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| Small town hardware store. Will he find what he is looking for? (click to enlarge) Nikon Zf; 40mm f/2 SE lens; 1/400th sec. @ f/8; ISO 100; JPEG file |
Since I purchased the Nikon Z8 for bird and wildlife photography and I plan on taking it as my primary camera on my upcoming wildlife photography road trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons later this year, I needed a Nikon backup camera “just in case.” (I really don’t like finding myself unprepared for unexpected circumstances, but I’m sure that is a product of 36 years in law enforcement. Also, it is just smart).
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| Indeed, he did! Some sort of pully mechanism. I spent some time talking with this gentlemen and we had a very nice conversation. He drives from North Carolina to patronize this store. Same camera/lens data as above. (click to enlarge) |
Since I enjoyed my experience with the Nikon Zf so much, I decided to purchase one for the role previously mentioned. I bought mine from Nikon. I waited for a sale on their refurbished gear, which I have utilized many times in the past. I realized a nice $400 savings for a very nice camera. The Zf should make not only a good ‘backup’ camera for the trip but also a nice primary ‘walking around’ camera in other times. I should be able to engage it double duty, so to speak. For example, for photos like the ones posted here.
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| Of course! I had to include at least one railroad related photo. Amtrak train #89, The Palmetto, southbound at Emporia, Virginia. (click to enlarge) Nikon Zf; 24-120mm f/4 lens @ 24mm; 1/2000 sec. @ f/13; ISO 1400; JPEG file |
Recently a reader of the blog asked me my opinions about the Zf and I have copied my reply below. For those of you who might be thinking of buying a Zf, my reply to the reader might be informative to you and help you with your decision-making.
“Thanks for the question. If you’ve been photographing long enough to have used just about any 35mm film camera, that’s what the Zf feels like. Flat body, no grip which has become the norm with digital cameras. But that is the point of the camera. A throwback to old film camera looks and operation. However, it is a bit larger and heavier than most of the old 35mm cameras with the exception of the pro level ones. It is larger and heavier than your X-T3 as well. That said, with a grip it feels nice in the hand. I have the SmallRig grip but there are now others available. I may try others sometime down the road. Just for comparison. The Smallrig grip works well for me.
The camera’s ISO and shutter speed dials are a bit unusual in how Nikon engineered them. Since I leave my cameras on Auto ISO, that control isn’t a factor at all. The shutter speed dial can be controlled either by the dial on top of the camera in whole stops or set to the “1/3 Step” setting on the dial and then controlled in 1/3 stops by the rotating the rear command dial like every other Nikon camera. The aperture is set by the front command dial (I added the following here for clarification; visible in a small window on the camera’s top LCD) only if you are using a Nikon lens with no aperture ring. I believe you can use the aperture ring if you have a third party lens that has one, but I’m not sure. I wish Nikon made some special edition primes with aperture rings just to use on this camera. That would be great.
I like the camera. A lot. I’m perfectly fine with 24mp. I love the color rendition out of this camera. I can’t put my finger on it but the colors are just natural looking and pleasing to me. I don’t know if the color processing is different from any other Nikon camera. It may be my imagination, but I like the color rendition a lot. Also, being an old black & white shooter, I like the switch to instantly change to black & white.
The cameras AF system is as good as my Z8’s in almost every way. The only difference being not having a specific setting for bird subject detection, but that is not why I would buy this camera. The Z8 just got that setting in the last firmware update.
The feature set more than meets my needs and I have no problems using the camera, its menu system or the way it is configured. I do wish there was at least one more button that is programmable, however.
Finally, I think the overall image quality, which includes night and very low light photography as well as those situations requiring a lot of dynamic range is the best of any camera I’ve owned. I think the image quality is exceptional.
In sum, I like the way the camera feels in my hand, I like the feature set and operation of the camera, I love the AF capabilities, I like the price, I love the color rendition and the image quality is the best of any camera I’ve owned.
I like to set my cameras to manual mode with auto ISO and this camera is perfect for working that way. That about wraps it up. I hope this has sufficiently answered your questions. ~Dennis”
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I’ll add one additional comment about this camera. I’ve written in the past that not having a ‘joystick’ to move the focusing point around was a dealbreaker for me. This camera does not have a joystick. So why did I buy it and why do I like it so much? The difference is that I have the AF mode set to “3D Tracking.” This mode shows a single square in the viewfinder but when you place the square over your subject and activate autofocus, the square tenaciously locks on your chosen subject and follows it around the frame relentlessly. I find it now my preferred way to set autofocus. There is no need for a joystick. Nikon really has improved this AF mode over past cameras. However, if there is something about not having a joystick you may not like, you can also move the AF point around by using the multi-selector or just sliding your thumb around the rear LCD. Both worked well in my experimentation. But I’ll take 3D Tracking any day. It is amazing.
All this said, these are just my opinions and opinions are neither right nor wrong, just opinions. You may have entirely different needs and preferences to mine. You may find this camera doesn’t ’fit’ well with your way of photographing. No problem. There are a plethora of excellent digital cameras available and you should be able to find one or more that works for you.
P.S. It seems my photographic preferences have changed over the years. I’d much rather make photographs such as the top two in this post than to photograph landscapes. I’ve come to appreciate the ‘human’ element reflected in various ways in what I now photograph. Just sayin’.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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Hi Dennis, first time commenter, long time lurker.
ReplyDeleteI've been intrigued by the Zf since it was released... Can you share some insight into how this lens compliments your Fujifilm gear? I have a few old Nikon lenses that came with my grandfather's FE body and I've been trying to decide if investing in a new system is the right path forward. I currently have an X-H2s and bunch of Fuji glass, so the choice is between the 150-600 zoom or a Zf body for a bit of fun.
Hi Dennis, first time commenter, long time lurker.
ReplyDeleteI've been intrigued by the Zf since it was released... Can you share some insight into how this lens compliments your Fujifilm gear? I have a few old Nikon lenses that came with my grandfather's FE body and I've been trying to decide if investing in a new system is the right path forward. I currently have an X-H2s and bunch of Fuji glass, so the choice is between the 150-600 zoom or a Zf body for a bit of fun.
Hi Dennis, first time commenter, long time lurker.
ReplyDeleteI've been intrigued by the Zf since it was released... Can you share some insight into how this lens compliments your Fujifilm gear? I have a few old Nikon lenses that came with my grandfather's FE body and I've been trying to decide if investing in a new system is the right path forward. I currently have an X-H2s and bunch of Fuji glass, so the choice is between the 150-600 zoom or a Zf body for a bit of fun.
Michael, thank you for your questions. I’ll try to be helpful. The 40mm focal length is my favorite prime so this Nikon 40mm f/2 SE lens is a perfect, one prime, walk around lens for me. That said, I do use the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 lens on the camera as well if I anticipate needing something wider or longer. Both are excellent lenses. Due to its shape I think the Zf is the perfect camera if one likes to use prime lenses. A small prime balances with the camera perfectly, in my opinion. I have a number of old Nikon primes from the 70s-90s and plan on trying them on the camera this summer. Some are manual focus, some autofocus. But since they are relatively small as compared with the giant primes of today, they should work well, especially with the 24mp sensor. More pixels would most likely not compliment the older, not quite as good, lenses of yesteryear showing their deficiencies. I’m really liking the Zf. No regrets for purchasing it. I still have my X-T5 and Fujifilm lenses, but 99.9% of the time I use zoom lenses with it. Zooms seem to fit better with the Fujifilm gear and primes with the Zf. As for the 150-600mm lens, an excellent lens. I sold mine when I moved to the Z8 and 180-600mm lens but I have no complaints about the lens whatsoever. It is the Fujifilm subject detection AF that I feel is still a generation behind that caused me to sell that lens and the X-H2S. That said, my hit rate with the Nikon combination is close to 100%. Certainly much better than with the Fujifilm combination. I’m very happy with the combo. ~Dennis
ReplyDeleteThe Zf+40 prime seems the 21st century equivalent of the Pentax Spotmatic with 50mm Takumar. Also reminded of the advertising slogan for the Folmer & Schwing Graphic cameras. "A Graphic will not make all of your pictures, only the best ones."
ReplyDeleteI like it! Thanks. ~Dennis
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