Today I attended the Nikon Z Launch Event at my local camera store. A few people got there before the official start time, and more came in while I was there, so I had to wait a little to get my hands on a Z7 with the 24-70 S, and could not spend too much time with it. I preordered the Z6 with this lens so I was more curious about the lens than about the Z7
The lens feels well put together and is quite compact when collapsed (it is about as long as the 35mm f/1.8 S). It balances well on the Z7. When fully extended it is a little less than twice as long.
The collapse mechanism is different from Nikkor 1 lenses, which have a button that you press while rotating the zoom ring a little to unlock the lens. On the 24-70 f/4 S there is no button, and you turn the zoom ring a little to get from the “parked” position to the 24mm mark in order to unlock the lens. The zoom ring is pretty stiff during this part, and there is a click when the 24mm mark is reached. After that, the zoom rotates more easily to the 70mm mark. Just like with Nikon 1, you cannot take photos until you unlock the lens.
The lens has a duocam design, which had me a little worried, but there is no wobbling (I even tried to gently push it around from the filter thread area - there was no movement) and no zoom creep when I pointed the lens down). It seems to have a solid build, and it is weather sealed.
Not much to add about the camera. The Z7 I played with had firmware version 1.0. The card slot was taped over. The grip is comfortable, maybe not as good as the D810 but very close. The EVF is very nice, but still looks like an EVF
. Refresh rate is very good - I panned the camera rapidly from one side to the other repeatedly and there was no hiccup - same for the back LCD. There is a setting for viewfinder brightness (auto / manual).
I did not try AFC, but the AFS was quick and reliable in the low light environment of the camera store (I zoomed in on the LCD to confirm the images were in focus) - auto iso went to 2000. There is a setting for low light AF which I turned on.
I asked the Nikon rep a few questions but I got no good answers:
- Will we be able to update S lens firmware like we can with the Nikkor 1 lenses? He did not know if this will be possible but said the S lenses are manufactured to such high standards that firmware updates will not be necessary.
- When will the Nikon branded XQD cards be available in the US? He replied that there is no such thing - just something invented by NikonRumors. I replied that the press release for these cards is available on the Nikon Image Japan web site…
Will these cards not be available in the US, or is it just a miscommunication between Nikon Japan and Nikon USA? We don’t know yet…. I wanted to ask about the possibility of Nikon branded CFexpress cards, but it made no sense after that.
- When will the Z cameras get the firmware update for CFexpress cards? He did not know. He also had no idea when the first CFexpress cards will go on sale.
To conclude - I am still looking forward to getting my Z6 + kit lens in November.