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In case you were wondering what’s packed inside the Nikon Z7 and how well constructed it is, Lens Rentals has kindly cracked one open so you don’t have to, as promised in its EOS R teardown.
The camera equipment rental and repair business, famous for its camera teardowns, has documented the process of taking the Z7 apart, showing pictures of the weather sealing, electronic design, internal structure, and component layout of Nikon’s flagship full-frame mirrorless camera.
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Roger Cicala, the man behind the teardown and founder of Lens Rentals, praises the extensive weathersealing protection from ingress of dust and moisture in the camera’s construction, and says the joints in the body are overlapped, screwed together and then covered by adhesive and rubber. He’s also impressed with the neatness of the electronics and the way the boards are packed into the body without leaving much space between them, especially with the in-body image stabilization.
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“[The IBIS] noticeably more compact, has less travel than the Sony system, and seems more robust,” says Cicala. “From our focus on repair, we see this as a good thing – early Sony IBIS systems would sometimes move enough to jam and/or break. (To be clear, that’s not an issue with newer Sony cameras. I point this out just to show that the manufacturers have been watching each other.)”
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Cicala’s only concerns seem to be that the diopter adjustment knob might not stand being pulled out and pushed in multiple times in rental models, and that the tripod screw isn’t as deep as some, so runs the slight risk of a long thread busting through it.
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In conclusion Cicala says “I’m impressed by the very solid construction of the chassis and IBIS unit. I’m impressed with the neat, modern engineering of the electrical connections […] I’m not here to tell you which camera is best to use or has the best performance. I’m just here to say this is a damn well-built camera, the best built mirrorless full-frame camera we’ve taken apart.”
Go to the full teardown on Lens Rental’s website to see more photos and a more thorough take with all his comments. And remember, don’t try this at home!
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)