All people seem to talk about is getting the Small Rig grip (or alternative)for their Zf.. I have one and have pretty much decided to not bother with it as in my hands it works great as it is and it’s also lighter. I do have a Z9 too and that’s a different story but in their own ways both feel great as they are.
If I could get an upgrade for my Zf I’d really like a stacked fast readout sensor and maybe no shutter too.
recordproducti wrote:
All people seem to talk about is getting the Small Rig grip (or alternative)for their Zf.. I have one and have pretty much decided to not bother with it as in my hands it works great as it is and it’s also lighter. I do have a Z9 too and that’s a different story but in their own ways both feel great as they are.
If I could get an upgrade for my Zf I’d really like a stacked fast readout sensor and maybe no shutter too.
I only use the grip with super telephoto lenses .. otherwise it's fine for me.
So, I had a chance to shoot for about 10 minutes this afternoon. Decided to start by shooting in B&W with the the Deep Monochrome, and while I shot RAW, I processed it as such using the LR Profile for it. Sensor looks great, IBIS seems good, and while I DEFINITELY need the SmallRig grip (it's on order), the camera operates nicely.
I bought one this week for an "atypical" use... wildlife and landscape photography.
I sold my Z8, 400 f4.5 and 800PF in order to afford a 400mm f2.8S. After the sale I was left with a Z9 and Z6II. I took the new lens, the 180-600, and 24-120S to New Mexico and spent 3+ days shooting wildlife and landscapes.
I left feeling frustrated with the Z6II AF system and regretted the sale of my Z8. After shelling out cash to buy-up to the 400 f2.8S and travel to NM, I was looking for an alternative body that could be my 2nd camera. The ideal would have been another Z9, but that's not in the cards for now.
After reading some reviews, watching a few international promo videos, and reviewing how to set up the camera, I decided that $2000 was an easier price to reach than a $4000 Z8 or $5400 Z9.
After selling my Z6II, my buy-up price was about a $1000 + the price of a small-rig grip and micro-SD (!).
I've programmed the camera to behave like my Z9, changed the purpose of function buttons, and will see how this body performs in Japan's snowy and cold winter during an upcoming trip.
The AF does not disappoint, as this was my key issue with the Z6II...
My wishes.... a larger front (index finger) dial and an additional back-button AF button... Having just one more programmable button in easy reach of my thumb would be helpful.
As for this camera's future... well, it's a stopgap until I can get a Z8 or second Z9. After I can muster the courage to spend that much on a body again, the Zf will become a personal walk-around and portrait camera. I'm fine with the pair of SE lenses and would love it if Nikon would introduce their classic 105 f2.5 w/ SE trim to fill out the set.
cheers,
bruce
OwlsEyes wrote:
I bought one this week for an "atypical" use... wildlife and landscape photography.
I sold my Z8, 400 f4.5 and 800PF in order to afford a 400mm f2.8S. After the sale I was left with a Z9 and Z6II. I took the new lens, the 180-600, and 24-120S to New Mexico and spent 3+ days shooting wildlife and landscapes.
I left feeling frustrated with the Z6II AF system and regretted the sale of my Z8. After shelling out cash to buy-up to the 400 f2.8S and travel to NM, I was looking for an alternative body that could be my 2nd camera. The ideal would have been another Z9, but that's not in the cards for now.
After reading some reviews, watching a few international promo videos, and reviewing how to set up the camera, I decided that $2000 was an easier price to reach than a $4000 Z8 or $5400 Z9.
After selling my Z6II, my buy-up price was about a $1000 + the price of a small-rig grip and micro-SD (!).
I've programmed the camera to behave like my Z9, changed the purpose of function buttons, and will see how this body performs in Japan's snowy and cold winter during an upcoming trip.
The AF does not disappoint, as this was my key issue with the Z6II...
My wishes.... a larger front (index finger) dial and an additional back-button AF button... Having just one more programmable button in easy reach of my thumb would be helpful.
As for this camera's future... well, it's a stopgap until I can get a Z8 or second Z9. After I can muster the courage to spend that much on a body again, the Zf will become a personal walk-around and portrait camera. I'm fine with the pair of SE lenses and would love it if Nikon would introduce their classic 105 f2.5 w/ SE trim to fill out the set.
cheers,
bruce...Show more →
I was pleasantly surprise that I was able to do bif with Zf quite a bit. For your Japan trip, while Z9 certainly will be better for say, Stellar Seaeagle in flight, I think Zf will be perfectly capable as a back up camera as well. Heck, I even managed bif shot with Zf and 135/1.8 Plena. For normal shooting, portrait, street etc, Zf did not disappoint at all and I did not miss Z8 at all AF wise when I just want smaller body to carry around.
suteetat wrote:
I was pleasantly surprise that I was able to do bif with Zf quite a bit. For your Japan trip, while Z9 certainly will be better for say, Stellar Seaeagle in flight, I think Zf will be perfectly capable as a back up camera as well. Heck, I even managed bif shot with Zf and 135/1.8 Plena. For normal shooting, portrait, street etc, Zf did not disappoint at all and I did not miss Z8 at all AF wise when I just want smaller body to carry around.
Thanks for the share... I am sure it will be a perfect camera for the 24-120/180-600 when shooting the snow monkeys. My only concern is manipulating that front dial with gloved fingers. I'll be practicing with the combination so I can more easily find and feel the dial.
bruce
I've been with Nikon and recently switched to Fuji but back with them.
Still have D700 and a few F-mount lenses.
Toyed with Sony and Fuji and had a Z6ii for a few years.
That Z6ii was good but just didn't do it for me. I can't put a finger on it.
But initial thoughts is I love the ZF. Build quality to the buttons has quality feel to it.
I hate the grip size though. Glad I purchased the smallrig and will be here soon.
I can deal with the dials. Don't plan to use them much and hate that the dials don't over ride the in camera settings. Hopefully there is a firmware update. Especially the auto-ISO behavior when ISO dial is not on C.
But overall I'm happy and sure Z6iii will be even better.
Ok, wishlist or let me know if these can be done:
- I know I can set a function button to switch to highlight weighted metering. I wish I can set it so that whenever I'm in that mode it adds 2/3 stops EC
- Wish I could map the "i" button to 100% zoom in playback. My hand naturally wants to hit that button to zoom in playback instead of OK button.
My Zf I bought on the B&S board arrived yesterday and it's all what I thought it would be based on reading many articles, posts within this thread, and many YouTube reviews.
As cousin Eddie told Clark in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"...
"She's a beaut Clark!"
Initial thoughts:
- love the heftiness. Might change after shooting it for awhile, but I rarely find myself in marathon shooting sessions.
- lack of grip? Honestly, I'm enjoying it naked. This is hurting the SmallRig's feelings as it remains still sitting in the box...but with the 40mm....handholding is well balanced. Granted...this will change when attaching front have lenses, but I didn't get this to pair with my 800mm or 70-200.
- really don't have any issues with some of the control awkwardness called out by several people/reviewers. I suspect if you have a flexible workflow shooting Nikon, it'll be a none-issue and you'll easily find a process to leverage both the dials and wheels in harmony.
- all my access to critical controls were easily configured, especially within the i-menu.
- VR is as advertised as well as focusing. I do enjoy having the same AF modes across all my Z-bodies now...Z9, Z8, and now the Zf. This quasi-standardization makes transitioning from one body to another seamless. Albeit there are some capabilities not standard across all bodies, but all critical exposure tools and others are configured accordingly
- Really haven't shot much worthy content to access colors, resolution, sharpness, and all that jazz. From what I've reviewed....seems as advertised.
Looking forward to fully running this thing through its paces soon. Also - still diving through the menus to determine best configuration based on my shooting style and needs.
I recently got the Zf as my first-ever Nikon with the 40mm SE as my only lens. I also shoot the Canon R and Sony E full-frame systems with a full set of lenses and my original idea for the Zf was for it to serve as a walkaround, fashionable camera. I've found after a few weeks that it works for that and also two other purposes. First, it is my favorite camera for black and white photography due to the handy mode you can select for this using the dial and the gorgeous Monochrome profile. Second, it is working well as a camera for family snapshots. I like that it has limited resolution compared to my Canon R5 and Sony A7RV/A7 IV due to the sensor and the IQ ceiling of the lens at wider apertures, so I feel less pressure to get the perfect shot and spend less time in the edit. I also got a used SB-500 on B&S and it fits in a small bag with the camera, lens, and CPL/Black Pro-Mist 1/4 filters that I like using for color and black and white images, respectively. First, here are a few images, and following that my general impressions.
-Gorgeous design both for the camera body and even the 40mm SE, despite the low price
-Surprisingly good AF, I would rate its ability to find an eye or lock on to the subject, at least on the back of the screen, ahead of the R5 (makes sense because it's 3 years old) and behind the Sony A7RV, completely usable so far.
-The aforementioned Monochrome profile but also the color profiles, whether for cityscape or portraits, I have always liked Nikon colors and these have been easy to work with.
-The 40mm SE is pretty good for the price, if not on the level of something like the Canon RF 28mm which is even smaller and about the same price. I like that it can focus fairly close, even if it gets a bit dreamy. I would live for them to introduce a compact f/1.4 version the size of the Sony 35mm GM, but maybe I'm dreaming.
-The sensor's noise and DR performance is predictably good.
The con's:
-As others have described in detail, the controls make it harder to get the shot I want compared to other platforms I've used (Canon, Sony, Fuji). I don't like that the dials are overridden by the mode selector in many cases and changing settings quickly is interrupted by needing to dive into the menus. The custom buttons are limited and they often work by requiring you to press the button then use a dial to swap settings. I understand this prevents accidental changes, but on a small body and with large hands I feel like I am contorting my grip to make simple changes. I would love it if a FW update could address some of these issues.
-Limited selection of SE lenses, especially for AF. I like that Voigtlander released some of their Leica/Sony designs for Z, but for some reason they didn't bring out the 50mm 1.2, which I would prefer over the 1.0.
Overall, the camera is a lot of fun. If they can work on the controls and start releasing lenses with an aperture ring and get closer to a Fuji experience (but with Nikon FF sensor, Nikon colors, Nikon AF), it would be even better.
I'm designing a grip for the Zf, and am looking for a few beta testers in the US. Message me if you're interested. This is screen shot of the CAD of the first proto, we are already implementing some improvements on the second proto.
A few testing it out at the dog park today with my favorite model. Used the 40mm and did pretty well with her running right at me. The closer she got the more it trailed her.
I just got my SmallRig grip today, and it improves handling dramatically for me. Feels a lot nicer, and I'm sure will feel much better when walking around town with it in my hands.
d-intruigue: I be willing to help test, though one thing I see: The smallrig grip is very thin on the bottom, but still makes it quite difficult to access the SD card with it on (I have to sort of spring pop the card out so it's out far enough to grab with my fingers). Since yours is deeper, I can see that being a major issue - might I suggest a cutout on the back in the area of the SD card to make accessing it better?
Jman13 wrote:
I just got my SmallRig grip today, and it improves handling dramatically for me. Feels a lot nicer, and I'm sure will feel much better when walking around town with it in my hands.
d-intruigue: I be willing to help test, though one thing I see: The smallrig grip is very thin on the bottom, but still makes it quite difficult to access the SD card with it on (I have to sort of spring pop the card out so it's out far enough to grab with my fingers). Since yours is deeper, I can see that being a major issue - might I suggest a cutout on the back in the area of the SD card to make accessing it better? ...Show more →
Thanks Jman13, feel free to PM me to discuss, I'm not following exactly but agree that easy access to SD is imperative.
The following was posted on the 180-600 thread but applies here as well... ignore if you read this in the other thread
I was trying to decide where to share this and some thoughts...
I went to Bosque del Apach last week with my Z9 mounted to my new 400 f2.8S. In order to buy the 400 f2.8 lens I had to sell a bunch of gear. Specifically, I sold a 400 f4.5, 800PF, and Z8. I decided to keep the 180-600 and the Z6II. I used those two as my "B" set up. Anyway, the AF on the Z6II seemed primitive compared to the Z9/Z8 bodies I had been using since summer. When I returned home, I decided to look for a way to match the 180-600 with the Z8 AF system. Unfortunately, the price of a Z8 was just beyond my reach. Between the purchase of the 400 f2.8, trip to Bosque, and a trip later next month, I only had $1100 to put towards a solution.
I sold the Z6II added in my cash and bought a Zf. I programmed the Zf to match my Z9 as best as I could. So rather than using the retro-dials, I activated the front and rear command dials, turned on back-button focus, assigned single spot AF to the custom funciton button (wish there were two!), and programmed the lens function button to wide-Af custom. My goal was to create a "cheaper" way to optimize the AF performance of the 180-600.
Today was a mix of mist, rain, and freezing rain... perfect conditions to test the gear. In the end, I think that the Zf is a better solution than the Z6II/Z7II. The AF was very sticky and eye AF did the job. While the focus was a bit slower than the Z8, it was definitely faster than the Z6II.
After shooting for several hours this morning I feel the Zf will work for me. With that said, I do wish that the front command dial was larger. I fear that it will be difficult to manipulate this in cold weather. Furthermore, I think Nikon should have added a back-button focus button or a second function button in the front. I know that all of these might detract from the FM-like styling they were seeking to emulate, but one more programable button would be super useful.
The following are a few pictures that convinced me that the body will do just fine.
cheers,
bruce
NIKON Z fNIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens560mmf/6.31/1250s6400 ISO+0.7 EV
NIKON Z fNIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens500mmf/6.31/1000s6400 ISO0.0 EV
This is screen shot of the CAD of the first proto, we are already implementing some improvements on the second proto.
