Nikon Z5IIC is official — flat-top, no-EVF full-frame Z5II at $1,399.95

The Z5IIC is Nikon taking the Z5II's full-frame insides and leaving off the part a lot of new shooters never use, the eyepiece. What remains is a flat-top body with the same 24.5-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor, the EXPEED 7 engine and up to 7.5 stops of in-body stabilization, shaped to slide in and out of a bag and to be shot off the rear screen the way people already shoot with a phone. Nikon announced it on September 24, 2026.

It's pitched at the person stepping up from a phone who wants full-frame files before they want a menu tree. The mode dial gets 15 scene modes, a first for a Nikon full-frame mirrorless body, and a dedicated button calls up Imaging Recipes, the looks built by Nikon and invited creators, with Film Grain on top. For video there's a front tally lamp, uncropped 4K30, DX-crop 4K60, N-Log and internal N-RAW, so the same body can do double duty as a small creator camera.

The trade is easy to state. No viewfinder, a 3.2-inch vari-angle screen at 1.04 million dots where the Z5II has 2.1 million, no AF joystick and a single UHS-II SD slot. Early reviews split right along that line. PetaPixel found the missing EVF and the low-resolution screen frustrating and called the roughly $450 extra for a Z5II justified, while Nigel Danson's landscape session for Fstoppers showed a screen-first workflow working fine for him.

Nikon's own line is a camera that makes it easy for first-time users to express themselves. Pick a scene on the dial, from portraits, pets and food to night landscapes and twilight, and the camera sets more than six things for you, white balance and Picture Control among them. In AUTO the deep-learning subject detection also drives exposure and focus, and the detection list now includes fish.

Underneath, it's the Z5II's camera. BSI sensor and EXPEED 7, magnesium alloy in key areas, a dust- and drip-resistant design, phone-style touch controls with double-tap and pinch, Full HD up to 120 fps and USB webcam streaming. Trusted Reviews puts it at about 537 g. The 7.5-stop stabilization figure is Nikon's CIPA number at the center of the frame; the corners are rated at 6.0 stops.

The first reviews are in. DPReview's full review lands on capability over compactness. The Shortcut reads the C as casual. PCMag liked how light it carries but steers eye-level shooters and big-telephoto users elsewhere. Accessory makers are already around it too. SmallRig has a cage, and on September 28 Newsshooter covered a SmallRig 35mm external optical viewfinder, which is a separate accessory and not a Nikon part.