A Closer Look at the Nikon Zf in Real-World Light

I’ve posted a separate collection of comparative images throughout the native ISO range, as well some photos taken at high ISOs specifically.

This post focuses on more general sample images I’ve taken with the Nikon Zf.

I’ve tried to include a mix of scenes as well as the kinds of variable lighting that you’re likely to run into when using the Zf for street or travel or general walking-around photography, the kinds of situations this camera is purpose-built for.

Nikon Zf sample photos

These were originally shot in RAW and have been lightly processed in Lightroom. I’ve kept the processing minimal so as not to mask the camera’s performance with excessive post-processing.

Four lenses cover everything here: the 26mm f/2.8 pancake for most of the frames, with the 28mm f/2.8, the 40mm f/2, and the 24-70mm f/4 S filling in the rest. Each caption below lists the lens along with the shutter speed, aperture, and exposure compensation, so you can see exactly what was used for any given shot.

You can click on each image for a full-size version for a closer look.

Black & white sample images

These were all originally shot in RAW, which records all the color information. If you have the camera set to the monochrome profile, it will affect the JPGs as well as the JPG preview thumbnails embedded within the RAW files, but the underlying RAW files will revert to color. For these, I’ve mostly used the Camera Matching monochrome profile in Lightroom for the conversion (which is close but not a perfect match to the in-camera profile).

On the Zf, black-and-white isn’t just a picture profile buried in a menu — it’s a position on the photo/video selector under the shutter speed dial. Flick it across and the Picture Control list is cut down to Monochrome, Flat Monochrome, and Deep Tone Monochrome (plus any custom profiles built on those three), and the viewfinder shows the scene in mono as you shoot. It’s a genuinely nice way to work, but it doesn’t change what’s recorded: the NEF still holds the full color data, so nothing is lost if you decide later that a frame works better in color.

Color sample images