The First look at Nikon Zf Retro Camera & Z 135mm Plena Lens with Ricci - Nikon Live Camera Chat

[@csc-photo]

Always happy to see Ricci, thanks so much for an excellent stream! 🙂👏🏻

[@TlalocNY]

It is wonderful to see Ricci in my favorite Camera News. Hugs from Brooklyn, NYC

[@paulhab7267]

Great talk an nice to see Ricci 😊

[@MaynardSwitzer]

Can you use the D pad to move the curser around the screen?

[@ronchancellor3759]

I'm just now watching this broadcast. I'm very interested in the Zf camera and enjoyed this informative and fun video. I live in Norman OK, USA and love your accents. Can you count times that you've heard this from Americans? What I wanted to tell you is that I love your voices. Each of you has a great voice! Y'all together are wonderful! 3 great voices!

[@flickrchannyuk4396]

Brilliant livestream, really informative! Grays and Ricci, a perfect dream team!

[@oc2phish07]

Well, you have sold me on the new Nikon Zf and a couple of days ago I pre-ordered it from you. Now eagerly waiting for it to arrive. I also checked out Ricci's 'brassed' dials in his video. Certainly looks interesting.

[@kushalht]

Hello, As you mentioned the 3 major departmemts nikon is working on, the sensor, the lens, and the processor. In this Era of smart phones, is nikon working on the user interface, make the samera a smart camera?

[@kb2284]

Thanks!

[@graysofwestminster]

Thank you very much!

[@spiffhappens]

Received my Zf on 10/15/23. First impression ... about the same weight as my Z6ii. Much better build and seems quite a bit heavier than my Zfc. Feels good in my hands. Also got the SmallRig grip which I will probably use more than I first thought. Will use the grip with my heavier and longer Z lenses. Amazingly beautiful camera and I'm loving the speed of the autofocus. Also really enjoyed the B&W switch during my street shooting. Looking forward to many photo adventures with it. Fun camera that brings back the days of my youth when I was shooting an SLR. Back to the Future, indeed!

[@denegrindal1248]

Ricci when will the tutorial on the ZF be out. I got mine yesterday as a travel alternative to the Z9

[@johnclay7644]

informative content on the ZF.

[@richardyuen5786]

Good talk, thanks ! Most people look at the 135 1.8 lens as just a portrait lens, and yes most times it is too long for full body shots. But there are so many uses for a lens like this. For example, shooting a live band in a night club, small to medium indoor sports like table tennis, snooker or even Volleyball. A friend of mine ordered one for wild life, other than small birds using it at APSC crop mode, then it becomes a great 200mm lens. You will be surprised at image quality in crop mode using the Z9 or Z8. There are so many uses for a lens like this so I ordered mine. Hopefully it won’t disappoint me.

[@evanlack368]

The ZF’s subject recognition in manual focus has caught my interest. Does that mean this will work with the Nikon FSA-L2 DSLR adaptor on the Nikon EDG 85-A (65) fieldscope (with an FTZ of course), which is only manual focus? I’ve used a D5300 on it as it’s not too heavy on the angled scope mount but I want to go mirrorless within the next 12 months to reap the benefits of modern autofocus, better live view etc for the rest of my photography (aircraft, landscapes including low light, and macro). I also want to get into astrophotography. I still have a D700 but don’t take it out that much anymore as it’s big and heavy to hold with my arthritic hands. I’m hoping the extra grip on the ZF will be comfortable enough, although will add more weight, otherwise I might have to wait for a Z6 III…

[@jerrym8140]

I got the 28mm Z to go with my FC and Z8 Ricci. Looking forward to using it based on yours and others recommendations.

[@jacobh5817]

Great livestream. Love seeing Nikon do so well. Thanks Ricci for some very sensible comments on MPs. In the studio I can’t get past the higher res, but for personal work I love to take my SL2-S and shoot happily in very low light at ISO25000 (with a/o a 28mm ;-)

[@madst7521]

Becky: I used to shoot a z6, but upgrading to z7ii was a revelation with the 105MC. Z8 is better, but not as much of a jump for macro.

[@petergunndetective]

Question - since the Z8 and Z9 don't have mechanical shutters... could there be a line of leaf shutter lenses to allow really high flash sync?

[@johnd5244]

Fantastic live stream today! Even I am looking at the Zf as my everyday camera and a second nighttime camera. Figure I can trade in my Z50. I really like the look but then again the FM2 is on my list as a film camera. I like the switch that you can go to monochrome mode instantly. Megapixel count it’s fine for me. I would like to see a 33mp but I truly don’t need more. I truly like the Ricci model😎 I think you should get one Becky. Still would like to see a 14mm ultrawide 1.4 or even a 1.8 in the Zmount. Can’t wait to see the review on that 100mm tilt shift macro. I think it’s great all these 3rd party lenses coming out. Character lenses, they may not be the best glass in the world but that doesn’t say you won’t capture that image your looking for. Becky, Kon and Ricci have a wonderful weekend. And Happy National Coffee Day! ☕️📷

[@rodmanrn11]

Could you see putting the dual card slots in a crop sensor camera??

[@johnmuscat8731]

Do you think that an Astro-tracer function similar to the Pentax K1 could be added to Z system

[@pepper6253]

Great info today on the Zf thank you Ricci and Grays of Westminster . I own the Zfc and love it and wanting to make the jump to full frame Z yet I find i am doing a lot of macro and landscaping shoots wondering if it is best togo with Z6ll or Zf ??

[@lesladbrook4508]

Fantastic review, talk and information around the ZF :-)

[@merkin22]

Can't wait for this lens (tho not buying it until I get my 600 tc -- speaking of waiting; nearly a year now) but the last 'use case' this lens should be considered for is wildlife. Can you use it for wildlife, sure, I guess -- I've used a 105 macro for wildlife (tiny frog) -- but only in the sense that I've shot a portrait at 600mm, which doesn't make a super telephoto a portrait lens. Just love that Ricci pimped up his Zf by bringing up the brass LOL Great video, as always. Thanks.

[@Stevie-F]

Great video and great brass dials

[@yophotodude7693]

Flange distance is the distance from the sensor to the back of the lens. The mount diameter is the width of the mount. There are very few F-mount lenses I will reach back to.

[@cy9nvs]

I would hope that the paint sticks well to the dials on the Zf, but there being brass under the paint, it would really fit the overall theme if some of that started to shine through over time. 😂 Anyway, I'd really love to try the camera at some point, might pick one up as a 2nd body to my Z8 for anything that suits a smaller, more subtle camera body, when they get a bit cheaper. 😅

[@DNNSBMN]

The one lens I want is a 16-35mm f/2.8!!!

[@harryv2297]

Auto focus bracketing would be great

[@christopherclarke6184]

you keep on saying you would like a high mega pixel camera for macro shooting , but a lot of macro is done on a tripod ,so wouldn't you be able to use the 96 mea pixel option of the ZF ?

[@finesse49]

Speaking of dragonflies, I had a flying mid-size one I wanted to i.d. to species this summer. It kept erratically patrolling a small stretch of stream without ever landing. When I was able to get it in frame on my Z8 with 300mm f4 AFS and 1.4xTC on FTZ adapter, the camera locked on and tracked it at about 20'/6m distance. The background was smooth water so nothing to confuse the AF. I was able to identify it from the photos. As for a 200mm micro, I have the old one which rarely left my D850 and I still use it on the Z8. A Z mount one might have an eye-wateringly expensive price tag which I might not be able to justify.

[@ChrisLImaging]

Pre-ordered, can't wait indeed!

[@jtes1442]

Nikon needs lenses with aperture rings. Also, the ZF needs a joystick and a thumb rest like the Fuji XT5. Bring on the Z6III!

[@gilbertsandberg4736]

Thanks to Ricci for his contribution.. On having more guests on your stream at the same time: Just place the camera in the corner and mount any Nikon fish eye lens. Never mind the distortion or resolution, it is the talk/informatin that counts. Regards from Holland, Gilbert

[@denegrindal1248]

I have the Zf already

[@Vahagraphy]

Smile Ricci Smile. :)

[@Johnlancaster]

I’m going to Hong Kong in Nov - I’ve clocked the Nikon store and hoping to get me a blue one 😊

[@paulmontgomery6257]

So, I’m catching up 2 weeks after the stream. @Becky - what did you go for? A black Zf from Greys (staff discount?) or a coloured one from Nikon? 😂 Great stream all - very informative…

[@domtomas1178]

Shame you didn't show us any of the Voigtlander Z mount lenses on the Zf body... It seems to me those will be the only options for a while, as I don't think Nikon is keen to add aperture rings on any of their lenses.

[@bishfrie]

These days what would be a good starter z camera for an owner of the D7500

[@pauka13]

If you’d go for full frame I think getting a used Z6 is a very good choice. I did and I couldn’t be happier. It’s not too expensive so you can get lenses as well.

[@kjltube]

Thanks guys 👍🏼 Shame the Zf autofocus experience conversation stalled. I think a few of us would like to know more about how it performs vs the Z6II for example.

[@graysofwestminster]

Kon here: from the play I had today it’s much better than the z6ii and z7ii cameras

[@kjltube]

@@graysofwestminster thank you Kon!

[@reneefariasphoto40]

I hate you NIKON... I don't have the $$$ for this lens at the moment. Also... I LOVE YOU. Thank you for releasing this lens. :)

[@gerryhardman9060]

Why hasn’t Nikon come out with a Z30 style with a lcd view finder to compete with the Sony 6000 line which is their most popular lineup?

[@DJKISSchitown]

Does the Nikon ZF have a shutter guard?

[@richardbierman9856]

No!

[@jamesmlodynia8757]

The problem with the 135 Plena on a camera body like the Zf is that the grip on the ZF, because it is based on a film camera bodies, the grip is nonexistent, the 135 is a better option for the Z6Ii type of body.

[@johnforbes4795]

Given that Becky doesn't really care about the 14fps, and is primarily a landscape/macro/street photographer, I would probably suggest the Z7ii (I traded my Z7ii for a Z9 and then later traded my D850 for a Z8). Having said that, it appears that the ZF is better in low light and in doing video than the Z7ii, so maybe that's important to Becky (I could care less about video.) I'm not sure she could go wrong with either camera, but the ZF might be more in keeping with her appreciation of vintage cameras and lenses. By the way, Becky, I recently purchased your fiction novel, "Divided by Magic" with the intention to take it on holiday in November. Looking forward to reading it.

[@edwardphilipmarianafzger9800]

A special 105mm F1.2 Watery lens for Ricci signed by Ricci ! Blue Orange engraved !

[@Johnny-Aloha]

Looking forward to my new Zf arriving. Please Nikon, release a mirrorless retro range finder in 2025!

[@MichaelCortese1]

A Nikon ZSP with Leica-sque lenses would be a game changer

[@terrygrehan3210]

I do hope their will be a silver version, the same type as the ZFC, as if not that would be a deal breaker for me, I would just stick with my ZFC.

[@migueltrujillo5932]

Me jump into mirrorless from the D850 to the Zeta 8 with The Plena just couple of Singladuras ago and I'm still feel like a duck hit on the head.

[@loltimno]

+1 for open gate, my god!

[@sekaf4125]

Any word on firmware for Z8? Exposure delay

[@martinsarre]

what's wrong with using the timer? does the same thing

[@sekaf4125]

@@martinsarre yes. However when standing next to my friend doing night shots there the green blinking light, not sure how to shut that off

[@edwardphilipmarianafzger9800]

Ha the 28mm f1.1 Boreas Bokeh NOCT PLENA aka BBNP lens engraved in orange goldish

[@yophotodude7693]

I always tell people to go to the store and handle the cameras and find the one that feels right to you. For me, I hate the feel of Canon. The Sony’s are tolerable. And I’ve been using Nikon since 1980 and they have never let me down. You need to do what’s right for you.

[@donaldstewart3799]

You need you 3 plus Matt, Seth and Raymond Parker from Canada who has a vast Nikon knowledge and hire the Albert hall for your chat.

[@roweld4399]

I'm with Kon on getting 135mm/f1.8 Plena before getting 85mm/f1.2

[@deegeeofpenryn]

With the extra computing power of the Expeed 7 processor I am quite surprised that the 96mp image cannot be produced in-camera. This is especially curious because other camera makes like the Panasonic S5II are already capable of producing such an image in-camera. I think it's a shame that Nikon are still playing catch-up compared to other manufacturers, as it's a real faff to have to create the 96mp image using Nikon processing software - so do we think that this is something Nikon may be working on ?

[@VioAdri83]

600 pf and pre capture raw!

[@davidlain8220]

Fab stream

[@jaimeduncan6167]

Companion camera ? It depends of what it means. Having a camera for creative imagination project , I will say go with the xfa. If you are talking second body for production the z6 will have different buttons , different cards including an annoying nini (was a good call by Nikon but it’s a annoying in a second body). So I will say get the Z8, if you can’t afford it an used Z6 II or z7 ll and they hit the market replace it with an used Z 8

[@petergunndetective]

Bring out that fast 28!

[@heinersiefken7579]

Has anyone counted how many times Ricci uses the term "obviously"?

[@Helloworldwrjfjrjrj]

😂