Epic or Overrated? Nikon ZF Camera Review 

To clarify, all of the photos shot in this video were JPEG, which was the reference for my comment on converting b&w to color. However, I misspoke, if you shoot in RAW, you can convert the B&W photos to color in post. Nikon has made it possible to remap/reassign button functions, in my opinion it seems to be one more hurdle to keeping someone from picking up this camera to be creative. True, you can purchase a grip to add to the camera. Which implies that the ergonomics of the grip was a known concern, and the add on was a solution to rectify the problem. Rather than the additional grip being an add on, Nikon could have simply made the body that way and not made it one more ticket item for the consumer.

You can turn the black and white to color if you’re shooting raw. In lightroom

I never understand the complain about the lack of a good grip on these cameras. I think many photographers are not holding their camera correctly. The correct way is to hold the camera by the throat of the lens with your left hand. The right hand is only for adjusting the settings and releasing the shutter. You don't need a grip/

Hi Tilly, I think this video is more of a first impression than a review. A number of things you talk about shows you didn't spend a lot of time with the camera to fully understand it. I would recommend you rent it for longer, check out the reference guide to get a better handle on how to best use the Zf. Further, it seems you are relatively new to Nikon cameras, welcome. It's great that today someone chooses to start photography shooting film and not dgital. The Z Mount has been out since 2018 when the Z6 and Z7 were introduced, at that time they released an FTZ (and later the FTZ II) adapter to allow you to use older Nikon glass on their newer mirrorless system, if you aren't ready to get Z glass. If the Zf is your first use of a Z Mount camera, it is a great way to get started however, I recommend you get the Small Rig grip to allow more comfort with those larger lens. As far as the controls up top, they are more for suited manual use but, depending on the mode, you can use them in other modes as well. The sub command dials works similarly to other Nikon digital cameras allowing for seasoned Nikon digital shooters and those that started with film to feel comfortable with it. In addition, it also blends functions for those new to Nikon to gain experience and get comfortable with it. It is good to see younger shooters checking out this camera and posting about it however, this "review" left out a lot of info that other new shooters or those considering this camera would find useful. Hopefully you will get an opportunity to spend more time with it to offer an in depth review for your audience in a follow up video.

If you shoot raw using the B&W button you can go back to colour in post.

I didn't land on your channel because of Rhett Shull. I'm a sincere organic subscriber follower of yours. I didn't cross reference it until you showed pictures of him, It took a couple of seconds, and then! oh! OMG> I finally have the opportunity to see Tilly in front of the camera (I'm a Rhett Shull fan also). Excellent! Nikon Zf It's my dream next camera. I'm a Df enthusiast and for me is a no-discussion topic. These cameras are not only beautiful, they are those types of cameras that have Souls in them. The photos that come out of that Full Frame sensor are genuinely inspiring. Awesome! Thank you for your channel, and thank you for this good quality, balanced source of information. I'm a subscriber now! Thanks

Try the Z 26mm F2.8. It's a true pancake. It's half the size of the small 28mm & 40mm lenses. But it has a metal mount, more weather sealing and it's built better.

I dont shoot as much film on my F3 anymore, but it is so much fun using all my old glass on the ZF!

I do feel your pain about having a new mount and replacing the F-mount. However, this change was highly necessary. The F-mount had become outdated and wasn't particularly suitable for video. Given the current trend where cameras are expected to be hybrid, catering to both photo and video needs, this transition was inevitable. I've personally been upgrading my old F-mounts to their new Z-mount counterparts, and I must say, I have no regrets. The Z-mount lenses, particularly those from the S-line, deliver stellar performance. Nice review, by the way. :)

It is extremely important that they went with the Z mount vs old F mount. The FTZ adapters works very well even with my F mount 3rd party lenses. They should make a prettier FTZ for the ZF though lol.

I also like the ability to use the front and back dials as a modern camera bypassing the top dials.

You can go into the control settings and remap the image review button to your liking. You should try that. Also, with a lens as big as that you need to use two hands.

I’ve just bought a Z6 & the thing that surprised me was just how well the chipped AF-D screw-drive lenses work on the adapter. Nobody talks about that, so I didn’t know. Manual focusing them is much easier than I expected because the CPU connections supply focus data and you get a red square around your focus point in the viewfinder that turns green when it’s in focus. It’s very accurate and easy to use. On the down side, I’m not so taken with focus peeking for non-CPU lenses. It’s harder work, focusing those. I actually bought some more AF-D lenses as there are some great bargains out there.

You can program DISPLAY button for PLAYBACK. Then program playback button as Display.

I upgraded to this from a D7100. For me it's perfect. Excellent in low light, great image stabilisation, small form factor. I do not want a camera the size and weight of a Besser block even if it could shoot the far side of the moon. Does it have some quirks and a learning curve? Sure, what camera doesn't? I'm happy with it.

I have the 85 1.8, nice lens. 40 and 26 are my other two Z lenses.

I won a Df, and have spent many years lovingly using it - and when the time comes to replace it, I will turn to the Zf, it looks more iconic than my Df.

Great review thanks a lot, I have since many years the D810 is the fx great for me the have now?

As a matter of fact, older F mount glass renders better on Nikon mirrorless cameras (ZF) with FTZ adapter than they ever did on F mount cameras. BTW the larger Z mount design has nothing to do with speed, but to actually bring the Z mount lens closer to the camera sensor thereby eliminating lens anomalies like flare and chromatic aberrations. Z mount did produce great S line lenses that are fast and gather more light but the design is more about evolving lens technology as a whole. ZF Rocks!

Um I like the review but a few points are a bit misleading. Get the additional grip. Shoot raw + jpeg to retain color. Remap buttons accordingly, get the ftz adapter. Most importantly, watch other reviews and plan accordingly!

I am not brand new to cameras, pretty new to Nikon, have a RP and a 90D. They stay home a lot now. Did the ZF make a ho hum guy better, yep. Being old and resistant to doing things through a menu I appreciate the manual controls. I deeply appreciate the in body stabilization and a sensor that is not so prone to wash out the bright stuff or bury the shadows. I shoot manual focus lenses a lot and the focus assist is top drawer. The camera is compact and I did buy a grip for it, I kept activating the function button on the right side with out a grip. No comment on auto focus because I have no native mount lenses yet. Overall was impressed with the feature set for the price, excellent value. Gear does make a difference. My eye sight is not what it use to be and a ev with a faster refresh rate and sharper flippy screen would be on my wish list, but the ones on the camera are just fine. I am having lots of fun and getting out more with the ZF. I put the iso on auto and adjust the shutter speed or aperature as needed, with my 28mm Ultron the camera is basically point and shoot. it doesn't get much faster or easier than that. It is personal thing though and if you are on the fence go rent one and see if it is a fit.

I use a lot of F mount glass with an adapter, love the ability to use both Z and F glass

Larger apertures don’t necessarily deliver more detailed images at those wider apertures. In fact, the opposite is generally true. Now, at more pedestrian aperture settings, because it’s been stopped down by at least two EV, the faster lens should deliver higher quality images.

This is hands down the most compelling and informative review I've seen. Thanks so much for this outstanding review Tilly. Now I want one.

I have adapted my F lenses - 500mm f/5.6 PF & 70-200mm f/2.8 - to new Z mount. Both lenses actually perform better than on beloved d850.

Always love your reviews and wicked t-shirt too!

It's my understanding that if you have selected Raw/jpeg, when shooting in B&W the jpeg will be in b&w but the raw file can be changed to color if you want to. I subscribed.

Thanks for this nice intro to the zf. I also shoot F3s and a few other film Nikons and have hoped they’d offer something similar to Fuji X-T series. By the way, could you (or anyone else here) recommend a repair shop for Nikon F3 - around NC or NYC? Thx again.

Just in case you didn't mentioned, you will never be able to use a dSLR lens in a mirrorless camera, not only in Nikon, but in any other camera brand but Leica. So, thinking you could use your Nikon vintage lenses isn't the camera's fault :D

There is the FTZ/FTZ II adapter to allow for f mount lens compatibility with the Z f.

I like the traditional controls, but specifically the even more traditional controls on my Fuji X-T5, which doesn't have a PASM dial, and also with my Leica Q2 Monochrom. Set the shutter speed and aperture dial both to A and you're in "P" mode, set the shutter speed to A and manually set the aperture and you're in A mode, etc. No need for a separate mode selection dial. 7:30 Rhett shopping for a classic 911?

My worlds collided. I wanted to watch a review on the ZF and you came up in the search. I'm a DSLR and SLR photographer thinking about a Mirrorless. I also play guitar. When I was watching the photo examples I recognized Rhett at the 4:29 mark, but I was, like "naaaah that wasn't him". Then I saw his tag later... then I saw your name... Hi Shulls 👋

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and comments....I haven't yet gone to mirrorless gear but I found this video helps me decide...I am a Nikon user so will stick with Nikon.... cheers from Australia 🦘🦘😊

awesome video. and great results fyi: if you shoot in both raw and jpg in B&W mode, the raw photos are still in color.

Nice video! Was it shot on zf?

I love your B&W cinematic images.

Thank you for the nice, useful and highly enjoyable review. Let me refer to one statement of yours: namely, that the b&w photos cannot be turned back into color. My personal experience (with RAW image files): the photos taken in b&w with the Nikon Z F show up as b&w thumbnails in both Adobe PS and e.g. windows picture viewer, but when opening the photos they "become" color photos and you can process them as such in Adobe PS. On the other hand in Nikon's NX Studio the thumbnails are b&w and they also open as b&w... but if you open the b&w image file from NX Studio with Adobe PS (opting for "original image file, no adjustment applied), it opens as color image in PS... seemingly having preserved the color information. As for myself i rather make b&w as part of post-process... though it is not only fun but quite helpful to create b&w photos so, that you can see the world ab ovo in b&w (then later the image, with all the color information, can be turned back into b&w, the way (whatever) you like).

Great review! Thank you.

I bought the ZF a few months ago and I'm mostly do street photography with it and the hit rate is off the hook. the grip I agree was brutal but the 39.00 small rig took care of that. I use the 26 mm most the time but did buy the 24-70 also and it's all I really need for street work. My bigger F lens stay on the D850.

Tilly, I appreciated your perspectives about the camera. One thing to note is that the Zf allows you to re-map your Playback button to another button. I know quite a few Z9 and Z8 users who have set up their Zf cameras to have the Playback button in the bottom right-hand corner of the body so that it is in the same location as their other cameras.

After taking the picture does it show play back instantly and be able to zoom your image without having to press the playback button?

is it made in japan or thailand?

As a commercial photogpraher for over 35 yrs - I was intrigued by this little oddity so I bought one - I usually use MF - I now also have the Hasselblad 907x and CFV100c - thanks to Clifton Cameras UK and Hasselblad I was the 1st in the Uk to have one - however so far out of the two new cameras I already know I will take more pictures with the little Nikon than the Hasselblad - although to be fair the Hass is for commercial work and the Nikon more for 'quick, there's a shot!' - I absolutley love it - its a sweet little thing and they really should make a proper battery grip for it like the original F cameras had - now if I can just find a way turn off that silly button at the front where my third finger sits all will be well with the world!!!!! Oh and the Black And White switch is delightful

I have the cam. I always turn the back and front dials thinking I'm using the Z6 😂

A very helful video for me thanks, i suscribed!

Nikon zf silver version with the motor grip/winder ( aka nikon motor md) ;)

The mount critique is not a worthwhile critique, because they had to change the mount because these are mirrorless cameras. The f mount lenses have to be so far from the sensor because they were designed to work on cameras with mirrors. So they can't just make it f mount and magically have the old lenses work without an adapter, unless people want a lot of empty space in their mirrorless camera.

what about auto iso? everyone complaining about some auto iso limitations where you can’t set it to usual auto, but you have to choose the range for auto iso or something like that.

Sorry to say, that I I think you completely have lost focus in this review. While enjoying my Z8, Z6, Z6 II, Z7 AND my new Zf, my D3 and D5 not to mention my F5 are resting peacefully on the shelf along with Nikkor lenses from the last 40 years. They did an amazing job back then,but now I am thrilled by the quality and technological improvements during the last few years of innovation at Nikon. Best wishes from Denmark. Klaus

You can move the Playback button to the Display button. In my opinion, you should of checked all of the ends and out of the camera before you post a video. If i was looking to buy this camera based on a persons review, i would buy this based on your review. 😢 Next time do a thorough job before putting out a video. Thanks ❤

a 39.00 grip solves that problem. :)

Thanks for an excellent review Tilly! I love your honest, unbiased perspective! BTW - Canon changed their mount as well - so as you mentioned - you need to use an adapter on both systems. The good thing about the older lenses - they're significantly less expensive - and a huge variety of lenses. The new glass has very limited choices! Plus as a general rule - the new glass is considerably slower than older lenses - and often they have a variable aperture (slow to slower LOL) which seems CRAZY to me!

More detail at bigger apertures? Hmmmm.....

5:30 not true - come on if you do a review you should prepare.. people are watching and making decision based on what you say… People who buy FX body for this $ they do photos in RAW and RAW only. And it means you can shoot in BW and Raw retain the color anyways. If you want to shoot in JPG at least do RAW+JPG…. But still… JPG… come on. If for what ever reason you decide to do jpg it is pretty obvious it is post processed file so no getting back to raw data after it is saved.

This body is not meant for that particular lens. I own this camera and all I use are small primes. It’s treated like a Leica and no one slaps a heavy lens on rangefinders.

The problem is that lens and this is not for your commercial photography business.

👍

انا على وشك شراء هذي الكاميرا ونفس العدسة 85mm لكن أجد 135mm اقل ثمن وبفارق £300 وهذا يجعلني محتار 😢

That 📷 is not made for a 3 lbs lens

This lens on your Zf looks terribly awkward :D ZF is meaningless without lenses matching the aesthetics. Unfortunately, Nikon is not willing to make a motorized adapter for the brilliant AF-D lenses, shame on Nikon. Nikon forces you to buy new lenses. When I had the Df that was absolutely brilliant in this sense since it revitalized all AF-D lenses. Nikon made big mistakes with Df, and completely dropped the line, but it was excellent for stills photography.

I’d choose an iPhone 15pro over anything Nikon atm. Sony, Canon, Panasonic are where to look now

It must be a Gringo thing, but you do NOT love an object....you like it or not.

it looks nothing like a classic F-series Nikon camera. Too big, too ugly, too many useless features. Not in the same league as an FE2 or FM2 loaded with Tri 400 and never will be.

Not impressed with the image quality, my 500 dollar canon can get that same level of quality. I expected much more from Nikon.

Beautiful camera, but they lost me with the ridiculous gigantic Z mount. If I can't use my collection of F mount Nikkor manual film camera lenses natively, then it doesn’t "shoot like a film camera". No sale, sorry Nikon. I really don't understand who this camera is made for.