Field Test and Review for Wedding Photographers: Nikon Zf and Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S

Nikon Zf – a quick review with essentials pointed out – wedding photographer’s perspective

It was back in my previous technical article on the “Nikon Z8 review” – when I mentioned that the Nikon rep reached out and said that the new Nikon Zf is out, and I bought the Z8 then with the arrangement that he’ll give me Zf to try out one day. So, as always, he kept his promise and gave me his own Nikon Zf that he loves for a short few days to field test during an elopement at Chateau de Challain. I wish it was a summer day with plenty of sunlight, but it was a dim early February day in Northwest France – so not really a challenge for either a camera or lens, but yes, it was a challenge for the couple – Gina and Steve – they were used to milder winters of Shanghai (are they milder there?), but a coat was not an option for this day, and yes, the ceremony took place outside. My feet were damp, but that’s another story.

Speaking of the setup – I asked to include the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 lens. Not that it’s my dream combo, I was just curious about the camera and the lens separately – my curiosity in the camera was the visual appeal and in the lens its technical capabilities. So for this wedding/elopement, I took the Nikon Zf and the Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 + FTZ and the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2. The zoom was on the Nikon Zf for most of the time and the 50mm was on Z8. So let’s split this mini-review into two parts.

Nikon Zf

In general, I do like the camera. I don’t think it’s a tool in my hands though. There’s too much fidgeting around buttons and dials all the time. The way I shoot weddings, it’s a very dynamic endeavour – I do understand the visual appeal of the camera, but handling and button layout and the way you change shutter speeds and aperture and ISO, they have evolved, and I personally don’t see the reason for the step backward. Yes, Fuji has sold a good chunk of retro-styled cameras and Nikon wants to bite that apple too, and this is how, by delivering better cameras than Fuji. Yes, I prefer Nikon to Fuji X series any day. Yes, the image quality is very good. Files come out beautifully cooked (JPEGs), then again, I shoot NEF with a neutral picture style.

It has the well-tested 24 MP sensor – tested over the years.. it’s a robust sensor – I mean you can put any glass in front of it and it will deliver. The high ISO capabilities are excellent, the dynamic range I couldn’t test since it was a grey damp day and the light didn’t pose any challenge to any camera. Battery life was all right for a mirrorless, replaced battery once, Autofocus was all right – nothing was “hunting” – I mean, everything is all right with the camera, so I’m not going to go through it bit by bit, I’m focusing on things that matter to me.

Imagine – it’s a well-known sensor, the same battery, it’s basically what a Z6 III would look like in a retro-style body. Now – speaking of the body – the camera is beautiful. But you know, not everything beautiful is equally functional 🙂 so yes, I did miss the grip. I understand the handling would have been better with smaller lenses, like the 40mm f/2 or the 28mm f/2.8 SE lenses – but I’m not a big fan of these – had the 40mm for a while – reminded me of the Soviet Industar-50 3.5 – I mean it took pictures but that was it. So yes, for more serious lenses – and yes, most of the Z lenses are heavy, it’s not that comfortable to hold the camera because of the lack of the grip. My second concern – it’s the controls – yes, there’s a dial for shutter speed, a dial for exposure compensation, ISO, shooting mode + the usual two wheels/dials on the thumb and the shooting finger. I’m sure if that’s your only camera, you can learn to use the camera with all these dials, but to me it was counterintuitive – I mean you take any Nikon camera from late film models, early digital ones to Z8/Z9 and the operation is similar – you have the front wheel to change shutter or aperture, whatever program you’re in, and the thumb wheel to change exposure compensation. Here you’re experiencing the “FM2 moment”. Then again, have I had it for several weddings, perhaps this wouldn’t have been an issue at all.

The weather sealing – worked all right, it was damp throughout the day with a little bit of rain during the ceremony.

The articulating screen – the screen’s hinge is different, it’s more Canon-like. I understand why they did it this way, so you can see yourself and take selfies or videos of yourself – then again, I’m not a big fan of this either. When I flip the screen out on the Z8, or the D850 and Z6II before, I still have it on the lens axis. With the Zf if I want to shoot from a low angle I have to look a little bit left from the subject, not ideal.

I hope I’m not boring you guys with things that are a concern to me – you have to understand where I come from – I’ve shot weddings for 20 years now, shooting approximately 150,000 composed shots a year, I have my approach and way of doing things – and there are things I do care about when it comes to cameras and there are things I don’t care about at all.

Summary

So, to sum it up: Good camera, it has a high “hit rate” due to the bulletproof sensor and excellent processor and autofocus system. Good battery, good image stabiliser, lot’s of buttons and dials if you’re in this sort of thing, the functionality is great – you can do many things with this camera, it just takes longer to switch between scenarios, screen made for vloggers, One issue though – and it goes to all mirrorless cameras (maybe just Nikon) – when it comes to mirrorless – I’ve missed lots and lots of shots, when the couple comes back up the aisle after the ceremony and flower petals are being thrown at them. I mean, the cameras, be it Z6, Z8, or Zf, they tend to focus on the active object – the petals, but I need to focus on people. I noticed the same when I took the Z8 out during the snowstorm – it would miss the struggling people in the snow quite often to focus on the falling snowflakes. What I believe is happening here is that the autofocus sensors are pixel-sized on the mirrorless, but the DSLRs have them physically larger, so there’s no issue like this when shooting a DSLR, say the D5, the DSLR being more brutal, just cuts through the noise.

Speaking of DSLRs – I remember I tested the Nikon Df, had it with me for a wedding in Antigua 10-12 years ago -it was a beautiful camera with a very good sensor from the Nikon D4, but entry level autofocus from the D600, smaller battery from the pocket Coolpix A and no video capability – so here I’m pleased to see that with the release of the Zf Nikon hasn’t cut any functionality compared to other current cameras.

Who’s this camera for? I believe it can fit any scenario, as long as environments don’t change too often – you can set it up for landscapes, sports, wildlife, people, street – I mean, it’s a highly functional camera that requires a little learning curve to be used to its full potential. Or don’t fidget with it at all – set it on Auto WB, Auto ISO, shutter speed 1/200, and aperture f/5.6 and it will deliver.

Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S

Now, this is a beautiful lens. Just as with the 85mm f/1.2, it’s nice and sharp wide open with no noticeable chromatic aberration. This is something I usually notice, as I like to shoot against the sun.. just my style, and then with my usual lenses the CA is most prominent on a fine contour, like a bride’s face, hair, veil, or the dress. Yes, there was no sun in this scenario, but still, no CA.

F/1.2 – this is the real deal – yes, there have been a few lenses with aperture 1.2 before, but this Nikkor series, the 50 f/1.2, 85 f/1.2 – they are fully usable at 1.2. I mean sharp – the bokeh is nice and creamy. Would love to see it in summer with green leaves in the trees and sun speckles, but it’s February and this is what I have to work with. But then again, I got to test it in low light since it was dark – I could shoot using lower ISO with a wider aperture, so files came out cleaner.

So yes – I do absolutely love this lens – the build quality, the image quality, autofocus speed – they’re absolutely superb.
Now there are two issues though – one is the weight. It’s a kilo! I mean, it’s a 50mm lens. The 50mm f/1.4 G for the F system is like 250-300 grams. Yes, it’s a 1.4, but here we come back to the thing that Z lenses (and the same goes for other mirrorless brands) they have to be built more complex because of the short flange distance and large diameter of the lens mount and of course, the fact that it’s f 1.2 and great optical quality at 1.2, so yes, it all comes with a price of weight. But hey – here I am mocking the 40mm f/2 of being like an Industar and this being too complicated.. but that’s the thing – I like balance.

The other issue – it’s not the price – it’s a good optical instrument and it’s a tool for what I do, so it costs what it costs, but bear with me – so when I learned photography back in the 90s, the first lesson was on how to hold the camera properly. You put the camera into your left hand, the camera body on the palm, fingers around the lens used for focusing, then the right hand goes on the camera grip, but the weight remains on the left one, so when you press the button, the camera is stable and the photo comes out sharp. Now – where am I going with this – the focusing barrel for this lens is quite wide, so fingers are on it,  you focus with autofocus, as soon as you touch the barrel (and you touch it) it turns the autofocus off and you’re left with manual focus and focus peaking. Of course, press the shutter halfway and the AF is back on. The same goes with the other ring, that was used for aperture, just changed the aperture inadvertently, so I turned that function off. So here it is – a function advertised and I have it turned off.

Summary

So, did I like the lens – oh yes, it’s an amazing piece of glass. Will I buy one – when my system will be fully Z, then most likely yes, but since I still use the D5 because of the reasons explained in my other technical posts, this purchase will have to wait.

Thank you all for reading this – I mean, I’m not a professional camera reviewer, but I shoot with them, so I have my insights on things that I love and on things that I have issues with, so that’s it.

I’d like to thank Rene from Fotoakadeemia for providing the camera and lens for this quick test. Fotoakadeemia is the place I buy my Nikon gear.

That’s it for now – will share some more wedding stories soon and also some technical articles as well – I might write one on film cameras and scanning techniques I use as well, we’ll see.