Setting up the Nikon ZR for video

Nikon Team4 minuters läsning21 juli 2026Video 101

Take the mystery out of manual mode and explore these settings on your Nikon ZR for cinema success

The Nikon ZR is ready to go straight out of the box. Turn on, flip the switch to video mode and start filming. But, of course, as a fully-fledged cinema camera, it has all the flexibility you need, whatever the project. From simple vlogs to mega movies, the ZR, with all the combined expertise of both Nikon and RED, is a pocket powerhouse of cinematic tech, so when you’re ready to explore further, here are some suggested settings to expand your creativity…

Take the mystery out of manual mode and explore these settings on your Nikon ZR for cinema success

Nikon Team

Writer, Creative Director & Photographer

What’s in our kitbag?

ZRBorn Cinematic

Switch on the Nikon ZR and flick the switch from Photo to Video

Step 1: Getting started

With the camera charged up, turn it on and then push the button on top of the camera from Photo to Video.

Switching to Manual gives you full control over the camera

Now switch to Manual video mode to take full control of the video recording capabilities of the ZR.

Choose a codec that will suit your style and workflow

Set up your desired recording codec. There are a number of formats to choose from, including N-RAW 12-bit, ProRes RAW HQ 12-bit, R3D NE 12-bit RAW, ProRes 442 HQ 10-bit, H.265 10-bit, H.265 8-bit and H.264 8-bit. You can read more about the different codecs and what each one is great for here.

Turn on Vibration Reduction (VR) to reduce camera shake and increase stability during handheld filming

Next go into the Vibration Reduction menu and enable for handheld filming. The Nikon ZR is the lightest all-in-one cinema camera around, so it’s perfect for going where bigger rigs can’t. Turning on VR means you’ll get rock-steady footage wherever you end up.

Now switch auto temperature cutout to high. The ingenious fanless design of the Nikon ZR means it dissipates heat noiselessly and you can keep filming for up to 95 minutes with the battery without a break and an astonishing 125 minutes when the camera is plugged into continuous power.

Set shutter mode to shutter angle for cinematic footage

Step 2: Set up your shutter angle

As we’re going to film, rather than take stills, we need to change from shutter speed to shutter angle. In the menu, go to Show Shutter Mode and set to Angle. Then show the shutter angle and set to 180°. As a useful safety feature, there is also a shutter speed lock under g4 control lock.

Turn on the waveform to monitor your exposure

Step 3: Set up exposure monitoring

In stills photography, the histogram is one of the best ways of monitoring your exposure. For video, however, the waveform is often preferred, as it can quickly show you not just if parts of an image are under- or overexposed but also exactly where they are in the frame. Go to menu g19, change to waveform and you’re all set. You can also monitor exposure by turning on zebra pattern, which will draw lines on parts of your image that are in danger of being overexposed. You can change the threshold of where it kicks in and also change the colour of the stripes.

View Assist helps you see your scene if you’re filming in a flat Log profile

Step 4: Set up View Assist

If you’re filming in a flat Log profile, View Assist gives you a live colour-corrected preview on the camera’s monitor by boosting colours and contrast. You can also use View Assist to apply a LUT as a preview. Colours in the recorded footage are completely unaffected.

Set up 32-bit float audio for increased dynamic range in sound

Step 5: Set up your audio

In a world’s first, the Nikon ZR can record 32-bit float audio internally – no need for any external device. This gives you huge dynamic range in your sound inputs, so there’ll be no clipping of sudden loud noises, and whispers can be brought up in the edit with no unwanted additional noise from signal processing. You can also upgrade with the ME-D10 external digital shotgun mic, which is fully compatible with 32-bit float audio and can change modes from Pure, with a wide dynamic range, to Focus, for crisp voice pickup in noisy environments, at the touch of a button.

At this point, you should also turn off camera sounds so they don’t get picked up.

The Nikon ZR has both a red recording frame on the monitor and a tally light on the front

Step 6: Know when you’re recording

There are two main indicators to show that the camera is recording. First is the red recording frame that will light up at the edges of the monitor. This is turned on in the menu system at g22. There is also a red recording lamp, or tally light, on the front of the camera so that your subject knows the camera is recording. The brightness of the tally light can also be adjusted in the menu.

Use the imenu to start customising your camera

Step 7: Get customising

Once you have the settings you like, use the imenu to add functions that you use often, such as focus peaking, composition grids, monitor brightness and more. This makes your workflow much easier.

Zoom with primes (and without losing resolution) with Hi-Res zoom

Step 8: Enable Hi-Res zoom

When recording in ProRes 442 HQ 10-bit, H.265 10-bit, H.265 8-bit or H.264 8-bit, you can use Hi-Res zoom to zoom in on a detail with no loss of resolution, even when using a prime lens. Select Hi-Res zoom ON in the video recording menu and you can zoom in up to 1.4x in 4k or 2.0x in Full HD. You can control the amount of zoom using either the multi-selector on the camera or the slider on the monitor. If you have a compatible NIKKOR Z lens with a control ring you could also customise that as your control, plus you can customise the speed of the zoom via the Custom Settings menu g8.

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