Nikon ZF Full Menu and Setup Guide

[@christianwagner6213]

I come from the Leica ecosystem and was overwhelmed by the menu at first. Having the simplicity of a Leica makes you wanna cry with any other brand. However, it is a very nice camera, and you just made reading the manual fully obsolete for me, instead I can chill on the sofa and watch your video. Thanks a lot! Subscription done!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Ah, thanks so much. I hear ya on the Leica. They really have the transition to digital menus and controls dialed in.

[@RaduChelariu]

Same, buddy. I tell myself that being able to turn off LENR alone is worth the menu diving.

[@bettakid]

Thank you for your patience with such a detailed explanation

[@daveply5336]

Hey Hudson, I finally pulled the trigger on getting a Zf! With all the new stuff in the setup you've saved me hours of reading and experimenting. A few real gems in here, like the Auto ISO toggle on the sub-command dial. Exceptional throughout. Much appreciated. 🙂

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

@@daveply5336 awwww! Thanks. Enjoy!

[@kmac.]

I've come back to this video several times for tips. Just want to say I appreciate the lengthy and thorough videos.

[@Chris-13]

Thanks Hudson, I have been shooting Nikon for 50 years but still found many useful tips in this video . Appreciate the time you put into your videos 🙏🙏

[@lanjohnson2914]

Thanks Hudson, I have just purchased the Zf and found your video really helpful for getting my head around this new beast. Much easier than delving into the 870 page manual each time. I no longer feel like a caveman in a spaceship.

[@loufonolleras5544]

I’ve waited a month and a half for you to put this out! Thanks Hudson!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It's been a crazy busy 6 weeks. Thanks so much for the patience. :) The comment made my evening.

[@MHeadroom]

A sincere thanks to you Hudson. Brilliant KZbin content. You literally saved me hours of reading and messing about. I’ve just retired my Df after 10 years of loyal work and the Zf is such a game changer. Now all set up and ready to rock - thanks to you. 👍

[@AbbeyRoadDuluth]

The Zf is just wonderful! I have the Voigtlander APO Lanthar 50/2, which also makes an exquisite pairing with the Zf. A wonderful camera that can do pretty much anything you throw at it! Thanks for the vid!

[@snowydog1955]

I've just purchased this camera, and love it when you delve into the menus and explain what they actually do. Yes it was a long video but I've now watched it 3 times and feel I have a much better understanding of how the camera works. I have a Z6 and a D500 also, and love them both but can't wait to put some pics thru this camera. Thanks for your effort in making this video.

[@Zeebad101]

Thank you so much for doing this. Hugely valuable to me. I have to admit this was a bit of an emotional purchase having cut my teeth on 35mm film cameras as a schoolboy, but wow! What a machine. A massive upgrade for me in recent years and it has all the old school feels with incredible tech. Thanks again for helping me get to grips with the menus.

[@daviddavidd9883]

Dang I jumped into a big mess of Technology Shock. Lately I have been shooting my old dinosaur film rangefinders. The only thing to remember is to remove the lens cap. Konica IIIA and Zeiss zm cameras, not Leica. I borrowed the Fuji XT5 and what a nice camera. My D810 has found a new loving home. The Nikon ZF came crashing into me two days ago. The xt5 and d810 do not come close to the ZF in terms of techno complexity. I had expected it to be a big jump compared to the xt5's menu, but I was simply amazed. Your vid helped me to face another day with the ZF. Thanks.

[@chrystalferreira2747]

thank you, this is by far the best tutorial on how to set up and use the ZF, it's alot to take in and I keep coming back to this in fact I've watching it countless times, so detailed and so good!

[@JHF-h6r]

Coming from Sony, this is pure gold. Thank you so much! Bonus: found one of the best and informative photography channels on KZbin!

[@Artist-Leslie-Pierce]

Thank you so much for sharing your in depth Nikon zf tutorial. I used to shoot on a Hasselblad and a Nikon F-E2 and disliked the digital Canon I bought. I just purchased the zf and I love it! I am now playing and doing out on location and in art studio test shots and your video is incredibly useful and appreciated. Thanks!

[@parthmaniar]

Thank you very much for the detailed guide and giving your settings files too.

[@bevkane1830]

Wow, what a comprehensive tutorial. Thank you so much. I have learnt heaps about these settings and taking pages of notes. Now I will slowly work through each menu while replaying this video and change my Zf to settings recommended where appropriate for me and my style of shooting. Will definitely be following more of your videos.

[@miriamhaugen8373]

I am moving from the Nikon D750 to this. All the menu options are mind boggling. With the 750 I was able to figure out very quickly how to shoot in manual mode and which settings I cared about and ignored the rest. This camera has awesome capabilities but now it is time to figure out what I want on my i menu and other quick settings. Thank you for this detailed explanation.

[@DocBoA]

This is a phenomenal tutorial. My zf is the most exciting body I've purchased since the D500

[@TryingtoLearntheuke]

I recently bought the ZF and love it. Having watched your other set up guide for the Z9 I knew I would learn so much from your video. Really grateful for the amount of time and energy you put into this. It is so helpful.

[@brusselssprout1]

Thank you for a very clear, logical, thorough and useful walk through the Zf's menu. I have been using Nikon DSLRs forever, and a Z7 for a couple of years, but I am so glad for this refresh. I've first replicated almost every one of your setup points, and am now busy tweaking to my taste, habits and use cases in much better knowledge of the impact of my own choices. Thanks again!

[@iverunouttanames]

Thank you for such an extremely helpful video! I just switched from Sony to the Zf and this has helped me understand many of the functions which are named differently along with discovering a few which I was absolutely unaware of.

[@yawarakaiyuki4736]

I went from the F2 to the F4 to a D3 and now this camera. Having combined experience with these Nikons over the years makes using this camera second nature. Same menus as the D3 from 2007!

[@davidrosinski6187]

I traded my D850 for this camera, a very difficult decision. I have a Z7 for higher megapixel work, and now the Zf. Your videos's have been extremely helpful as I realize that no one camera can fulfill every need/desire. I'm headed to Scotland myself this September and I'm taking only the two cameras (Z7 & Zf) I should be able to do just about anything with them! Thank you again!

[@russraman]

Superb set-up instructions for the Nikon Zf presented clearly and very knowledgeably. Thank you Hudson for taking the time to create this excellent video!

[@oc2phish07]

I pre-ordered and bought two Nikon Zfs late last year. I came across this excellent video in November and found it to be really helpful. Now, in July 2024 I find myself coming back to it time after time just to refresh my knowledge and to rediscover where specific settings are. Great video Hudson Henry, thanks.

[@peterkleinschmidt5025]

Thank you. For us OCD people, it is a bit long, but it is worth every minute. I started with your settings when I got the camera, which worked great. I then explored other videos for "portraits." It was a big mistake. I have returned to your video and greatly appreciate your time and settings. I am a loyal fan.

[@stanw4317]

A huge thank you for an incredibly well done video! I learned a lot through so many of your excellent explanations. I have been enjoying the feature rich Zf for the past 6 weeks.

[@mirceagavan7046]

Thank you Hudson, i just bought the Zf after i watched your fantastic video! I still have the D700 D300 both in almost unused condition, an Nikon FA same pristine condition, two Fujis and a Panasonic S1r, stupid for just being an bloody amateur, but i have to tell you that your videos are the best informative and detalied i ever watch! Thank You Sir!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

You're going to be blown away once you get used to it. :-). YOu might want to search for my video on using the Z8/9 for action autofocus from last fall. It's shot on Sauvie Island kiteboarding. You don't get the banks and the recall shooting functions hold, but some of the AF area demos will be helpful for you.

[@jbrodersen]

Thanks a lot for your video and your knowledge and passing it on. I just bought the Zf, I have been shooting with D800 since it was first available 🙂 So a lot of new things to get to know

[@markusstampfli6800]

Excellent. Now that I added the Zf at last, I returned to your review coming from your Z8 settings guide. Nuff said. Thank you!

[@rongotcher]

Thank you so much for this enormously valuable video. I've now set up my Zf and am looking forward to using it.

[@Quidisi]

I have Pentax DSL gear, but this video is amazing!!! I'm seriously thinking about resurrecting my old Nikkor lenses from the 80's and buying this camera! Thanks so much for your videos. They are phenomenal!

[@Quidisi]

PS - in the 80's I shot FE2. Love the camera. Still have it.

[@ALRA7AL70]

thanks for this amazing detailed setup guide, I have been looking for this guide and no one dose it like you, thanks again

[@122gft]

Thank you so much. I’m an old film guy and also own an old D200 I was getting to frustrated with the menus. Wayyy too much detail. This video is critical to understand what is going on. 😁

[@NikonDave]

I learned from your Q3 settings files we definitely shoot differently so no download for me, but it was still a joy to watch with the camera in my lap and take a minute to learn or relearn about the different settings and decide for myself how I want to set up this very capable camera. I believe I commented in the review video that this may (or has) supplanted the Z8 as my every day. Such a capable tool for creating outstanding images. Thanks for taking the time to create this content.

[@SuperKnissen]

Thank you, Henry, for this wonderful video. Very few instructional videos are as understandble as yours has been, especially with regards to both the what and the why of each setting and the reasons behind your particular choices, which I found extremely helpful. Thanks again, Henry. I look forward to watching your other videos.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Appreciate that. First name is Hudson, but no big deal. ;-)

[@SuperKnissen]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Oops! My bad, Hudson. A case of momentary dyslexia. lol

[@BillDenton]

Just bought my Nikon Zf and this setup guide will help a lot. Thanks!

[@markhemmings8367]

Thanks for this! New to Nikon Z and this is very helpful

[@gregmcray]

Thanks, Hudson, for taking the time to put this together. Great stuff and very helpful!

[@chrisbaudeg3233]

Great presentation with rationale and verbal examples of why a feature is selected. I personally still feel the settings should be saved, (along with the choice to card), internally to camera body. Missing the option to retain "stickiness of settings" is another issue worth requesting in next firmware upgrade! ('a la' Canon or M1X, dunno about Sony). I did set the 'Red video top button' to instant FX/DX selection.

[@nikibaron]

Unbelievably helpful. Thank you. I’ll be returning to this time and time again, I’m sure of it.

[@MegaBriarpatch]

Thanks for the details, Hudson! I have a Z9, but there are already some differences and updates in the ZF. This was all about studying for the big exam - my ZF arrives tomorrow! 😊

[@paulomaxim]

thank you so much for the excellent video and the menu of saved settings, moving from Fujifilm to nikon zf over an hour video was perfect, and i have installed your settings that make a lot of sense, and it saved a lot of time.

[@denegrindal1248]

Great as always. I used the Z6II, then Z9 and now this one

[@rimrockshadows]

This was so incredibly helpful. Thanks for all the time you put into this! Feeling more at ease now after upgrading from the d810.

[@sfenwick]

Hi Hudson. The Zf is my first Nikon mirrorless. Thanks very much for this video. It is incredibly helpful to me, as I primarily shoot film. I have a D750, but use it sparingly. Cheers from Chicago.

[@thibaultghesquiere]

Thanks a lot, this video helped a LOT. I'm happy with all of those options, but didn't have the motivation to dwelve everything by myself!

[@Chum_chumi]

I'm very Impressed with your explanation and the ergonomics of this camera actually. I really wanted to like this camera as I'm considering moving from my xt5. I think you sold it to me. I now actually think the Fuji has too many image adjustments which takes away from the shooting experience. Thank you so much 👍

[@deegeeofpenryn]

Wow this is brilliant Hudson, why on earth Nikon didn't post something similar I will never know. I have had my ZF for a month and am very pleased with it, especially the performance of older adapted F mount lenses such as my 50mm f1.4. It would be great if you could look at how the quality of images stack up when these older lenses are used on the ZF. Thanks again !

[@timfloydphoto]

Thanks for the Herculean effort to make this video. I hate the menus of "modern" cameras, but I really like the Zf because it reminds me of my FE2. I like to set the menu and forget it, which your video greatly helped me to do. Really enjoy your channel - keep up the good work.

[@smoothlennie]

Great video thanks. I have just downloaded your settings. now I must remember where I made a mental note to change a couple of them. Bought the cam primarily for manual focus lenses, including Voigt Nokton 50 f/1.5 LTM, Light Lens Lab Summicron 35 f/1.8 8-element clone, an old Nikon 135 f/2.8 etc.

[@skipmersereau1014]

Great video and very helpful. Thank you. First viewed for setting up a ZF rental... and now replayed following purchase. Replayed the MYMENU part... and still puzzling over how to use this 'cause (duh) everyone has slightly different needs. FWIW, while not Lecia-simple, the relative simplicity of controls on the Nikon DF is refreshing. I thought very seriously about an old Leica SL for the same money as the appeal of 4 buttons and an ON/OFF is strong, but in the end, banked that Nikon has a better $'s-for-image-quality mix in 2024 with ZF than Leica's 2015 SL... which would tend to be well used at this point and the lenses a lot more spendy. The Nikon ZF seems to have a good balance between too few and too many buttons. My Fuji XT4 - which this replaces - was a good camera, but a finger slip could easily send you into "what just happened" land, and that's not happening here. The images from the ZF are also just that much sharper.... to which the focusing system, the glass and to a lesser degree Full Frame lkely earns much of the credit. Yes, 24MB can still prove plenty enough to get it done, and waiting on 33MB or whatever comes next would just miss a lot of good shooting. Happy with the F/1.8 lens line up. While we still have a LOT of menus, I think the the organization seems more logical (better?) than my experience with the Nikon D750, Sony A7's and Fuji.... though that could just be years of acclimation. Build quality is good, too.

[@marcwagner6688]

Hudson, appreciate this and appreciate ALL the content you are providing!

[@chrisnescicimage]

Thank you sir. You have produced a wonderful video and I am very appreciative of it I am really enjoying my Nikon ZF - now to find some lenses (use to the Fuji world of small primes)

[@BogdanNYou]

thank you so much for this video! better than the manual, and i can learn it while i'm working

[@markm4263]

I picked up my ZF and a lens last night. What's interesting is that you appear to have exactly the same setup as me: Nikon ZF + Voigtlander 50mm F1.0. Damn it's front heavy though.

[@azizshuvobd]

Thanks Hudson. Thanks for your time and effort.

[@paulboskerphotography]

Thanks Hudson, great review and instructions. Looking forward to the Pixel Shift ATS!

[@Daniel_Zalman]

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this godsend of a video!

[@johnd5244]

Thank you for sharing with us. I like your set up and thinking could get use to it. I just got the Zf and still have to set it up. I do a lot of nighttime imaging especially taking images of the Aurora Borealis. Now will have to download your set up for my use.

[@andreak4280]

Wow!! thanks so much for this awesome run thru of settings/explanations Hudson!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@greggwebster1129]

Thankyou Hudson for this video. Recently purchased th Zf to complement my Z6ii and this video cleared up many questions for the Zf and the Z6ii

[@BryanHansel]

b2: Easy Exposure Comp. When turned on allows you to use a command dial for exposure compensation when in any shooting mode other than M without holding down a button. For example, in Aperture Priority it allows you to use the rear command dial for exposure comp without holding down a button when the exposure comp dial is in "C."

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Yep, exactly the point I made. That makes sense on a camera without a physical exposure compensation dial directly above the rear command dial. Porting that to the ZF menu seems a touch sloppy.

[@donrogan2812]

Thanks again Hudson, super helpful as always

[@raunlohry4000]

Great video! Nicely organized with Chapter listing in the Table of Contents. Learned a lot and made a few adjustments to my settings that should help my process (I am an amateur shooter so really don't have a "work flow"). Thanks for doing this. Love your videos.

[@scottjonesimages]

Once again a very helpful video Henry. Thank you kindly for sharing your knowledge with us. Best wishes from Scotland!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Thanks for the shoutout. First name is Hudson, but no big deal at all. :)

[@scottjonesimages]

Apologies Hudson.

[@berniestang2616]

Love my Zf ., just got it . Thank you so much!!!!

[@joennick1]

Great video thank you. The non CPU lens data...do you have to turn this on everytime a non electronic lens is attached? If so not sure how to just 'turn on'. If you don't have to physically turn on how does the camera know which non CPU lens you have connected if you use more than one? Thanks.

[@Zenonkozak]

Thank you for creating this!

[@jasonplucas]

thanks for your work mate appreciate it

[@mauriehilll6559]

Excellent! Thank you Hudson. Like you, I have the Voigt 50/1.0 which is incredible, particularly on this body.

[@andrewlunn]

Great walk through - thanks Hudson

[@appaketa]

Fantastic content, love your guide through the menus. looking forward to more videos on this camera

[@MaliDaviesPhotography]

Class man, thanks for all the effort, details, learned alot! Love the Zf. Take care sir.

[@Jwitherow1964]

Loving my zf thanks for your time

[@richardrohlfing596]

This was extremely helpful. Thank you so much!

[@markrouleau4792]

13:57, Pentax had trap-focus back in the early 2000's, I remember using it with my K100D and K20D back in the day.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

No that's a completely different thing. This mode actually detects your subjects and their eyes while you're manually focusing and if you hit the zoom in button, which I mapped to OK, it zooms to 100% on the eye and tracks the eye as you perfectly manually focus it. For now it's the only camera in the world to ever do that.

[@brendawillems4804]

This is so great! Wonderful that you share your knowledge. Do you think I Can use your settings also on my Nikon Zfc?

[@zahariastoianovici8590]

Life saving video…. Thank you so much!

[@jamespan3151]

Thanks so much! Great details and very helpful.

[@dusanmal]

Thanks for long detailed info, invaluable! I just got my Zf and the only thing going wrong in a way is that nothing attached to it via USBC cable will power/charge it but a "computing device", PC or tablet. You mention towards the end that you have used power bank to charge it. Which one? I have various modern, good USBC chargers and Zf won't charge from any of them. I also have very good current model power bank, it won't charge from it either... Final peculiarity is that it also won't even turn on if I use fully charged older EL15a Nikon battery (OEM from my D600). I understand that it should not charge those older battery models but my impression was that it was compatible to power it on and use... Anyone else with these battery/charging issues? Any suggestions? And, again, thanks for this invaluable resource, it would have taken me weeks to fully understand and grasp it all w/o your detailed video!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Pretty sure the a battery is just too old. The battery bank I link in this video's full description and on my links page works great: Www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks it must be marked PD for power delivery capable. Enjoy.

[@rppwwn8321]

Life saver! Great video! Thank You!

[@RH-adventure]

A million thanks,🙏. Incredible value. I realise I bought a pretty good camera now.

[@joos1966]

Hey there, I'm from Denmark, a Nikon user since the late 1980ties 🙂. I just handed in my Nikon D810 and Z6 and instead purchased this ZF. Your video is so great, I had my new camera together watching the video, and for the first time I understood the whole Nikon menu, I have even created my own menu for the first time! But now my battery is running out, and then I went looking for the charger in the box...ups, it has to charge via the cable. I have connected it to my laptop, but it doesnt seem to do anything than saying it is connected, it is not charging, I guess I have to find out how to charge. But I can see a problem with needing to charge via camera if you are to a whole day event....

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

The battery is quite long lasting, but a spare makes sense and you need power delivery (PD) capable usb-c charging. It needs the feet wattage.

[@joos1966]

Thank you. Will get that 🙂@@HudsonHenryPhoto

[@nobby090]

Very kind of you to do this thank you very much

[@yukachang7616]

Thank you! For this great and detail explain! Thank you so mich’

[@PixelGuy22]

Hi. I’ve watched many of your videos and really appreciate them. Have you done a segment on your favorite Z lenses for the Zf? Thanks.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

My kit is laid out in my links. I mainly shoot Voigtländer's unreal 50 1.0 Nocton on the ZF, but I also use the favorite kit. 14-24S, 24-120S, 100-400 S, 20 1.8S and 105 1.4 Afs on the FTZ. :)

[@jaganberi3937]

You have beautiful choice i like your choice Nikon zf

[@andreak4280]

Thanks Hudson- very much appreciated!!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

🙏

[@albertocadisco5299]

Hi, thank you for your detalied explanations! To start my ZF adventure I'm looking for a good lens, you presented the Voigtlander but I have to admit to be a bit intimidated because of manual focusing, I never used it...and when I'm shooting my playing toddlers maybe I'll prefer a good autofocus 😁. 28? 40? 24-70 f/4? With Fuji I have lots of prime lenses (very good lenses) but as a starting point I need a valid unique lens 🤷‍♂

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

24-120. No doubt.

[@israelmacario3853]

great video. learned the menu.

[@kosi_Iberu]

Thank you for doing this video.

[@fasaxify]

Thank you so much. Super useful.

[@christhompson4431]

Great video. Can you send the link to download your settings? Thanks

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It's in this video's description. Just click show more after the title.

[@jhaydnreynolds]

Very useful video, thank you.

[@solidstream13]

Such a great video. Thank you

[@xs4allan]

Slot empty release lock OK is for imaging with the camera connected to software on a computer. Like Deep Sky Astrophotography running your DSLR/Mirrorless from a PC and saving images to the PC directly.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Sure, and it seems like it should not be on by default or in general for most folks. VERY limited application that for specialized purposes.

[@bufftheowl]

You keep saying Hyper log Gamut, but it's not only in fact Hybrid log gamma, but also surprisingly not HDR like you'd think, it's actually a standard dynamic range video with a special logarithmic tone curve, but great tutorial though and will lookout for more of your tutorials. By the way, you are actually right to turn HLG off though, considering you shoot in 10 bit, because HLG is only really good for people limited to 8 bit.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Thanks so much. Yeah, I clearly don't use it. ;) ha.

[@PintoSixty]

Hudson, sorry, but after watching, I was having trouble getting the back button focus to work. Then I found another source explaining that you must reconfigure the AE-L/AF-L button itself. In the menu list, go to the pencil menu (the "Custom Settings Menu" then /Controls/Custom Controls (shooting)", then click on the icon for the AEL-AFL button, scroll UPWARD and choose "AF-ON". Then, the AF settings that you prescribe here will work. Just trying to help out.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Ha, no need to apologize, I describe that too, in this very video you've commented on, in the Custom Settings (f) Controls section at about the 49 minute mark.

[@PintoSixty]

Ahhh. Well, I certainly missed that. Thanks!@@HudsonHenryPhoto