How well does the Nikon ZF handle largish lenses like a 24-120mm f4 or 28-400mm for occasional use? Would adding a grip like a SmallRig make a noticeable difference with such lenses?
ZF and 24-120 is noticeably more comfortable and appropriate with the Small Rig. Makes a big difference imo.
DWOfPaul wrote:
How well does the Nikon ZF handle largish lenses like a 24-120mm f4 or 28-400mm for occasional use? Would adding a grip like a SmallRig make a noticeable difference with such lenses?
I shot my Zf with the 1.2 S primes and it absolutely sucked even with the SmallRig grip. YMMV, but I felt like a heavy lens greatly upsets the balance and the lack of depth in the hand grip makes holding onto the setup a chore.
24-120 is my limit with the SmallRig. Along those lines, the Sirui 35 and 85 primes are just about as big as I like on it, and certainly not as all day lenses.
I despise the Zf egos without an addon grip in general.
I only handled one briefly in a shop, I wanted to like it (having enjoyed dial controls on Fujis) but even with the relatively small 24-70 f4 it only took about 30 seconds to realise the ergonomics didn't work for me. Hate to think what it would be like with a big lens!
RoamingScott wrote:
You simply buy the Z5 II if you want a similarly capable yet more ergonomic camera.
I was actually wondering if a Z5II might be the move. From what I have found. The Z5II is $450 less than the ZF currently, is about 1/2 inch smaller, and has better video specs. The ZF does have 3 more FPS, a bit better IBIS, and more physical controls.
I wouldn't say the Zf has "more" physical controls. Things like ISO, EC, and shutter speed are all physical controls easily done on the Z5 II in the moment, and the Z5 II has the extra Pic Control button and extra front Fn button (wish the Zf had two on the front!!).
You get U1/U2/U3 on the Z5 II which you miss on the Zf. You also miss the joystick on the Zf.
Overall, I really dislike the button layout of the Zf, and far prefer the new standardized layout of the Z5 II, Z50 II, Z6 III, Z8, and Z9. Crossing my fingers that the Z7 III emerges out of cave with this layout.
You'll never shoot either camera at max FPS with the stupid limitations that Hi+ puts on you.
RoamingScott wrote:
I wouldn't say the Zf has "more" physical controls. Things like ISO, EC, and shutter speed are all physical controls easily done on the Z5 II in the moment, and the Z5 II has the extra Pic Control button and extra front Fn button (wish the Zf had two on the front!!).
You get U1/U2/U3 on the Z5 II which you miss on the Zf. You also miss the joystick on the Zf.
Overall, I really dislike the button layout of the Zf, and far prefer the new standardized layout of the Z5 II, Z50 II, Z6 III, Z8, and Z9. Crossing my fingers that the Z7 III emerges out of cave with this layout.
You'll never shoot either camera at max FPS with the stupid limitations that Hi+ puts on you....Show more →
I had the original Z5 before I got the Zf, and I completely agree about the controls. I mainly got a Zf because I'm also a Fuji user, but the Fuji implementation of all the dials is better (plus the X-T5 at least has more buttons I can customize). I keep toying with the idea of trading my Zf for a Z5 II but I think looks still matter (plus I mostly use the Zf with adapter lenses; the biggest native Z I have is the 50 1.8 S, all of which are manageable).
RoamingScott wrote:
I wouldn't say the Zf has "more" physical controls. Things like ISO, EC, and shutter speed are all physical controls easily done on the Z5 II in the moment, and the Z5 II has the extra Pic Control button and extra front Fn button (wish the Zf had two on the front!!).
You get U1/U2/U3 on the Z5 II which you miss on the Zf. You also miss the joystick on the Zf.
Overall, I really dislike the button layout of the Zf, and far prefer the new standardized layout of the Z5 II, Z50 II, Z6 III, Z8, and Z9. Crossing my fingers that the Z7 III emerges out of cave with this layout.
You'll never shoot either camera at max FPS with the stupid limitations that Hi+ puts on you....Show more →
I should have worded that a bit better. On the ZF you can see things like ISO, aperture and exposure compensation by looking at the top of the camera, which you can't do on the Z5II. I do wonder if it would be nice to have almost identical controls to the Z8 on the Z5II. I don't think I have yet to use two cameras that have close to identical controls. At the end of the day, the EVF and Screen get most of the use anyway.
For FPS my understanding is the Z5II is about 11 FPS and the ZF is around 14FPS for continuous RAW and mechanical shutter (admittedly, the information out there is confusing)
I want a Z7III badly. I pretty much know a Z5II or ZF would be a hold over untill a Z7III comes out.
DWOfPaul wrote:
For FPS my understanding is the Z5II is about 11 FPS and the ZF is around 14FPS for continuous RAW and mechanical shutter (admittedly, the information out there is confusing)
It seems to be a common misconception that the Zf has a faster frame rate than the Z5ii, from some mixed up reporting of stats when each was released.
Nikon's user manuals say the same for both.
H+ mode:
RAW - 11fps (mechanical/EFCS) or 8.3fps (silent mode)
JPEG - 14fps (mechanical/EFCS) or 15fps (silent mode)
I'd be surprised if the IBIS is any different too, maybe just a slightly different way of rating it?
They can both technically do 11, but it’s unusable due to the mandatory image preview. Consider both of them topping out at 8 for normal blackout bursts.
Lens size: I really wouldn't want a larger lens than the 24-70 f/4S. I used mine with larger stuff like the 35-200 Ai-S, 180 f/2.8 Ai-S, 24-70 f/2.8G and a couple of 70-200 f/2.8's, etc., and while manageable, it wasn't pleasant. Mine only ever really left the house with the 24-70 or smaller primes. CV 28/40 Noktons, 35 APO, or the Nikon 40 f/2. No grip unless I had a 70-200 on it. Also a soft touch shutter release helps the Zf ergonomics a lot more than you might expect.
Speed wise: I'm just going to say it, if you're considering burst rates, you're looking at the wrong cameras. I tried to make the Zf work for action early on, it's just not the move.
RoamingScott wrote:
They can both technically do 11, but it’s unusable due to the mandatory image preview. Consider both of them topping out at 8 for normal blackout bursts.
Hmm, that might be okay for my main use case for high FPS, which is to reduce motion when bracketing. Going from 8 to 11 FPS would reduce motion artifacts by about 1/3.
