Using the Nikon ZF and the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 in a real world shoot

Why did I buy a Nikon ZF?

The short answer: To put behind a Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2

The long answer:

Those that know my style and taste in cameras probably know about my love for analog film cameras – and in particular the Nikon FM/FE series of cameras. I always thought my perfect digital camera would just be a Nikon FM with a sensor. That’s why I’ve always been drawn to the tactile feel of Fuji cameras.

So when Nikon announced the Nikon ZF I was intrigued. Nikon had clearly styled it on cameras like the Nikon FM and F3. I initially discounted it because it had too many controls (there is an overkill in this regard – Fuji have this down so much better).

At the same time I have been drawn towards a more organic way of working. I’ve been drawn towards Leica cameras for their minimalist / no fuss approach. My bank balance has never supported such a move – so when a lot of people in the Leica world (Steve Huff, Mr Leica) started talking about the Nikon ZF as an alternative for supporting the M range of lenses, I was further intrigued. I also thought it might be a good way of using my vintage Nikkor lenses as well.

I came up in the wedding photography world using Nikon cameras, so I do love using them. I find their image quality and high ISO capabilities to be top class – so was considering switching back to Nikon now that they’d finally bought out some mirrorless offerings.

I’m also drawn towards the low light qualities of the Nikon ZF. In this respect I think Nikon have really left miles Fuji behind. I think if you could master getting things in focus this combination could be killer for the wedding first dance, and maybe even the dance floor

The Nikon ZF alongside the Nikon FM and Fujifilm Xt-5

Disclaimer 1: I’m not technical

I’m not very technical when it comes to cameras and lenses. I tend to use them in the real world with very little regard to megapixels, stops of stabilisation and MTF charts. I have to go look that stuff up if people ask me

I’m also arty and pretentious and like the blur / artefacts and character that this sort of experiment yields. So I’m not after technical perfection, and if anything I’m often rebelling against it.

Thought I should just get that out of the way early

Testing on the cat – f/2 1/800, Iso 100

Why a Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2?

I can’t remember how I stumbled across the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2. But the idea of being able to go from a soft and dreamy f/1.2 and then all the way into the more street photography style apertures seemed really appealing. Could this be the one lens that does it all? From a wide-open analog medium format film look to a more street photography / documentary storytelling lens?

The 40mm focal length has also fascinated me – as it’s the preferred focal length of lots of cinematographers – and being heavily into cinematography this intrigued me. Again – it seemed to me a focal length that may be able to do it all – tell stories and get close to the action.

I usually make a beeline for a 35mm or even 28mm, so 40mm is a new experience for me. And it’s nice to do new things.

And it’s made by Voigtlander, whose lenses are often seen as Leica lenses for people who can’t afford Leica lenses. So I was expecting it to be high quality. And it really is built beautifully. It’s a wonderfully tactile lens.

The Voigtlander 40mm is capable of some breathtaking images f/3.2, 1/1250, ISO 160

Why Not Nikon Lenses?

The modern Nikon lenses all seem to fall into two categories –

1. 1. Optically perfect, but like wielding a bazooka.
   2. Small and light, but with lots of compromises optically.

So I have no idea what other lenses I’ll be using with this camera (which may be an odd way of making a purchase decision, but sometimes you get these weird itches that need to be scratched). Hopefully Nikon will make some for me. (I’m also drawn to the Thypoch Symera 28mm)

Testing conditions

I’m no good at testing stuff around the house. Taking photos of the cat and fruit bowls. I need to take equipment out into the field and see how it thrives and frustrates me… So I got in touch with Dominique and John, whose wedding at Morley Hayes I photographed in 2022 and offered them a family shoot. They agreed to meet me at Elvaston Castle Country Park for some woodland family photography.

Disclaimer 2: I’m not a traditional family photographer

I’m not a traditional family photographer. It’s something else I rebel against. I’m a Documentary family photographer – So I encourage chaos, natural moments, messiness and just people being people. I’m telling you this because it gives more of an idea what a camera / lens has to keep up with. Although in this case, with a manual focus lens, it’s more about me keeping up (or not).

Focusing with the Nikon ZF and Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2

The first challenge with a manual focus lens – especially one that opens so wide, is how to keep on top of focusing? What’s going to work best for me?

I’m not sure I’ve hit a definitive answer yet. People recommend sticking the viewfinder in black and white mode and using red focus peaking. This doesn’t work well for me. I think I like my viewfinder to look as close to reality as possible when making pictures. I want to know what’s going on with colour (despite my love for B&W wedding photos).

The Nikon ZF has several ways of performing – especially with a chipped lens like the Voigtlander lenses for Z mount. They have the standard focus peaking – which I’ve always loved using on the Fuji cameras. They also have eye detection. So the camera will pick up the eyes in the scene and put a box over them. The box turns green when they’re in focus – which is a pretty amazing use of modern technology.

I’ve always struggled with eye detection though. I think it distracts me from composition and what else is going on in the photo and it tends to make my brain fry and my composition goes to the dogs. So it’s not my preferred method. (It may work for you though – this is a personal thing)

You can also zoom in and check your focus – something that is very hard to do with constantly moving action…. but very useful for portraits and other things that stand still.

For this shoot I opted for mainly using focus peaking to let me know which areas of the photo are in focus. This was actually far more successful between f/1.2 and f/2.8 than when stopping down the lens. For some reason the camera / lens don’t operate quite as well at f/5.6 to f/11 and the visual feedback you get is, well, incorrect.

I do believe with a lens like this you are supposed to focus and then stop down, but for my way of working (which is often more like a street photographer than a portrait photographer) I will probably be trying to master the Depth of Field scale on the lens for when I stop down. (I will try and report back on this)

I also find the focus throw a little long, so it takes a little longer than the wonderful Mitakon 0.95, or my nikon ai-s lenses to dial in focus

At any aperture, I did miss focus a lot. Sometimes it added to the medium format, analog charm of the images, and sometimes it meant a good image was headed straight to the bin. I should imagine I’m going to have to put in a lot of practice with this lens – and that this won’t be my only ‘test shoot’.

Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 Image quality

I think the Voigtlander falls into two categories for me. Firstly, it makes such beautiful, dreamy images. The very things that others would see as flaws – the heavy vignetting, the softness are what makes this lens so special. You do get that subject separation and beautiful bokeh. And when stopped down, images still seem to retain a sort of 3D and vintage rendering.

Which isn’t to say it isn’t sharp wide open – it really is, it’s just hard to get things to be sharp (especially when moving)

There is some chromatic aberration when wide open, but nothing too crazy and it’s easy to correct in post processing. Flaring and ghosting is also extremely well controlled for a lens this size.

At the same time it can be completely frustrating – it will take practice and experimentation to get the best out of this lens. But I’m not thinking of returning it any time soon… it’s a lens that makes me want to put in the hours to master it.

In the future I can see myself using this as a second camera for slower parts of the wedding day – say for the morning preparations or couple portraits. And I’d love to master it to the point where it’s my only family camera.

Is it for me?

I don’t know – The Voigtlander is not a lens that’s optically perfect like a lot of similar lenses on the market. It has no autofocus and it really requires you to put in the work. But if you put in that work then I believe this set up has the opportunity to make images that have completely their own feel.

I know that’s an arty-pretentious answer, but I’m an arty-pretentious photographer. After storytelling, light and composition the equipment is imported. What you use can give a whole different feel to an image or collection of images.

Can I justify that – I don’t know. I mainly shot this wedding at Odda’s Chapel on manual focus lenses and it’s one of my favourite ever. Despite a lot of technical imperfections and softness, the images speak to me in a different way.

As for the Nikon ZF… I feel like I’m only using a fraction of this camera’s capabilities So I can only answer as to is it a good body for manual focus lenses.

Yes and no – a better viewfinder would put it miles ahead. I’m not saying it’s bad per se. But Nikon must have known it would draw in people like me. And when you’re trying to connect with what’s in front of the camera, then the viewfinder is paramount to that experience. I don’t feel particularly cheated – it’s not a high end camera and I have no right to expect such a thing (but I’d like it).

Also – too many knobs and it get’s confusing. We didn’t need a PASM when it could just be implemented by putting an auto stop on the other controls. Fuji manage this perfectly – but it has to be learnt by the photographer. And I feel this is the issue here. Nikon are trying to straddle two different markets.

Saying that, it’s amazing how quickly everything fell to hand and I don’t think I felt like I was tripping over the camera at too many points in a live setting. Which is a good indication that it’s going to be a tactile extension of my own hand, rather than a constant googling of the instruction manual.

I couldn’t imagine putting larger lenses on this body – even with a grip I don’t think it would sit comfortably in the hand for long periods. So I’m going to be sticking to smaller, more manageable lenses  (and investing in a grip)

The Nikon colours are also looking a lot more natural and easier to work with. I wasn’t really tempted to convert much to B&W

So in summary. If you like photography to be a tactile challenge. If you want that feel to your images and are willing to embrace the imperfect (even if that comes more from the photographer than the lens!)

A selection of images from a family shoot with the Nikon ZF and Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2.

These are very lightly edited – colour balance, contrast & my own custom preset.