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Introduction
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The Nikon Zf is the retro-styled, full-frame mirrorless digital camera the corporate has been working in the direction of for a while.
Following on from the fairly ungainly Df, a DSLR, and the social-media-focused APS-C Zfc, Nikon has lastly delivered a big sensor Z-mount digital camera with basic styling.
It isn’t all backward-looking, although: the Zf makes use of the reliable 24MP sensor that underpins a lot of this value class and pairs it with its newest era processor, making a digital camera extra superior than the Nikon Z6 II however on the identical value (an MSRP of $2000).
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Fashion
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Nikon says the design is meant to imitate the look of the FM2 SLR from 1982, and the viewfinder form positively displays that. However the slight protruding ridge of a hand grip takes extra from 1980’s F3 HP, whereas the devoted PASM management on the digital camera’s left shoulder has echoes of the 1983 Nikon FA. So general, it is in all probability fairest to say that it is in step with Nikon’s early 80’s design language.
It is attention-grabbing to see that PASM management, fairly than ‘A’ positions on every of the parameter dials, however it’s in step with the FA. There is a small collar beneath the ISO dial with a bit tab indicating which publicity mode you have chosen. It is sufficiently small that you simply’re unlikely to vary modes inadvertently.
Likewise, we have seen criticism that it would not have a big, hand-shaped hand grip protruding from the entrance. However photographers managed to fortunately wrap their fingers round cameras with minimal entrance grips for many years earlier than the hand-shaped lump turned the usual design. That is meant to be an early Nineteen Eighties-styled digital camera, not a mishmash of early and late 80s design cues, and Nikon nonetheless makes the Z6 II if you would like a digital camera with fashionable ergonomics.
There is a third-party bolt-on grip obtainable from SmallRig (which is bundled with the digital camera in some markets), should you’re not prepared to totally decide to the 80’s aesthetic.
Construct
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Backing up that type is a higher-quality feeling of construct than we noticed with the Zfc (or, arguably, the Df). The Zf feels pleasantly dense and strong, and the dials are all metallic. Each the ISO and shutter pace dials have toggle locks on them, so you’ll be able to pop them up whereas adjusting settings or lock them down should you’re not utilizing that exact management.
The burden is basically the identical because the Z6 II, so it is not overly heavy however has sufficient heft to really feel strong. And though the styling harks again to an earlier type of design, the button structure could be very in step with that of its extra modern-looking siblings. Solely the shortage of a joystick stands out.
The Zf sees the implementation of 3D Monitoring from the Z9 and Z8 lastly arrive in considered one of Nikon’s mainstream fashions. On the Z6 II, you needed to press a button to have interaction monitoring after which take into consideration whether or not you needed to maneuver the monitoring field’s place to begin, whereas with Zf, monitoring is basically an AF space mode, and you may place the monitoring field simply as you’ll the AF level. For loads of sorts of capturing, chances are you’ll simply be capable of level the digital camera at your topic, provoke monitoring, and recompose, obviating the necessity for a joystick, however should you’re doing the form of capturing the place it’s worthwhile to pre-set the AF level (significantly helpful if you wish to select a selected particular person you wish to deal with, the second you raise the digital camera into view), you should still discover its absence.
Sensor
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The sensor is not something we have not seen earlier than. It is a 24MP full-frame sensor that is able to moderately quick readout and excellent picture high quality. It is a sensor that produces good ranges of element, glorious dynamic vary and performs nicely in low gentle. It is perhaps a bit higher suited to stills than video, however affords a good stability between the 2.
We have seen numerous figures quoted for the Nikon Zf’s speeds, however the ones Nikon US has confirmed to us are: as much as 11fps capturing in Uncooked and as much as 14fps JPEG within the highest steady mode utilizing the mechanical shutter. There’s additionally a burst mode that makes use of e-shutter (and, we suspect, 12-bit readout) to ship as much as 30fps bursts, which incorporates the pre-buffering choice first launched on the Z9. The rolling shutter fee is round 26.3ms, so you’ll be able to count on some distortion should you pan or shoot topics transferring rapidly throughout your body on this mode.
Video from the complete width of the sensor goes as much as 4K/30p and takes round 22ms to learn out, whereas an APS-C cropped area of the sensor can ship as much as 60p 4K seize. These numbers are very just like these of the Z6 II and Panasonic’s 24MP full-frame cameras, for that matter. Or the Sigma fp, or the Sony a7 III.
There will be loads of those that snark about how lengthy this sensor’s been about, however there’s little or no on the market that is appreciably higher until you wish to pay Stacked CMOS costs.
Shutter and stabilization
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Using a extra typical sensor means the Zf has a traditional mechanical shutter of the kind the Z8 and Z9 lack. It’s going to shoot at as much as 1/8000 sec and has a sync pace of 1/200 second. In guide publicity mode, you’ll be able to choose lengthy exposures of as much as 900 seconds (quarter-hour) should you require.
What’s not seen on this picture is the up to date in-body IS system. It is now able to delivering a efficiency rated at as much as 8EV of correction, in line with business normal checks. A part of that is aided by the digital camera’s processor, which is extra highly effective than the one within the Z6 II, but it surely’s additionally boosted by a mode that facilities the correction efforts on the chosen AF level fairly than assuming the center of the picture as essentially the most vital level of correction.
Totally-articulated display
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One barely odd alternative for such a historically styled digital camera is the inclusion of a completely articulated rear display. This made plenty of sense on the Zfc, which was explicitly designed for social media content material creators, however feels a bit out-of-place on a digital camera seemingly aimed extra at stills photographers.
Our choice in these cases is a two-way tilting panel like these used on numerous fashions from Fujifilm, Panasonic and Nikon, as they allow you to tilt the display each within the portrait and panorama axes whereas pivoting roughly across the axis of the lens, which makes it simpler to make sense of the methods the picture will change as you progress the digital camera. In precept, you’ll be able to hinge a completely articulating show out from the again of the digital camera in the wrong way, however then it’s worthwhile to maintain the digital camera with the grip down as a substitute of up.
The viewfinder is a 3.68M dot OLED show, as is completely normal at this value. The optics give a powerful 0.8x magnification, although, so it provides a pleasant view on the world. As you’d count on, there’s an eye fixed sensor to change between the rear panel and the viewfinder, or you’ll be able to shut the rear display over and simply use the viewfinder if you would like a extra convincingly 80’s expertise.
Battery (and card slots)
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The Zf is predicated across the EN-EL15 battery that Nikon has utilized in its mid-priced cameras for a few years now. The most recent ‘c’ variant is a 16Wh unit that may be charged over USB. It powers the digital camera to a really cheap 380 shot-per-charge ranking should you use the rear LCD (it is 360 should you use the viewfinder). Making an allowance for it is common to get greater than twice the rated worth, relying on how typically you cease to assessment your photographs, this can be a first rate determine for all-day pictures.
One concession to measurement is that Nikon has bundled the cardboard slots in with the battery, one thing that is extra typically achieved on inexpensive fashions. The Zf affords two card slots: one UHS-II SD card slot and one fairly fiddly microSD slot. Disappointingly, this microSD slot solely conforms to the older, slower UHS-I normal, so you’ll be able to’t simply depart a quick card in there and deal with it as if it have been inner storage. As a substitute, it is maybe higher thought-about to be an emergency overflow functionality.
Ports
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The Nikon Zf has the ports you’d count on from a digital camera round this stage. There are 3.5mm headphone and mic sockets and a micro HDMI port for video output.
There’s additionally a single USB-C port on the digital camera’s facet (Nikon’s Z8 has us eager for a future the place twin USB-C for charging and, say, SSD output, grow to be commonplace). It is a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) connector, which, once more, is just about what we might count on (10Gbps connectors are nonetheless uncommon).
Video
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Having stated that, the Zf affords a reasonably acquainted set of video capabilities. With full-width 4K/30 and cropped-in 4K/60, Nikon has made a good variety of enhancements.
In a step ahead for a mid-priced Nikon, the Zf can seize 10-bit footage internally, opening up the opportunity of inner N-Log recording or HLG HDR seize.
It additionally positive factors a waveform show to assist set publicity (which may be significantly helpful when capturing Log) and a devoted settings show to display all of your key video parameters in an at-a-glance format.
And it is arguably video shooters who achieve most from that absolutely articulating display (although the power to shut it over, as proven above, would not precisely undermine the basic look). However, should you’re not excited by video, all its options are saved separate on the mode swap simply beneath the shutter pace dial, and also you want by no means use them.
Ergonomics
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As with the Df earlier than it (and Fujifilm’s X-T sequence), you do not even have to make use of the devoted ISO, shutter pace or publicity comp dials in any respect: there are programmable command dials entrance and rear, simply as you’d discover on any mid-level Nikon from the previous 20 years. To an extent, that is helpful: Z-mount lenses typically do not have devoted aperture rings, so you will want no less than one of many command dials to supply that perform.
Sadly we’re not conscious of any F-to-Z-mount adapters that may interpret the place of the aperture ring on older AF(-D) and AI(-S) lenses, so you will not get aperture data in your EXIF. Nonetheless, because the adapters additionally do not have a motor to drive AF(D) lenses, there is no specific hurt in merely stopping older lenses right down to your capturing aperture and getting a reasonably convincingly early 80s (pre-AF) expertise.
Abstract
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We have solely had a brief period of time utilizing a pre-production digital camera, however there’s so much to counsel that the Zf is lastly the digital camera that so many Nikon shooters hoped the Df and more moderen Zfc can be: marrying the type of Nikon’s early 80s seems with the dealing with, efficiency and picture high quality of a contemporary full-frame digital camera.
It will not attraction to everybody, in fact, although we might be stunned if Nikon would not additionally create a Z6 III for individuals who don’t need ‘final century’ ergonomics. And sure, it would be good if Nikon made extra lenses with aperture rings, allowed different producers to take action, or made an adapter that higher supported pre-Nineties F-mount lenses.
However, whereas we wish to spend extra time difficult the AF system earlier than passing judgment on the digital camera, there’s so much that the Zf appears to get proper.
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