Nikon Z7 – Japan
Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Japan / 2019
From mid-February to early March of this year, my wife and I traveled to Japan for a "vacation," which provided an excellent opportunity to test Nikon's new mirrorless system. I was delighted when Nikon Hungary approached me a few weeks before our departure.
From mid-February to early March of this year, my wife and I traveled to Japan for a "vacation," which provided an excellent opportunity to test Nikon's new mirrorless system. I was delighted when Nikon Hungary approached me a few weeks before our departure.
I was very curious to see how my working style, accustomed to Nikon DSLRs for 13 years, would adapt to the MILC revolution, still questioned by many.
We spent the first 5 days in Tokyo, as we had visited for 10 days last year and still wanted to explore more. I had thoroughly studied the Z7's menu on the way there, programmed the buttons (e.g., focus mode selection), filled the "my menu" with new and useful features such as silent shutter release and toggling the body stabilizer, or sensor cleaning due to the exposed sensor.
Since the camera seemed very solid and the grip felt even more secure and comfortable than the D850 due to its greater depth, and theft is practically unheard of in Japan, I felt comfortable leaving the DSLR in the hotel and focusing only on the Z7. And ultimately – SPOILER ALERT – I didn't even touch the DSLR throughout the trip!
Of course, this doesn't mean that the transition was completely smooth. Initially, I couldn't review images on the LCD because it was too close to my face, or I accidentally moved my hand in front of the sensor, triggering the automatic switch to the EVF. There is a dedicated button in a logical place to switch the sensor on and off, and to choose whether to view photos only on the monitor or only through the viewfinder. It took a few days to get used to this and to apply it more consciously. 🙂
On the first day, it became clear that there was no need to complain about image quality; indeed, the camera matched the level of the D850. With Z-series lenses, it might even go a step further. I had the 35mm f1.8 and the 24-70mm f4 lenses at my disposal, and they performed brilliantly. While I would have preferred to have taken a f2.8 zoom, the stabilizer surprisingly compensated well for the lack of brightness. The 35mm lens is incredibly sharp and fast, producing very clear images. Although slight distortion and vignetting can be observed at wider apertures, thanks to the updated lens correction database in Photoshop, this can be easily corrected afterward.
Naturally, I had all my favorite lenses with me, which I could use without compromise with the FTZ adapter.
It also became apparent that the sensor was more prone to dust, and swapping lenses frequently, and putting on and taking off the adapter, had consequences. I knew I had to do something if I didn't want to spend days retouching dust specks. There are many camera stores in Tokyo, the most famous being Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera, located at various points in the city, large multi-story department stores where at least one floor is dedicated to photography equipment. I quickly bought a sensor cleaner from a huge selection, a simple, small air pump, and essentially, with this, that is, with continuous daily cleaning, I managed to avoid the lion's share of dust retouching. While I was there, of course, I thoroughly checked out the range, touched the displayed huge telephoto lenses, and even bought a new, larger eyecup for the D850. 🙂
Unfortunately, the weather did not favor the "vacation" aspect of our trip, which we somewhat expected, of course, but it was consistently cooler than average, with a frosty wind and rain when it wasn't windy. However, this was ideal for photography; the wind blew away the high humidity, providing clearer, farther visibility, and the rain worked wonders with Tokyo's lights, as they began to reflect on the asphalt and every surface started to shimmer.
I even feared for the Z7 a bit when one evening, it was completely glued to the rain for about 4 hours at the Shibuya Crossing. I can't shoot with an umbrella, and I left my super photographer's umbrella in Budapest, so the little camera had no protection at all, but it didn't seem to mind at all; it handled it just like the big ones. I learned to appreciate the small footprint of the tracking focus; it was the easiest way to capture moving objects, and the new eye-AF update, unfortunately, wasn't available during my trip yet.
On the sixth day, we crossed over to Osaka with the fastest super express train (Shinkansen Nozomi Express), where I also pulled out the 500mm f5.6 PF ED telephoto lens from my bag on top of the Umeda Sky Building, to bring the Tower Gate Building's utopian architectural solution closer.
By the time we reached Kyoto, beyond testing various focus modes, I already felt like an expert Z7 user when one morning, I accidentally switched the 35mm lens to manual, and half-asleep, I didn't notice for half an hour that I was taking blurry photos through the viewfinder. 🙂
Fortunately, this didn't happen in the most spectacular place, and armed with this experience and the knowledge of the massive tourist crowds, the next day at 5 in the morning, we set off to see – hopefully still empty – the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine.
In Yokohama, we captured the city's most popular skyline view from the port with a photo wall during the blue hour (see: work photos at the bottom of the post). The Ferris wheel indicates the time, but it also puts on a light show every 10 minutes, so it's worth snapping a picture then!
After the little tour, we returned to Tokyo, where we spent the last few days at a more relaxed pace. I tried to carry as little equipment as possible because despite the superb peak design, being heavily packed caused excruciating back pain after just 2 hours of walking, which didn't subside by the end of the day. For example, I had 35mm days and 24-70mm days when I only took those lenses with me.
At times like these, one truly feels the mirrorless revolution when facing the big city with just one lens and some MILC routine. No bag, no carrying, just you and the feather-light, rock-solid state-of-the-art technology in your hands.
Except for the first few days, I never felt the absence of the DSLR. The battery also performed well, enduring at least a thousand photos per day on a single charge. I see potential for improvement in terms of AF, EVF, sensor cleaning, and startup time, but I'm eagerly awaiting the future, for me, there's no question that it's the Z system!. Én az AF, EVF, szenzortisztítás és a bekapcsolási idő irányában érzem a fejlesztési lehetőségeket de biztos nyugalommal várom a jövőt, ami számomra már nem kérdés, hogy a Z rendszer!
Below you'll find some behind-the-scenes photos, and the shooting locations and exposure data can be viewed in any of the galleries above! More photos on Instagram: instagram.com/soosbertalan
