Nikon is going a little old school with the new Z f, a full-frame mirrorless camera inspired by the company’s vintage past. The new FX format shooter looks like a direct descendant of the Nikon FM2 released back in 1982. A more recent example would be the Z fc, which is different because it has an APS-C sensor rather than a full-frame one.
Nikon says the guts inside have much less to do with the FM2—naturally, since that was a film camera—and more with the Z 8 and Z 9. While compact in comparison, the Z f is pretty feature-packed if you want more than just looks.
Nikon Z f details
Nikon equipped the Z f with a 24.5-megapixel full-frame back-illuminated CMOS sensor, and even threw in new pixel-shift technology as a new high-resolution mode. It basically captures multiple images at different exposures while shifting the sensor to create a 96-megapixel image. That means the camera could, in effect, shoot images at 4x the sensor’s actual resolution.
With the Expeed 7 image processing engine, Nikon says the autofocus is good enough to recognize nine different subjects automatically, as well as maintain sharp focus on moving people and objects. This apparently also happens in low-light conditions. There are 299 phase-detection autofocus pixels to help with subject tracking, so results should be right on par with the Z 8 and Z 9. Despite the retro body, the LCD screen articulates, letting you easily frame a shot from virtually any angle.
Interestingly, the Z f will have what’s called focus-point vibration, which means the camera will be able to minimize blur wherever you focus rather than in the centre of the frame. That’s a big deal for anyone shooting along the fringes, given that’s where pixels degrade and focusing struggles most.
You can expect to shoot in burst at up to 14fps in JPEG, or 11fps in RAW. Here, too, Nikon has an alternative through a High-Speed Frame Capture mode that can push that up to 30fps under certain conditions. The Z f also comes with dual memory card slots, letting you arrange them how you want, including filling one up and carrying on with the other straightaway.
Oh, and if you’re worried about durability, Nikon says the Z f can withstand dust and water, along with temperatures down to 0-degrees Celsius.
The old school theme continued
Nikon will embrace black and white photography with this camera in a few ways. The standard Monochrome mode sticks around, only is now complemented by Flat and Deep Tone modes. The camera’s mode dial includes a dedicated B&W setting, and it works for both photos and video, so throwback images aren’t just limited to stills.
Not surprisingly, Nikon also sees the Z f as a viable video recorder. It supports 10-bit recording in H.265 with 4K resolution and a 6K oversampling mode, though you have to be okay with a high limit of 30fps. In regular video, you could theoretically go for up to 125 minutes of continuous shooting in 4K at 60fps. Nikon borrowed more heavily from the Z 9 to realize these features in this smaller body.
Coming soon
The new Nikon Z f will become available in October 2023, either body-only or perhaps with a kits lens like the NIKKOR Z 40mm. You can already pre-order it at BestBuy.ca.
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