It's Evelyn here from the camera store Today we're going to be talking about The Nikon ZF this is their full frame 24 Megapixels eight stops of image Stabilization retro inspired body with a Lot of cool features Nikon has actually Packed some new technology on it that we Haven't seen before and so we're very Excited about this camera I love the Tactile controls I love those dials so Chris Nichols and Jordan Drake from Petapixel are going to join me today and We're going to chat about some of their First impressions and then soon we'll Have our first impressions review so Make sure that you're subscribed you hit The notification Bell so you can get That video and then for now I am going To connect with Chris to hear what he Has to say so let me just get my Headphones on here Okay hi Chris Hey how's it going thanks for having me On the show last night Nikon just Announced the Nikon ZF not the zfc the Nikon for Chris Um but maybe one that could be a little Bit better for you because this is the Camera that you actually were asking for Yeah I mean the zfc I did push Nikon Very hard to create and uh the world Should be thankful that I did because It's all you know the ZF I mean it was All me and of course you know the
Question then when it came out is when's The full-frame version going to be Coming out so The weight's over it's here but it's Actually a very interesting camera and I Think it's quite different than what the Zfc was trying to do so of course the Big question is it like the zfc and that It was basically just like a re-skinned Z50 or is this just like the Nikon Z6 Mark II um or is this like an entirely Different camera Yeah so that's the very strange thing About it right is The Z50 the zfc I mean they basically Share the same internals and and Everybody thought oh maybe this is like A z63 right this is their their retro Version but it's actually an interesting Test bed for a lot of technology that we Haven't seen either that we haven't seen Before or that we certainly haven't seen From Nikon before Right so what was the most interesting Feature for you when you first got your Hands on it in terms of the technology That it offered Uh so in all honesty uh the most Interesting feature for me was actually On the selector switch for video and Photo there's also a black and white Mode so the the dumbest setting that was My favorite because I could just quickly Go right to black and white I love that
I mean I actually used it a lot but I Know that's not like a technological Advancement so if I was going to say Then what was the next big thing Um I mean there's a lot to talk about They really did a lot of things so Certainly the new VR system we could Talk about I mean that's quite Interesting the VR system it's a little Convoluted so why don't we get through It I mean the VR system's updated it's Now eight stops which is actually very Very strong But it does a cool thing it actually you Know most vibration reduction systems They can rotate on many different axes They can go up and down and left and Right they can rotate and most will Rotate but they'll rotate the sensor Always with the center being the the Axis that it's rotating on and that Doesn't do much good if your subject's Off center so if you've got a subject Off center you can actually set the Focus point there and Link the VR to the Focus point and that'll actually rotate The sensor for that subject and that's Really cool now to be honest this works Mostly with wide angle lenses Um it's not that useful for telephoto Lenses so it's really more of a wide Angle thing and unfortunately it only Works in Stills not video video you Still get great VR you just don't get
This fixed to the focus point but I Could see it awesome for like street Photography with wide angle lenses where Your subjects you want them rule of Thirds or maybe even more extreme and It's just going to give you an extra Stability specific to where you're Focusing yeah well in eight stops in its Own vision is pretty impressive I mean We're seeing this in 22 23 this is like The feature checkbox that we're seeing a Lot of cameras get to yeah and yeah Having this neat unique feature is kind Of cool as well now does it only work on ZF lenses or could you put like adapted F-mount lenses No it only seems to work with the actual Mirrorless set F lenses Auto focusing Lenses and if you go to telephoto it's Then going to instead use like if you've Got a telephoto lens that already has VR In it uh it's going to use the Dual VR Like it did before and it's still very Expensive expensive no it's still very Excellent It's like seven and a half Stops nice it's not that expensive all Right now when it comes to the physical Feel of this camera and I mean this is What it's all about it's kind of that Same idea of having like a Fujifilm X-series cameras I love the tangible Dials on that so if you were to compare It Loosely to a Fujifilm camera to find Like the experiences the same idea was
There any differences there for you Yeah it's interesting I mean I really loved first off the zfc when it First came out I mean for me the Fe Cameras the FM cameras the Nikon's Vintage cameras in the late 70s early 80s those are still my favorite SLR Designs of all time so when the zfc came Out I really love that because it Basically followed the form factor Almost exactly I mean same size weight Uh I love the fact that the body Actually had no grip on it on the zfc Like it just it just was very Reminiscent and it triggered all my Nostalgia uh and so it really brought me Back so that I really had a more Visceral experience with more like Emotional experience with the ZF though I was worried because when it first came Out I'm like I hope they don't just make Like what the the Nikon DF was right Dfslr where it was basically you know The outward look was retro but really The camera functionality was not good in My opinion I really didn't like it at All so I was actually happy to see the ZF had very functional design very Similar to his NFC it is larger Physically it does have a bit of a grip On it you can get a larger grip if you Want that's optional but uh as far as Control goes especially the black white Mode I talked about but also just the
Mode dials everything field uh felt very Nice very much like what I was expecting To have in a full-frame zfc compared to A Fuji Yeah I mean I find the zf's got a lot of Customizability uh the experience would Be able to shoot either way like be able To do uh vintage mode dials shutter Dials you know aperture on the lenses That kind of stuff is great but I do Like the ZX got nice command dials you Can do it kind of more of an Old-fashioned way I guess a more modern Way now stop number two right on the top Of the camera Right off of the zfc so yeah I mean it Handled exactly how I'd want it to Handle if I want to have that classic Vintage experience and if I want to go a Bit more modern SLR not necessarily Adjust things with with switch dials I Could use command dials with my finger And thumb that was really cool so there Is two card slots on this camera but yes We have a team yeah I don't have a Bigger one Uhs2 memory card slot and then as a Backup you have a micro SD card like Those little cards that go into like GoPros or um people have them in their Phones too what's your thoughts on this On this direction Yeah so I don't think it's gonna Necessarily win over a lot of pro
Photographers Um you know it's legitimately people who Are working where the photography is a Job you know like weddings journalism And you you cannot afford to have any Failures or at least try to mitigate as Many as possible dual card makes a lot Of sense right being able to have that Dual backup where you shoot photos and It goes to either card or you know just Have the extra capacity so I think a lot of people are going to Kind of read this and be turned off and I get it but at the same time it's Important to understand that you know as Long as you're okay with uhs2 SD card Speeds which are fine for this camera MicroSD you can buy them the same speed You know I know a lot of people probably Get cheaper slower ones because they're Just putting them in action cams and Stuff but you can get really capable Micro SD cards and so as far as Logistically for backup speed for you Know be able to shoot to both cards Simultaneously I I don't think you're Going to have a disadvantage there now Yes admittedly you know having to carry Two different card sizes a bit of a pain Micro SDR absolutely very easy to lose Don't ask me how I know so I get that a Lot of people are gonna be turned off But if you're okay with the Dual slots Being different sizes as far as
Capability goes it's not going to be Like cameras where you have a CF Express Card and an SD slot yeah and you have Different capabilities depending on Which card you're using so I I do like That I think that was a nice step in the Right direction yeah I mean it's better Than just having one right it gives you That option and it still keeps the Camera relatively compact I mean if they Added a whole nother full-size SD card Slot they would have had to add size to The camera yeah I think a lot of casual Users will do just use it where they you Know use the SD card as their main Camera and you uh sorry I mean media Slot and then you can just put a Micro SD card in there and forget about it and Just totally forget about it and then if You're ever grab the camera and you run Out the door and you're like oh I didn't Bring my SD card it's there as a backup Right or if you're traveling and you're Shooting a whole bunch you don't have Access to download and you just fill up That one card you've got that backup so Yeah I think in that regard it's it's Going to be fine it's going to be fine Everybody it's going to be okay Another cool little control that's an Homage to vintage cameras is the Threaded shutter so you're able to Actually use like an old school uh Release cable
Did you try that absolutely I mean That's I didn't I didn't but that's cute Absolutely I mean I always like that I I Feel like a lot more cameras should have That only because of threaded cable Releases are so easy to use and they're Affordable and stuff but yeah I mean I It's a nice it's a nice nod to the Vintage roots of this camera uh cute Little Edition absolutely did you find Like the experience in the interface was A little bit better on this camera than Than previous models Yeah you know the screen is nice on the Back I mean I like the way that it Articulates I know it doesn't tilt and a Lot of photographers like that sort of Vertical tilt without having to pull the Screen out I don't really I'm not Bothered by that too much personally but What I really like to see was the return Of the auto focusing control with the Touch screen so as far as a handling Standpoint goes you know I like Auto focusing joysticks as much As the next person you know I think a Dedicated joystick is always a great Idea being able to move your focusing Point around with your thumb but with Limited space on the back of the camera I think this is a great Um compromise you know if you if you Don't have space for the autofocus Joystick which the ZF does not have by
The way if that wasn't clear so yeah I Like being able to then put my thumb on The actual LCD panel I can set what area Will be sensitive and what part won't And then I can move the auto focus Point Around with the touch panel and it was Very responsive uh a very intuitive I Suppose if you're wearing gloves or Something that didn't have the touch Pads that would be an issue but you know I tend to hibernate for the winter Anyways so I don't want to do that I'm Not going to worry about it no gloves For you No gloves for me no no just stay indoors But but the auto focusing control worked Actually very well using the touch panel And that's something that like when they Took it away on their slrs I was like Why did you take away such a great Feature and so finally it's all me I've Just been complaining to Nikon for so Many years they're finally like just Please shut Chris up and put this back In the camera they did And then autofocus performance I mean You don't have the joystick Um but you have a lot of the deep Learning modes that we're seeing in like The Z8 z9 Um maybe not exactly the same level of Processing power but we're seeing a lot Of those same algorithms right Chris Yeah absolutely I mean the auto focusing
Experience was nice Um the Z8 the subject detection Nikon's Probably one of the only companies where Auto subject detection actually works Reliably so you don't even necessarily Need to switch specifically between Animals or people and stuff I still do Just because I have trust issues but um It actually worked really really it Worked really well and uh yeah portraits Are great Nikon's eye detect has gotten So much better uh we didn't really have A chance to try it with Wildlife but Knowing the Z8 algorithms its Wildlife Is fantastic there's no problems there And of course they've added Motorsports So if you want to do Motorsports uh You've got that too so at least for what We were doing the tracking 3D tracking That's so big right I mean one of the Main downsides with the Z6 z7 in my Opinion was that they took away the 3D Tracking interface and Didn't work that well like frankly I'm Sorry but it doesn't so the new 3D Tracking that we've seen on the Z8 and Z9 it's very effective it's very easy to Implement and it's here so I was really Happy to see that did you see any Performance leg issues compared to say The Nikon Z8 in your early Testament I Know it was pre-production that you guys Had your hands on Yeah no not really I mean the autofocus
Seemed to work very well again it is Pre-production so you know that's always A thing but it worked very well and uh I Found on top of that like the burst Rates are good 14 frames per second Mechanical shooting I you can go faster With electronic I probably wouldn't and That's just because Um you know you always have issues with The rolling shutter on the sensor it is The same sensor as the Z6 too so it's Nice detail it's just not that fast Right a readout so I would avoid it I Mean 14 frames a second is yeah I know Like so yeah it's kind of crazy I mean If you think about that Dslrs I mean whenever we're saying like Oh it's not that fast Um because we're hitting such high level Specs and a lot of cameras right now Mechanical shutter 14 frames per second Is is plenty uh for capturing Sports Action wild children whatever you have You know I mean the ZF body like I said Is obviously a different design right And it's it's really aimed I think far More at Street photographers casual Shooters you know travel that kind of Stuff it's not that you couldn't use it With the long lenses I think it would Actually shoot Wildlife perfectly fine Right it's just you know it's not going To have quite the grip I definitely want To get the small rig optional grip if I
Was going to do something like that I Would definitely want to uh you know Maybe have more weight but this is not Going to happen you know it's it's not Made for that so you could actually use Longer lenses They might not balance or feel as Comfortable to use here but for street Photography I think this would be way Faster than you would need in pretty Much any situation absolutely well I'm Very jealous But it's a pretty camera we're certainly Looking forward to testing it as well But was there anything else that you Didn't say in your review that that you Wanted to touch on oh I don't know I mean it's it's the I did Say the review but I guess really the Thing is Um it's just neat that Nikon added so Many things here and we've got Nikon's First multi-shot compilation it's still Kind of basic you have to do everything Through the NX software and you have to Use a tripod but it's nice that we're Having having that now we've seen them In so many other brands I was super Impressed by how well it autofocused in Like near darkness that was Wildlife Nev With at a full point and you guys were You guys were at Pin bar Yeah we went to pin bar and um it's so Dark in there right and it had no issue
Like not no not only did it Focus but it It focused quite quickly in and it's Dark in there we're talking like lights From arcade machines is almost in yeah Minus 10 EV Yeah minus 10 EV so really really good And then I did bring my AI glass my old Manual focus vintage glass and that Worked really well I like that I can Still get eye detection obviously it's Manual focus but I get eye detection Where when I do punch in it goes right To the person's eye which is right one Anyways So they're doing a lot of these things You Still have the Ibis and stuff so we're Doing these things where It's it's just making the experience Nice and easy to use but I just was Amazed how much they put into this you Know I guess the thing is I don't think This is a replacement for the Z6 too I Think this is something where we're Gonna probably see a z63 eventually it's Going to have a lot of the same Technology I would assume but it's just Interesting that the test bed for a lot Of this new stuff happens to be this Particular camera which is you know Arguably very Niche camera yeah yeah Absolutely okay well thanks so much I'm Gonna grab Jordan I'm gonna get him to Come up here and talk a little bit about
Some of the video stuff on this guy but Uh thanks so much for taking some time And chatting I hope you get to play with One soon but yeah my pleasure to be on The show Okay Yeah I know it's Oh Okay yeah there we go lovely graceful Very professional And you're already miked up look at that Also professional always prepared you Never know yeah are you gonna hop on why Am I here you're here to talk to me About video on the Nikon Zs Is gone yes Uh yeah I have some definite thoughts And I think it's really interesting you Have some pinky thoughts I have thinky Thoughts because I thought it would just Be like a zed six two yeah which was Kind of like their photo video hybrid Camera okay well let me ask you this Then so as far as compelling video Features go we know that it's loaded Physically like we have the headphone Jack microphone Jack fully articulating Screen it can shoot 4K 60. Um but with a crop with a crop yeah We'll talk about that but what do you Think is the most compelling video Feature or video advancement in this Camera I mean I think the big thing is Like I love the z89 those are some of my
Favorite Hybrid Bodies and then all of Those features that I loved for video Have been kind of brought down to this You know everything that doesn't require That stacked sensor so you know I'm Getting like that 3D track no love so Much wave forms Um it's the first 10-bit camera that They've released without going up to Like that 4 000 like the professional Price level where you're getting 10 bit Internal log internal before you used to Have to record to an external recorder Which is kind of cumbersome so yeah I Mean I there's not a ton of new stuff on The video side there's more on the photo Side but if you haven't used a Z8 and z9 And a lot of people haven't they're very Expensive cameras then this is like a Huge video upgrade over the z62 yeah and Then with that eight stops of image Stabilization you don't have to do as Many of your like video lenses my little Crap you like a little bit more Loosey-goosey I want to be loosey-goosey When I'm filming this yeah Um yeah that is a really nice update on Them I mean the big thing for me is it's Kind of an odd body to be such a good Hybrid camera you know like they have The fully articulating screen for the First time in Nikon full frame so if You're filming yourself that's great Yeah it's just like as a video shooter
I'm not constantly changing my shutter Speed and my ISO so that's two dedicated Dials right there yeah like I'd almost Prefer a classic DSLR style Body like The Z6 too and it's weird they didn't Announce at the same time like like two Options here's the ZF if you want that Kind of vintagey look and then here is The Z6 too if you're looking for a more Traditional one so I'm of two minds like If you're a photographer and you like That design then this is a killer video Camera yeah are you concerned at all About the micro SD card as a backup for Video not really I mean it's uhs1 so you Might not be able to record the absolute Highest data rates but the nikons are Like super efficient so I do feel like You know you'll still be able to record 4K to it I don't believe it has Redundant backup when you're shooting Video so if you need that that could be A problem but again that's a fairly Niche thing and if you need it then you Can move up to a more advanced model Cool so definitely a photographer is Kind of idyllic camera that would be Really exciting but you can shoot some Awesome video and as well equip for it Yes absolutely yeah especially at the Price it's a really great option it's a Good deal you guys yeah totally um well Thanks so much for joining me really Quickly I know you're super busy right
Now it's been kind of a crazy week you Got iPhones you got the crazy stuff but Really really appreciate it Jordan I Love it thanks for having me on your Show yeah and you know what later I'm Going to listen to your podcast that's Coming out today as well Um I've been listening to your podcast On Spotify but you can watch them on YouTube That's So Much Jordan that's too Much in my life it's great Um but yeah check out their podcast They're writing some articles Chris has An article out on the Zapp as well so Definitely check that out and uh yeah Petapixel thanks so much for watching Guys and big thanks to petapixel and Jordan and Chris for sharing their first Impressions and of course some of their Coverage as well so you guys can see What this camera looks like it's pretty Gorgeous and I want to know what you Think about it what are your thoughts on The moves that Nikon has done some of The new technology we have that Multi-shot mode we have the Dual card Slots one being a Micro SD card what are Your thoughts on some of these things do You like the retro design let me know in The comments below we love hearing from You guys and make sure that you are Subscribed you hit the notification Bell So we catch you again very soon okay I'm Gonna try and Dismount here okay
I just wanted the David Attenborough but Anyways thanks Jordan welcome love you Too Thank you
