Nikon Z f

Purchased: Jan 2025
Status: In Active Use

Entry Date: 18/1/2025

I purchased my own set of the Zf earlier this month, and have been putting it through its paces these couple of weeks.

(Background story of this purchase can be read here on this post.)

Based on my short time with it (during the rental period and my own purchased set after that), here are some of my findings of the camera:

Ergonomics

  • While I found the slim gripless body pretty easy to hold with the 40/2, the larger f/1.8 primes (50/1.8S or 85/1.8S) feels a bit too front heavy and unwieldly when trying to hold the camera single-handedly. I was deciding between getting the official Nikon Zf-GR1 grip or the Smallrig Zf grip (4262). Aesthetics wise the Zf-GR1 definitely looked like a nicer match to the Zf, but in practice it did not add too much depth to the grip, and together with the metal ridges on the front where the fingers would be gripping the camera, it did not felt like the grip gave much extra support to the camera. The Smallrig Zf grip looks a little different from the Zf’s leatherette as it is made from a different material (silicone?), and while it looks a little flimsy by itself, when attached to the camera it adds a substantial depth to the camera, making it possible to single handedly hold the heavier f/1.8 primes confidently, and thus I went with the Smallrig. My only issue with that is that removing the SD card might be a little difficult at times due to the small gap.

  • The dials are feels nice, and to put it plainly, it is fun and satisfying to turn the dials around and hear them click. However for most of the time, I found myself putting the ISO dial to C (i.e. controlled by camera settings) and the shutter speed dial to 1/3-step (i.e. controlled by the command dial), and only use the individual dials when I deliberately slow down my shooting (say for landscapes).

  • Extending the point above, when I have to rely on in-camera settings to change shooting parameters, the lack of customizable function buttons suddenly feels like a little bottleneck. Without a Fn2 button, I do hope perhaps the trash can button can be programmable to something else in shooting mode via a firmware update.

  • The implementation of Auto-ISO is similar to other Nikon bodies, and thus would feel familiar to any Nikon user. However, this route of implementation does kind of ignore the presence of the ISO dial, and I think that some work could be done with the ISO button and Auto-ISO to make the camera a bit more user friendly, namely:

    • Being able to custom set a button a toggle Auto-ISO on and off, even when the ISO dial is not at C. (Currently the ISO custom function only works when the ISO dial is set to C, and you need to press the button AND turn a command dial)

    • Being able to set the limit of Auto-ISO to 100, so that the ISO dial can just be used as a quick way to raise the limit of maximum ISO.

  • My rented unit came with the stock camera strap, which got in the way more often than not when folding out the vari-angle screen. My own set I decided not to use the left camera strap lug (i.e. the one at the monitor hinge), and instead use the right camera strap lug together with the strap attachment point of the Smallrig grip. I do miss the Z8’s screen implementation a lot.

  • There is no locking down of the sensor when the camera is turned off, which feels kind of strange considering all other bodies, including the 1st generation Z6 and Z7, have it.

Performance

  • Subject detection is way faster than the Expeed 6 bodies - eye AF locates and detects eyes at a faster rate and does not lose track or get confused as easily as the Expeed 6 bodies.

  • The actual AF performance of eye AF gives a much higher hit rate than the Z6/Z6II, and for still subjects the hit rate is pretty similar to that of the Z8. However for fast moving subjects, the faster readout speed of the Z8 does allow it to track the subject better, and thus the Zf does lose focus every now and then when fast movements are involved.

  • Autofocus in single point mode is accurate and quick - the Z6/Z6II and Z8 are similar in this regard, but the Zf does seem to be able to do better in darker conditions too.

  • RAW files are cleaner than that of the Z6/Z6II, especially for higher ISOs, which I guess is due to the Expeed 7 CPU. The color science did change a little as well, and it feels more similar to the Z8 than the Z6II.

Issues Observed

  • When the camera is set to display only at the back monitor, when switching the camera on and flipping the back screen from its closed position, sometimes the screen remains black, and a power cycle or a re-flip of the monitor would bring it to life.

  • I observed some shots done with full Auto-Area AF, with Auto subject detection on, do front focus on the subject (like the hands or shoulders) even though the focus box is on the eye (i.e. the eyes are properly detected and focus is confirmed). So far it seems like the issue happens more often in portrait orientation. I would do a bit more testing and tinkering before deciding if its a user error or a camera software issue.