I have been shooting Nikon film cameras most of my life and digital since it was readily available to the mass market. I can say that the digital cameras are amazing but there is that feeling of shooting with a computer rather than a camera. Well, Nikon has awaken my fun days in photography again with their Zf camera. it a game changer! It is the only digital camera I have ever used that makes me truly enjoy photography as I once did. Thank you Nikon for a perfect camera!
Combine that with Voigtlander lenses and it simply rocks !!!!
I am 100% manual focus lenses on this for now. This shot was with the 50 1.2 AIS
I even dedicated a website to this camera! www.Nikon-zf.com
If you shoot with this, do yourself a favor. Contact cameraquest and get yourself the lanthar lenses in Z mount! You will enjoy every minute you shoot that combo!
Combine that with Voigtlander lenses and it simply rocks !!!!
I am 100% manual focus lenses on this for now. This shot was with the 50 1.2 AIS
I even dedicated a website to this camera! www.Nikon-zf.com
If you shoot with this, do yourself a favor. Contact cameraquest and get yourself the lanthar lenses in Z mount! You will enjoy every minute you shoot that combo!
Retro-Grouch
Well-known
Congratulations! I'm a film guy, but that does look like a camera I'd deign to fondle. Very sexy! And is that actual black paint?!
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
Rig looks nice for sure. Among buch of SLRs I have tried, non AF Nikon were nicely looking to me.
These days I'm finding I have no interest of spending money on something as flat, boring looking as Canon R series.
Camera, lens must be cool. It makes me feel cool and good vibrations brings better photos.
These days I'm finding I have no interest of spending money on something as flat, boring looking as Canon R series.
Camera, lens must be cool. It makes me feel cool and good vibrations brings better photos.
Yes. Black paint. And wait! There is more!!!!
Brass top plate for proper brassing as it wears!!!!
x-ray
Mentor
That’s how I feel about my Df. I bought my Df back when it came out and when I retired from commercial photography I kept my Df. As you’re doing I only use vintage AIs primes on it.
Evergreen States
Pierre Saget (they/them)
Wow. It is a real beauty. I hope you continue to have fun with it!
Michalm
Well-known
Nice one , from videos I have seen on line what appeals to me in ZF the most is best manual focus aid implementation and instant start-up time that is not very common thing among mirroless cameras , and yes Voigtlander made best set of lenses for it ahead of time . Have lots of fun with it.
bigeye
Well-known
The little 40/2 is worth the small cost. I like the focal length, replacing my old, similarly maligned favorite, the 35/2D.
It looks right with the 35/2’s metal HN-3 hood.
It looks right with the 35/2’s metal HN-3 hood.
@MP Guy I'm designing a grip. The Zf cramps my hands, but is a delight!
Thumb support makes all the difference...this makes the camera viable with even the big lenses.
Nice. I should make a grip that looks like the md12
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
Good one. If I had a Nikon Df I would surely keep it too.
I feel much the same way about my two D800s. They are about as good as Nikon cameras will ever get, for my needs and wants. Sure, now and then I fantasize about buying one of those new Zf rigs but at AUD $4000 for the camera (no lens) alone, it's unlikely I will ever save up enough from my pension income to pay for such an extravagance. So D800s it will be, for the rest of my time.
Admittedly this is somewhat off-topic, but I will try to redeem myself by saying I greatly admire those who can afford to, and decide to buy one of the new Zfs. It looks to me to be as good as mirrorless cameras will ever get.I mean, until Nikon or Canon or one of the big boys gives us a kit with a built-in barista quality coffee maker, what more can they add to make cameras any better than they are now?
One of my D800s has a damaged slot (the big one) which I unintentionally did when I inserted my new 64 card the wrong way. Bent a pin and her pin Ozzy where everything including toothpicks cost almost as much as you would get on the black economy for one of your kidneys, the cost of repairing this alone means I have to forego a few goodies for a time. So for now I am using the camera with the small slot only. It does the job as well as before, if (and they may be imagining on my part) a tad more slow in loading the image. A fraction of second at most. So I make do, and take consolation in being able to save the AUD $400 repair job for a new slot until I've saved up enough.
We pay much too much for anything to do with camera stuff here in Australia. Partly to do with our miserable South Pacific Peso (worth all of 66 US cents as I type this post) but also due to the high costs of everything in a country with a small population and business intent on making 200% profit on everything they sell. But I am not really complaining. I will get that damn D800 slot fixed when I'm in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur next. Repairs even in expensive Singapore are a fraction of what I will have to pay in Melbourne. Lesson learned.
Back to the Zf. It looks a marvelous machine, and if I get super good lucky and win a lottery (unlikely as I don't buy lotto tickets), it will be the first thing I'lll buy. With a Z lens adaptor to use my collection of good D lenses on it. Manual focusing I can live with.
So yes, I envy you all to be able to afford such a lovely beast. And I hope my time will come. It would be an ideal last camera for me, tho' I will be leery of selling my beloved D800s which have served me so well and continue to do so.
We are indeed lucky to live in a time when so many good Nikons are available to us.
agentlossing
Well-known
So, I take it the Zf doesn't feel "like a computer" in use? I'm sure the exposure dials contribute to this, but there are some less tangible things about the user experience which can still make a digital camera feel computer-y for me, such that the Fujis still kind of feel like one when I pick one up. How does the Zf behave in this respect? Any "intangible" sense that you get from it?
I handled one briefly last month in a shop, I did like the initial feel, but I can't make up my mind how I feel about it.
I handled one briefly last month in a shop, I did like the initial feel, but I can't make up my mind how I feel about it.
x-ray
Mentor
The only way we’re ever going to have that film experience is to shoot film. The cameras are different, much simpler without rear screens, playback option were all tempted to use and the clutter of buttons, D pads and joy sticks. Even if the manufacturers crammed digital guts in a film body with no options, buttons or ability to view the image it still wouldn’t be the same because you’re not loading film in the camera and digital, as close as we can get to a film look doesn’t reproduce film faithfully. So if we want a film experience we have to shoot film.
I sold my D800 and lenses, kept the Df and a large set of AIs primes and bought a Fuji X-T3 and small primes. I kept my Df and bought the Fuji because the primary layout of the controls were similar to the film gear I’ve used for 60 years. They didn’t feel like my film gear but they felt familiar. I feel comfortable going between my digital gear and my Leicas and Nikons because of the familiar layout and I accept that digital is digital and film is film.
I sold my D800 and lenses, kept the Df and a large set of AIs primes and bought a Fuji X-T3 and small primes. I kept my Df and bought the Fuji because the primary layout of the controls were similar to the film gear I’ve used for 60 years. They didn’t feel like my film gear but they felt familiar. I feel comfortable going between my digital gear and my Leicas and Nikons because of the familiar layout and I accept that digital is digital and film is film.
AAlfano
Well-known
Well said. I've still got an old DSLR, but seldom use it. If I want to shoot digitally, I use my iPhone, and if I want to have the "film experience," I shoot a film camera.
Erik van Straten
Mentor
For me the big advantage of shooting film is the absolute correctness of the chronology of the shots, namely the order in which they appear on the film. Does something like that also exist for digital photography?
x-ray
Mentor
Each digital file is numbered in sequence. Each will have a unique sequential number usually up to 9999. You can also add a unique prefix to the number in camera to identify the specific camera and in the metadata lens, exposure and date are embedded. Some may even record gps data.
raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
JohnGellings
Well-known
Of course...it´ll show the exact time and date it was made. Software such as Lightroom will allow you to sort all of your photos, regardless of camera used, by date taken.
x-ray
Mentor
Bridge can be used like a light table allowing you to group them and rank as well.
shawn
Mentor
File names with incrementing numbers as well as the exact time the shot is taken. For cataloging images there really is no comparison between film and digital if you use any sort of digital catalog such as lightroom. With 110k images in literally two seconds I can see every image from a specific camera, or lens, or ISO, or aperture, or date, or shutter speed, or key words, or GPS location (if the camera has that) and many others as well as any combination of the above.