35 Long Exposures
28:51 Night Vision Preservation
29:20 Starlight View
29:30 Movies
29:42 Image Review
30:05 Playback Brightness
30:24 Voice Notes
31:21 Delete from Both Cards (option)
31:49 U1, U2 & U3
33:44 Auto ISO
35:28 My Setup Files
36:04 More Information
