With the Nikon ZR we finally get to see what a RED-flavored Nikon camera would look like, and the company’s first all-in-one cinema camera doesn’t disappoint.
Nikon claims that the ZR is the lightest all-in-one cinema camera around and punches well above its weight in cinematic power. The headline specs are certainly impressive and seem to bear that out. They include a 6K full-frame sensor, RED colour science, large on-camera monitor, and internal 32-bit float audio.
The company is also selling it at a very competitive $2199.
So, what do we have? The ZR features up to 6K60p in-camera recording and a plethora of different frame rates and resolutions that the company lists as going from “cinematic 24p to 240p extreme slow motion. From richly detailed 6K to crisp, compact 1080p.”
It’s built around a semi-stacked full-frame sensor, likely the same one that is in the Z6 III, which offers wide dynamic range and fast read-out speeds that effectively minimise rolling shutter distortion.
Perhaps more critically, it also offers RED color science. An exclusive new R3D NE codec from RED, based on the R3D RAW codec, allows immense freedom in post and enables ZR footage to be matched with video shot on a RED camera system, which is going to be a big draw for a lot of people. Given the Z-Mount options now available on RED models, this is approaching an ecosystem of Nikon | RED devices. A front tally lamp completes that picture.
It features a Dual Base ISO of 800/6400: when shooting in Log3G10. The sensor’s wide 15+ stop dynamic range is maintained at both base ISOs. Focus-breathing compensation should provide for smoother, more natural-looking transitions. Four creative video modes and nine custom RED presets for content will provide a cinematic look and feel straight out of the gate, aiming to give that RED cinematic look even to complete newbies.
Audio hasn’t been overlooked, in fact anything but. The ZR features a world’s first in the shape of in-camera 32-bit float audio recording. This lets you capture sound freely using the camera’s three internal mics, or a compatible external mic, and adjust the levels in post without clipping. Alongside the ZR, Nikon has also introduced the ME-D10, a 32-bit float shotgun microphone compatible with the camera’s digital accessory shoe. This shoe is a debut feature for Nikon, and allows two way digital communication between the ZR and what you feel may well be a rapidly expanding ecosystem of Nikon and third-party accessories.
As you would hope, it features fast, intelligent AF: quick, accurate, reliable, and customisable. Intelligent subject detection and tracking, custom wide-area AF, and selectable AF speeds for smooth, repeatable focus transitions. It also has 5-axis in-body image stabilisation, with Nikon’s sensor-shift Vibration Reduction keeping footage steady.
An innovative body design efficiently and quietly dissipates heat and should help extend recording times. It’s not going to weigh you down either, coming in at a mere 540 g / 1.19 lb. It’s small too, 133 x 80.5 x 48.7 mm / 5.24 × 3.17 × 1.92 in.
It’s competitive. The new Nikon ZR Cinema Camera will be available in late October 2025 for $2199.