nhmorgan
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 Re: Let's talk about the Nikon Zf | |
Some initial impressions and quirks.
1) As mentioned above, the ISO dial is odd as hell. In auto, the dial will override autoISO and return to autoISO in C (always!). In M mode, if autoISO is on, it's always on. C or otherwise. My solution has been to set the playback button to be the ISO button and then you can turn autoISO on or off just like on other Z cameras. I don't understand why C can't be set to be autoISO in M mode then have the dial override. That would make perfect sense. One quirk is that in auto mode, if you turn off auto ISO using the (reprogrammed) ISO button, set it to a set ISO value, turn the ISO dial to a setting, and then back to C, it returns to autoISO not your set ISO value.
2) A minor quirk, but if you like to shoot B&W with color filters, the deep tone setting will do really weird things and seems to be overexposing the image by around the number of stops the filter reduces the light by. However, things look normal in the raw file if you switch to a regular monochrome profile. So the massive overexposure is only in the deep tone profile.
3) focus peaking works, but doesn't seem to be as sensitive as the Z8 when magnification is turned on. The focus peaking barely works at 200% magnification. It works ok at 100% 1:1, but is much too imprecise without zoom or at 50% zoom to use reliably. For focus peaking, it's 100% 1:1 or nothing IMO.
4) The function button is in an awful spot; it's sensitive and in a place where you're gonna hit it a lot accidentally because of the ergos of the camera "grip." I have it set to zoom for MF.
5) The grip erogs aren't bad if you're shooting with a traditional camera grip with off hand on the lens. in fact I really like it. Even the 85mm 1.2 and 135mm feel fine on here. Non-traditional gripping like holding by the grip one handed for low angles are not doable with bigger lenses as there isn't enough to purchase. Even something like the 50mm 1.8 feels too sketchy this way. I've not tried the smallrig grip as it's out of stock.
4) the camera is big and heavy for what it's supposed to be. It's marginally heavier than the z6ii, but in the hand, it even feels like a bigger camera than the z6ii. It's thicker and taller. This surprised me. It's also doesn't really feel much like my Nikon FEs. Those feel tiny in comparison. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Was hoping for something that would be a little ligher and more nimble. Despite more metal than the ZFc, it does still feel a little more plasticky than the vintage film cameras.
5) the shutter button does allow a vintage release cable to thread in, but doesn't actually trigger the shutter. Odd choice.
6) I like having the exposure comp dial as I enjoyed that on my A1.
7) the buttons have a few more programmable options than the z6/z7 which is nice.
8) no charger included, just a USB cable.
9) UHS-ii SD card slot, but MicroSD is only UHS-i despite the fact that there are available microSD cards that are V90, so this is an odd choice. I guess that saves me some money, but I will find out this weekend if it creates a real-life scenario buffer bottleneck when shooting to both.
10) There is no port for an intervalometer  was thinking this was a killer timelapse camera but I don't like to use the built in function. Also makes it hard to use for astro (although the extended shutter speeds are nice, but now sort of mandatory).
11) FTZ2 adapter doesn't look as bad as I thought it would, but a retro matching one would be nice for a camera that invites being used with older lenses.
12) This camera pairs really nicely with my voigtlander 35mm f2. I would have bought the 50mm f1 to go with it too, but it's suddenly sold out, which I suspect is because other people thought this would be a good combo with this camera, too.
13) I like setting the display button to playback because it is closer to my Z8 and I hate it in the top left. That also allows me to reprogram the playback button to ISO control because the dial doesn't work in a logical way. However, if you reprogram the display button, there is no way to change the display because no other button can be assigned to the display function from what I can tell.
14) The shutter release button is really sensitive and easy to fire multiples. Not terrible, but I wish it was a little firmer.
15) I don't like flip screens, but it works well on this camera because flipping it around fits with the minimalist vibe.
16) the IBIS mechanism not locking down and rattling around when the camera is off is disconcerting, but nikon says it has no impact on longevity.
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