During the approx 5 hours I had a Nikon Z7 with FTZ adapter and Z 24-70 f4 S lens to my disposal I drove to Warandeputten in Oostkamp(B) while hoping for the kingfisher' family presence. Unfortunately they were not at home...
There was a rather strong wind with very few dragonflies available for a session. Some birds but no herons or storks neither.
On top of that 1 lost an extra hour in traffic jam on the E40 highway.
All together I could really test the Nikon Z7 only for 1½ hour, which is largely insufficient for a full review, but enough for a hands on review in the field.
- Handling the Z7 feels very… Nikon, even though it's smaller and lighter than a comparable Nikon DSLR. Smaller and lighter doesn't mean less solid though. I see the Z7 body as a ML equivalent of a D750, but with a D850 sensor, which is great. I know many people who would love a D750 alike body with a 46Mp sensor inside…
The Z6/Z7 have a very good-sized and comfortable handgrip. An upcoming supplementary battery grip might make feel the Z series even more pro.
Less dedicated buttons than the DSLR pro cameras is only a problem in the first hour, a bit like going from D800/D810/D850 to D750...
The joystick for moving the focus point is a very welcome heritage from D5/D850/D500 and tell it apart from a D750 body, and so is the AF-ON button.
For my personal use, two important buttons are missing : The AF/MF switch with the AF-mode dial and the exposure mode button.
You can assign this to the Fn buttons but I like to use the Fn buttons for other options…
Probably something for the next generation. - The 1 memory card slot "problem" has been a hot topic on numerous fora. My take: Only a double XQD card slot would interest me because a combined XQD/SD card solution slows down my camera. In both my D850 & D500 I only use XQD most of the time but I understand that for wedding photographers and capturing of "once in a lifetime happenings" a second card slot is very important. Just imagine having to say to the a 2meter tall and 130 kg groom, "I'm sorry, I had a card failure..."
Jokes aside, while a memory card theoretically can fail, the chances of a camera body failure are MUCH higher which turns it into an obligation for any serious wedding photographer to use at least two bodies… - The Nikon Z7 menu is nearly indistinguishable from nikon DSLR' menu system.
- The EVF: The view you get through the Nikon Z7 EVF looks more "real" than what I've experienced with other mirrorless cameras, while providing very much detail and an impressive refresh rate.
While shooting in AF-S mode you'll see a red/green square for the AF point which you can move over an extremely wide AF field coverage with (according to the brochure) 493 AF points. In AF-C mode you'll only see the red square. - Battery: I’ve been using my D850’ EN-EL15a battery for the approx. 420 pictures I made, with quite a bit of LCD viewing for both pictures and menu options, and at the end it still had some juice…
Apparently the new EN-EL15b can be charged over USB. - Touchscreen LCD: Roughly the same opportunities as D850 but with a new, important i-button interaction to some important controls where there ain't a button for. A bummer for someone who expected a D500 or D850 style button layout.
- IBIS: Very interesting in relation to old lenses but I had no time to test this…
What I did experience though is that the already outstanding VR of both my 70-200 AF-S VR PF and even more the 200-500 AF-S VR become even better with IBIS. - ...
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