Nikon Zf - Back to Retro
My Nikon D750 is almost ten years old, and while it's working fine, I've been itching to make the jump to the mirrorless world. I skipped the Z6 and Z7, and certainly cannot afford to get the Z8 let alone the Z9. Fortunately, Nikon announced the new Zf, which is a full-frame version of their older APS-C ZFc, and it contains most of the technology of the Z8 minus the stacked sensor. In fact, it has similar resolution to the D750 at 24.5MP but endowed with IBIS (sensor stablizer), EVF (electronic viewfinder), and the Expeed 7 processor, not to mention the retro look of the old film camera like Nikon FM2. The other motivation to get the Zf was that the Fuji X-Pro4 I was considering has not appeared with no rumoured leaks either, and I'm quite happy with just having the Fuji X100V as a compact take-along-everywhere digicam.
So, after ordering it from Futuromic Photo AV Sdn. Bhd., the local distributor of Nikon, I received my Zf with 24-70 f4 kit set on 14 December 2023. I also purchased the Nikon FTZ II adapter, for a total cost of RM12,540.00. I had a special discount considering that the year-end sales already offered the ZF plus zoom kit only at RM12,838.
You can view some initial test shots I took with the Zf with the FTZ II adapter and some of my older F-mount prime lenses. Below are just a few selected images, all are SOOC JPEG and taken handheld: -
That last picture was taken at a whopping ISO 64,000 and there's hardly any noise!
A few things I really like about the Nikon Zf are: -
- Really fast subject-detection autofocus with sticky 3D tracking.
- Very natural looking and smoothly responsive EVF.
- Pretty good sensor VR that works on my older, even manual focusing, lenses.
- Noticeably better image quality than my D750 or X100V, especially improved dynamic range and nicer colours.
- Incredibly low noise at high ISO, compared to my D750 or X100V.
- Solid build and retro design.
- Acceptably quiet and lovely sounding shutter.
- Very good video recording with quick AF and support up to 4K/60p in N-Log too.
What I'm still getting used to:-
- Since the D750 is OVF-based, for me to determine correct exposure required educated guesswork followed by some chimping and further adjustments. The Zf has a very nice EVF and LCD, so it's a WYSWIG experience and I can get correct exposure on the first try. Nevertheless, in difficult lighting situations, I tended to overcompensate the exposure when trying to brighten or darken the image, as I'm still getting used to the characteristics of the display.
- I've been using the X100V more often than the D750 and with its APS-C sensor, it's DOF is deeper than the Zf or D750, so now I tend to underestimate how shallow the DOF of full-frame is. Even though the 24-70 is only an f4 (which is similar to f2.8 on the X100V I think), it can be quite shallow, especially at closer distances.
- The X100V has a leaf shutter and that makes it surprisingly forgiving to handshake at slow shutter speeds. Although the Zf sensor VR is excellent, I noticed that I can't be lazy in my handholding technique, as I can easily tell if the Zf had taken a clean, sharp shot or the slight blur is due to my own unsteady hands.
I also purchased the Sennheiser MKE 440 external stereo microphone to give a boost to the quality of audio recording. This set me back RM 1,590 but it greatly improved the sound compared to the built-in mic and is certainly better than my existing Nikon ME-1 mic. Below is a picture of the MKE 440 fitted on the Zf attached to the FTZ II with Nikon 20mm f1.8G.
Lastly, I wanted a new yet compact camera bag to store the Zf in. I decided to buy the Bellroy Venture Sling 10L in midnight blue for RM950 (that includes shipping costs, and I also received with it, a free Bellroy Cooler Caddy bag worth RM299, in light copper colour). Although the Venture Sling is a small bag, it could easily fit the Zf with three small lenses, like the 24-70 f4 mounted, and for example, the Nikon 20mm f1.8G and 85mm f1.8G together with the FTZ II adapter. I like this bag because it has a flexible compartment with loosely attached dividers and the bag itself shapes to the contour of your body when you wear it. The Venture Sling is certainly smaller, lighter and less expensive than my existing Ona Leather Prince Street bag, yet I think is more effective as a camera bag.
I still have a few more stuff to buy, like Z-mount lenses and other accessories. I'll update on these purchases from time to time....