Nikon has added a second "heritage-inspired" camera to its mirrorless lineup, joining the Z fc in riffing off of the look of the company's FM2 single-lens-reflex film camera from the early 1980s – but this time built around a full-frame image sensor.
Despite its classic looks, Nikon says what's inside the Z f has been poached from its Z 8 and Z 9 mirrorless models.
"It’s exciting to see the leaps in innovation that propelled the Z 9 trickling down, making the latest technology and features more accessible than ever before inside the Z f, a camera which is a beautiful marriage of form and function," said executive VP, Jay Vannatter. "The Z f 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."
Where 2021's Z fc model featured an APS-C (or DX-format, as Nikon calls it) sensor, the Z f boasts a 24.5-megapixel full-frame (FX, in Nikon speak) back-illuminated CMOS sensor, plus there's a high-resolution mode for 96-MP stills that makes use of pixel-shifting technology.
The Expeed 7 image processing engine enables 3D tracking autofocus that can recognize nine subject types, low-light sensitivity to the tune of ISO64,000 that's expandable to 204,800, up to 8 stops of in-body image stabilization, and the camera is reported to be the first to support focus-point vibration reduction for minimum blur at the point of focus rather than the center of the frame.
The Z f is capable of 14 frames per second continuous shooting in JPEG format, or 11 fps in RAW – though up to 30 fps can be had in JPEG courtesy of a C30 High-Speed Frame Capture mode, while Pre-Release Capture buffers images before the gorgeous shutter button is fully depressed. There's also a dedicate monochrome mode for photo and video with a number of black-and-white profiles on offer.
On the movie-making front, the Z f can record 4K UHD video at 30 fps from oversampled 6K, as well as 4K UHD at 60 fps in DX mode and 1080p at 120 fps. Per-session recording times of up to 125 minutes can be had.
This is the first Nikon to offer shutter-priority auto for video, where users can tweak the shutter speed while the camera takes care of aperture and ISO settings. And in-camera 10-bit H.265 recording negates the need for an external recorder.
The durable magnesium-alloy body with "high dust- and drip-resistance" features a classic Nikon logo. There's a 3.2-inch vari-angle touchscreen display around back, with the user able to adjust the focus point using the LCD panel while looking through the 3.69-miilion-dot OLED viewfinder. Nikon has cooked in 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 as well, and the camera features two media slots – one for UHS II SD and the other for UHS I microSD.
The Z f will be available in a choice of seven colors from the middle of next month for a body-only price of US$1,999.95, with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 SE kit lens for $2,239.95 or bundled with NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S glass for $2.599.95.
Product page: Nikon Z f
