A good-looking plastic toy? Nikon Zfc detailed usage review

If you have followed my articles before, you should know that I am an experienced Fujifilm user. The X-T4 I currently have has been in use for more than a year. I have taken 30,000 to 40,000 photos with it as I fly. Maybe it’s because I am a beauty lover who likes the new but hates the old. Ever since Zfc released the news, I made up my mind to buy it!

Because the chip is currently out of stock, Zfc, like other cameras, is out of stock most of the time. The machine originally scheduled to be released in July has also been delayed again and again. Especially the kit equipped with a 28mm lens has been out of stock since its release. It was not until August 20th that I got my own Zfc 28mm set after a month of waiting.

Before getting my own machine, I had actually tried Zfc for a while at CJ. In this article today, I will share with you my feelings about Zfc based on my experience when I have been using it for almost 2 months, and help you figure out whether to buy it or not.

Let’s talk about unboxing first

My Zfc was purchased from JD’s Nikon flagship store. Before, I asked friends and found dealers, but it was completely useless. The output of the 28mm lens kit was too small, so in the end I had to go to the flagship store to buy it myself. The price is 8,199, including rebates, e-card rebates and Plus coupons, the final price is less than 8,000.

Note that I bought it from JD’s Nikon flagship store, not JD’s self-operated one. It's SF Express, not JD delivery. The advantage is that there are almost no second-hand problems.

As you can see, I bought a 28mm F2.8 camera kit. There are disposable stickers on the top and bottom of the box, so there is no need to worry about second-hand.

When the sticker is peeled off, it will show the opened mark. After opening it, it will look like this.

After opening it, the first thing you see is the warranty card. Note that Nikon’s warranty requires a purchase invoice, so everyone must pay attention when buying!

Further down are the lens, charger, and body.

The charger was left behind in the family photo above. I really have to criticize Nikon on this point, it’s really not environmentally friendly! snort! The right side of the picture above is the shoulder strap. I personally don’t usually bring a shoulder strap with my camera.

This is the end of the unboxing, let’s talk about the appearance.

Let’s talk about the conclusion first. The Zfc looks very good and looks almost like a modernized and improved version of Nikon’s previous film camera FM2. But its good looks only look like it, and it feels plasticky to the touch. Except for the hot shoe and turntable, the parts that look metallic are made of metal, but they feel like cheap plastic!

In fact, few of the fuselages priced at more than 6,000 yuan are not full of plastic. For example, Fuji XE4XT30XT200 and the like are also full of plastic feel. So just accept it happily. The advantage is that it is light! The overall weight of Zfc is very light, and the weight of the battery box and memory card is 445g, which is much lighter than the XT4 I used before.

The Zfc mount is a bit too big for an APSC format camera. However, after installing the lens, it is generally very coordinated.

As mentioned before, the parts that look metal are actually super plastic. Although the bottom case feels a bit metallic, it has a solid plastic feel. The battery compartment and card slot are together, and there is a single SD card slot.

As for the lens, the very retro-looking shape is actually a modern small-eye f2.8 lens. I can’t be bothered to put a UV lens on such a small lens. But this machine is equipped with UV to pretend to have big eyes, which should look good. The lens is all plastic, yes, plastic butt.

The flip screen is well received, the screen quality is good, and the Zfc can basically be used without the EVF. The buttons on the back are all concentrated on the right hand side, and with the switch located near the shutter, the Zfc can be operated with one hand. However, since there is no focus lever, I am still not comfortable using it. The screen supports touch shooting, which is very suitable for friends who have never used a camera before.

The top is very nice, with independent shutter, IOS and exposure compensation dials. There is also a small window showing the shutter value. There are levers for independently controlling shooting and video modes, as well as dedicated video buttons.

Take a look at the fuselage interfaces. They are all located on the left side of the fuselage and covered with rubber covers. One HDMI-D, one Type-C, and a 3.5mm mic interface. Type-C supports fast charging, but it requires a charging head. All of my old chargers that don't support fast charging don't work, which is strange...

Zfc is very environmentally unfriendly and provides an independent battery charger. Personally I don't think it's useful. I'm used to using the camera's USB port for charging.

As for the battery, with a 1120mAh battery, there is no problem in going out for a day of shooting, so there is no need to worry at all. Besides, Zfc can be plugged into a power bank, so I personally don’t think it’s necessary to buy spare power.

Finally, let’s compare it with the XT4 I have on hand. In fact, the size is not much different. However, since Zfc is more plastic, XT4 still feels better.

Basically none of the retro-styled cameras has a comfortable feel in the hand, and the Zfc feels particularly stretchy in the hand. The surface of the fuselage is very "flat" and there are no protruding handles for gripping. After buying it, it is highly recommended to buy a handle.

My other main camera: Fuji XT4 was also retro and had a very poor grip, so I bought Smog’s L plate at that time. This time I bought directly the handle designed by Smoger for Zfc.

The handle designed by Smoger for Zfc uses an aluminum alloy and silicone structure. It weighs only 74g, is very light, and the color matches Zfc very well, and will not damage the appearance of Zfc at all. The handle is directly fixed to the fuselage using a 1/4" screw. The handle itself can be used as a quick release plate, and it also has two additional 1/4" screws at the bottom and on the side of the handle and a cold shoe at the bottom.

The handle of Smoker is made of silicone. Although it looks average, it is actually much more comfortable to use than wooden ones!

The status of the handle and machine box is as above. There is no color difference between the handle and the body. If you don’t remind me, it feels like the original handle! In addition, as I said before, the whole Zfc is made of plastic. If it is not equipped with a metal handle, the bottom case of the camera will be scratched easily, which will damage the appearance.

If you are a girl, you don’t actually need to buy an L handle like me. Smoker also specially produced a set of retro leather cases for Zfc, which can be purchased and used directly. They look very good!

Regarding the shoulder strap, I personally feel that there is no need to use a shoulder strap when the Zfc is equipped with lenses such as 28 or 1650. A wrist strap is more suitable. However, I am considering equipping the Zfc with a 24-70F4 full-frame head, so the shoulder straps are still necessary. Because I used a quick-release shoulder strap (wrist strap) for my previous camera, I just bought two Smog quick-release heads this time.

Under normal circumstances, just use a wrist strap. If you need to carry the camera for a long time or change a heavy lens, just remove the wrist strap and replace it with a shoulder strap.

Smoker’s quick release shoulder straps work great! Don't look at it. The wire connecting the camera part is quite thin, but it is actually very strong. After installing it, you can build it as you like, and there will be no problems at all.

In addition to handles, shoulder straps, and wrist straps, if you are a girl or just like cute little things, you can go to Taobao to buy some weird hot shoe covers to put on Zfc. It probably looks like the one above. But I find it a bit cumbersome.

It is a pity that although Zfc has a retro style, it does not support a mechanical shutter release, which eliminates the fun of buying a shutter button...

Everyone knows that Zfc can officially change leather accessories. Bar? If you buy from an official store, you can choose leather accessories in other colors for free when purchasing. After that, you can spend 300 yuan to go to the official website for paid reskin, which includes six colors: pure white, sand beige, natural gray, amber brown, coral pink, and mint green.

Since I participated in CJ activities before, I had used all the colors at that time. Although there are many colors available, I personally feel that black leather and silver body are more harmonious. Replacing the leather only changes the color of the leather trim, and the color of other parts will not change. Especially the buttons on the back are all black, and changing to other colors would be very jarring.

If you have to change it, I personally recommend brown. Generally speaking, it is more retro and harmonious. Other colors are too fake.

Regarding the basic performance of Zfc, in terms of imaging, it is basically the same as Z50. In terms of focus, it is between Z6-Z6ii. You can look at other people’s reviews for specific focus tracking. It’s not convenient for me to show the pictures and texts here. But it is certain that Zfc is very strong in focusing, better than its mid-range model.

Many people’s biggest complaint about Zfc is the low pixels. 20.88 million pixels seems a bit out of place today in 2021. But in actual use, Zfc has solid imaging and excellent high-sensitivity 6400ISO photos. And 20.88 million pixels is completely enough. You have to know that the photos in Moments are actually only 2 million pixels...

In terms of video, Zfc can support high-speed shooting of 120fps. Since I only have a 28mm lens without anti-shake, I have no specific test on video. However, electronic image stabilization is completely sufficient for occasional shooting.

I won’t talk about the specific parameters for continuous shooting and focusing. They are basically sufficient. Especially in terms of focusing convenience, I think Zfc really beats the XT4 I have been using. Focus tracking is not only accurate and fast, but also supports focus tracking with human eyes and pets, making it very suitable for new users.

Let’s talk about the operational level. As a retro camera, the various physical buttons not only look good, but also use solid aluminum dials to adjust basic shooting parameters; the ISO sensitivity dial and shutter speed dial are equipped with push locks to prevent accidental operations. . However, I feel that it is not as comfortable as Fuji's in terms of hand feel.

What I like most about Zfc is its stable, reliable and convenient mobile phone image transmission function. It is definitely the best among all cameras I have ever used! Just pair your phone with the camera, you can not only transfer photos and control the camera anytime and anywhere. Even better, Zfc can use Bluetooth to continuously transfer photos to your phone when you are not taking pictures. I usually set up to transfer 2 million pixel photos to the mobile phone. After the photo is taken, it is automatically transferred to your mobile phone and you can send it to your circle of friends. It is really convenient!

Although it is positioned as a mid-range camera, its operation is already good enough. If you want, I think Zfc can be used as a main shooting equipment.

Currently, the only dedicated lens for Nikon Z-mount APSC format cameras is the 16-50 lens above. But I personally feel that this dog head is not a dog at all. The biggest problem is the small aperture and full plastic feel. But in fact, apart from these two shortcomings, its advantages are good imaging and being very compact and lightweight. And because Zfc has a good high sensitivity, the sensitivity of 6400 is still usable for taking pictures, so the minimum aperture of 6.3 is not impossible. Here are two photos taken by Zfc with the 1650 lens.

Because I didn’t actually buy the 1650 lens myself, I only bought the 28mm kit, so I don’t have many 1650 photos on hand, and they were all taken indoors in CJ. Regarding the 1650 lens, my personal feeling is that the sharpness at full open is very good, the film output is also very good, and the focus and image stabilization are also good. And so light! If you are a girl buying Zfc, this headset is actually enough.

The 28mm camera head is actually a full-frame lens, and its retro style matches the Zfc very well. Although the aperture of 2.8 is not large, and the 42mm equivalent focal length is not comfortable for me to use, this lens is actually very good. The focal length is very good for street sweeping and humanistic photography. However, since it is a new product, the production capacity is completely limited. Currently, all 28mm kits are out of stock, and the 28mm lenses are not specifically sold. If you have a Nikon full-frame camera and want to buy this head, please wait.

Here are the photos of the 28mm lens with Zfc

The sharpness of this 28mm lens is great at full open, and the image quality is very good in both the center and the edges. It has certain macro capabilities, but there is a little spherical aberration in macro mode. But a very strange thing is that I use a 28mm lens, and the default safety shutter of the machine is 1/50. At this shutter speed, I actually have a certain chance of blurry shots... I don't know if it's because I'm used to the XT4 with strong anti-shake, and I'm not used to this camera without anti-shake, or because of the shutter vibration... I'll study this later. .

In addition to the 28mm lens, Nikon recently released a new 40f2. It is also a full-frame lens with a good shape and size, and is very suitable for Zfc hang-up. I'm going to wait for the official release to grab one.

In addition, if you want to take portraits, Nikon’s 501.8s is also worth buying. Other lenses from other original manufacturers are not compatible with Zfc, and it is not recommended to transfer Nikon SLR lenses. In the mirrorless era, except for the relatively cheap price, everything else is not suitable.

As for the recently popular Vitros Three Musketeers, the most pertinent evaluation so far is: it is worth the price tag, but try to buy it from the original manufacturer. If you must buy it, 56 1.4 is more recommended. After all, the 23 and 33 heads are too close to the 28 focal length.

In my opinion, Zfc is actually just a good-looking plastic toy. It has a pair of pulsators and turntables on the body. Even if you don’t take pictures, it is very comfortable to hold it in your hand and play a plate. However, it should be pointed out that Zfc not only looks good, but also performs very well! Its competitors are basically Fujifilm's XT30II, XE4, and Sony's A6400.

I think back then I got into Fuji just because of its looks, but today, Zfc surprises me as much as it did then! Recommend everyone to buy, buy, buy!

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