Nikon Zf: ALmost Two Years In and Still Reaching for It

My Nikon story started way back with the D80. It was my first “real” camera—and I loved it. Took it on vacations, shot around my hometown… just had fun. It had a CCD sensor, which I didn’t think much about at the time. I knew CMOS was “better” on paper, but something about the colors from CCD stuck with me. So much so that I even based my final university project on comparing CCD vs CMOS. Nerdy, I know—but cool.

A few years later, I upgraded to a Nikon D90 and took it to Paris with a 35mm lens. That’s when I saw the newly announced Nikon Df in a camera shop window. Fell in love instantly. That retro vibe? Just hits different. People react differently to cameras like that—less intimidating, more “hey, that’s cool.” Sadly, I couldn’t afford it back then.

Fast forward to late 2023: Nikon announces the Zf. Retro looks, modern guts. Of course, I had to get one. I ordered the gray one and got it right after New Year’s—perfect timing since I had just started my 366 Days project. Originally, I planned to shoot that with my Leica Q2, but… well, the Zf took over.

I traveled a lot with it across Europe, used it nearly every day. And after almost two years with it, I’ve got a few thoughts.

But before all of that, I even wrote my “first impressions” post about it.

Honestly, I didn’t expect much from the Zf beyond the looks. It wasn’t Nikon’s first Z camera—I’d played with a Z6 before—but when I unboxed the Zf, it felt… right. The gray color looked great. I did sell it once and tried the black version, which I now prefer—not for aesthetics, but grip. The textured grip on the black one is more practical. The colored versions are beautiful, but a bit too smooth.

People love to complain about the grip on the Zf. I don’t get it. This isn’t meant to replace your Z8 or Z9. It’s for fun. The people complaining usually shoot with Leica Ms or Fujifilm X100 cameras, or even some old film camera, that also have zero grip—and never complain. Yes, the Zf is heavier than I’d like, and that’s actually why I sold it at one point. But then I missed it.

Because that’s the thing—pick-up-ability is what matters most. If a camera sits on the shelf because you don’t feel like using it, it doesn’t matter how “good” it is. The Zf? I want to pick it up. Every time I see it, I just want to hold it—even if I don’t take a photo.

About the lenses

I’ve mostly used the Nikkor 40mm f/2. It’s compact, sharp stopped down, beautiful rendering wide open, and perfect for travel. But I’ll be real—I’m a 35mm guy. And yes, the difference between 35mm and 40mm is noticeable, especially in tight spots. I also tried the Thypoch Simera 28mm f/1.4. That lens? Shockingly good. Sharp wide open. But I hate how it looks on the Zf. It was designed for Leica M and just adapted to Z mount. It sticks out awkwardly.

Later, I gave the Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Z a spin. On paper, it should’ve been perfect. But together with the Zf, the setup just got too heavy. Beautiful images, yes—but not something I wanted to carry every day.

When it comes to portraits of my kids, native Z lenses with autofocus make life so easy. Nikon’s face and eye tracking work incredibly well—I’d say 98% of my shots are tack sharp. That’s pretty amazing.

Image Quality & Performance

ISO performance was surprisingly good. 12,800 and even 25,600 are totally usable if you’re not zooming in like crazy. Dynamic range is solid. The EVF is technically lower-res than some others, but it’s big, clear, and doesn’t lag, even in low light—something that drove me crazy with the Leica Q series.

Manual focus is also a pleasure. The Zf gives you subject detection (and eye detection!), as well as green focus confirmation if you’re using chipped lenses, and with the recent firmware update, you can now customize focus zoom behavior. I’ve assigned the AE-L/AF-L button to zoom in 200% for precise focusing. A half-press of the shutter button exits the zoomed view—super intuitive and fast. By the way, I don’t even bother with focus peaking—the EVF is that good. Zooming in is just enough.

Dials & Design

This is where the Zf shines (and sometimes stumbles). The retro dials up top are lovely—shutter speed, ISO, mode, and a small aperture window. We also got PSAM dial. I still wonder why. I don’t like it. It is not needed on this camera. Sadly, Nikon’s compact Z lenses don’t include physical aperture rings. Why not? If I can see shutter and ISO, why not aperture too?

One feature I really appreciate is the black-and-white toggle on the photo/video selector. You can assign a custom B&W profile, and flipping that switch instantly applies it. Makes composing for monochrome a joy.

Now, the flippy screen. Look—it’s practical. You can vlog, you can shoot yourself with your kids, it helps in weird angles. But man, it looks wrong. I’d take Fujifilm X100VI tilting screen any day.

Ergonomics & Final Thoughts

The Zf weighs 710g body-only. It’s not heavy heavy, but not light either. Throw on a big zoom, and it starts to feel like a DSLR again. I tried the Nikkor 24–120mm f/4 once when I visited Berlin. Loved the results, hated the bulk. Ended up selling the lens. I just want a fun camera I want to carry. The Zf is that—with small primes.

Firmware updates have also improved usability: ISO dial now works logically, manual focus helpers are better, and subject recognition is snappy.

I’ve gone through several Zf colors—gray, black, green—and ended up back at gray. My favorite. Paired with this gray 90cm strap from Hyperion Camera Straps that rotates and detaches easily. Fits the whole aesthetic perfectly.

Nikon also added support for Imaging Recipes via Nikon Imaging Cloud. You can sync up to 9 custom or creator-made picture profiles to the camera, tweak them to your liking, and not even touch RAW files. The setup is a bit slow, but it works. I’m working on adapting my presets for the Nikon Z now.

And while I occasionally pick up my Leica or Fuji, it’s the Zf I return to. It’s the camera I (mostly) used for my 366 Days project. It’s the camera that made me sell some gear. Not because it’s better—but because it’s easier and more fun. And isn’t that the point?

Scroll down to see some of my random shots from the journey.

Here are all my posts related to the Nikon Zf.