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The Nikon Zf – my perspective

Ella a dark haired model wearing red bra and pants. See is reclined and looking directly into the camera

The Nikon Z9 is ergonomically one of the best cameras out there. Followed by the Z8, Z7, and Z6, in the Nikon Z range.

I can dial in a shot, change settings etc incredibly quickly on my Z7.

The Zf is very much a compromise. Old school, takes time to change settings in comparison. So by have I bought one?

Winter scene. Old church to the right, snow on the road and the sun can be seen coming though the trees on the left.

Recently I had the chance to use both in the studio, and with its better ergonomics the Z7 is clearly the better camera, so again why. Well I enjoy using it. It’s not a camera I will be using professionally, though it will be in the bag as a backup. It will be a camera to use for pleasure and with its traditional controls it like my Leica, just an enjoyable experience to use if slower. I have also been using it with other manual focus lenses, which is a delight.

So would I recommend the Zf. No the Z6 III is a better choice for you. Do I love it and enjoy using it, oh yes.

It’s one of those cameras you need to try.

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Boultham Park, Lincoln

Railway Poplar that is a 160 years old, backlit by the sun in Boultham Park, Lincoln. Stong shadows can be seen cast forward towards the view with the sun peaking into the image through the trees.

Last months picture of the month was of a poplar tree. This is a 160 year old tree and one of the oldest poplar’s in the UK.

Boultham Park in Lincoln is a popular park with an indoor and outdoors bowling green. Swings and slides etc for the children, a bandstand and a large lake.

This used to be the Ellison Estate but was turned into a park for the use of the people of Lincoln. You can read about its history here.

A swan on the lake at Boultham Park with its wings outstretched. Seagulls can be seen out of focus in the background.

I spend the morning walking around the park taking pictures. I had my Nikon Zf and a Voigtländer M to Z Adapter. Attached to the adapter was my Leica Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8. Despite what you might think with its slow aperture of f/3.8, it really is a stunning lens. Many people think the wide angle range starts at 24mm, while 28mm, 35mm and 50mm are more street photography lens then true wide angles.

I visit this park quite often as I have family nearby. You will find me wondering round with either a large telephoto shooting the wildlife on the lake, or I might just have a wide angle, attached to either my Leica or Nikon Zf.

A pair of Swans on the lake at Boultham Park looking left. Its misty and the image lacks colour but looks somewhat dreamy.

These two wildlife shots were taken a few years ago with a D200 and an 70-200mm f/2.8.

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Whitby Photos – Church Cross

The old cross at Whitby in the foreground. There is a wooden fence in front of it and the church on the hill by the Abbey can be seen in the background.

Whitby Cross.

After last Monday’s Whitby post, I went through some very old photographs taken with my Nikon D200. Not exactly fine art but it’s a reminder of a great holiday. I find a few others from that trip and post them over the course of the next month.

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Leica M Glass on Nikon Z Cameras

Nikon Z 7 II

The advantage of mirrorless designed cameras is the flexibility it gives you in lens design. Its because of this that we have seen some amazing glass coming from Nikon for the Z range.

Cafe windows. A black and white shot of a local Lincoln cafe. There are chairs and tables outside leading to an old stone arch in the background. This is the Lincoln Stonebow.

Its also because of the short flange design that means you can use other lens on mirrorless cameras. Techart have now released their TZM-01 adaptor that allows you to not only use M glass in your Nikon Z camera but it also allows autofocus.

When it comes to manual glass I use some of my old Nikkor AIS manual focus lens with the FTZ Mark 2 adapter, but I was also treated by my lovely wife at Christmas when she bought me the Voigtländer M to Z Adapter, so you will start to see a few pictures taken with my Nikon’s using my Leica glass.

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Rumours of Leica being sold again

Fashion shot of model wearing a black dress against a grey background. She is looking stage left with her left hand to her face.
Leica M8 with Summilux-M 50mm

Dr. Andreas Kaufmann bought and saved Leica, to help finance the expansion and conversion into a luxury brand as well as a camera manufacturer for many professional photographers, he sold about 45% to an investment company. Every few years rumours appear that the investment company are going to sell, and these rumours are about again. This time Zeiss they say is interested in buying.

We will see.

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Outdoor shoots

Model stood in wheat field, she is topless and just wearing a skirt. Her hands are covering her breasts.

Working outside is something I enjoy. Its not something I do often and its always a bit risky with the weather in the British Isles.

Now we are in the middle of winter my thoughts on these cold days do start to dream of warmer days and what I may want to do when the warmer weather does arrive.

Lincolnshire is a rural county and its not too hard to find a friendly farmer with a remove field to take photographers like the one above.