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 p.1 #1 · Z7 Review: From A First Time Mirrorless User (Image Heavy) | |
I thought I would write this to share my experience and to talk about some things that I didn't see mentioned in other reviews/videos I watched over the last couple months. I think it can be relevant to some others getting the Z7/Z6. This is a longer post.
This is my first mirrorless camera I have ever used and this review comes from that perspective. I have owned the D700, D800, D810 and D850, so there will be some comparisons with the camera I am coming from. I am mainly a Scapes/Travel shooter who dabbles in portrait/wildlife/action. I am not a tester when it comes to gear so this is from real world use and not tests.
I got the camera not long after it was released, and leading up to the release I read many reviews/previews and watched videos. I heard over and over how its a Nikon and when you pick it up it will be familiar. After going over the menus I took it out for a couple hours on a hike. I thought it would feel natural from what others said and my years of using a Nikon yet I hated it. It just felt odd and foreign, I struggled with button layout, ergonomics and EVF. I heard many times how the EVF was so good it feels like the OVF, but this was not my experience. This is not about the quality of the EVF but I think EVFs in general. It was awkward and every time I raised it to my eye it seemed distracting. Yes the grip feels like a Nikon, dials are familiar, and the menu looks like the Nikon menu but beyond this the camera does require relearning muscle memory.
After that short hike I was feeling really disappointed and put the camera back in its box. I was set on returning it but thought I would give it some time to think it over. It sat unused for almost 2 weeks and just as I was about to return it I decided I didn't give it a fair try. I think I bought too much into the "It's a Nikon" or "It's a mirrorless D850" mantra and when it didn't feel like a Nikon I was letdown.
I am glad I gave it more time because in most areas my opinions have changed. Here is some of the issues I had with it and how I have adapted.
EVF - Its not like a OVF and don't think it is if you never used a mirrorless. Its obviously EVF when you put it to your eye and I am still not completely adjusted but I now appreciate the options the EVF gives. The lag from turning on isn't real noticeable unless you are shooting action/wildlife. Doing my usual landscape I really don't notice it. I think leading up to getting this camera many places online gave the impression that you can see exposure live. I think this is overstated, in many situations you get a good idea of exposure in the EVF but there is a lot of scenarios where I suggest chimping.
Size - This even takes some adjustment but in most areas its a benefit. I feel comfortable walking around without a strap and it does feel overall good in the hands. The issues I have with this is more ergonomics. I do miss the overall feel of the D850 and its layout.
Ergonomics - The grip feels great and most things make sense once you relearn them but there is one thing I have hated since day one and still hate. Pressing the front function buttons while turning the front dial is extremely awkward. I have average size hands but I don't think its really about this. I have no issues pressing the function buttons but pressing them and turning the front dial feels so uncomfortable. I am scared I will never adjust to this.
Button layout - This was frustrating in the beginning but slowly I have adjusted. I wish there was a couple more programmable buttons but overall you can get the job done. I wasn't someone who used "i" button on my D8XX cameras but its necessary on this camera.
Menu - it looks like a Nikon menu but there is definitely a lot of new settings that require research. I suggest going over it completely instead of just seeking out the ones that are familiar from your past cameras.
Top LCD - I didn't have an issue with the size like others have mentioned. I can see the info and it has a nice brightness, but I do have a couple issues with it. When pressing bracket it does not display on the top LCD like the D8XX cameras. This can be annoying if you setup a shot on a tripod and have it set to EVF. You then press bracket(i use movie record button) and you have to look into the VF again. One other thing I have noticed, when doing long exposure the LCD stays on which can give off some light. The back green light blinks while doing long exposure and I think it flashes every 5 seconds. This can be nice for knowing if the exposure is still in process, but I think there was a better way to deal with this. I wish the top LCD turned off during the exposure and came back on after the shot is done.
Memory slots - enough things have been said about this. I always used mine for overflow so for me personally it is a nonissue. I have seen no issue so far with card door.
Battery usage - There is an obvious decline from the D8XX series. Normal day shooting it lasts long enough and shouldn't be much of a problem. For long exposure night work it drains and I would highly recommend taking at least 2 full batteries for a shoot. I still haven't used the new battery with my camera. I have just used my older ones, so maybe I will see an improvement with the B model.
Tripod Mount - I foresee this being very annoying with the FTZ Adapter. Using a plate on the camera interferes with the FTZ adapter so you have to use it on the FTZ. The issue is you can't remove the FTZ adapter with a plate on it. The plate hits the camera when you try to unmount adapter. I currently only use the FTZ adapter, but when I do get future S lenses this will really be a pain. I use the Arca Swiss PO head with the slidefix setup which uses smaller plates, my ballhead/plate actually can work on the camera with FTZ adapter attached but the top of my ballhead presses against the bottom of the FTZ adapter. I am worried over time it can cause an issue from pressing together so I keep the plate on the adapter for now. A taller plate would fix this issue.
Mount/Adapter - Losing the D lenses was an issue for me. I had a decent amount of them and mostly used them for my tele shots. I had a 300mm F4 AF-D and the 180mm F2.8D. The 180mm is the lens that will be hardest to leave behind. I saw a group of moose one day and the next day a bear and realized I really needed a lens to take their place. I picked up the 300mm F4 PF and I am thrilled with the results.
Part 2 Usage/IQ
IQ - it is as good as the D850 in real world usage. I was blown away when I got the D850 a year ago and the Z7 was not a letdown. I know about the banding issue and I shoot high contrast shots a lot but I have had no encounters with it so far. If I go over my last 5 years of photos I probably would have a hard time finding more than a handful of shots that could be impacted by it.
Metering - I think the metering is great, I am using EXP Comp less on this camera then any other in the past. I have no complaints in this department.
Manual focus lenses - This is the best camera I have owned for my manual lens collection. Focus peaking works well, 100% zoom in EVF is wonderful and the metering is the best I have used. With all my D8XX cameras metering was always hit or miss with the old AI/AIS lenses. I would find myself dialing in -2EV/+2EV and everything inbetween with the MF lenses. With the Z7 I feel like the metering is on par with the newer AF lenses. The live exposure in EVF really plays a part with the older lenses. IBIS also is huge for using these lenses. There is one obvious drawback and that is not being able to see the aperture in camera. I really wish Nikon could have delivered it all, but I would definitely reach for my Z7 over the D850 for manual lens use.
My Milvus lens works exactly like it did on the D850.
IBIS - This is my favorite feature of the new camera. It works really well and I have been surprised what I can get away with. A certain youtuber claims IBIS is only good for video but this is absurd. It helps in countless situations, handholding for wildlife while keeping the ISO down, taking pictures in churches and other building and actually getting a symmetric shot without a tripod. Pulling over on the side of the road during golden hour and not needing to grab a tripod. It really is a game changer and I feel sorry for the canon folks for not getting it.
Hot pixels - I don't see this talked about much in reviews but this is important to me and many others who shoot nightscapes. The biggest issue I had with the D810 was the amount of Hot pixels when shooting greater than 30sec exposure at lower ISO. It was so bad at times it required photoshop tricks to deal with it. The D850 made huge improvements in this area and a few seconds with the healing brush would take care of it. I have only done a few tests with the Z7 but so far it looks on par with the D850.
AF - This has been much talked about and I might not be the best to speak on it since I mostly shoot scapes. Its nice to hear from people with great action/wildlife gear and experience, but it also can be nice to hear from people who dabble like me.
Single point AF-S - I find very little difference between the D850 and Z7. The Z7 does seem to hunt a little more in lower light, but it also seems to have some advantages. I have noticed shooting someone indoors at night can hunt more, but I also have found the Z7 hits critical focus better outside at night. I will focus on a passing car or distant sign lit up by a flashlight to obtain focus for nightscapes and with the D850 it would show focused but when I took the shot it was not in critical focus. The Z7 seems to do much better with this situation and being in critical focus.
Dynamic AF-C - This will likely be my goto for action/wildlife. I have had good results with this and can't see a huge decline from the D850. I know people miss 3D tracking and much has been said about the Z7 shortcomings but I really think for most users they really won't see a huge falloff in performance. If I start AF on the subject and it obtains early it seems to do very well throughout the action. I will post examples below but I would say my hit rate is 80%. There is one thing that would improve my hit rate and that is the EVF lag. Every time I have taken it out to shoot action/wildlife I forget to change the EVF sleep setting. If you are shooting action with pauses remember to change the sleep/shutoff setting. This added a extra delay and would make it harder to start the focusing of the sequence.
Auto area AF - I have used this a couple times and had better than average success. I would say 60-70% hit rate. I used it on snowboarders but there path was predictable. It worked well in this instance.
Burst/Buffer - I have mostly used the camera on 5.5FPS. I struggled to notice the delayed image in EVF with 9FPS when shooting action sequences.
Obviously the buffer is worse than the D850 but I am not the type of shooter who really fills it up.
Conclusion - Overall the camera takes getting used to but is a wonderful camera. I hear people say it can't hold a candle to the D850 but this is an overstatement. The D850 has 2 slots, and has an overall better AF/buffer but these people seem to neglect mentioning the Z7 benefits. IBIS is a huge feature, EVF and what it offers, Video is a huge leap forward, and it has the likely future mount of Nikon.
There is no denying the D850 is better in areas but when you read/watch reviews you get the impression there is a huge gap. This gap is grossly exaggerated. This is the nature of the online photography community, it thrives on making small differences in models and brands into a video worthy issue. I'm not complaining about this since its nice to see indepth tests/reviews but it can give the false sense that these differences are huge in real world use. In my experience the gaps are much smaller and the Z7 offers things no Nikon has offered before.
If you find yourself feeling like I did in the beginning I highly suggest giving it time and trying to let it grow on you.
Also remember some of the issue could be mirrorless related and if mirrorless is the future we will all have to adjust at some point.
I will say after using it for a bit that my dream camera would be a D850 with hybrid VF or EVF, IBIS and Z7 video.
Landscape Images
Nikon 20mm 1.8G ISO800 F3.5 346sec - Hot Pixel test. Nearly 6 minute exposure at 800 ISO. This is a 100% crop of the worst area of the photo.
 pixeltest
Nikon 20mm 1.8G - ISO100 F11 1sec - 3 shot pano
 View outside Pagosa Springs CO
Zeiss Milvus 15mm ISO4000 F2.8 25sec
 Washington Mine Breckenridge CO
Nikon 20mm 1.8G ISO4000 F2.8 20sec - Took a similar shot when I first got the D850. IQ is very similar in these situations
 abandonwoodshed
nikon 35mm F2D ISO2500 F5.6 15sec - When I shot this image it was 5-10°F and lots of ice crystals in the air. I was shooting for a couple hours and it got so icy that I couldn't adjust my tripod legs and the ballhead got difficult to move. THe z7 kept performing well in this weather.
 Pond Frisco Colorado
Nikon 105mm 2.5 AIS ISO3200 F5.6 10sec - 2 shot pano
 105peakonepano
Nikon 58mm 1.4G ISO200 F8 1/400
 Ranch Pagosa Springs Colorado
Zeiss 15mm Milvus ISO3200 F3.2 20sec
 Breckenridge Colorado
Nikon 105mm 2.5 AIS ISO200 F5.6 1/1600 - 2 Shot Pano
 cloudrising
Nikon 20mm 1.8G ISO64 F11 5sec
 Creek Frisco Colorado
Nikon 35mm F2D ISO1250 F5.6 2.5sec
 Church Breckenridge CO
Nikon 300mm ISO250 F8 1/250
 snowyhillside
Nikon 20mm 1.8G ISO64 F13 6sec
 Creek Vail Colorado
Zeiss 15mm Milvus ISO3200 F2.8 20sec
 Breckenridge Colorado
Nikon 20mm 1.8G ISO64 F11 8sec
 Creek Frisco Colorado
Nikon 58mm 1.4G ISO64 F10 1sec - 4 shot pano
 Pagosa 58mm Pano by david.silo, on Flickr
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