If you asked me to list the specs I’d want from the Nikon Z5 II, prior to its release on April 3, the last thing on my mind would have been RAW video. But that’s exactly what the folks at Nikon have gone and done, making it the first Z-Series camera capable of recording N-RAW to an SD card. Add to that 4K 60p, albeit with a 1.5x crop (4K 30p is full width though), full HD up to 120p, and a proper articulated screen, and this has the potential to be the best camera for video in its class.
I should mention that RAW video is only available up to 4K 30p and according to Petapixel, 4K N-RAW shot with the full width of the sensor is line skipped – a limitation of recording to an SD card – meaning you’ll experience a drop in image fidelity in comparison to shooting cropped N-RAW, where every available pixel is read. If you’re looking for optimum quality or want to crop into the footage in post, shooting RAW with the full width of the sensor probably won’t be the way to go.
