My New Best Friend

I finally did it—I decided to sell my beloved Fujifilm X-T5 and switch completely to Nikon. I traded my X-T5 for the Nikon Zf, or as everyone calls it, the Zed F. It was a tough choice because I really love my X-T5. The idea started when I saw Nikon was releasing a silver version of the Zf. I’ve always loved the retro look of old film cameras, and silver and black just feels right. All black is practical, but silver and black is just more fun. I rented a Zf for a weekend to try it out and instantly fell in love. During a photo walk with a friend, I must have said, “I am SO buying this camera” at least 20 times. The only thing left to decide was whether to keep my X-T5 or sell it along with some of my lenses.

This reminds me of when I sold my Nikon D850. I really loved that camera. I haven’t regretted selling it, but it was tough to pack up such an amazing piece of gear and send it off for a trade-in. I wasn’t sure I could go through that again with my X-T5.

This time, I bought the Zf before selling the X-T5, so I took the financial hit up front. Once you’ve spent the money, you’re committed. Then I had to decide whether to keep the Fuji or just go all-in with Nikon. I still have a Fuji X-T3, but it’s converted to infrared and I’ll never sell it. The X-T3 also has the best shutter sound of any camera—it reminds me of my first one. That sound really matters, doesn’t it? Even though Sony cameras are supposed to be great, I hear the shutter on some models and just can’t get into it. That would be a dealbreaker for me. Ha!

I kept the X-T5 for about a month, but I never took it out of the drawer. I had the camera body and three nice lenses to sell with it. I kept a couple of lenses for the X-T3, but it didn’t make sense to keep all that gear if I wasn’t going to use it. I loved the film simulations on the Fuji, but since I always shoot RAW, they just gave me extra JPEGs for the effect. The Zf has a great feature where you can flip a dial to shoot in black and white. If you shoot RAW, the files still revert to color when uploaded, but seeing black and white in the viewfinder helps with composition sometimes.

So the Zf is my new best friend, and I’m decorating her up.   I got her a bright red shutter button and a bright red rope strap.   She usually wears the Nikon 40mm f/2 lens, and I got the SmallRig extra grip for easier handling. My extra grip is the black model for now, but once the silver comes out, I’m sure I’ll have to change that out.  Mama will need a new pair of shoes!