Nikon has just announced the new Nikon Zf – the next entry to the Z family of mirrorless cameras. The camera has a classic design, lifted directly from the historic FM2 film SLR, but with the internals from the modern Nikon Z line.
At the heart of the camera is a 24.5-megapixel full-frame backside-illuminated CMOS full-frame sensor, similar to the one in the Z6 II. It also accepts lenses using the Nikon Z mount.
“It’s exciting to see the leaps in innovation that propelled the Z9 trickling down, making the latest technology and features more accessible than ever before inside the Zf, a camera which is a beautiful marriage of form and function,” says Jay Vannatter, Executive Vice President, Nikon Inc. “The Zf is more than a means to simply capturing an image; using the camera is an experience unto itself, one which not only sparks creativity but also elevates the user’s intent with its advanced performance and feature set.
Design and Features
The classic-looking camera hides some modern photography features. As mentioned before, the full-frame camera shares the same sensor as the Z6 II, but Nikon has managed to change the native ISO range. The Zf maxes out at ISO 64,000, while the expanded ISO range goes from ISO 50-204,800 which Nikon claims the increased ISO ceiling results from increased processing power and the BSI sensor.
For image playback, Nikon fitted a 3.69-million dot OLED panel EVF with a 0.8x magnification, while the back panel is a vari-angle (another first) 3.2-inch touchscreen with about 2.1 million dots.
An interesting implantation on the Zf is the storage slots. One slot is a UHS-II SD slot, while the second is a UHS-I microSD slot – something new for flagship-level mirrorless cameras.
For image stability, Nikon opted to offer a 5-axis in-body image stabilization system. This system is rated to provide vibration reduction (VR) equivalent to eight stops, the best among all Nikon Z series cameras.
The 5-axis stabilization also enables the Zf, along with the EXPEED 7 processor, to have a pixel-shift shooting mode. In this mode, the Zf can create images up to 96 megapixels. This mode is a first for the Nikon Z series. The stabilization system also supports focus-point Vibration Reduction (VR), another first for Nikon.
Nikon did not forget about video capture, as the Zf can record 4K/30p video oversampled from 6K. 4K/60p video using the DX (APS-C) sensor area, and for high-speed video, there is a 1080/120p recording mode. The videos can be recorded in-camera with 10-bit H.265 encoding. You can connect the Zf to an external recorder via USB-C or HDMI as well.
Other features include Eye/Face-Detection in MF mode, Starlight view mode that boosts display brightness in extremely dark scenes and new Black-and White modes “Flat Monochrome” and “Deep Tone Monochrome.”
Image Samples
Pricing and Availability
The Nikon Zf can be yours starting from mid-October with a sticker price of USD 1,999.95 (about RM 9,375) for the black colour, or USD 2,239.95 (about RM10500) with the NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2.0 SE lens, or USD 2,599.95 (about RM 12187) with the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm F/4 S lens. Nikon is also offering limited edition colours of the body with a USD 100 (about RM 468.75) premium, only available from the US Nikon online store. The colours are Indigo Blue, Sepia Brown, Bordeaux Red, Sunset Orange, Moss Green, and Stone Gray.
There are no news for Malaysian availability as of press time.
