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Nikon Z50 II
Nikon · Z50 II · Pro lesson

Video settings, in depth

What are the right video settings on a Nikon Z50 II — Product review mode, the 4K 60p crop, N-Log and the limits that actually end a take?

camerasdecoded.com/camera-select/nikon/z50-ii/video-settings
The answer — share this
Turn the photo/video selector to video and record H.265 10-bit (MOV): 4K 30p uses the full DX width while 4K 60p quietly adds about a 1.5× crop, Product review mode — video menu only — holds focus on whatever you hold up to the camera, and N-Log is a tone mode floored at ISO 800 with View assist at g11. There is no N-RAW, no ProRes and no temperature-cutout setting on this body — and at about 55 minutes, the battery ends most takes before the 125-minute cap does.
Video file type: H.265 10-bit (MOV)  ·  Frame size: 3840×2160 30p for full DX width  ·  Product review mode: Video Recording Menu  ·  Tone mode: N-Log when grading  ·  View assist: Custom Setting g11 → ON  ·  Battery: about 55 min of video per charge
Cameras Decoded — Camera Select
Decision 1

The working file — and the RAW that isn't

MENU→Video Recording Menu→Video file type

H.265 10-bit (MOV) is the everyday file — and the only file type with a tone-mode choice: SDR, HLG or N-Log. The H.265 8-bit (MOV) and H.264 8-bit (MP4) are fixed at SDR. There is no N-RAW and no ProRes recording on this body; the file-type list is those three, complete. At 4K 30p the 10-bit file records at roughly 190 Mbps.

Decision 2

4K 60p is a crop — know before you shoot

MENU→Video Recording Menu→Frame size/frame rate

3840×2160 at 30p/25p/24p records from the full DX width. At 60p/50p the frame-size table's footnote applies: the angle of view is equivalent to approximately 1.5 times that of a normal DX video — a quiet crop chosen by a frame rate. Full HD reaches 120p, and hosts Hi-Res Zoom: FHD 30p/25p/24p only, up to 2× with no loss in resolution, with the AF-area fixed at Wide-area AF (L) and Electronic VR off. The dedicated slow-motion sizes (30p ×4, 25p ×4, 24p ×5) run about three minutes and record no sound.

Decision 3

Product review mode — the star

MENU→Video Recording Menu→Product review mode

Video Recording Menu → [Product review mode]: set to [On], the camera sets focus on objects close to it across the entire shooting display — hold a product up and focus moves to it. [On (customize focus area)] lets you size the watching area in focus points. The guide's terms: it is enabled in video mode only (the photo menu has no equivalent), and while it is on, focus mode and AF-area mode settings cannot be changed — the mode takes them over completely.

Decision 4

N-Log's floor, and the honest clocks

MENU→Custom Settings Menu→g11 View assist

N-Log is a tone mode inside H.265 10-bit (MOV) — not a file type of its own. Nikon rates its dynamic range at 13+ stops (1300%) at ISO 800, and 800 is the lowest ISO N-Log allows (the auto maximum-sensitivity floor is 1600). Custom Setting g11 [View assist] simplifies the preview's colours for contrast while the recorded footage is unaffected. Each shot can run up to 125 minutes, but an EN-EL25a gives about 55 minutes of video — the battery is the practical limit. There is no [Auto temperature cutout] setting on this body: if the camera grows hot, recording may simply end.

Try it now

Shoot one scene three ways — 4K 30p SDR, 4K 30p N-Log at ISO 800 with View assist on, and 4K 60p — then hold a product up with Product review mode on. Compare the colour work, the framing each frame rate chose, and the focus handoff the product mode gives you.