Nikon Zf Real Review!! After 4 months of testing, is it the best street photography camera??

[@melarch.5424]

As an old guy with decades of film cameras shooting and a left-hander, I never hold the camera by the grip, always by the lens (the old habit of controlling the focus and aperture rings with the left hand on film cameras) so the grip or lack of it, means nothing to me on mirrorless or otherwise digital SLR's!

[@wespellum]

I did the same thing! Still do with my Nikon FE. Good point!

[@hboprof]

I use a Peak Design Clutch Hand Strap.

[@wespellum]

@@hboprof Do you use the micro? Without the grip I would assume since it attaches to the bottom? I may check that out as the grip still lacks thumb relief and over a full day it does get tiring.

[@longrider9551]

Hello my friend. I don't shoot Nikon but I use skins from a company called alpha guard and I have a green skin on my little A7C2 that looks very similar to that. It's great stuff and the best thing about it is removable if you want to trade the camera in when you take it off. The camera looks brand new

[@wespellum]

Thank you! I'll taken a look at them. I really wanted to love the green skin if it wasn't for the quality control issues.

[@longrider9551]

@@wespellum The green I have is very close to that, they have several shades 1 is more a military green (alphagard)

[@d.idowuolutosin4250]

@Wesley, pick up these Voigtlander lenses for your Zf and all your other Nikon Z cameras and you can thank me later. Get the 28mm f2 Ultron Mark II, 35mm and 50mm f2 APO-Lanthar and the 90mm f2.8 APO-Skopar. For the wedding work you do and if you're into manual focus lenses you can't get better than these. Also, the one thing that caused me to add the Zf to my kit is it's ability to do face and eye detection with manual focus lenses. I'm not big on autofocus lenses which is why I love this feature.

[@wespellum]

I'll take a look at them! I've always stuck to the first party lenses, but you're not then first to suggest these! Thanks!!

[@d.idowuolutosin4250]

@@wespellum sounds like a plan. I'm the complete opposite when it comes to manual focus lenses. I shoot the Leica M10-R as well but I'd never purchase a Leica M mount lenses because they're not worth it for what I do. That said, I do own the Nikon Nikkor 24-120mm f4 and I love how it performs on the Zf. It will be the only autofocus lens I'll purchase for the camera. I did the same thing with my LUMIX S5II. I have the LUMIX 24-105mm f4 but I use the Voigtlander lenses across all three kits.

[@wespellum]

@@d.idowuolutosin4250 the 24-120 is a great lens! I'm almost exclusively a prime shooter but that lens is the only zoom I use for the most part!!

[@arneheeringa96]

I have changed holding my cameras to holding them by the lens. I put my thumb and pointing ☝️ around the lens and the bottom plate rests on the ball of my hand. This prevents ripping out the bajonet on light cameras with heavy lenses and is a safer hold with cameras without grips.

[@wespellum]

I often hold it like this when I am needing my right hand too. But being left handed that isn't too often, haha! Did you get the grip? It's a gamechanger!

[@arneheeringa96]

@@wespellum no I didn't get the Zf yet.

[@wespellum]

@@arneheeringa96 ah, if you do I highly recommend it! As I mentioned in the video, Nikon needs to just built the camera this way next release. haha.

[@ptoze]

Great video. I've bought the ZF 4 days ago and coming from D750 I'm in love for this camera. But I've been experiencing one issue with the monochrome profile.. when I change the monochrome profile to rich tone portrait, the monochrome profile now it's a colour profile and isn't possible to select as a monochrome. The only two monochrome profiles available are the deep tone and the soft monochrome. I've reset the camera twice to solve this and it keeps happening. Anyone has experience this? How do I solve it?

[@wespellum]

Thank you! I just switched to the B&W mode on my Zf and the Rich Tone Portrait is grayed out. The only profiles not greyed out are the one's labeled monochrome. This is from the NIkon Zf manual. "The only options available when the photo/video selector is rotated to B&W are [Monochrome], [Flat Monochrome], and [Deep Tone Monochrome]." So this is consistant with the manual. Are you shooting jpg or RAW? If you shoot RAW like me it really doesn't matter becuase you have to apply the effect in LR again. The photos will all be in colour if regardless if you shoot RAW. I find myself using the B&W mode mainly to highlight the contrast in an image to help me compose. Once I get it into LR, it's back to a color image I can choose to make monochrome (via the camera profile in LR) or not. Hope this helps and thanks for watching!!

[@ptoze]

@@wespellum What it's happening is that when I select de monochrome profile it appears as a color profile and when I change de dial to BW I just have two BW profiles. I only shoot raw and I know that I have the profiles in LR but I used to shoot in camera BW because it's easier for me to focus on the frame, contrasts, etc during the shooting. I think it's a bug.. if I could send a picture, it would be easier to explain

[@AmandaGordon-cg7fu]

Fantastic video, covered all the pros and cons of the ZF. I got mine for Christmas and I love it. It’s my first venture into Nikon mirrorless (from D810) and I couldn’t be happier with it. It has one important feature, it makes me want to go out and capture images, it’s a total joy 🤩

[@obedbrinkman]

agreed! awesome camera

[@wespellum]

Agreed! It's a pure joy to use! I find myself choosing to take it out over the Z8 because of this!

[@Liljoozy]

Heavy as a brick. Controls suck. Should have CF express. Sucky video modes. Xt5 beats it out in many of these metrics along with offering fun film sims for SOOC magic.

[@wespellum]

@@Liljoozy Thanks for the comment! It's definitely heavy!! Controls are fine for me though once I mapped ISO. AF is next level. Compared to the X-H2 video specs aren't as good but the screen alone make it better than the X-T5. All personal preference though and what inspired you. I love using vintage Nikon glass on the Zf. And it's manual focus is night and day above almost everyone when used like that. Cheers.

[@GG-zv9ku]

I actually don’t like the external grip. I find it it ads bulk to it

[@craigcarlson4022]

Totally agree with you on your recs for the ZFii. Am mulling very hard on getting this puppy.

[@castieldiallo2945]

long term review? the camera has been on the market less than 4 months. youtube has a lot of funny people.

[@wespellum]

I guess the word "long-term" is subjective. I've had one since launch. I bought both of the bodies I used, and I shot in different scenarios, including using it in a wedding, for street photography, to film vlog style, and in studio (home office). What I was trying to convey is that I'm not just some KZbinr sent a loaner unit for 10 days. I really put the camera through its paces in several scenarios. Most importantly, I spent my hard owned money on all of this gear. Thank you for the feedback!!

[@MayhemJack]

​@@wespellumYeah, because it's really hard to own money. 😂

[@BizonURS]

Well for a street camera it has some major flaws IMO like the size of the lenses (except for 40mm f/2)... I like to use 35, 50 and 85mm while shooting street and those lenses are just too big IMO. The second thing is a screen that flips to the side... I don't see why they picked this over a tilt screen.... It's an amazing camera, and I was going to sell my xt5 and xt3 to buy it, but after using it for 3 days I've changed my mind.

[@wespellum]

@@BizonURS I just started experimenting with adapting manual focus lenses. Video coming out on adapting m Mount lenses to it. I love the Zf. The 28 and 40 SE primes are really all I need for my street work. Maybe a 35 but you're right the other lenses are too big and it's something I speak about. But the images are amazing.

[@BizonURS]

@@wespellum You're absolutely right, the quality is great, as it is for most of the recent cameras. Manual lenses are a great option, but for my style, I rather use low apertures, and it might be problematic. The biggest flaw for me is the screen. I often shoot from the hip, or simply looking down at my screen, so people won't pay attention. I hate this type of screen also on my r5.... but I use it for my work purposes, where I tend to use EVF .. so I can live with that ... although still I would pay extra for a tilt screen version if it was an option. Xt3 with a Fujinon 56mm 1.2 is still quite small ... ZF paired with an 85 or 50 is just too big and heavy... nobody pays attention when I walk the street with my Fuji setup.... but when I take out my r5 or 5d, I can see people looking at my camera all the time ;/ I'll wait for a Xpro4 .... there is also something about processing bw RAWs from Fuji .. they look sooo good after minor tweaks ... but maybe it's just me.

[@wespellum]

@@BizonURS Fuji produces amazing results too. I love them all. And when the X-pro 4 comes out I'm def going to buy it! When I use the Zf I use the screen down and shoot portrait from the hip. Love that on it. Then I close the screen and just use the viewfinder like my Nikon Zf film camera. It's personal preference honestly!

[@christianpetersen1782]

It’s long been a strategy of Nikon to omit sensible features when launching new products, ostensibly to differentiate between camera models. Then somewhat later they produce the camera they should have done in the first place. Those who can afford it then spend more money with Nikon to buy the latest version.

[@ehsaanqadri1]

Hell nooo I love that 😂😂😂😂 yes

[@christopherclarke6184]

I agree with the grip , but in the Uk it is free. The only thing I don’t like is the shutter button is a little too sensitive, there is no shutter release cable slot , and I would of liked it to of had a full sd and XQD card slot , because up grading from the original Z6 I now have XQD cards that I have no use for . Also for some reason my Godox flashes only work now in manual , but worked fine on the Z6 . I have read online the flashes firmware can be upgraded , but I haven’t been able to do it as the Godox software is for older pc . I would have also liked an extra function button like the Z6 . Another thing that bugs me is when you flip the screen to take a selfie you need to flip the screen backwards to view the photos , that can hopefully be soled in a firmware update. Apart from those small cons that hopefully can be fixed in a future zF2 , I love my ZF and won’t be upgrading it .

[@wespellum]

Solid points! I have my z6ii still but plan to sell it and had the same thought on the CF Express card. It will be a back up to my Z8 which has one in it as well. I also had the same issue with the Godox flashes and the squishy shutter button. Oh and that flip screen issue is annoying. I found recently that I can't change the exposure comp for example when I am filming myself unless I flip the screen around too. They certainly need to change those in a FW update. I am glad it's not just me. Thanks for the feedback!

[@paulboskerphotography]

Great funny video! 100% agree on Zf. I just bought mine (in black) and also got the Voigtlander 50mm f1.0 Nokton and am LOVING it! The Zf if my Z9 kit second body! Thanks again. Look forward to seeing more.

[@Jwitherow1964]

After I got my ZF I sold my Z9 It brings me to my happy place, the Z9 never made me happy after I per order it and waited 8 months on it, back to the ZF I was a Nikon f3 and fm2 film shooter now you know me age, Nikon hit it out of the park with the ZF is all I need,

[@FlydreamMedia]

Ive been eyeing up an upgrade from my 5100 lol. The zf seems more capable than any z7 or z7ii. Seems like the z8 is nearly neck and with the zf, but its going to depend on what features are important. But when you look at price, id rather get some good glass with the money id save buying the zf

[@wespellum]

Couldn't agree more. It's my favorite Nikon camera hands down.

[@---us7qf]

I will be putting in my order, in a few weeks. It'll be the blue colour. Lord HELP me, if the there are issues with the leather / aesthetics! Speaking of issues, where can I read more about what people are saying regarding the custom ones?

[@wespellum]

I'm in a few Nikon FB groups. That's where I talked about my issues and found similarities with our issues. Lost me know how you like it!

[@doogieham]

Helpful analysis, Wesley. I agree with you that it would be nice to add C1-3 custom modes and to be able to access them through the I Menu just like how its set up on Fuji cameras to access them via the Q Menu. Nikon seems to be really responsive to feedback these days so I’m hoping this is something they can add to a future Zf firmware update.

[@wespellum]

I agree. It certinaly can be added in FW. Fingers crossed!!

[@AlexB-km7os]

Wish they used a tilt screen and better viewfinder. Some weight reduction would be also welcome.

[@wespellum]

It does feel like a brick. Have a hard time using it with a gimbal because it's so dense.

[@jos3zavalar3cillas]

I note that you have a great experience!, could you help me to choice or which elements to considered to bay a power bank to provide energy to my Z30, a powerbank to charge my phone is enough (with 5Volts) or should be more powerful to have more volts. Saludos

[@wespellum]

The only power bank Nikon has tested and guaranteed is the Anker PowerCore+ 26800mAh PD 45W with 60W PD Charger. Not the cheapest option but it should support the load the z30 needs to run from it.

[@enshongmiranda]

Nikon and bloating/peeling grips and cover are perpetually intertwined. 😂 Even the black leather or rubber thing will expand and peel in time, faster than other brands. Especially for us in the tropics, it won't even hold up within a year. Haven't had this problem with Fujifilm. Got a Nikon again last year and was hopeful the peeling grips and covers aren't an issue anymore but alas, they still are. Great cameras though but I wish Nikon would change the grip/cover materials. I read before that it's because Nikon uses more natural rubbers or something so it feels great and I do think Nikon rubber feels great but if they bloat and peel, not worth it IMO. There are leather cases that look pretty good on the Zf and you can choose different colors too! Helps making the camera more substantial to hold too.

[@wespellum]

I'll take a look at that. My green Zf was like that from the start. Straight out of the box. Definitely a quality control issue that several of us had. I agree though that I never has this issue with my Fuji gear. Fingers crossed I don't with this black model too!

[@dogdadoutdoors]

Only had that on 1 camera, and it was 10 years old, bit of glue and good as new.

[@wespellum]

@@dogdadoutdoors this was the first time I had ever seen this as well. Glad I was able to return for the black which has had no issues!!

[@Blakefan2520]

I am familiar with film photography and used to shoot a Nikon FE. Now I am retired and want to experience digital photography as a hobby. I really like the retro looks of the Zf and xt5. If I purchase a zf, what is a good Nikon starting lens should I buy to go with it. Also, would I be able to use Ninon lenses I purchase for for the zf on other Nikon cameras if I ever upgrade?

[@wespellum]

I love the 28mm f2.8. Its only 230 bucks right now. All Nikon Z Mount lenses will work with and Nikon Z camera. Plus you can get the FTZ adapter and use your FE lenses too! If you wanted to spend a little more the 50mm f1.8 us also a good option. I have reviews on my channel for a few of these! If you went Fuji start with the 35mm f2 (50mm full frame equivalent) I love both of these cameras. You can't go wrong with them.

[@Blakefan2520]

@@wespellum Thank you for the lens advice.

[@NatSecSur1]

Thankyou. A great and honest review, done not just behind a keyboard. I'm certain your time with the camera as a working professional is as good as it gets even though the camera has been out "for only 4 months". I purchased the ZF, in Sunset orange. I love it. Took it with me on a recent trip to Japan. The low light performance is incredible. N.B No issues with the Faux leather covering so far.

[@wespellum]

I'm glad to hear that. I've heard others with similar stories. I think the green may have been the only variant affected. I just got back from SF with it and plan to take it to Italy soon and not the z8 which is why I've been testing it so thoroughly. Appreciate the feedback!

[@lylesteely2604]

Picked mine up a couple weeks ago...girlfriend liked it so much I bought her one for Vday ...great camera!

[@wespellum]

Awesome! Lol. I have loved it so far. Just finished fliming next week's video on Street Photography in San Francisco! I grew more in love with it!

[@richarddutchholland4780]

Retro body that uses modern design lenses 🤔

[@runcmd1419]

The lightsaber looks like its flossing your brain cavity.

[@wespellum]

Haha. 1st and last time I filmed with it there. Learning the hard way. Video after made a joke about it in the bloopers haha.

[@northofbrandon]

10 bit skin tones >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 8 bit anything

[@DeanAllman]

Hey for stable interview shots like this pick up an external monitor for the Z8, like the Viltrox DC 550. The Z8-Z9s are not really vlogging cameras, and the Viltrox gives you a ton of features that the back screen simply does not have.

[@wespellum]

I have been looking at them a lot these days. Torn between the Feelworld and Viltrox. Do you feel the Viltrox is the way to go? There is no doubt the Z8's video is superier to the Zf so a monitor would be amazing. A telepromter too but I am still working my way to one of those. Maybe when I get to 1k subs haha.

[@DeanAllman]

@@wespellum They are both pretty solid. I just went with the Viltrox and have no regrets. I went with them as I have a few of their lenses that are just superb. The build quality is great. I have an Elgato teleprompter and that does a great job, too. Just haven’t used it much yet, but I have a documentary project in the works where I will doing a lot of voiceover and that will come in handy there. It seems to be best of breed out there too.

[@wespellum]

@DeanAllman I appreciate the feedback and advice! I'll look into them! I have a music video I'm shooting soon I'll need the monitor for either way.

[@intrinsicimagery]

You might have me sold.

[@annarakannan6620]

Fabulous summary of the Camera. I got mine in green and I don’t have the same issues you did. Looks like they fixed it. I find it heavy but solid. I use the neck strap always. Getting used to a real camera. Yes my first. I have never seen a viewfinder like this before. So it is amazing to look through it. It is like imax 😂.

[@wespellum]

Thank you! I am glad the issues were fixed. It was a first line production of it so I can only imagine it was a quality control issue on the first few that went out. I am happy with it in black although I loved the green color so much!

[@annarakannan6620]

@@wespellumand now Fujifilm drops the x bomb. Damn!! I can’t win.

[@wespellum]

@annarakannan6620 haha I am right there with you!!

[@a2roland]

Thank you!

[@Gman1044]

That sword through your head looks painful

[@wespellum]

Haha . It definitely was an interesting angle to shoot from. Took it form for my most recent video and much better lol.

[@jtes1442]

It's called chimping! 😂

[@wespellum]

Hahaha that's right. I've never done it so I never remember the name. Coming from film I hate using the back screen to shoot.

[@philipsutton8921]

Well sorry dude, but I'm exactly the opposite to you - I hate the screen on the ZF and that's why I didn't buy it. Just shows that we are all different, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I shoot all my paid events with my two Z6ii's (which are awesome and almost totally good enough), however I was waiting for an update if possible. I shoot zero video and 85% of all my events from the hip, so I need a screen that's not poking out the side. I'm holding my breath for the gorgeous Z6iii, but I'm mortified, because I heard on rumours site that it will be the dreaded flip-around screen - oh boy!

[@wespellum]

I know what you mean. My paid shoots are with the Z8 and Z6ii but getting into KZbin is what brought the need for the flippy screen. Nikon should adopt the a7rV screen that does both!!!