The Nikon Zf is a phenomenal camera for manual focus photography. Whether you’re mounting vintage AI-S glass or modern manual focus lenses like the Voigtlander Z-mount series, these lenses feel right on this camera. The ergonomics, the tactile feedback, the deliberate nature of manual focusing—it all clicks. There’s just one problem: Nikon has artificially restricted one of the camera’s most useful features in a way that makes no technical sense.

The Nikon Zf: A Love Letter to Nostalgia Photography

After ten digital Nikons spanning two decades, I finally made the leap to mirrorless. Not because I had to, but because the Zf made me want to.

My D850 was—and still is—a magnificent camera. For years, I watched the mirrorless revolution with interest but without urgency. The technology was impressive, but something wasn’t quite right. The experience felt clinical, disconnected from the tactile pleasure that drew me to photography in the first place. So I waited.