Z 7

Let me start by pointing out that I specialize in night photography, which pushes many limits and for which many features considered to be minor suddenly become over-ridingly important, these are not typical and may not matter at all for many daytime photography purposes.

The Z7 is a brilliant incarnation of the full-frame mirrorless concept and even though in its first Nikon generation, it matches or beats competing choices in their third generation. The camera is solid and looks and feels like a real Nikon camera. The button layout is more compact than what we are used to, but perfectly usable in darkness. Image quality is on par with the D850, as it is a very similar sensor design.

What made me return my Z7 is for three main reasons:
1) The LCD screen does not show as many stars or details at night as the D850 or D750 do, which means that it is substantially more difficult to focus on stars or on really dark points. I don´t understand why that is the case, as it is a translation of the sensor signal to an LCD screen, which should theoretically be the same as in any DSLR.
2) When switching between F and Z lenses (which mostly everyone will be doing for some time), the FTZ lens adapter does not allow to have two standard Arca-Swiss compatible mounting plates installed. The adapter is so tightly designed (and so long) that one needs to mount the tripod plates after the adapter is attached or detached. There will surely be slim tripod mounting plates to address this in the future, but for now, this is a disabling problem when working in complete darkness. And annoying at best even in bright daylight.
3) The EVF is surprisingly bright and I was pleased that it offers brightness control to not blind the photographer at night. However, in extremely dark locations (think: Milky Way photography), it turns into a black, noisy screen. This is expected and a limitation of all mirrorless cameras, but it does not allow to compose through viewfinder (or LCD). Even in the darkest locations, an optical view finder still allows the photographer to see some of the scenery.

Some other aspects added to my decision, although they are more of a disappointment than a main reasons for my return.
a) A lack of button illumination. These were introduced in the D4 and provided for the D5, D850 and D500, why not make that a distinguishing feature for all pro(sumer) cameras? It is a very useful feature for night photography.
b) The lack of a fully or at least partially articulating LCD monitor. Does nobody at Nikon take low angle vertical photos? The consumer level cameras D5500 have it, why not the more expensive cameras??
c) And finally one feature where I do not understand why Nikon is so resistant to provide it: exposure times of 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30 and 60 minutes. These are simply a few text entries in a firmware lookup table. There is no reason not to provide these, especially given that night and ND filter long exposure photography is becoming increasingly popular. Competitors can do this, why not Nikon?

The Z7 is a wonderful camera for many applications and I like its low weight, small size, excellent ergonomics, but it is a step back for night photography, compared to the D850, or even D750.

It feels like cheating because the guesswork of ensuring well-exposed images are removed. The focusing systems (choices) are not as good as the hype would suggest. The camera CAN miss the sweet spot. Events are very challenging because things around you are moving. Certainly gaining more expertise with focusing may balance that out but it is NOT the same magic as pretty much EVERYTHING else about the camera. I think I own a D850, but having the Z7 caused me to forget I do. BUY ONE... they´re fun and clever and the resulting images are cool (especially when they ARE in focus).

Best camera for landscape and portrait, lightweight, great electronic viewfinder, does not track as well as my 850, 500 or d5. wish they had 3d tracking and group like the others, also occasionally misses and hunts on faces, eye focus priority would be great. needs some improvement in low light focus as well.

I´m a working photographer who currently uses the D5 and the D850 along with about 9 Nikkor lenses. I shoot stills, not video and feel the 850 and D5 are the finest tools on the market for the kind of assignments I do. I was somewhat hesistant to add mirrorless to my bag, but decided to give it a try. WOW, I am impressed. Have been shooting with the Z7 since release date. The build quality, the ergonomics, the IBIS, the quality of the 24-70S (only lens I have at the moment), the EVF, and most of all the image quality, have earned a place for the Z7 right alongside my D850 and D5. It´s lighter weight and smaller size are just icing on the cake. The adapter with all of my Nikkor lenses is a huge plus also. It will not replace my Nikon DSLR´s for action and sports (at least not yet), but it is generally a great all around camera with some advantages that only mirrorless can bring to the table. Very pleased so far.

This is an easy to adjust to camera — anyone who uses Nikon equipment should have no trouble adjusting to this new system.

It works very well with my existing Nikon lenses, especially the truly superior 105 f/1.4. The 24-70 and the 35mm f/1.8 are great on the new camera. I can´t wait until the new lenses come out.

This is a wonderful camera system. It´s great for available light, even using the F series fast lenses. The in-camera stabilization really works well.

I have not had the Z7 very long so about all I´ve had an opportunity to shoot with some 4K video. It did an unbelievable job of capturing what I want to capture. Looking forward to getting an opportunity to use some of my other lenses to do some wildlife in and scenic on our travels this winter.

I shoot 98% editorial stock photography now. I´m now in my 60´s and have fallen in love with mirrorless for the form factor; smaller, lighter, easier to carry.

The Nikon Z7 is perfect for my needs. I still cannot get over the IQ. It is amazing. (I´ve never owned a camera with MP count over 24). I bought mine with the 24-70mm f4 S lens. That is all I need for my work. It fits perfectly in the center console of my car. It goes everywhere with me.

I agree with just about every other comment posted here. I´m giving it 4 Stars because Nikon really has to work on the focusing issues this camera has. It is no where near my D500, D4 or even my D3. In good light, if not heavily backlit, it is fine in single servo, single point. I´m sure firmware updates can improve upon this though, if Nikon are willing to do it.

If you want a smaller form factor, great IQ, and do not need fast action or extremely low light focusing prowesses, this camera is for you.

I don´t shoot video so I can´t comment on that.

Of the 50 or so Nikon bodies I´ve bought, this one is by far the best. Think of the Z7 as having the sweet handling of a D750 and the performance of a D850. Remarkably, the hand held low shutter speed performance is outstanding. – I can hand hold the 300mm pf lens on the Z7 body at 1/6 of a second and get better than ¾´s of the pics deadly sharp.

The Z7´s ergonomics are exactly what you would expect from Nikon. Everything falls into place and all the options fit together seamlessly. The menu system is well organized. The “U” banks work exactly as you would expect. Many of the buttons are user definable. The EVF is the best I´ve ever seen.

Modern F lenses work perfectly without any diminution of performance while using the FTZ adapter. You´ll need the best lenses available to get the full benefit of the 46MP sensor. With older lenses you´ll see a noticeable improvement in performance, but, not up to the level of expensive modern lenses. I have about 25 nikkor lenses. A short list of some of the lenses capable of using the full 46MP sensor is: 300mm pf, 18-35 ed, 24-70 f4 kit lens, 200-500mm. The 70-200 f4 and the 105mm f2.8 come very close. I bought 4 of the FTZ adapters so that I can leave them on my commonly used lenses.

The XQD card eats-up data very fast (using 440/400 G cards.) I´ve yet to have any performance slowdowns for lack of buffer.

I get about 1000 shots per battery. That´s with automatic review turned off and the display set to EVF priority.

Focus tracking and low light AF performance is better than the D750 but not quite up to the D850. On the other hand AF accuracy is better than either the 750 or 850. If your main application is sports´ like photography, the Z7 will get the job done, but personally I´d go with a D5.

As a pro level travel camera, the Z7 and 24-70 f4 lens make a supremely capable, relatively small and light combination. Because the lens and body are so sharp, I can easily crop pics to the equivalent of a 200mm lens and still be working with 16MP files. That makes the 24-70 lens into the equivalent of a 24-200 f4. Likewise the 300pf becomes a 300-900 lens.

Just like all Nikon pro level bodies, there are lots of options and modes. Some of these are exclusive to the Z bodies. The time you spend learning the camera will be well spent.

I have owned this camera for about a month and have put it through the paces. Purchased with the new S 24-70 lens as well as the S 35mm 1.8 and adapter for my old lenses. The camera is amazing, fast auto focus, outstanding image quality and the new S series lenses are incredible. The other is the adapter for my old lenses. I have used this with my 70-200 f2.8 and it works the same as on my D850. The VR is incredible being able to hand hold at 1/10 and tack sharp images. I was hesitant to purchase as this being Nikons first mirrorless, however I have no regrets. I am looking forward to the release of the other S series lenses that are being developed now.