p.1 #2 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
According to data from Roland Vink website (http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/camera.html#Z), and if my calculations are correct, it appears that approximately 55,000 ZF units were sold. Those figures are an underestimate of the actual numbers, as they may not reflect the latest camera sales. Anyway, do those figures represent enough sales? DF's sales appear to have been higher (Df had actually been introduced ten years earlier, though).
As for a semi-pro/pro DX Z camera body, it appears that Nikon has no intention of competing with Canon, Sony, and Fuji.
p.1 #3 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
Both Sony E and Fujifilm X have smaller Mounts than Nikon Z.
Sony E was originally only used for APS-C and full frame was really an afterthought. Its so tight that in heads on photos, the full sensor wont show, its edges get cut off. You can of course do the trickery with using a wide angle lens up close to hide this.
X is APS-C only anyway.
Nikon gave themselves a generous lens mount size because that F was so restrictive was an active complaint about their DSLRs compared to Canons. So purely from that, they cannot make their cameras as small as Sony and Fujifilm.
Btw Canon also has a real full frame mount and can also not make their cameras too small.
p.1 #4 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
GiovanniAprea wrote:
Also, is Nikon ever going to release a smaller form factor DX body to compete against Sony and Fuji cameras in that segment?
I don't really understand this question, the X-T5 and Z50ii are already pretty much the same size apart from the depth of the grip. Even the X-T50 isn't that much smaller than a Z50ii, and is pretty similar to a Z30.
They're all small enough for the size to negatively affect ergonomics and handling compared to a bigger camera.
I don't really understand the obsession some people have with smaller cameras - easier to carry when you aren't using them, but worse for actually taking photos.
p.1 #5 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
I don't really understand the obsession some people have with smaller cameras - easier to carry when you aren't using them, but worse for actually taking photos.
My first MILC was a Canon EOS M3 with EVF-DC1.
It was a joy to use (and to carry, of course).
I could even use my Zeiss ZF 100/2 Makro-Planar on it (adapted).
A friend of mine still has two EOS M6 Mk II, along with an EOS R. He is very happy with both M6 Mk II and R.
May 12, 2026 at 05:31 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #6 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
GravelBen wrote:
I don't really understand this question, the X-T5 and Z50ii are already pretty much the same size apart from the depth of the grip. Even the X-T50 isn't that much smaller than a Z50ii, and is pretty similar to a Z30.
They're all small enough for the size to negatively affect ergonomics and handling compared to a bigger camera.
I don't really understand the obsession some people have with smaller cameras - easier to carry when you aren't using them, but worse for actually taking photos.
I think he may be referring to the Fuji XE series (the XE-5 being the current model) that is smaller, and Sony makes the their 6XXX APS-C cameras (the 6700 being one of their current models), and even Canon with a mount much the size of the Z mount makes the 356g R100. Nikon has not made a small camera like these. The Z50 and the ZFc are interesting cameras but they are about 25% heavier at about 450g.
p.1 #7 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
Steve Spencer wrote:
I think he may be referring to the Fuji XE series (the XE-5 being the current model) that is smaller, and Sony makes the their 6XXX APS-C cameras (the 6700 being one of their current models), and even Canon with a mount much the size of the Z mount makes the 356g R100. Nikon has not made a small camera like these. The Z50 and the ZFc are interesting cameras but they are about 25% heavier at about 450g.
Could be, though comparing the X-E5 to the Z30 the only real size difference is the deeper grip, and the Z30 is only 405g. The 6700 is slightly bigger than the Z30 and 493g.
All pretty minor practical differences.
May 12, 2026 at 07:41 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #8 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
GravelBen wrote:
Could be, though comparing the X-E5 to the Z30 the only real size difference is the deeper grip, and the Z30 is only 405g. The 6700 is slightly bigger than the Z30 and 493g.
All pretty minor practical differences.
The not minor difference, IMO, is the Z30 does not have an EVF, so in my mind that puts it in a different class of camera. The other cameras I mentioned all have EVFs. The Z30 really isn't smaller than the Z50, it just omits the EVF. You are correct, however, that the Sony 6700 isn't nearly as small as the Fuji and the Canon and much more the size of the Nikon Z50 and ZFc.
p.1 #10 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
Steve Spencer wrote:
...
The not minor difference, IMO, is the Z30 does not have an EVF, so in my mind that puts it in a different class of camera. The other cameras I mentioned all have EVFs. The Z30 really isn't smaller than the Z50, it just omits the EVF. You are correct, however, that the Sony 6700 isn't nearly as small as the Fuji and the Canon and much more the size of the Nikon Z50 and ZFc.
Yes that's a fair point, I don't personally like cameras without viewfinders either and wouldn't buy a Z30 myself. My only non-viewfinder camera is an old RX100 which has the ergonomics of a bar of soap.
The main thing I was getting at is that everything in that class is already small enough to compromise handling for packability to some degree (depending on hand size etc). Even with the Z5ii which is a bit bigger, I find the handling much improved with a smallrig plate on the bottom.
I probably came across a bit too harsh on smaller cameras before though, I do appreciate that sometimes the weight and packability can make the difference between taking a camera somewhere or not (or having space for an extra lens), and a camera you have with you always gets better photos than one you left at home.
I have actually had (non-photographer) people comment about me 'carrying a big camera' when hiking with the X-T3, which I found quite amusing.
p.1 #11 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
A ZF2 with a 30+ MP sensor would put it very high on my list :-)
Hell just pop the old sensor from the D810 in it, that’s still a perfectly great sensor for my purposes.
Surplus D850 sensor would also be gold.
Really, I would just love somebody to make a retro stills focused FF camera that can be a sensible alternative to a Leica M. Nikon have the history to draw on. I’m kind of tired of the technically good modern bodies from the big manufacturers all looking like appliances.
I know, I know, ‘economics’, ‘they know what they can sell’, etc. But nobody’s really tried to put an equivalent to a Leica M on the market and Leica are somehow able to keep putting up prices while everybody else is supposedly clever for not getting into that field. And when Nikon do make a retro body like the Df or Zf, they can’t help themselves and shove a bunch of non-retro features into and on to it that make it a compromise horse designed by committee. Plus they put one of their lowest FF sensors in it, because, well, they wouldn’t want it to look too much like a ‘serious’ camera. That’s apparently only for Leica (or, arguably, GFX and Hasselblad).
p.1 #12 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
I love the 24mp sensor in the Z f. My engineering mind refuses to believe it, but there's some kind of voodoo magic going on there. The images, not all of them but frequently, have this intangible special sauce to them. Impossible to describe. I used to blame the new gear honeymoon hallucinations, but other people online are saying the same thing! Last year I was actively shooting with 5 cameras: the Z8, Z f, Fuji X100vi, Sony A1 II and A7RV. When viewing the images now I almost always recognize which ones were taken with the Z f.
I wouldn't be disappointed if Z f II keeps rocking this chip. Actually, I may prefer it because 24MP is plenty for my needs and I couldn't care less about the readout speed.
What I really want Nikon to fix is what @Pete_R is alluding to: the split-brain decision making. Dear Nikon, just go all-in analog style. Let me show how:
Drop the PASM idiocy
PASM is what you're forced to do when you're stupid enough to be living in the 80s and abandoning the dedicated dials in favor of hold+rotate madness. But hey, you did the right thing and gave us the glorious dials! Drop that stupid switch, it makes no sense.
"A" for all dials
Drop the "C" and "1/3step". Nobody remembers the decision tree for menu-vs-dial conflict resolutions anyway. Instead, add the "A" (auto) setting to all three dials: ISO, shutter, aperture. This is far better than PASM: the user simply tells the camera which functions to delegate to the camera automation. Menus shouldn't compete with dials. Fuji X-T series does this perfectly. Steal it. Great artists steal.
Shorten the body to rebalance it.
Unfortunately it looks like the FM body shape did not allow you to fit the battery and all the electronics, so you stretched it. This makes the Zf feel heavier than it really is, and arguably this kills the FM vibe, defeating the original purpose. Consider swallowing your pride and sacrificing a little: make the body 1cm shorter and the grip a bit deeper, essentially rotating the battery compartment 90 degrees. No, it won't necessarily turn it into the Z5, you can still make it look and feel like your manual film bodies (see the F3), but will vastly improve handling.
One more custom button
Can we have just one more please? This won't take anything away from the retro vibes. Again, see the F3 for inspiration.
5.6MP EVF
The current 3.7MP unit is OK, but its resolution and refresh rate place it on the fence: usable vs unusable. The 5.6MP EVF from the Z6 III will firmly push it off the fence towards "better than optical finder" side.
More Control Dial Customization
Why did you limit the front and rear control dials to just 3 settings and two of them are already duplicated elsewhere? This made them useless. They literally do not do anything on my Z f because I only buy lenses with aperture rings. Instead, allow us to assign the control dials to something else. I would have loved to cycle through AF areas, WB settings, subject recognition modes, aspect ratios, literally anything other than shutter/aperture control. There are dedicated dials for those already!
p.1 #13 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
old-gregg wrote: Drop the video
Because WTF is wrong with you.
hahahaha love this.
In regards to "C" on all the dials: I just switched from a Fuji X-T5 to a Zf and I loved that the shutter speed and ISO dials had an "A" for auto on them. I think I'd prefer that over a C, but same same really. The Zf does have the PASM switch, which I'm actually liking quite nicely. Instead of having to rotate dials each time I want to switch from Aperture Priority/fixed ISO to Fixed shutter/Auto ISO (whatever those modes are considered), I can just flip the switch.
p.1 #14 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
old-gregg wrote: Drop the PASM idiocy
PASM is what you're forced to do when you're stupid enough to be living in the 80s and abandoning the dedicated dials in favor of hold+rotate madness. But hey, you did the right thing and gave us the glorious dials! Drop that stupid switch, it makes no sense.
"A" for all dials
Drop the "C" and "1/3step". Nobody remembers the decision tree for menu-vs-dial conflict resolutions anyway. Instead, add the "A" (auto) setting to all three dials: ISO, shutter, aperture. This is far better than PASM: the user simply tells the camera which functions to delegate to the camera automation. Menus shouldn't compete with dials. Fuji X-T series does this perfectly. Steal it. Great artists steal. ...Show more →
I feel like they have PASM and not "A" on all dials because they made the decision not to have aperture rings. On Fuji cameras it all makes sense because you can rotate everything to "A" if you want that particular control to be automatic. (Of course, it still works with Sigma aperture-ring-less lenses, you just have to spin the control wheel until you get to auto aperture mode which is annoying).
One more custom button
Can we have just one more please? This won't take anything away from the retro vibes. Again, see the F3 for inspiration.
There's definitely room for one more custom button, not to mention an AF joystick.
p.1 #15 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
When in a store I handled the A6700 and it is pretty small and easy to carry around compared to my Z bodies, when I put my eye in the VF I had kind of a reject but didn't give it time to figure it out.
I then had the chance to play with one and the kit lens and was astonished at how amazing the AF with that lens in dim evening light, I imagined building a small kit with 2-3 primes and got sad not being able to do that staying in Nikon and, no, the ZFc got me the same feel I got back in time with the Df, plasticky...
p.1 #17 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
GiovanniAprea wrote:
...if it got enough sales...
The Zf is still selling. It's only 2.5 years old and it's on a current sensor, processor, and battery. I'm sure it's well within its expected life cycle for Nikon. Especially considering it's not positioned to be a cutting-edge performance power house, I would not be surprised if Nikon's intent is a longer life cycle than the other bodies.
But I do think it's selling well given the configuration options.
p.1 #20 · Is there ever going to be a ZFII and a small DX body?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the end result of Nikon putting this compromised button and dial infested mid-level Z version of an FM/FE* on the market is their mistakenly (I think) concluding ‘see, the magic Leica formula doesn’t apply to us’. Or if it sells enough to justify a successor, ‘it only can work for us in the low and mid level of the line-up’.
It’s like the heads of all the Japanese camera companies got drunk one night with the Leica people and agreed to never put a FF competitive product on the market that pushes the same (figurative! figurative!) buttons as their M.
I do like that the Zf exists, I just don’t *love* it like I would a truly stills focused retro ‘FE3’ with F mount. I’d love to be able to use my old MF nikkors on a new digital FE. That would truly be a ‘I love it and just want it’ buy, same way Leica sell their Ms. I wouldn’t be looking to justify it as a work expense, and 24mp might be fine especially with a sensor with film-like grain.
But a full featured modern appliance like the Zf I’ll not buy purely for love. I’m tempted but all the buttons and controls on the back don’t have the same pull as the calm quiet of just dealing with the exposure triangle, /story. I’ll want a Zf body to be usable for work as well as pleasure. And at that point, the practical benefits of working with 36 and 60mp for years means I don’t want to go back to 24mp.
I want to believe, Nikon ;-)
But it’s hard to buy a compromise when Leica is right there showing me the exact concept I want, charging a luxury good tax for it because that’s how strong the demand apparently is.
