| Photo: AB Ferguson |
As a technical journalist and photography teacher, I have been lucky enough to get my hands on a variety of cameras. While each menu system is different in relation to system, button placement and ergonomics, they are mostly subtle differences that have not made much change in my shooting style or process. That was not the story Nikon ZFHowever, which surprised me that it changed the way I photographed.
Nikon Zf is available since October 2023, but I recently got a chance to use it for the first time. As someone is one who learned photography on the film (with a Pentax K1000, to be accurate) and still shoots the film, I praised the camera look as it was declared for the first time. I am a sucking for that vintage film Camera Vibe, finally. In addition, I like to dial physical for my exposure settings, mainly for nostalgia.
My first growth of using Zf was on. It was a final-minute decision to bring it, so I did not consider using it instead of my trusted Soni A7 III. I knew the physical dial would change how I interacted with the camera and assumed that there would be an adjustment period, but it was all. I certainly did not use the camera in the intention of using different ways or thought that my fundamental process would change. I just threw the ZF in my backpack as I will turn off another camera and set it.
Almost immediately, however, I noticed that the way I interacted with the camera was replaced. In many ways, it felt like using the film SLR compared to a mirrorless camera. For the beginning, I used specifically visible to create my images, not the rear display. This was not the case because I switched to Mirrorless many years ago.
However, the more significant change was that my process slowed down.
However, the more important change was that my process slowed down, and I was more selective about what pictures I took. On the increase, I took less than half of the images that I usually take on a similar distance growth. Of course, some of them could be attributed to place and general mood that day, but I also knew about changes in my mindset.
When I take pictures with my Sony during the hike, I take away. I focus on composition and subject matter, but this is often a more early process. I am ready to take a handful of shots instead of being right to correct composition or exposure and to get a shot that I need. Even I still take a lot of pictures while walking and I am not looking closely in the performance. With ZF, however, I was very deliberate about achieving the composition where I wanted it in the first frame. Until I was not excited about the scene, I also did not take pictures at all, and I did not take any frame while walking.
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| Photo: AB Ferguson |
Overall, using Zf was very much reminiscent of how I shoot with the film when I have limited frames to work, and each costs at least one dollar. Whether it was the physical dial and their placement that slowed me, the vintage design that cheated my mind thinking that I was shooting for the film or combining both, I am not sure. But it was really surprising how a very modern mirrorless camera could dramatically transfer my process.
Of course, Nikon is not the only camera company that offers vintage design and dedicated control dial. This was not even the first. This design choice has been a trend in recent years, and cameras of other companies can actually provide the same effect.
No matter what is the reason, Zf brought back the spirit of my photography, which I had remembered while shooting with digital cameras. In fact, I recently returned to the shooting film after years because I missed the push to slow down. Whether this change is durable or not because I keep using the camera. It may also be that I can put that mindset into practice with other cameras without control dial that I am more cognitive about change. No matter no matter, it was a fresh change that definitely made me more aware of my approach and how different tools can shape my process.
