A Few Comments On How I Plan To Use The Nikon Z7

Nikon Z7 Kodachrome slide copy. One of my early tests   Artist and good friend (now deceased)
Casey Holtzinger in his studio, March 1985.
Digitizing slides, such as this one of my friend, is one of the reasons for buying the Z7. (click to enlarge)

In this post from last week, I revealed I purchased a Nikon Z7 but I don't think I really described how I intend to primarily use the the camera other than for my summer slide copying project. I didn't go into what my long term plans for the camera are and whether or not I plan to eventually create a comprehensive full frame kit using the Z7 as the central piece.

First and foremost, the Z7 will NOT , in all probability, become my primary all around camera.  Rest easy Fujifilm and Olympus fans!  I'm not throwing that gear under the bus for the Nikon gear.  My Fujifilm gear will continue in its current role as my primary all around photography gear.  For me, the reasons are clear.  This is an easy decision.  It is all about the user experience (UX) with the X-T3 and X-H1, which is better than any of the other cameras I've owned.  Those old-style analog controls and straightforward menu system make a big difference in my everyday photography.  

Additionally, I own a comprehensive set of Fujifilm lenses from the full frame field of view of 15mm to 840mm.  Combined with those terrific Fujifilm lenses, I have no complaints about the X-T3's or the X-H1's image quality, noise characteristics, focusing abilities, color rendition, battery life or feature set.  When I specifically go out to photograph, the Fujifilm gear is what I will continue to take.  It is the best all around system, considering everything including price, that I've ever owned.  I think it really hits the sweet spot for me.  As I've written in the past, I don't believe the Fujifilm gear is the absolute best at anything, but it is really good at everything!

As for the Olympus E-M1 Mark II, it now stays in my vehicle with the 12-100mm f/4 PRO lens attached and the Panasonic 8-18mm f/2.8-4 lens by its side.  Add an extra battery, an extra memory card, a lens cloth, a bulb blower, L-bracket and a wrist strap and it is my "grab and go" camera kit.  It is very hard to criticize that camera with the 12-100mm f/4 PRO lens attached for size, weight, bulk and versatility.  Oh! And don't forget the great image quality!

But what about the Nikon?  You are probably thinking "You now own three systems?"  Are you kidding me?  I know.  I know.  Gluttonous, so to speak.  At this time, I don't have plans to build out a complete full frame Nikon system.  If something changes in the future, I may.  But right now my plan is to use the two lenses I have (I'm not including the 60mm macro) in the field, which will give me focal lengths from 24mm to 300mm.  I don't think I need to go wider nor longer for landscape work, which I think is the strength of this system.  

Then, of course, is my major summer project of copying my slide (and some negatives) archives.  The Z7 and 60mm f/2.8 G Micro lens will be center stage for that effort.

The mirrorless features, a sensor capable of extremely fine detail and terrific dynamic range makes the Z7 ideal for certain landscape work.   That is probably how I will generally use it especially when there is a potential that I will want to make a very large print for hanging on my wall (or someone else's).  I can also envision using it when I want to photograph something for archival or historical purposes and the extreme detail is important to record.  Additionally, since the 45mp Nikon files are huge, when using the Z7 I plan to make a slight change to my normal way of photographing.  I normally set my cameras to be able to take multiple shots with one press of the shutter (Continuous Low), firing off a quick burst of three images.  I have consistently found over the years (and more often as I have aged) that the second or third image is a little bit sharper than the first.  But three shots for every subject with this camera will start to have too much of a negative effect on hard drive space.  So a tripod and a more contemplative approach is what is in order for using this camera.  That, anyway, is the current plan.

Why did I buy the Z7 and not the Nikon D850 since the D850 has firmware that allows you to convert negatives to positives in-camera?  Foremost, I like the smaller size and lighter weight of the Z7 as compared to the D850.  Recently, I was holding a friend's D810 with a long lens attached and was reminded just how big and HEAVY it is!  Keeping with the notion that I like smaller and lighter, the line of lenses Nikon is developing for their mirrorless cameras fit that bill.  The 24-70mm f/4 lens is the perfect compliment to the camera for landscape photography.  The new 14-30mm f/4 S lens, from the specifications published, appears about the same size as the 24-70mm lens.  So it isn't too big and heavy if I ever wanted to buy a really wide zoom lens.  

In the past, I regularly used a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens which, as you can imagine, is large and heavy.  Before selling my Nikon gear a few years ago, I had downsized that lens and the rest of my "trinity" of lenses to the f/4 models.  For the Z7, I chose to purchase the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E VR AF-P lens for its high image quality, smaller size/less weight and longer reach. 

But now Nikon has introduced a really top notch mirrorless 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens!  Should I consider it?  Not at all.  Even though the image quality preliminarily is said to be bit better (I think you may have to look pretty closely to see the differences and only under certain circumstances) the lens is very expensive, larger and heavier than my 24-70mm f/4.  That is not the way I want to go with this gear.

If I were to exchange the 24-20mm f/4 for the new 24-70mm f/2.8, add the 70-200mm f/2.8 and then add the upcoming 14-30 f/2.8, then I would be back to the large, heavy and bulky kit that initially caused me to move to mirrorless in the first place.  No, I don't think those big heavy, albeit fantastic lenses, will be in my future.  I'm still liking smaller, lighter, less bulky but high image quality.  Notice I didn't say less expensive!  Even the Olympus gear has become more expensive with each new introduction.  But with the specials, sales, rebates and other discounts now offered regularly by almost every digital camera manufacturer—then add in the availability of like new and excellent used gear—there really is no reason to pay full price for good gear any longer.

Also, while I'm writing about the Nikon gear, there are two other accessories that I purchased for the Z7.  First, I needed a way to mount my camera on a tripod.  I use L-brackets so I did some research to find out what is available.  I found there is an issue with some L-brackets of which one needs to be aware.  You must be careful as to which L-bracket you purchase to use on the Z7 or Z6 if you plan on using the FTZ adapter with F-mount lenses.  

When the FTZ adapter is mounted on the camera, the "foot" of the adapter can interfere with mounting and removal of some L-brackets.  If the L-bracket is not engineered in a manner to avoid this interference then, in order to mount the L-bracket, one has to remove the adapter (and lens) from the camera before the L-bracket can be attached. You then have to re-mount the adapter/lens combination to the camera.  After my research I purchased a Kirk Enterprises BL-Z L-bracket.  It is engineered perfectly to avoid this conflict so I do not have to remove the FTZ adapter in order to attach or remove the L-bracket.  The Kirk L-bracket costs more than I like to pay, but it fits perfectly and avoids the interference issue.  Do your research before buying one.

The other accessory I needed to purchase for my slide copying project is the Nikon ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter.  This kit consists of a device that attaches to your macro lens into which you can insert either the (2) slide holder or the film strip holder.  The adapter also has a diffusion panel to soften any light entering the lens.  The other parts of the kit are adapter rings so one can use any of three Nikon Micro (Nikon's name for macro lenses) lenses:  the 40mm f/2.8 DX lens, the 60mm f/2.8 AF-D lens and the one I purchased for my slide copying project, the 60mm f/2.8 G lens.  Each lens has different optical construction and requires the digitizing adapter to be at different distances from the front of the lens.  However, everything but the camera and lens are included in the kit.

That is about it for comments on use of the Z7.  If you have any questions about the camera, its features, etc., please don't hesitate to ask.

As a reminder, I don't have any affiliations with any companies.  I don't get anything free, nor discounts on any gear.  I pay the same as do you.  Also, I have no "pass through" ads with which I get money when you buy through them.  It is just me using stuff I think works well.

Join me over at Instagram @dennisamook or my website, www.dennismook.com. 

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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