Nikon Zf

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Ted Forbes claims this is not ideal for wildlife
Truly, this camera has me scratching my head in confusion. It makes me wonder if Nikon is using this camera as a test in the market somehow. It seems to have somewhat of an identity crisis. My Fuji X-T5 already satisfies my street/travel needs perfectly and my XH2s satisfies the occasional wildlife for me.

Since I'm just a beginner birder/wildlife shooter, my plan is to keep using my Fujis and all the lenses. I sold my Nikon F mount gear earlier in the year. When Nikon introduces another kind of Z6iii with a classic DSLR style into the mix or I can get a hold of a used Z8, that might justify me selling off my XH2s.
 
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Juliette said:
Ted Forbes claims this is not ideal for wildlife
Truly, this camera has me scratching my head in confusion. It makes me wonder if Nikon is using this camera as a test in the market somehow. It seems to have somewhat of an identity crisis. My Fuji X-T5 already satisfies my street/travel needs perfectly and my XH2s satisfies the occasional wildlife for me.

Since I'm just a beginner birder/wildlife shooter, my plan is to keep using my Fujis and all the lenses. I sold my Nikon F mount gear earlier in the year. When Nikon introduces another kind of Z6iii with a classic DSLR style into the mix or I can get a hold of a used Z8, that might justify me selling off my XH2s.
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If you look at Fuji’s lineup, where they have the XT5 for people who like dials and the XH2 for people who like PASM, Nikon’s move here to make the Zf (which will surely match up to a Z6III) is less confusing.

The incongruity at the moment is due to the Z6III/Z7III not being launched yet. Once we have a Z6III, we’ll see that Nikon is simply offering the Z6III with two different control styles, like they did with the Z50/Zfc.

I‘m a bit surprised we aren’t hearing rumors of a Z6III launch, yet. It would be good for Nikon to get the new bodies out before EOY.
 
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For me, it is a no brainer. Full-frame, nostalgic, good performance, cheap. It'll go in the bag with two Z9s, probably with a 28mm lens. Hardest decision is color, so I ordered the green and orange.

My XTs served similarly, next to a pair of D5s, with mediocre-but-good-enough AF but sans FF.
 
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Chris K said:
If you look at Fuji’s lineup, where they have the XT5 for people who like dials and the XH2 for people who like PASM, Nikon’s move here to make the Zf (which will surely match up to a Z6III) is less confusing.

The incongruity at the moment is due to the Z6III/Z7III not being launched yet. Once we have a Z6III, we’ll see that Nikon is simply offering the Z6III with two different control styles, like they did with the Z50/Zfc.

I‘m a bit surprised we aren’t hearing rumors of a Z6III launch, yet. It would be good for Nikon to get the new bodies out before EOY.
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Now, that does make sense, @Chris K and when the z6iii is launched, I’ll sell the XH2s and reunite with Nikon!
 
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This is a very interesting camera, indeed, from multiple points of view. Especially as it's not much bigger than the Z fc (quick check of specs says 13% more depth, 10% height, and 7% width). So technically, I think it _might_ still be pocketable, but… what lenses for pocketability?

The Z fc normal zoom is pocketable (but of so slow, aperture-wise). The Z f would only work with the primes (which might explain the FF pancake primes's purpose). But only the 26mm f/2/8 is smaller than the 16-50 DX, both the 28mm f/2.8 and the 40mm f/2 are quite bigger (in depth)…
 
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Chris K said:
I’m considering the same. I like my X cameras a lot, but I could certainly get by with just Nikon if I had a Nikon that was small and had the manual controls I like.

I sure wouldn’t mind selling a ton of gear!
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Yes, to be clear though, in this case though I would NOT sell off all Fuji. I have too much invested not just monetarily in glass but I’m so familiar and comfortable with style and handling when it comes to street photography. Plus there are advantages to keeping an APS-C camera around.

what I will do though is use Fuji for street and buy the z6iii for events and wildlife - this is what I truly need from Nikon - and that would complete my needs for this decade, I think.

I used to believe that I could find one camera body that would take care of all of my shooting needs. I’ve now accepted the fact that that’s not possible right now, at least not in my case. If I can whittle it down to two camera bodies, then I’ll be happy! I can’t wait to see what Nikon does next! I do love the competition!
 
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John Navitsky said:
the refresh rate will be limited by the read speed of the sensor which is reported to be the z6ii sensor. it probably is better than the z6ii because of the evf pipeline in the expeed7, but it’s almost certainly not going to be as good as the z8/z9
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You don't think the faster processor could help?
 
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iustin said:
Could help, as John already replied, but it won't compensate for the old sensor.

Z6 II: Expeed 6 + old sensor
Z f: Expeed 7 + old sensor
Z 9: Expeed 7 + new sensor

Draw your conclusions. We'll see once reviews are out…
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Thanks! Very much looking forward to my copies. More of morbid curiosity, I don't think it'll matter to my shooting style.

Just. Don't. Overheat. Please.
 
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Doug A. said:
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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Doug, not at all ! If you are downsizing and downgrading, ZF + Z7II combo makes perfect sense; with the S line lens, you are set for the rest of your life.

Oliver
 
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I have a Z8 and this would make a good second body to keep my small 24-70 f4 S attached to for landscape IF it had a higher megapixel sensor. I like everything about it except for that. Even if it was in the 34-36MP range I would likely save up for it. But for my needs (big prints), the sensor size is a deal breaker.
 
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MrFotoFool said:
I have a Z8 and this would make a good second body to keep my small 24-70 f4 S attached to for landscape IF it had a higher megapixel sensor. I like everything about it except for that. Even if it was in the 34-36MP range I would likely save up for it. But for my needs (big prints), the sensor size is a deal breaker.
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There is the option of pixel shift shooting with the Zf. The maximum image size that can be produced is 96 megapixels in resolution. This would likely be a great option for landscape photography if you’re using a tripod.
 
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JAJohnson said:
There is the option of pixel shift shooting with the Zf. The maximum image size that can be produced is 96 megapixels in resolution. This would likely be a great option for landscape photography if you’re using a tripod.
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Yes I saw that, and it is a consideration, but it seems like a lot of work to do that for every shot. Also if there is a breeze, for example, I can't imagine that it will work well.
 
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John Navitsky said:
a tidbit from the latest Grays video.. they are introducing a usb-c pd charger for the en-el15 in conjunction with the zf. this makes me unreasonably happy

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I dream of a USB Micro-free future! My X100V charger is my last one…
 
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Despite not ideal (at least compared to contemporary obviously better, and more expansive options), I would certainly consider such camera either in the Zf or Z6III form at this price. I'm still shooting a Z6, which although not great, is still more capable than many of the cameras I had before. And I like the "pss pss" effect the mechanical shutter has on wildlife too busy doing their thing to raise their head and look my way 😅
 
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