It looks like a full-frame version of the Nikon Z fc – likely called the Nikon Zf – is about to be launched. And according to a new report, the camera is "about as ergonomic as a brick".
If true, perhaps this shouldn't come as a surprise. While the Nikon Z fc has been one of the company's most popular cameras since it launched, it was nowhere near as chunky as the body to which it paid homage: the classic Nikon Df.
With its APS-C sensor, the Z fc is slim and svelte and designed to do battle with the best retro cameras from the likes of Fujifilm and Olympus / OM System. However, the original Nikon Df on which it is based – a retro-styled full-frame DSLR from 2013 – was quite a beast.
So it might make sense that the Nikon Zf, a full-frame mirrorless version of the Df, would likewise have a little meat on its bones. "It had the feel of almost a GFX 50R to the extent that it was about as ergonomic as a brick," said a source quoted by Nikon Rumors, who claimed to have handled the camera.
"It used a very similar grip on the front to the one of the Df. It has a fully articulating screen, but not in the GH6 / A7R V style." The latter could be alluding to a rear screen with a four-way tilting mechanism, similar to the Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z9.
Nikon Zf specs
The rear screen might not be the only nod to the flagship Z8 and Z9. According to the same source at Nikon Rumors, the company representative said that the sensor inside the Nikon Zf is the same one used by the flagships – that being a 45.7MP stacked, back-side illuminated (BSI) sensor.
On the one hand, this would make some sense; the original Nikon Df used the same sensor as the then-flagship Nikon D4, after all, so this could be a case of history repeating. However, the source also claimed that the camera will sell for $1,999 (approximately £1,555 / AU$2,979) – which would be an extraordinary price for flagship tech.
It's possible that the rep said the camera has the same resolution as the Z8 and Z9, which could have been conflated for having the same sensor. What seems much more likely – and is being reported by Nikon Rumors – is that the camera will have the same sensor as the Nikon Z7 II, which is also 45.7MP BSI but is not stacked.
It will reportedly have autofocus on par with the Z7 II, though will only carry a single memory card slot. The body is said to carry "a small LCD screen on top for aperture display", along with a "new third function on the sub-lever of the shutter speed dial (besides photo/video) for B&W mode", as well as "a little grip / bump like the Nikon Df".
By all counts the camera is being announced in August, so more leaks and official word should be forthcoming soon.
Check out the best Nikon cameras that the Big N has to offer right now. And if this has got you jonesing for genuine retro goodness, take a look at the best DSLRs around today.
