Jman13 wrote:
I just got the Neewer CA134 - their latest grip for the Zf, and IMO it's the best of all worlds so far.
The main grip is now rubber instead of fake leather over metal. The rubber is roughly the same texture and feel as that of the Haoge grip or standard Nikon grip rubber like the other Z cameras, but the form is much better fitting (I hated the Haoge grip because it didn't sit flush with the camera and I felt its shape was awkward. The front metal plate is gone now (and thus the red stripe) making it more understated, but with the little finger hold, is more comfortable than the Smallrig and without that terrible silicone texture, and it looks nicer than the Smallrig grip, but it isn't flashy either.
The shape of the front grip is very similar to the CA079, but with a small finger lip for the ring finger (with the middle finger falling comfortably over the top of it. The rear thumb hook is effectively identical to the one on the CA079, so adds a nice amount of purchase for the back of the camera, and they've redesigned the lower angled part where the heel of your hand hits. That's now larger and more angled, which is more comfortable. The side of the grip is slightly thicker, to allow for screwing in a plate on the grip (to make for vertical attachment) as well. Overall, it feels really nice in the hand. If I could tweak anything I'd make the rubber part just a touch larger, but it's still quite nice.
The only down side is they removed the integrated swinging thumb screw hoop, and have instead included a magnetic tool to tighten the screw on the grip. Since I have two other Neewer grips with that little flip thumb screw, I just swapped them, though frankly I'm not sure how often I'll take this one off. The A/S plate is still slim and runs the whole length (save for the area by the battery compartment).
Just ordered one. Hopefully it will arrive faster than two weeks. I have the first iteration of the Neewer grip and it’s pretty good. The thumb lip was sorely missed, so I am hopeful for the new grip. I also have a Z5 and with the SmallGrip extension on the bottom of the camera, makes it very comfortable for me to hold…I hope the new Neewer grip is close.
I also ordered that latest Neewer grip, just to also give that one a try. I already have the first 2 versions and like none of them but oh well... we'll see again. It seems to be the best try yet. I should have it tomorrow.
Thanks for the link Jman.
Jochenb wrote:
I also ordered that latest Neewer grip, just to also give that one a try. I already have the first 2 versions and like none of them but oh well... we'll see again. It seems to be the best try yet. I should have it tomorrow.
Thanks for the link Jman.
Well, if you didn't like the earlier Neewer grips you probably won't like this one either. It's better than the CA079, but the feel is largely the same in hand, just with a much grippier handle due to the rubber, and some minor ergonomic improvements.
Jman13 wrote:
Well, if you didn't like the earlier Neewer grips you probably won't like this one either. It's better than the CA079, but the feel is largely the same in hand, just with a much grippier handle due to the rubber, and some minor ergonomic improvements.
I don't think so either, but still want to give it a try because luckily the price isn't that high.
Just as with the Haoge, it doesn't center on a leofoto ball head because the rear dovetail isn't cut enough to the right side. Why oh why are they cutting the dovetails the entire front length and only half the back?!
It's not as egregious as the Haoge, and could be workable but I wouldn't use for pano work on a tripod.
Otherwise, the grip feels less adult store than the SmallRig, and the rear thumb catch is nice. The grip, however, being a pistol form yet short is a fail. If you try to catch your middle finger on the nub, it's a strain to get your index to the shutter. It feels more natural to allow your ring finger to catch the grip and wrap your middle finger over the top. However, this means your middle finger is now blocking access to the front command dial.
I also really dislike their little included tool and screw, and the magnets are much weaker than the typical ones on a SmallRig plate that uses a tool. Much prefer the D style screw that doesn't need a tool. You can easily swap the SmallRig D screw over and it works fine.
SD access is as ungainly as any other grip I've tried.
Someone can pick it up from me if they don't want to have one shipped from China.
in short, the Zf is a camera with bad ergonomics that forces you to look for accessories that are not always up to the task, that make it heavier and, in any case, never with the same ergonomics as a body designed from the beginning to do what it has to do
RoamingScott wrote:
Arrived 8 calendar days after order.
Just as with the Haoge, it doesn't center on a leofoto ball head because the rear dovetail isn't cut enough to the right side. Why oh why are they cutting the dovetails the entire front length and only half the back?!
Well, there’s a battery compartment there. The Snallring also doesn’t have a dovetail there, they just have very slightly more room because they cut out a portion of the battery compartment. The Nikon GR1 is the only one that allows full intrusion into that area because they made it extra thick and then thinned out the area by the battery.
The grip, however, being a pistol form yet short is a fail. If you try to catch your middle finger on the nub, it's a strain to get your index to the shutter. It feels more natural to allow your ring finger to catch the grip and wrap your middle finger over the top. However, this means your middle finger is now blocking access to the front command dial.
Well, yeah. That’s how all these grips are designed to be held. It’s a box camera. You can’t hold it like a standard camera grip with the middle finger on the extruded part because there isn’t a shutter button on top of the grip. It has to be done with ring finger around the grip and middle over the top. It’s designed to do so. I don’t understand the “middle finger is blocking the dial” either. I use the middle finger to operate that dial.
And I use my index for that dial, so that’s one too many fingers 😁
Jman13 wrote:
Well, there’s a battery compartment there. The Snallring also doesn’t have a dovetail there, they just have very slightly more room because they cut out a portion of the battery compartment. The Nikon GR1 is the only one that allows full intrusion into that area because they made it extra thick and then thinned out the area by the battery.
Well, yeah. That’s how all these grips are designed to be held. It’s a box camera. You can’t hold it like a standard camera grip with the middle finger on the extruded part because there isn’t a shutter button on top of the grip. It has to be done with ring finger around the grip and middle over the top. It’s designed to do so. I don’t understand the “middle finger is blocking the dial” either. I use the middle finger to operate that dial. ...Show more →
We just need to reduce the number of fingers, and we'll be golden!
The comment above by Ripolini is spot on a bit, but that's known for a lot of retro cameras. I do wish Nikon had just made a provision much like Olympus did on the OM-D E-M5 back in the day. The add-on grip was two parts: a vertical grip for those who want that, as well as a small extension grip that added a full front normal camera grip complete with shutter button and front dial, to allow for comfortable access. Such an accessory could be styled to meld well with the camera, as well as drastically improve handling. This latest Neewer grip gets me about 90% of the way there for my own preference, and enough that I'm pretty much good with it, but yeah, and option such as this would be nice:
Jman13 wrote:
We just need to reduce the number of fingers, and we'll be golden!
The comment above by Ripolini is spot on a bit, but that's known for a lot of retro cameras. I do wish Nikon had just made a provision much like Olympus did on the OM-D E-M5 back in the day. The add-on grip was two parts: a vertical grip for those who want that, as well as a small extension grip that added a full front normal camera grip complete with shutter button and front dial, to allow for comfortable access. Such an accessory could be styled to meld well with the camera, as well as drastically improve handling. This latest Neewer grip gets me about 90% of the way there for my own preference, and enough that I'm pretty much good with it, but yeah, and option such as this would be nice:
My Neewer CA134 arrived today. Used the Aliexpress link from Jman13 (thank you!). Only took 5 days from order to the UK which is incredibly quick and only cost £26.
Definitely an improvement over the CA079 with the rubber texture and the lip for the finger support. It has to be used with the ring finger under the lip and the middle finger over the top of the lip (to operate the front command dial).
I wish the hadn't added the tripod screw holes to the side as this does add noticeable width, making wider than the Z8 and it makes the camera look a little lopsided.
I have the original Nikon ZF-GR1 coming, so will compare and decide.
Mr Mc wrote:
My Neewer CA134 arrived today. Used the Aliexpress link from Jman13 (thank you!). Only took 5 days from order to the UK which is incredibly quick and only cost £26.
Definitely an improvement over the CA079 with the rubber texture and the lip for the finger support. It has to be used with the ring finger under the lip and the middle finger over the top of the lip (to operate the front command dial).
I wish the hadn't added the tripod screw holes to the side as this does add noticeable width, making wider than the Z8 and it makes the camera look a little lopsided.
I have the original Nikon ZF-GR1 coming, so will compare and decide....Show more →
Definitely the Neewer CA134 for me. The ZF-GR1 just doesn't add enough extra grip to warrant adding it to the camera, whereas the CA134 makes a significant difference grip wise to justify the extra size.
I will still use the ZF both with and without a grip, depending on the use case.
The need for grips could mostly be eliminated if there was a “film winding lever” that popped out the back like on the FM2 and F3. I always loop my thumb behind that and have no issues with no grip on the FM2 and a minimal one on the F3.
I liked the Smallrig one, Nikon's is very nice but I can feel the difference in weight even more, so I ended up buying this on aliexpress. It is aluminium, right amount of grip, glue is strong, works like a charm for me. I might even add a layer of self-adhesive leatherette some day, might look even better.
StormSaluter wrote: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54429655099_da930b8a13_b.jpg
I liked the Smallrig one, Nikon's is very nice but I can feel the difference in weight even more, so I ended up buying this on aliexpress. It is aluminium, right amount of grip, glue is strong, works like a charm for me. I might even add a layer of self-adhesive leatherette some day, might look even better.
There are a lot of these on eBay of wood. How effective? I hesitate because it sticks to the camera's leatherette and might be difficult to remove if I don't like it.
It works great (for me), I don't need the grip anymore. It adds to camera thickness as well, and the thumb is firmly stuck. I can hold the camera with any lens in one hand without an issue (I only have Voigtlanders though). The glue should fall off with the metal, there should be no residue, I have been told. I tried first with the thumb rubber back cover for XT10, which is much smaller, but it did not work (size and shape are wrong, can not be improvised). That one had the same sticker and when I took it off there was no residue left, so I am guessing it should work the same with this one. The wooden ones don't look good to me, not on the back of zf.
