ZF is here.

[Godfrey]

All of the sports cars I've had have manual transmissions; some even have carburettors and a choke.

As I told one co-worker who proudly claimed that the automatic transmission on his VW Jetta could shift gears in a millisecond, the importance to me in driving isn't in the speed of shifting: it's all about driver engagement and involvement in the driving process. A manual transmission let's you do many things and have such fine control that an automatic can never have (because it doesn't know what you're trying to do).

Similarly, I don't want a car that assists me in high speed turns and prevents sliding or spinning - that's a skill I want to have. If I do it right, then the credit is to me, not to a group of engineers who programmed the cars' braking and steering dynamics. I like cars where you have to be good to drive it well; not cars where essentially anyone can drive it without much thought. We are at the point where many cars are appliances and drivers are not even appliance operators, but are mere appliance owners.
...

I had an SLK prior to this one (that was destroyed by an errant driver who mashed it into junk) with the six speed manual gear box. I had it for 55,000 miles of driving and really liked it ... but when it was destroyed, I test drove several with both manual and automatic gear boxes. I chose the seven speed automatic because it actually is geared better for the engine than the six speed manual, and the automatic feature is more useful in congested traffic and dealing with heavy traffic on very steep hills...

When I am in a sport driving situation, flipping the box over to manual shift operation puts it entirely into my control, the only significant difference from a clutch-and-stick manual transmission is that there's no clutch. It shifts quickly and positively in both directions at my desire, the transmission does nothing if I don't push the stick around. Remember: just because the transmission can operate entirely automatically, there's no reason that a well designed transmission has to be operated that way. It's just like with most modern cameras: just because the camera has Program and other auto-exposure modes doesn't mean that they should be used all the time without thought.

I've had more than 75 automobiles in my life, most of them sporty two seaters with manual gearboxes, and I know what you're saying about driver engagement and involvement. I don't feel any less involved with the SLK: when I want to drive rapidly it does exactly the same as the Fulvia does (albeit with a LOT more power and three more gears than the Fulvia), engages me just as much, and proves a delight to drive. That said, I don't rate the SLK as a sports car as I feel it's too heavy for that class ... it's more of a sporty GT car to me. (To me, real sports cars should weigh in about a thousand pounds less, 2500 lbs max or so; the Fulvia weighs about 1900 lbs... 😀 )

Traction control and antilock brakes are aids to driving fast, they shouldn't be in the way. I have the buttons to turn them off when they get in the way, and I use them.

G

 

[Timmyjoe]

Could we go back to talking about the Nikon Zf? This thread has gotten WAY OFF TOPIC!!!

If ya'll wanna talk cars, fine, start a new thread.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Pál_K]

OK.

As with the Df, I don't understand why the Zf is so big and thick. After all, there's no mirror box, there's no film cassette.

Are the sensor electronics and battery/battery electronics responsible for the thickness?

 

[Michalm]

OK.

As with the Df, I don't understand why the Zf is so big and thick. After all, there's no mirror box, there's no film cassette.

Are the sensor electronics and battery/battery electronics responsible for the thickness?

It has think reason is twofold , size of the sensor stabilization assembly and flip screen at the back . Still I think Nikon did great job with design of the body , except for the sensor which could have been a least 33mp with no antialiasing filter attached.

 

[KoNickon]

I don't like the idea of manual transmissions going away, as I'm sure they will along with internal combustion engines. As you said, it's not the speed of shifting (today's automatics are superior in that regard); it's the engagement and control that a stick provides. I enjoy coming to a stop from high speeds doing basically nothing but downshifting.

Strong analogy with all-auto cameras, and the same issues.

 

[KoNickon]

Apologies for going off-topic. Kind of useless to talk about the Zf until they're actually available, but I know; we can't help ourselves.

ZF -- isn't that a German manufacturer of manual transmissions? 🙂

 

[Ricoh]

The retro look and controls of the Zf are right up my street, but I need to know if metering is at max aperture (with stop down at exposure time - forgotten what it’s called so forgive me) when using Ai and the AiS lenses. Anyone know?

 

[Freakscene]

The retro look and controls of the Zf are right up my street, but I need to know if metering is at max aperture (with stop down at exposure time - forgotten what it’s called so forgive me) when using Ai and the AiS lenses. Anyone know?

No, there is no mechanical linkage. But it doesn’t matter - the evf is just as bright stopped down or not and you can see the depth of field.

 

[Out to Lunch]

and flip screen at the back

Indeed. I could live with it. Cheers, OtL

 

[splitimageview]

I don't particularly mind threads going somewhat off-topic. After all, if they didn't, we wouldn't have been able to enjoy @mfunnell 's F111 contribution! Thank you for that.

 

[gavinlg]

Really enjoyed this review -

Nikon ZF review

 

[farlymac]

Part of me wants to get the Zf, but another part says no. Couple of reasons for this: 1) I just changed over from a mostly film centered gear set-up to mostly digital with the Z50 and Z5. It's a bit soon for me to be changing main cameras as I really haven't broken-in the Z5 yet, or even done any updates on it. So, it's a matter of what my ROI would be purchasing the Zf. 2) It has an articulated screen instead of the flip screen I'm more in favor of. I thought I would like the articulated screen more as I liked it on the P7700 I used until it had an issue, and the screen and output went kablooie. There were a lot of times I wished the P7700 had a flip screen instead though the articulated helped when I would shoot around corners or over a fence or while leaning way over a bridge railing to get the view I wanted. I don't do selfies very often, or even blog videos so it got very little use that way.

However, it looks to be a big improvement over the Df with its enthusiastic array of buttons, and over-thick body. Would have liked to have seen support for the AF-D lenses via a new FTZ adapter. The available third-party supplier grip looks very useful, but a battery grip would be nice too.

I guess I could go on and on about all the things the Zf could have been, but now that it has been announced I guess I'll just wait until they get one down at the local camera shop and I can get a close look at it before I make a final judgement.

PF

 

[splitimageview]

Yes an AF-D adapter would be great, for those of us with an array of glass and don't want to buy a bunch of new native Z glass at today's inflated prices. There have been several motor-driven AF adapters for other systems, maybe a third party will come out with one.

 

[gavinlg]

I've bought the 40mm ZF kit, should get it next week.
In the meantime I've been playing with one at work for about a week - I have to say it's really nice. Taller body than the z6 and z7 so my pinky doesn't hang off the bottom. Brass dials feel really satisfying. I'm not a huge fan of the flippy screen so will most likely just turn it around and leave it like that. AF performance with the 40 is stellar. Manual focus aids like eye detect even during manual focus are going to be very useful. Looks like it has the same sealing as the Z8 so will be very tough. Shutter sounds nice and overall one of the more snappy camera's I've used.

 

[JoeV]

OK.

As with the Df, I don't understand why the Zf is so big and thick. After all, there's no mirror box, there's no film cassette.

Are the sensor electronics and battery/battery electronics responsible for the thickness?

Could be for heat dissipation. This is one reason why the diminutive Sony mirrorless bodies have a reputation for overheating, while the LUMIX bodies, in contrast, don’t have that reputation.

 

[gavinlg]

^ On the table next to an a7IV, it's about the same size but feels more dense in the hand. It's really not that big...

 

[Timmyjoe]

Could be for heat dissipation. This is one reason why the diminutive Sony mirrorless bodies have a reputation for overheating, while the LUMIX bodies, in contrast, don’t have that reputation.

I was an early adopter of the Nikon 1 system ten or so years ago, and my two Nikon 1 V2 bodies had a real issue with overheating. They were tinier than the Sony pictured above, and they'd get real hot on the bottom and then shut off.

I now have a Nikon ZF-c which is smaller than the new Nikon ZF and have had no overheating problem with it, so I think the Zf should be fine. I do wish it were as small as the Zf-c though, I like diminutive cameras.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Ko.Fe.]

OK.

As with the Df, I don't understand why the Zf is so big and thick. After all, there's no mirror box, there's no film cassette.

Are the sensor electronics and battery/battery electronics responsible for the thickness?

DF - 760 g (1.68 lb / 26.81 oz), 144 x 110 x 67 mm (5.67 x 4.33 x 2.64″)
ZF - 710 g (1.57 lb / 25.04 oz), 144 x 103 x 49 mm (5.67 x 4.06 x 1.93″)

SLR is not at compact as RF.
None of the FF EVF "SLR"s are compact (as far as I have seen).

I walked to the store and looked at Canon R. Made no sense. It was as bulky as SLR, but crap battery capacity.
I went with Canon RP (also FF) and it was tiny, but compromised, outdated FF EVF camera.

They can't make small FF EFV IBIS camera. Sony made A7C (II), but its EVF is no good at all.

 

[Archiver]

Anyone have a Zf yet? haha!

What is the earliest line of legacy Nikon autofocus lenses that the Zf can use with an adapter? I assume that all the manual focus lenses will work, but what about AF?

 

[lukx]

Anyone have a Zf yet? haha!

What is the earliest line of legacy Nikon autofocus lenses that the Zf can use with an adapter? I assume that all the manual focus lenses will work, but what about AF?

If I'm not mistaken any lens that has its own focus motor (AF-S/I/P). So no autofocus with AF-D lenses, as they rely on the camera driving the focus (they can be used manually, though). Of the old vintage Nikkors, "only" AI and AI-converted lenses will mount. Also, the aperture must be closed by hand, no automatic interaction with the stop-down lever happens.