Nikon’s full frame Z f mirrorless camera is all vintage swag

Old-school camera fans rejoice because Nikon has finally dropped its vintage-inspired Z f mirrorless camera.

If you’re sick and tired of looking for the Fujifilm X100V or are dissatisfied with Nikon’s Z fc, all those troubles end now. The full-frame sensor Z f has the vintage aesthetic down pat–the iconic silhouette manifested in a magnesium body and finished in a glossy black, with a pragmatic grip for comfort when using larger lenses. The dials are made from brass as well. Throw in the compact NIKKOR 40mm f/2 lens, and you might just forget that X100V, if the specs are anything to go by.

Indeed, more importantly, the Z f has features you’d want in a modern street photography camera. It is the first full-frame Nikon camera to have a vari-angle screen and incorporate focus point VR. And finally, Nikon Z users can change settings with the touch-operation screen.

The new Z f sports the same EXPEED 7 image processing engine from the flagship Nikon Z 9 and features enhanced Vibration Reduction (VR) performance of up to eight stops. On top of that, focus point VR suppresses blur near the focus point.

The Z f also enjoys improved AF performance with an increased number of AF points within the auto-area AF, and you can have continuous shooting at maximum speed regardless of AF-area mode. The AF-area mode features 3D-tracking for photos and subject-tracking for videos. The AF can now detect human faces as small as 3% in size, which is as small as you can go. You can also focus in low light settings down to -10 EV.

Another new feature comes in the form of pixel-shift shooting, which is the process of shooting multiple NEF (RAW) images while shifting the image sensor using the in-camera VR. NX Studio can merge these files to create a high-definition image with increased resolution and improved colour reproduction, and, simultaneously, reduce moire, false colour and noise. 

Video-wise, the Z f can record in 4K60p (cropped) with a 125-minute recording limit and 6K oversampling (max. 4K30p). It supports H.265 10-bit recording with N-Log/HLG format support. The Z f also sports a helpful feature called Video S mode, which lets you control auto exposure with a fixed shutter speed; it is handy when the lighting is constantly changing.

And given its street photography leanings, it would be remiss if it did not have some ” filter’’ or processing options. In this case, Nikon has added a dedicated monochrome selector with three variations: regular monochrome,” Flat monochrome” and”Deep Tone Monochrome”. There’s also a Rich-tone portrait setting that enriches the photo while retaining the skin details of your subjects.

Local availability and prices for the Nikon Z f have not been finalised yet, but the international price is USD1,996.95 (approx. SGD2,730/MYR9,376).