RoamingScott wrote:
Literally all I want is a Z6ii in the ZF C body. I don't need Z8 tracking. I need a great full frame sensor with good low light so I can use it for light travel day or night.
It would be cool if it were a metal build more like the old Nikon film cameras or Fuji cameras, but that won't happen. It'll be plastic for sure.
So... Use the Z6II... which is lighter than the Zf...
It is good to see them use SD instead of the ridiculously over spec'd CFe. The Z6-Z7 class bodies certainly don't need CFe.
I think the microSD could actually be genius. If the camera has an internal backup function, then between sessions or during downtime you can have the cameras duplicate the SD card to the micro card as a security measure. Nobody really needs overflow in this day of huge capacity cards. I shoot events where I come home with 15k shots, but never have I once not had a break where I can swap in a new card as I get near capacity and I've never used cards bigger than 325GB. The only real need for a second card slot is as a backup security feature in case of a corrupt card. So if the camera has the ability to backup to a small micro slot that doesn't take up much space or need to be as fast as other card slots, that seems like an ideal solution. In fact, it would be a really neat feature if all cameras with dual slots had a backup to the secondary slot feature. Instead, they only have the option to shoot simultaneously. Give me this on my Z8 because I'm never going to use the overflow, and I'm never going to shoot to both cards at once because it slows down the camera.
You already have this in a way on your Z8. You can simply set it to overflow and do a manual back up whenever you want from the playback settings menu. I do that every time I want to export my files because I prefer to export from SD.
nhmorgan wrote:
I think the microSD could actually be genius. If the camera has an internal backup function, then between sessions or during downtime you can have the cameras duplicate the SD card to the micro card as a security measure. Nobody really needs overflow in this day of huge capacity cards. I shoot events where I come home with 15k shots, but never have I once not had a break where I can swap in a new card as I get near capacity and I've never used cards bigger than 325GB. The only real need for a second card slot is as a backup security feature in case of a corrupt card. So if the camera has the ability to backup to a small micro slot that doesn't take up much space or need to be as fast as other card slots, that seems like an ideal solution. In fact, it would be a really neat feature if all cameras with dual slots had a backup to the secondary slot feature. Instead, they only have the option to shoot simultaneously. Give me this on my Z8 because I'm never going to use the overflow, and I'm never going to shoot to both cards at once because it slows down the camera. ...Show more →
And I disagree on the CFB. Much prefer one CFB vs SD but it is what to it is
Very odd, never seen the point of two different storage formats, if they are the same you can write in parallel to both, instant full backup if you want it, or if used as overflow then performance is the same. And micro sd? Not really robust enough to be taken in and out more than once in the lifetime of the product.
700gms? Better have something more than mere styling gimmicks to justify all that extra weight.
RoamingScott wrote:
You already have this in a way on your Z8. You can simply set it to overflow and do a manual back up whenever you want from the playback settings menu. I do that every time I want to export my files because I prefer to export from SD.
Right, but if the primary card is corrupted, coping the files from the primary to the secondary card won't save the files.
Dual card writing at the same time has the advantage that if one card has a problem the data is still written to the other card.
To keep camera speed up, I often use the SD card and write JPGs onto it while the CFexpress/XQD card slot gets NEF files. For backup purposes for the unlikely event that a CFexpress/XQD card should fail, I find JPGs sufficient.
I don't, however, think SD + micro SD is a good solution. Both cards have exposed contacts and fragile housings and I try to minimize insertion/removal cycles on such fragile cards (of which I have lost many to card failure). I also don't want to use the USB to transfer image data on a routine basis as the connector can also develop wear and yanking the cable might happen accidentally, potentially leading to either the connector being damaged or the camera falling on the floor.
I can however understand that in many countries CFexpress cards are very expensive (this is true in my country) and SD cards are widely used in applications where the performance is not critical. However, I don't want a camera which is solely dependent on SD or micro-SD cards. It is a far lesser problem to have to make the camera slightly thicker to fit in CFExpress type B + SD card slot.
I see the microSD card as something you leave in the camera almost all the time. So instead of giving us built-in internal memory, we get to choose what card and how much memory to configure the "internal" memory. Then this is effectively a single card camera which most of us are fine with and how we will end up using this camera anyway.
unchecked wrote:
I see the microSD card as something you leave in the camera almost all the time. So instead of giving us built-in internal memory, we get to choose what card and how much memory to configure the "internal" memory. Then this is effectively a single card camera which most of us are fine with and how we will end up using this camera anyway.
I very rarely remove the cards from the camera anyway, download by USB, and when backup is complete reformat in camera.
Micro-SD is so close to a dead format that it's curious that a brand new camera would use it. I have a hate-hate relationship with the format over the years...fragile, expensive for poor performance, easy to lose.
I agree that one would be best served to install a large capacity card and never remove it, much like a Nintendo Switch, where it essentially serves as internal memory. There's no way this camera will have a deep buffer in backup mode if its beholden to a UHS-I card.
All that said, I'd never shoot a Z F as a burst mode action camera, so ultimately a moot point. People wanting this to be a potential Z6iii replacement have lost the plot.
Black camera body
24.4 MP BSI-CMOS sensor
Weight: 700g (inc. battery, the Z5 is 590g, the Z6II is 615g )
Dimensions: 144mm x 101mm
Up to 30fps (JPG/HEIF)
4k 60 video
USB C PD (fast-charging technology based on the USB-C standard)
ISO 100-64,000 (for comparison the Z6II ISO range is 100-51,200)
EN-EL15 battery
The Z f logo is moved to the left (the Zfc has it on the right)
Dual memory card slots (SD+MicroSD)
Pixel Shift: new high-res mode will be implemented for the first time in a Nikon mirrorless camera
August-September announcement, shipment before the end of 2023
Improved autofocus compared to Z5/Z6II
A few different lens kits/bundles will be available in the $2,000-$2,500 price range
Price for body only: $1,999
One of the bundles will be with the Nikkor Z 40mm f/2 (SE) lens (no new lens will be introduced with the Zf)
Very similar (but improved) design/layout from the Nikon Zfc
Small LCD screen on top for aperture display
New 3rd function on the sub lever of the shutter speed dial (besides photo/video) for B&W mode (B&W/Photo/Movie)
Has a little grip/bump like the Nikon Df (see the mockup pictures)
Better build quality compared to the Nikon Zfc
Fully articulating screen
Code name N2137
The listed weights for the Z5 and Z6ii in your list are without batteries. The Z5 with battery is 670g, so it's only a 30g difference compared to the Zf.
jaygould wrote:
I much prefer a fully articulating screen for stills. On my Canon R6 I almost always flip it towards the camera so that I can only use the EVF.
Does the screen not being center to camera not affect you at all ? For me, that is the biggest annoyance of articulating screen. It is off axis and becomes wider, bulkier, and harder to keep it stable especially for low angle or high angle when tile screen works very well.
I prefer the articulated screen on my Zfc to my Z6. When I take regular photos I always use the viewfinder. An when I have to use the screen is usualy in some strange angle.
On the Z6 I think the screen is less usefull, and I often accidentaly switch the button between viefinder and screen
I do a good amount of video work and I'm starting to use the XH2S more than the Z9 for screen reasons. I was doing videos in a library between bookcases. You kind of cannot compose well standing behind the camera and get enough of the subject at 50mm so I had the camera and tripod up against one case and then tilted the screen towards me as I stood next to it. I get the photography complaints, but camera companies at this point are trying to be as hybrid as possible. X-T5 screen notwithstanding.
unchecked wrote:
I see the microSD card as something you leave in the camera almost all the time. So instead of giving us built-in internal memory, we get to choose what card and how much memory to configure the "internal" memory. Then this is effectively a single card camera which most of us are fine with and how we will end up using this camera anyway.
I tend to agree. For the target market a single SD is mostly ok but there’s the option of dual if really needed.
But a microSD can be more or less permanently installed without removal for all sorts of emergency use cases.
Even used as a backup it wouldn’t need removal as you’d remove the primary card for image transfer or you’d just use the USB cable.
As far as I can tell microSD is the main format used in action cameras so I doubt it’s going anywhere. If anything its usage might be expanding.
