Nikon - Z f 4K Video Mirrorless Camera (Body Only)

Buying a second body because it is that good! If you are looking for the retro look and a professional capable camera that won't cost you 3k or over, this is the one for you. Affordability set aside, this camera is a winner, jack of all trades, master of some. Having owned a nikon D850 for several years, I jumped at the ZF when it first became available. It sufices to say, I regret nothing. I even sold my beloved D850 for a second body. Now, I'll probably be alone in that decision as the D850 is just legendary, but my needs are different and why keep a camera I won't use anymore. The ZF's user experience is so robust. The camera feels and is a tank. The quality is amazing, and there isnt anything that feels cheap about it. It is weighty without being too heavy or bulky. Moving into it's internals, this camera is state of the art. The user interface feels like home if you have owned a nikon in the past, but might need some learning on anyone new to the system. The features packed on the ZF are nothing short of great and what stands out for me the most are the fast autofocus and subject tracking capabilities as well as the ibis and clean files in low light (low noise at higher Iso). Moving on to my tittle, I am a fierce fujifilm aps-c lover. Working with fuji makes work feels like play. Jpeg images created with the film sims and the many simulations available online is pure fun. All is fun until you find yourself in a low light scenario. Auto focusing fall on its face on most fujis and lenses just hunt like mad. Noise on fujis looks like grain so is rather pleasant but lets you wishing for more. That's where the Nikon ZF comes in... This camera lacks nothing and wants to do everything. If 4k specs were better, it'd be the obvious choice for even more people. But they had to cripple it given the z6 iii is coming. Sales are everything. In short, if you are looking for that retro "fuji-like" experience but want a full frame and all that it entitles then look no further! For a little more than an xt5 or (x100v or vi) you get into a fantastic full frame system loaded with features. And if thats not enough, adapt virtually any lens to it, vintage 35mm or otherwise in a native full frame format and enjoy the possibilities.

Only regret I have purchasing this camera is that Nikon made it too well and I ended up buying this after I purchased a Z 8 in the same year. This camera still pull on the heartstrings of any SLR film shooter, because there is nothing on the market with this level of performance that has the vintage looks. I have been only using manual focus lenses with it so far and treating it more like an art tool with the Voigtlander 50mm F/1.0 mostly which has been a dream to focus with since face and eye detection modes still work with manual lenses as a focus assist option. The image stabilization is the best I have used in any camera from the already class leading Z8/Z9 I think it is because Nikon has the largest lens mount that they have more flexibility in this area. The added black and white dial has me using black and white photography for images now which I didn't bother going into menus to use before and the image quality at 24mp is more than enough for general shooting with the option of 90mp in focus stacking has been a blast.

I got the Zf to replace a d5100, so pretty much anything would have been a significant upgrade. I’m really pleased with the image quality, and the addition of focus peaking has breathed new life into my collection of manual lenses. I even used my 105 f/2.5 for manual focus bird photography with a pretty good success rate! Pet photography is also viable now with my manual lenses. Aesthetically, the camera is a delight, though like many others, I did add a grip to help my hold on it. I haven’t tried the video function yet, but the settings appear to be very similar and intuitive to other systems, and 4K/60fps is perfectly fine for most applications, with faster fps in HD mode. Overall, I really couldn’t be happier with this camera. It combines good specs with a really fun look, and it hasn’t stopped being fun to surprise people who ask me about my “film” camera.