One odd bit—and one that, in my mind, emphasizes how much Nikon wants this to be a dead-simple camera for the masses—is that the company proudly boasts “beautiful blurred backgrounds” on its site. It's listed like a feature. However, outside of post-processing features like those found on Pixel phones (which the Z30 doesn't have), the only way to get a blurry background is with a shallow depth of field.

To that end, the optional kit camera is a pretty standard 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens. That minimum f3.5 aperture is certainly enough to get out-of-focus backgrounds in some cases, but it's hardly a cure-all. If shallow focus is important to your look, this is one area where I'd recommend any potential creators learn the basics of how cameras work, rather than relying on the camera to handle it for you.

As accessories go, the Creator Kit that Nikon included could be a lot worse. The included Rode VideoMicro mic is already one of our picks for attachable shotgun mics. It will beat the internal mic of any camera. While the Z30's internal stereo mics are fine, the big problem with internal mics is that they can pick up scratching or rubbing just from holding the camera. So the Rode or another mic is the way to go if you can swing it.

The rest of the accessories, however, are somewhat middling. The kit includes a small handle attachment with two legs that can fold out into a little tripod. It's surprisingly good for setting up the camera on a desk or table to get a low-angle shot, but carrying it around isn't great. As mentioned above, this little handle isn't a gimbal, so it just carries all your hand's shakiness into the camera itself. It's also not designed to be held in portrait (read: TikTok) orientation, so it's not great for that. As a tripod, it's a neat little gadget, but there are better options out there.

It should be mentioned that the tripod also comes with a removable Bluetooth remote. A magnet keeps the remote in place while it's in the tripod, but it can also be taken out and used separately. It's a nifty little gizmo that has a D-pad, a couple of function buttons, and most crucially, record and shutter buttons. I found the remote to be a bit finicky, but it did the job well enough, and the camera has a bright red LED on the front to make sure you know you're recording, so it works out well when filming yourself.

Overall, the Z30 is a camera that makes surprisingly few compromises in an effort to streamline video production for online creators. The main gripes I have with it are really the gripes I have with most professional cameras. But between its great low-light processing, solid image stabilization, and mostly hands-off setup, it's one of the easier cameras to start vlogging with.