Whereas I didn’t anticipate it given the apparent nods to Nikon’s movie previous, the Zf is a surprisingly succesful video digicam. It shoots as much as 4K/60 utilizing an APS-C measurement crop of the sensor. If you wish to use the entire sensor, you may get 4K/30. That’s not going to wow video professionals, however once more, it’s ok for many photographers who simply need the opportunity of taking pictures some 4K footage.
Total, I cherished taking pictures with the Zf and had been I available in the market for a brand new digicam, that is the digicam I might purchase. That mentioned, there are few issues about Zf I actually dislike. The primary is the cardboard slots. There are two of them. One is a typical SD card slot supporting UHS II playing cards. The second is a microSD card slot that solely helps UHS I. The gradual speeds I might reside with, however it’s so troublesome to get the microSD card out and in that I ended up simply leaving it in and treating it as an emergency overflow. There ought to have been two matched full measurement SD card slots.
The opposite factor I totally dislike is that it doesn’t ship with a battery charger. A $2,000 digicam shouldn’t require you to purchase a separate battery charger (for $80 retail, no much less). You possibly can cost by way of the USB-C port. Battery life is so good {that a} single cost will final about 350 photographs, extra should you activate vitality saving mode (I obtained 407), however critical photographers are at all times going to desire a separate charger and a minimum of a second battery.
As famous above, the Zf wouldn’t be my high decide for sports activities or wildlife. That is partly due to the autofocus and taking pictures velocity, but additionally as a result of the 24 megapixel sensor, whereas sharp, and delivering these attribute Nikon colours, might be not what wildlife and sports activities professionals are after. The Z7 and particularly the Z9, with their a lot increased megapixel sensors and sooner autofocus, are the cameras you need for these use instances.
Nikon didn’t have one to ship me, however I feel the best lens for this digicam might be the brand new Nikkor Z 40mm f/2 Special Edition ($310). This can be private prejudice, however one thing about this digicam cries out for a brief, fixed-length lens—a quick 50, or on this case 40. It’s going to stability properly with the digicam and make a superb reportage and avenue pictures setup, each of which really feel like excellent use instances for the Zf.
