Nikon has announced development of firmware version 2.00 for the ZR, and it is a more substantial update than the version number suggests. The headline additions bring RED’s colour science further into the camera, and Nikon has confirmed that two of the most-requested features are coming in 2027. Details are on Nikon’s site.
What version 2.00 brings
Three additions, and the first is the significant one.
Log3G10 and REDWideGamutRGB in H.265. Those are RED’s own log curve and colour space, and having them available in an H.265 file rather than only in RAW is a genuinely practical improvement. It means footage that stands up to grading while keeping file sizes manageable — which matters enormously if you are shooting a long day and do not want to fill a drive before lunch. It also means ZR footage can sit alongside material from RED cameras in the same grade without wrestling with conversions.
Second, a new High ISO NR option becomes available with H.265 Log recording, giving control over noise reduction according to the look you are after rather than accepting a fixed treatment.
Third, focus peaking now works when recording R3D NE — Nikon’s RAW format built to support RED’s colour science. Focus peaking being unavailable in a camera’s highest-quality recording mode is exactly the sort of gap that irritates on set, so this is a welcome fix.
Separately, RED is updating RED CONTROL and RED CONTROL PRO to add remote control of the ZR, which brings the camera properly into RED’s own production tooling.
The 2027 promises are the bigger news
Buried at the end of the release is confirmation that Nikon is developing open gate recording and a desqueeze display for anamorphic lenses, targeted at ZR firmware in 2027.
Both have been near the top of every ZR wishlist since launch. Open gate captures the full sensor area rather than a cropped 16:9 slice, letting you cut horizontal, vertical and square deliveries from a single take — increasingly essential for anyone delivering to multiple platforms, and a feature Sony made central to the FX5. Anamorphic desqueeze means seeing a correctly proportioned image on the monitor while shooting with anamorphic glass, rather than judging a stretched frame and hoping.
Committing to both publicly is a meaningful signal that Nikon intends to keep developing the ZR rather than treating it as finished. The caveat is timing: 2027 is a long wait, and “with the goal of incorporating them” is softer language than a firm commitment.
Our take
This is what the RED acquisition looks like in practice — not a badge on a box, but RED’s colour science, file formats and control software arriving in a Nikon camera through firmware.
For existing ZR owners it is straightforwardly good news, and free. For anyone weighing the camera up, the promised open gate support is worth factoring in, with the usual caution that announced features occasionally slip or arrive reduced.
Nikon has not given a specific date beyond “before the end of 2026” for version 2.00.
Nikon ZR firmware version 2.00: what’s new
Log3G10 and REDWideGamutRGB support in H.265 video file type, for improved grading latitude at smaller file sizes. New High ISO NR option available with H.265 Log recording. Focus peaking display support when recording in the R3D NE video file type — a RAW format developed for Nikon cameras to support RED Digital Cinema’s colour science. Separately: RED is updating RED CONTROL and RED CONTROL PRO to enable remote control of the ZR. Release: scheduled before the end of 2026. In development for 2027: open gate recording and a desqueeze display for anamorphic lenses.
