Nikon Zf - Full Frame Retro Camera is Even Better Than Expected! 

This Nikon caught my attention. Makes me want to switch back. Now only if Sony would dig through the Minolta/Konica archives to build an E mount retro style camera.

This is the very first mirrorless camera that triggers the “want to have” thing in me! 😊

I've been watching you since the early Digitalrev TV days. I became a full fledged wedding videographer last year and I think your education probably helped quite a bit. Cheers from the USA!

Just feel so happy watching this video. I haven’t touched my camera in a long time, it’s a long gone hobby though I still have my gear. But suddenly seeing this camera, and Kai and Lok just brings back wonderful memories of the DRTV days and reminds me of a time when things felt nicer and happier.

Nikon has NAILED IT! Didn't try to sell the camera on looks alone. Lots of great tech and performance in handsome and thought out package. Now they just need a Z SE 50mm (retro style, like the 40 and 28).

I am really considering this camera. It's got the 'power' of the Z8/Z9. The AF that looks like it's above the Z6/Z7ii bodies. AND, finally, a flip screen! Looks like a nice one.

I can’t wait to get this camera. This is the first camera I’ve been excited about in a long time.

Nikon got so many things right with this! Looks great. Thanks for the quick look!

I tried the Fuji system for all the wonderful things the retro style camera offers. What I was missing is the full frame sensor. Bravo, Nikon!

Saw an ad for the Z f, went straight to YT and looked up this channel and am immediately greeted by the best duo in the game. Great video as always!

damn.. this kinda brings me back to the DRTV days when I was still into photography. Nice to see you both again. :)

small improvements like the grip and full frame sensor are worth the extra dollars. this is the most excited time for mirrorless since the early olympus pen days

This camera might actually be my reason to finally go from d7200 to full frame mirrorless. Especially since around 50% of my shooting is analog with my F3 and FE and the film cost is starting to get ridiculous

This will do so so incredibly well and help put Nikon mirrorless on the MAP! I cannot wait to get my hands on two of these. They might even replace my X-T5. I always wanted the files of my fuji to look like my Nikon ones so it's like they FINALLY married all my favorite things into one body. If the grip bothers anyone - there is one you can attach from small rig. Doesn't even look bad at all due to the already retro design. LOVE IT!

What a fun take on a camera I like a whole lot more than I expected. And yes, I'm vain enough that the various body colors are very appealing to me.

I quit the photography hobby over eight years ago for health reasons - and it made me happy you guys are still around! Also, I used to agonize over my camera purchases for weeks, but I pulled the trigger on this camera after only two days of deliberation. 😊

Great to see you two working together

Finally Nikon comes out with a full frame retro camera!

i wish they produce a silver version of it. I do love the silver color from my old FE2

Great job covering the details of the photography experience on this model and how it differs from the Nikon Z fc.

Yessss! Finally a full frame retro that’s not too out of budget 😅

FINALLY!1!! I was so angry that the Df was image only, b&w, then the ZFC was a crop sensored mediocre dslr, but this, FINALLY!!! THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM THANK YOU NIKON!

I pre-ordered mine in Bordeaux Red today with the 40mm f/2 SE. My first Nikon ever.

Kai, I’ve watched a ton of RU-vid videos on the Nikon Zf . Enjoyed your take on the camera the best. Appreciate you buddy! Now off to Sammy’s Camera to get myself a new Zf !!!

Nicely done Kai, thanks for the preview. Cool looking venue too.

Never been that much excited for a camera since the D500!!! Seems amazing!!!

Way back i was a Nikon D90 man but really wanted a smaller old style body and smaller lenses, all the Nikon glass that was any good was full-frame which kind of defeated the ASPC smaller body purpose. Frustrated I bought a Fuji X100 a year after it came out, fell in love, sold my Nikon, picked up the X-Pro1 and never looked back. If Nikon had this on the cards back then it would have taken a bit more saving up, but I don't think I would have jumped. It looks like they've hit it out the park in both style, function and as a homage to their old F series. All they lack is the excellent Fujifilm film simulations. I'm firmly an X-Pro3 shooter now, but if I ever left Fuji this would be what I'd pick up.

Kai, I would've preferred a review similar to your review of the Df back in the days. That was a classic review!

Damn, bit jealous Canon hasn’t hopped on the retro train yet. It’s so lucrative given the increased interest in retro gear and styles.

wow its kai and lok! (i personally haven't seen a video of them since digitalrev days, and this just came up on the feed)

If NIKON had released something like this 1,5 years earlier, I'd probably never switched to Fujifilm (X-Pro3) as my second camera. I tried the NIKON Z fc first but was quickly convinced by the cheap feel and lightweight camera body not to buy it - felt like a toy and of course there is a significant price difference to the Fujifilm. But this new camera now fills in my opinion perfectly the niche.

Shooting with Fuji, I never thought I'd go back to Nikon since my film days with my FE2. This is the camera I've always wanted since being introduced to Fuji

Great taste in watches Kai! Love the reverso

oh man, I'm a sucker for that vintage look

This camera marries the brain of the z9 and the heart of the z6ii. It also sheds some weight and has the best ibis and low light performance of any Nikon ever made. Just when I was about to switch to the canon eos r3, Nikon released this beauty. Can’t wait to pair it with the 800mm pf for the ultimate run and gun birding setup!

NIkon is killing it lately. They finally listen to us.

Polycarbonaaaate….fiberglaaassss…..Char-Siu! 13 years and 2 days since that classic 60D video :)

Thanks for covering such details

I was waiting for this. Still bloody love my FM2… but I pulled the trigger on the Z6ii to keep up with my toddler. Thinking of selling it to get this now.

Selling my pair of Z6 II bodies for a pair of ZF bodies. Nikon nailed this camera, and the price is fantastically perfect. :)

Bought my first Nikon, the FM3A when looking at the rumors of the ZF, now looking at the ZF and my FM3A , it will be great to have them both, been waiting to see the actually camera for a while. Thanks for showing us!!!!!

Kai you’re simply the man!

Amazing camera! What an awesome surprise! Also, when are we getting a video on your watches?

some of your best pics i see today and zf shines

Not a Nikon fan or user but that is a lovely looking, and well equipped bit of kit!

Fuji better get their shit together with this one. Defintely an attack. Very competitively priced as well. Definitely waiting for a launch here in the Philippines. My brother was considering the Z5 but I told to hold is resources for this.

came for the camera stayed for the watch, nice choice Kai

Hahahaha Kai working that shutter life.

What a gorgeous camera, very tempting lol

Love this. Although i am still hoping for an updated Zfc. Im a motorcycle traveller so any weight i can save is welcome but i might give tnis a try.

Interesting. They have learned from the success of the Fuji X100V that for that small sliver of people out there who will buy a camera separate from their phones, retro is very attractive.

Finally, pixel shift! Also, nice JLC Reverso, Kai.

Brilliant Kai, no better person to review it. 🤓👍actually want one, on Panny though 😂

I’m definitely tempted to pre order one.

Looks really good, probably the thing every manufacturer will (have to) offer at some point.

Hold on, 10:28 he’s got his phone - crafty! 😂 Looks like a pretty good camera.

I love that staircase and the elevator shaft….too freaking cool.

The only thing that is missing is aperture markings on the lens. Also, instead of a second micro-sd card they could have given the camera internal storage instead. Like the Leica M11 have.

As a non Nikon user I do like the retro style and the dials on the top. Looks good to me.

I was playing around with one in a Best Buy and I was wholeheartedly surprised that the camera felt way better to use than I was anticipating.

Nice Reverso! Also cool video btw

A very cool camera indeed. Very useable specification. It will probably make older Leica's less attractive to some and really it is the perfect accompaniment to vintage manual focus lenses.

I’m ready to go for this when they start selling the silver/black version.

Excited!!

Kai: Chassiu, as you once said. I understood that reference.

Went from a canon 5d to fuji. I love my fuji cameras, but I really miss the full frame images. This camera is making me consider moving to Nikon if fuji doesn’t get with the program and release a full frame mirrorless camera soon.

Wonderful Camera!

Whats the viewfinder like? The magic about the FM2 and its counterparts is the GIANT viewfinder. It's like shooting in IMAX. Sadly not a single digital camera has come close. Probably one of the most important features in SLR style bodies yet always overlooked.

this makes me so happy

Nice to see it's got a dedicated video mode, I assume each mode retains separate settings (a hybrid camera is pretty much useless without that). Not been mentioned by any of the previews I've seen!

I'm currently scrimping and saving for a Z8 (hopefully will scrimped and saved enuff for one by Q2 2024), I think I'll get this one first (deng it look just like my broken down Nikon FM2!) THEN I'll scrimps and saves for a (hopefully) the new Nikon Z8 ii *grins*

yesss kai and loc

This ZF is looking pretty close to a Z6III if you ask me, features shared with the Z8 and Z9, better processor, pixel shift, improved autofocus system, negative 11ev for shooting in the dark, burst mode and 10-bit recording in camera, looks like smells like.......Z6III in a different body.

Too bad you had to leave HK glad to see you are doing well. Love your reviews

What an adorable brick

Finally a camera I can save up for!!!

My boyyyyyyyyy welcome back I missed you

I can turn the screen around forever, it has good enough magnification for your average glasses wearer and it's full frame!? Really looking forward to trying this out with M mount lenses.

Nice, supercool camera!

Nice, it has a flippy screen like your Reverso!

It looks like a great camera I have a zfc and I love it (except for the lack of Auto ISo on the knob) and Z z6ii I was waiting for the Z6iii But what will they be able to put on that to make people buy a Z6iii over a zf. That said, I will wait for the Z6iii (might be next year now)

Looks good. Only one dissapointment is that the viewfinder is the same as Z6ii. And is the Z6ii not the same as the Z6? 😮

Great Video

Nice work .Good it brings some positive energy to Uk.If lok can stablize the video cam /lesser body movement,i can watch longer without headache.Thanks

This is my dream Camera so far

Ho, you're at battersea power station... I'd like to meet you one day in the London streets while I'm there... You'll see me with my Nikon DSLR or my Fuji's ! :-) Nice review Kai. Regards from Belgium.

'tis a work of art and I'm cut between that and the iphone 15 pro max......maybe I get both..

Just like my 1990 FM2 :)

Its going on the cool wall!

Good review

Started with Nikon, then Canon now thinking whether to go for Fujifilm xt5 or Nikon Zf?

Will we finally have a F to Z adapter with built in focus motor and also an apperture ring reader?

When I tried the Zfc for two weeks doing a bit of street photography, I always found it funny that it attracted more people to ask me if it was a film camera than my Z6 which nobody stopped and asked because they knew, so based on that, I'd say while the Zf/Zfc are great pieces, people WILL stop and talk to you, which is fine, but if you're looking for candid shots or perhaps want to fade in to the background, it may actually make it harder. Everyone is used to everyone using a regular "standard" digital camera (mirrorless or DSLR) like the Z6 or R6 or some Sony or whatever,but when you have a retro looking camera, I think it can draw MORE attention to you than you'd perhaps like as a street photographer, but again, it also does strike up some conversations too. I just found this is a bit odd though. I guess at least with either one, you do get a bit more of the street photographer look and feel though. I'm just trying to decide if I want to spend $2k on a Zf or just cheap out and get the Zfc (since I don't do a ton of street photography) and technically already have a Z5 (along with two of the higher end Z bodies) so the Zfc may be a bit duplication that I don't need. But the Zfc at $1000 might be a good compromise. (As for retro camras though, I think there was a rumor that Canon may be planning an AE-1 look-alike but perhaps something like an R6 or R8 internals, but in an AE/AE-1 style body).

Nice infomercial, Kai.

Finally. A Nikon that looks like a real Nikon - you know, the ones I drooled over in the camera shop window in my youth when Nikon was a premium brand and the shops that sold them were plush and hushed and reverential. I could almost be tempted - except for that flippy screen. Whyyyyyyyy???????

❤I have waiting this

What a cool camera! Does it have something like film recipes? That would make it a great fuji competitor

I’m a concert photographer currently shooting on a D750, was looking at upgrading to a mirrorless soon, do I go for this, or the Z6 II (or wait for the rumoured Z6 III) 🤔

Damn! I love this.

Nikon takes a shot at A7C II here... Nice work Nikon!