Anybody tried comparison with z6II? I like the price more, grip also. I know ZF has muc hbetter AF. I shoot concerts in bad light and weddings here and there. While with primes, my D810 was relatively ok, but with 2,8 it starts struggle in extreme conditions so I think now about upgrade and deciding between z6II and ZF. AF, Iso performance and pulling shadows/higlights is important to me. How much will it be upgrade from D810 if i pick cheaper variant? how much upgrade would it be if I pick ZF, thanks.
Michael
September 10, 2024 3:35 am
As a Nikon ZF user I am finding the camera first class for all my outdoor and indoor general requirements, I mainly use the Z 24-70/F4S lens as this covers the majority of my work, however I do have one annoying feature that I have no idea how to resolve, every so often when looking through the viewfinder to take a shot I get a white balance information screen appear that obscures my view, by pressing the ok button it then disappears, but I have no idea why this is occurring every so often and would like to stop it happening, any comments would be greatly appreciated. Regards
Antonio Perez Abella
July 3, 2024 6:29 pm
La duda es……… enfoca igual que la z6 iii?, exclusivamente en fotos el rendimiento del sensor en cuanto a iso y rango dinamico es igual a la z6 iii, mejor?, peor?. Saludos.
The question is………focuses the same as the z6 iii?, exclusively in photos, the performance of the sensor in terms of ISO and dynamic range is the same as the z6 iii, better?, worse?. Greetings.
Stephanie
April 22, 2024 8:49 am
I bought this with the moderate zoom and all the defects are pluses for me! Never had such sharp photos except with the Nikon dslr 850 which had a horrible screen. Deactivated half the buttons and am instantly where I want to be. Not missing a shot, change shutter speed, exposure compensation and iso manually and only use the screen to play back. Sheer heaven. Oh , and also use pro-focus – essential to me.
Robert Gregory
March 29, 2024 7:56 am
Apologies for my comment – I confused the Df (DSLR) with the Zf (mirrorless)
Krishna
December 16, 2023 7:55 am
Can Zfc be used as a backup photograph for someone who photographs birds? Does it detect bird while using wide Area AF ?
Unfortunately, Zfc is not very suitable for bird photography. Its subject detection cannot recognize birds. The Zf, on the other hand, is very suitable as a backup body. It’s quite small, so it won’t take up too much space in a backpack. Still, if bird photography is your main interest, I would wait for the Z6 III.
Tom from MI
December 12, 2023 7:17 am
Excellent review! I’ve had my Zf for a few months and I agree with most of your findings. The one thing I take exception to is where you seem to be critical of the ability to bypass the ISO, Shutter and Exposure compensation dials. You talk about this in your section on “Disadvantages of the Zf Design” and again in your conclusions where you state: “However, for working quickly, I found myself setting “C” on a lot of the dials, which somewhat negates the reason to buy the Zf in the first place.” I’ve read similar sentiments in other reviews and always find it puzzling. This should be considered an advantage of the Zf as it’s like having two cameras in one. For example, when I want to shoot more deliberately, I use the Zf with my collection of MF primes and take advantage of the manual focusing aids. When I want to shoot fast, I attach AF lenses and bypass the dials. I agree that having some type of User or Bank settings would make this easier. Maybe that will be added in a firmware update. For now, I have added f2: Custom Controls (shooting) to My Menu and change the Video button to Zoom 100% for MF shooting and to ISO control for AF shooting. I mostly use the Zf with MF lenses, but it’s nice to be able to “speed up” if needed.
Thanks for the comment, Tom. Actually, I wouldn’t explicitly consider this feature a disadvantage. Rather, it’s that muscle memory combined with ordinary human lyzyness would cause me to end up using only one way to set ISO, shutter speed, etc. But it’s certainly good to have a choice, and I’d say Nikon has done a great job of combining the best of both worlds.
George
December 1, 2023 2:08 pm
I am so enamored by the zf that I created nikon-zf.com just for this camera.
I feel like this can bring photography back to its roots rather than photography with a computer.
nice!! I even registered but I am not willing to make my files smaller just to upload them
Darin Marcus
November 17, 2023 11:28 am
Thank you very much for this review, Libor!
I am interested in Nikon’s Pixel Shift technology more than in the Zf – I am glad you tested its implementation in the Zf.
I hope that Nikon will continue to improve this technology in future cameras…
Brian Durell
November 13, 2023 9:52 am
Thanks for a non-gushy review. I must confess that a retro design does nothing for me. Your discussion of limitations of the Zf confirms my choice to wait for the Z6iii. I find it really odd that to get a retro look Nikon left off a decent grip but offers an add-on grip at extra cost.
You can also purchase the Nikon ZF-GR1 which is Nikon’s own, but it’s a Japan item if you live in the USA but can be shipped. The Smallrig is much less expensive.
Anybody tried comparison with z6II? I like the price more, grip also. I know ZF has muc hbetter AF. I shoot concerts in bad light and weddings here and there. While with primes, my D810 was relatively ok, but with 2,8 it starts struggle in extreme conditions so I think now about upgrade and deciding between z6II and ZF. AF, Iso performance and pulling shadows/higlights is important to me. How much will it be upgrade from D810 if i pick cheaper variant? how much upgrade would it be if I pick ZF, thanks.
As a Nikon ZF user I am finding the camera first class for all my outdoor and indoor general requirements, I mainly use the Z 24-70/F4S lens as this covers the majority of my work, however I do have one annoying feature that I have no idea how to resolve, every so often when looking through the viewfinder to take a shot I get a white balance information screen appear that obscures my view, by pressing the ok button it then disappears, but I have no idea why this is occurring every so often and would like to stop it happening, any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Regards
La duda es……… enfoca igual que la z6 iii?, exclusivamente en fotos el rendimiento del sensor en cuanto a iso y rango dinamico es igual a la z6 iii, mejor?, peor?.
Saludos.
The question is………focuses the same as the z6 iii?, exclusively in photos, the performance of the sensor in terms of ISO and dynamic range is the same as the z6 iii, better?, worse?.
Greetings.
I bought this with the moderate zoom and all the defects are pluses for me! Never had such sharp photos except with the Nikon dslr 850 which had a horrible screen. Deactivated half the buttons and am instantly where I want to be. Not missing a shot, change shutter speed, exposure compensation and iso manually and only use the screen to play back. Sheer heaven. Oh , and also use pro-focus – essential to me.
Apologies for my comment – I confused the Df (DSLR) with the Zf (mirrorless)
Can Zfc be used as a backup photograph for someone who photographs birds? Does it detect bird while using wide Area AF ?
Unfortunately, Zfc is not very suitable for bird photography. Its subject detection cannot recognize birds. The Zf, on the other hand, is very suitable as a backup body. It’s quite small, so it won’t take up too much space in a backpack. Still, if bird photography is your main interest, I would wait for the Z6 III.
Excellent review! I’ve had my Zf for a few months and I agree with most of your findings. The one thing I take exception to is where you seem to be critical of the ability to bypass the ISO, Shutter and Exposure compensation dials. You talk about this in your section on “Disadvantages of the Zf Design” and again in your conclusions where you state: “However, for working quickly, I found myself setting “C” on a lot of the dials, which somewhat negates the reason to buy the Zf in the first place.” I’ve read similar sentiments in other reviews and always find it puzzling. This should be considered an advantage of the Zf as it’s like having two cameras in one. For example, when I want to shoot more deliberately, I use the Zf with my collection of MF primes and take advantage of the manual focusing aids. When I want to shoot fast, I attach AF lenses and bypass the dials. I agree that having some type of User or Bank settings would make this easier. Maybe that will be added in a firmware update. For now, I have added f2: Custom Controls (shooting) to My Menu and change the Video button to Zoom 100% for MF shooting and to ISO control for AF shooting. I mostly use the Zf with MF lenses, but it’s nice to be able to “speed up” if needed.
Thanks for the comment, Tom. Actually, I wouldn’t explicitly consider this feature a disadvantage. Rather, it’s that muscle memory combined with ordinary human lyzyness would cause me to end up using only one way to set ISO, shutter speed, etc. But it’s certainly good to have a choice, and I’d say Nikon has done a great job of combining the best of both worlds.
I am so enamored by the zf that I created nikon-zf.com just for this camera.
I feel like this can bring photography back to its roots rather than photography with a computer.
nice!! I even registered but I am not willing to make my files smaller just to upload them
Thank you very much for this review, Libor!
I am interested in Nikon’s Pixel Shift technology more than in the Zf – I am glad you tested its implementation in the Zf.
I hope that Nikon will continue to improve this technology in future cameras…
Thanks for a non-gushy review. I must confess that a retro design does nothing for me. Your discussion of limitations of the Zf confirms my choice to wait for the Z6iii. I find it really odd that to get a retro look Nikon left off a decent grip but offers an add-on grip at extra cost.
Nikon doesn’t have the add-on grip, you have to purchase it through a different company.
You can also purchase the Nikon ZF-GR1 which is Nikon’s own, but it’s a Japan item if you live in the USA but can be shipped. The Smallrig is much less expensive.