Nikon Zf

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Shiny said:
I own a Z5 and mainly shoot macro and portraits I'm thrilled that this has a screen (flip out or 3 way tilt I am not bothered) that I can use for low level portrait orientation photography that I don't have to pay 4000 bucks for (Z8). I only shoot garden birds once a month or so which means I think this could be the camera for me. As a non hardcore bird photographer I think the Z8 would be too much camera for me. The question is would the Zf be a step up from the Z5 for the occasions I shoot small birds (not in flight). It am sure it will be a step up for everything else I use it for.

Of course I could wait for a Z6iii but who knows when that will come and what the price will be.
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I don't think you need an action camera like the Z8. I do think the other aspects of subject recognition and improved AF would be very useful. For portraits, this camera seems very good - and it's ideal for casual use, travel, family events, etc. Compared to the Z5, you are getting faster frame rate, significant updates to AF, better video capabilities, the flip screen changes, pre-release capture, and retro styling/controls. For any kind of wildlife subject, the only shortcoming is fast action like birds in flight - and even then it is for unpredictable action. Fast action that is moderately predictable will be fine and with subject detection and tracking improvements, will likely be better than your Z5.
 
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As someone who shoots with the Z6ii I am very excited about the new features Nikon now brings to this price point - especially the new AF system, higher fps, and the video updates over the Z6/ii.

But as some of you have said, this is not a wildlife camera. That may mean different things to different people - maybe images can't be cropped much - but I agree and for me it will likely come down to having a different interface, fewer customizable buttons, and poorer ergonomics with long lenses. For those reasons I don't think I will 'upgrade' to the Zf.

So to me the introduction of this camera raises John's question, but perhaps with a bit more concern because the Z6 is my primary camera: Will we see a Z6iii, and when?
 
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John Navitsky said:
it’s certainly interesting. basically what we kind of expected for a z6iii.. but retro.

this makes me even more curious about a z6iii. does this mean they are going to skip it? or if they do it will they add an additional feature, and if so, what?

and if they do a z6iii, why this one first? i can’t imagine they will sell as many retro cameras as z6iii cameras? is this a way to throttle demand? or buy time for a z6iii feature?

inquiring minds…
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If Nikon’s recent practice of essentially producing the same camera in three different bodies (Z 50/Zfc/Z 30) is any indication, they might introduce a Z 6 III that will essentially be a Zf in modern DSLR/mirrorless form, with a few tweaks (like dual CFE B/SD card slots, slightly-improved pixel shift). Just a bit of not-so-wild speculation on my part.
 
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Craig Yuill said:
If Nikon’s recent practice of essentially producing the same camera in three different bodies (Z 50/Zfc/Z 30) is any indication, they might introduce a Z 6 III that will essentially be a Zf in modern DSLR/mirrorless form, with a few tweaks (like dual CFE B/SD card slots, slightly-improved pixel shift). Just a bit of not-so-wild speculation on my part.
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i’ve been stewing on this a bit and i think they will make a z6iii at the 2,500(ish) usd price point and i think the difference will be it will have a different sensor, lower than 45mp (i hope for 24, but seems like 33ish is possible), but with a faster readout, like the r6ii (not stacked). that would justify the price bump and give better evf performance probably and give it performance that competes with the r6ii.

if so, i’m in
 
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Charming! It's basically a Z6III in a retro body design. Love the dedicated mechanical exposure dials. This would be a great street camera, and I would have no issue shooting wildlife and landscapes with it, although I'm *guessing* it's not a weather sealed body.
 
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Soopahmahn said:
Charming! It's basically a Z6III in a retro body design. Love the dedicated mechanical exposure dials. This would be a great street camera, and I would have no issue shooting wildlife and landscapes with it, although I'm *guessing* it's not a weather sealed body.
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The Nikon website says "durable weather sealing". I'm sure it's not up to the level of the Z9, though.
 
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This is going to sound like a crazy take here but bare with me. I have a D850 and Z7II. I primarily shoot landscapes, portraits, and events. The Z7II fits that bill quite nicely for me such that I don't feel the need to spend $4000 for the Z8. I only rarely shoot sports/action/wildlife (think the kids playing soccer/football/softball or when a critter so conveniently presents itself to me that I have to take a pic or two), which is why I have kept the D850 for its better AF in that regard. Am I crazy in thinking the Zf could be my D850 replacement for those scenarios. It would also make a fun as hell travel camera. I would lose the cropping ability with the 24mp as opposed to the 45mp of the D850, but the AF improvements of the Zf are certainly better sounding than the Z6 and Z7 and $2000 to get better AF is quite appealing to me. Yes, yes, yes....just sell both of them and get a Z8 and you have it all in one body. However, I like having a second body as a backup and I like the smaller/lighter form factor of the Z7 and Zf over the Z8.
 
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it’s hard to say. i don’t think you’re wrong to be interested in moving to all mirrorless and i do think the zf is a lot more than a z6ii.

the questions:

if you’re shooting all high mp cameras, how hard is it going to be for you to use a lower mp camera

the other gotcha is the expeed7 based systems are different so switching back and forth is a bit awkward

i don’t think it’s a bad move, but i suspect you’ll end up with a z8 anyway
 
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Doug A. said:
This is going to sound like a crazy take here but bare with me.
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That doesn't necessarily sound crazy. I think it depends a lot on the actual AF performance in the Zf. Just having the same processor doesn't mean the same yielded AF performance as things like sensor readout rate can impact the AF system even if the processor is the same.

But assuming the AF performance and things like subject/eye tracking are close to what we see in the Z8/Z9 then personally I suspect I'd be quite happy with a retro styled 24 mega pixel camera with lower frame rate. I used my Z6 II for quite a bit of wildlife work though I didn't expect to when I purchased the camera, sure it wasn't on par with either my D5/D6 or now the Z9 but it was a solid performer and as I really avoid deep crops the camera resolution wasn't a problem in the way I used that camera.

I'm definitely keeping an eye on this camera as an alternative to my Z9 when I don't want to carry as much kit and I do like the retro controls. The big issues for me will be: AF performance including detection and tracking modes, and whether the lack of programmable controls would be a show stopper for my work. Lots to think about...
 
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One thing I like about my Fuji XT cameras, and will also like about the Zf is that with no hand grip, it fits into very small pockets in my bag. It’ll be a great second camera.
 
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This camera is most interesting as a predictor of AF performance and functionality of the next generation of Nikon's non-stacked sensor cameras. Also new functionality we may see in future Z9/8 firmware releases.
Less certain is whether it indicates the Z6/7 IIIs will stay with the 24/45 mp sensor pairing or move to 33/61 mp.
 
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John Navitsky said:
i’ve been stewing on this a bit and i think they will make a z6iii at the 2,500(ish) usd price point and i think the difference will be it will have a different sensor, lower than 45mp (i hope for 24, but seems like 33ish is possible), but with a faster readout, like the r6ii (not stacked). that would justify the price bump and give better evf performance probably and give it performance that competes with the r6ii.

if so, i’m in
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Me too - and I hope the wait is not too long!
 
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Can Nikon add pixel shift in the z8/9? Or the IBIS is is physically different?

Using the screen as a joy stick, is long overdue for the Z8/9

I’m surprised that the same expeed 7 can be used in a Z9 and a Z6.
 
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Soopahmahn said:
Charming! It's basically a Z6III in a retro body design. Love the dedicated mechanical exposure dials. This would be a great street camera, and I would have no issue shooting wildlife and landscapes with it, although I'm *guessing* it's not a weather sealed body.
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It certainly seems to be well weather-sealed. Take a look at Morten's video linked a few posts above :)
 
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John Navitsky said:
it’s certainly interesting. basically what we kind of expected for a z6iii.. but retro.

this makes me even more curious about a z6iii. does this mean they are going to skip it? or if they do it will they add an additional feature, and if so, what?

and if they do a z6iii, why this one first? i can’t imagine they will sell as many retro cameras as z6iii cameras? is this a way to throttle demand? or buy time for a z6iii feature?

inquiring minds…
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You'd be surprised how popular the Fujifilm X-T series is.
 
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Steve said:
I got the specs yesterday and was really impressed. In the past, I've not cared too much about retro cameras, but I have to admit, this one has me intrigued. One thing I saw on it and I wish they would add to their other bodies is that exposure comp dial at the top. I like the fully articulating screen as well, and it looks like it has a few other "exclusive for now" features - like pixel shift.

The thing that really has me curious is the AF point VR prioritization. I wonder if that will really help or if it's more of a gimmick. They claim 8 stops of VR, so we'll see I guess.
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Some preview videos suggest that the AF point based IBIS is not enabled with super teles.
 
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Alistair said:
It certainly seems to be well weather-sealed. Take a look at Morten's video linked a few posts above :)
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Yeah good call. I stumbled on that this morning and thought "Welp, called that one wrong!" Nikon obviously figured some people would assume it's not so made it a clear point to have someone like Morten show its durability off.

I do like that camera a lot. I'm still a DSLR guy for the foreseeable future though. :)
 
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JoelKlein said:
Can Nikon add pixel shift in the z8/9? Or the IBIS is is physically different?

Using the screen as a joy stick, is long overdue for the Z8/9

I’m surprised that the same expeed 7 can be used in a Z9 and a Z6.
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I suspect it has new IBIS hardware. A review stated that Nikon didn't include a locking mechanism for the IBIS when the camera is powered off and that it shouldn't incur any damage as a result of not being locked. This leads me to believe it uses a new hardware system. I also suspect the new focus-point stabilization would require new hardware. Not sure if Nikon could implement some sort of pixel shift capability to Z8/9 via firmware, but if the Zf does have new IBIS hardware then a firmware-based pixel-shift upgrade would probably have to work a little differently, if even possible.
 
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