Goodbye Fujifilm X100VI, Hello Nikon Zf
Find 50+ images here and download my Nikon recipes for free!
Last year Sophia and I got lucky enough to acquire a Fujifilm X100VI. I spent a long road trip shooting with that camera until I reluctantly had to hand it back over to Sophia. Using that camera was my first dip into what I like to call “photography experience.” This include cameras not necessarily made to be the best, have the best stats, or they can even sometimes be a bit limiting such as having a fixed lens - but where they excel is within the experience and relationship you have while making photos. This can come from sounds, feels, restrictions, recipes - or anything that you personally find enjoyment in.
Here’s my problem though - The Fujifilm X100VI is Sophia’s camera. Every trip we went on, I wanted to be walking around with her camera instead of my bulky workhorses. Inevitably for any longer walks around a European city for example, we’d just end up sharing the X100VI while I left my much bigger Canon R5 and lenses in our AirBnB. Eventually I realized I just wanted my own X100VI, but even today over one year later - they still aren’t readily available. Serendipitously around this time Nikon released a firmware update to their 18 month old Nikon Zf enabling the ability to create, sync, and manage recipe styles on the camera.
Recipe - Tender Clear by Fuka Kamata
Now I have to admit, I knew absolutely nothing about the Nikon Zf only a few months ago but when that news came out and I saw a few people talking about it - I was intrigued. With a nearly month long road trip coming up and my reluctance to buy a 2nd Fujifilm X100VI for the household - I decided to give the Nikon Zf a try. My first new camera purchase specifically for photography since I bought my Canon R5 over 4 years ago and also my first Nikon ever. All I gotta say is, wow - this camera has surprised me and left me wondering why it isn’t being bought up in the same way Fujifilm has been.
What is an “Experience Camera?”
Before describing my thoughts on the Nikon Zf, I think it’s important to understand exactly what I mean when I say an “experience camera.” The majority of camera manufacturers have streamlined their cameras to make your life as easy as humanly possible to change settings, lock accurate focus, capture as many details as possible, and essentially never miss the shots you want to take. When you’re out shooting sports, wildlife, weddings, landscapes, or anything in between - 99% of the time the most important part is nailing the final image with these cameras. To achieve this, manufacturers have assimilated form factors into very similar styles, buttons, settings, and modes to be as intuitive and easy as possible.
For years, I would rush around during epic sunrises and sunsets, not thinking at all about my connection with the camera. I just wanted it to get out of the way—to be invisible—so I could capture the flattest possible images with the intention to edit and create anything I wanted to. That was exactly what I wanted, and it’s what many people want from their cameras. It’s simply a tool to create art, and for many, the experience of using the tool doesn’t matter as long as it helps them make their art.
It wasn’t until I reviewed the Fujifilm X100VI that I experienced the idea of connecting with the tool rather than just focusing on the final image. It’s like driving a modern electric car. It has all the bells and whistles you could possibly want, It’s extremely fast off the line and even through the turns, and it can literally drive itself in some cases. But theres something to enjoy from the sound of a beautiful engine starting up, the tactile knobs and buttons to control the interior rather than one big touch screen, or the feeling of physically cranking down a window to let the breeze in.
No doubt about it that the electric car will get you from A to B quicker, more efficiently, safer, and easier. But what about those times you want to drive for the experience of the drive rather than simply getting to a destination? THAT’s what these cameras are all about, whether it’s the Fujifilm X100VI, Nikon Zf, an old Pentax 645, or any film camera for that matter. It’s about the enjoyment, connection, and experience of using the tool while making images rather than just the images themselves.
Sensory Elements
Much of the “photography experience” comes down to how you interface with your camera, thus there’s a lot more emphasis on size, dials, tactility, and features. For example, one of the stand-out features of the Fujfilm X100VI is it’s hybrid optical and electronic viewfinder, a feature that doesn’t exist on basically any other cameras but provides a unique experience for the photographer. While the Nikon Zf doesn’t have such a feature, it does stand out in more subtle ways.
One of the first things I noticed when I took the Nikon Zf out of the box was the dials and switches. I’m not simply talking about the fact that the Nikon Zf includes manual dials for things such as ISO and Shutter Speed, more specifically I’m talking about how they feel and sound. I have never, in my 15+ years of interacting with Camera equipment felt such robust, tactile dials.
Nikon Zf On/off Switch
A specific example would be the on/off switch. Both the Nikon Zf and Fujifilm X100VI have their power switches located on the shutter pillar. This is a dial that I continually accidentally turn on or off on the Fujifilm X100VI. It’s not loose per-say, but it is very easy to switch. Overall it has a bit of play and feels a tad on the flimsy side. Comparing that to the Nikon Zf’s switch, it is a completely different class. This is NOT a switch you can accidentally turn and I mean that in the best way possible. It’s on the cusp of being difficult to switch but teeters the edge so well that it genuinely feels great.
Along with that, the two dials near your thumb and index finger used to electronically adjust shutter speed or aperture feel incredible. Not just compared to the Fujifilm X100VI but literally any camera I’ve ever owned. They lack the ability to “press in” as a button like the Fujifilm X100VI, I actually prefer this considering the implementation on the X100VI feels a tad mushy and engages accidentally more often than not. It’s hard to put into words how pleasurable the experience is for me - the only way to really understand it is to find one for yourself and turn the dials - you’ll instantly know.
The top dials to manually adjust ISO and Shutter speed are a standout feature for the Nikon Zf but very normal to see on Fujifilm systems. I’d say they feel very on par with the dials I had on my Fujifilm X-T4, maybe a bit more robust. The Fujifilm X100VI certainly gets a nod here though for their innovative combined Shutter Speed and ISO dial that enables it to be so compact.
The last sensory element I want to mention is the shutter. The Nikon Zf has the best shutter sound I’ve heard on any mirrorless camera I’ve used. If I’m being honest the leaf shutter on the Fujifilm X100VI is very lacking and the majority of the time you’re only hearing a sound play from the camera as the actual shutter is nearly silent. That is not the case for the Nikon Zf and honestly the sound is so present that I suspect Nikon designed it to sound the way that it does because it’s so intentional. You can hear exactly what I’m talking about in my video breakdown, and you can shoot in electronic shutter mode as well if you’d prefer silent shooting but I don’t know why you would ever want that considering how satisfying it sounds.
Build & Features
Okay enough of the subjective stuff. Lets talk form factor and features. Undoubtedly the Nikon Zf is larger, heavier, and less pocketable than something like the X100VI. I was very concerned when I took it out of the box, questioning the inability to hang this around my neck all day without being reminded it’s there. So far it’s been “fine.” It is certainly on the cusp of being just a tad too hefty for walking around all day but after multiple hour hikes, 6+ hours walking around the Aquarium, and a myriad of other activities it’s just compact enough to carry around but doesn’t necessarily disappear around my neck like the X100VI does.
Wet Nikon Zf
It makes up for this in many ways though. First the build quality of the Nikon Zf just feels better than the Fujifilm X100VI. The X100VI sacrifices a bit to stay compact. The Nikon Zf is weather sealed to the level of the Nikon Z8 where as the Fujifilm X100VI is not. This is a big deal in my opinion. For street photography in many places, it can get pretty wet. Both Sophia and I have been extra cautious when using the X100VI in certain conditions and taken very little risks with it in the rain. The Nikon Zf on the other hand, I haven’t worried about at all. Hard to articulate but the Nikon Zf’s build quality and heft just make it feel more robust to handle precarious weather conditions.
The larger size and weight also stem from the fact that the Nikon Zf has a full-frame sensor and interchangeable lenses. I don’t want to spend anytime talking about full-frame vs crop sensor, but it does impact the size of the camera. I only own Nikon’s Nikkor Z 40mm f2 lens, roughly equivalent to the 35mm f2 lens on the X100VI. Again definitely larger but with the flexibility to put any lens you want on here, probably making it more comparable to the X-T5 than the X100VI. The Nikon Zf also features a fully articulating screen which I much prefer over the X100VI tilt screen, but I do find myself using the EVF on both cameras more often than not. But all these little features are the areas the X100VI cuts to reduce size and weight - it’s simply up to you to know if those features are worth it or not.
Size comparison of the Nikon Zf vs Fujifilm X100VI
One huge miss by Nikon is their lack of aperture control on the Nikkor 40mm. Not sure if this is a cost cutting measure, but there’s literally a fake aperture ring on the lens. Definitely something I miss from the Fujifilm X100VI is a tactile aperture ring. The benefit of interchangeable lenses though is that you have a lot of options, specifically ones that do include tactile aperture rings - I just wish it were on the special edition 40mm that is made for this exact camera.
The last feature seemed like a gimmick until I started using it and now I use it all the time. The dial to switch from photo to video on the Nikon Zf also includes a black and white setting. Speaking of hybrid shooting, while I’m not talking about it much here, the Nikon Zf is an incredible hybrid camera with amazing video features - enough that I’m considering selling my Canon R7 and just using the Nikon instead - but thats too off topic for this piece. Don’t even get me started on the X100VI method for switching into video - it’s terrible but often overlooked because I only use the camera for photos. Okay okay back on topic.
Straight out of camera (Like every image in this article) using Nikon’s built in B&W Recipe
A dedicated black and white shooting mode switch. I rarely shoot in black and white, mostly because I don’t see in black and white when Im taking images. Every once in a while when I’m editing I’ll find a hidden gem that converts to black and white but it’s rare. One of the best ways to make black and white images is to shoot in black and white. Having the ability to see a scene and flip the switch to capture B&W straight in camera was really useful. There were a few scenes I encountered that didn’t seem great in color and I’d flip the switch and almost open up another world of photography.
Now this is totally doable on something like the X100VI as well by switching either into a B&W film emulation or recipe, but having a dedicated switch really surprised me. So much so that I could say it helped enhance my experience and enjoyment when taking the images - good job Nikon. On top of that, there are even different black & white modes you can choose from that are separate from all the other recipes, which brings us to the next and incredibly important section.
Images & Recipes
As someone who has shot for over a decade with the mindset of brining a photo to life within the edit, the last year has been really eye opening. I guess 10+ years of snapping images that look flat, boring, and lifeless as I take them eventually caught up to me. Don’t get me wrong, I still shoot in raw with full intention to edit them later but after experiencing the enjoyment of capturing images straight in camera on the X100VI without much need to edit - it’s hard to enjoy those flat lifeless raw images on the back of my work horse cameras the same way. What if you could have both? What if you could shoot completely in raw to edit later while also using recipes similar to the Fujifilm community recipes created by its users. Well you can do exactly this on the Nikon Zf.
One of the major factors for so many people buying Fujifilm cameras is their community and recipes surrounding them. There’s a massive market for people like Sophia who never want to have to sit behind the computer and adjust the white balance or shadows of the image. I experienced this when I spent time with the Fujifilm X100VI and genuinely enjoyed it. Beautiful images right on the back of my camera that didn’t feel like work. The biggest benefit being my enjoyment and ability to see differently right in the field by being able to change looks, contrast, and colors with different recipes on the fly. Fujifilm essentially has a monopoly on this market, especially owning all the rights to their legendary film stock from over the years.
Recipe - DG Film Look by Danny Gevirtz
The biggest downside to Fujifilm’s implementation is that if you want to shoot with recipes, you have to bake them into the JPEG. Fujifilm’s film simulations can be applied to their raw photos and show up in things such as Lightroom, but if you’re using custom recipes like many Fujifilm users do, those looks don’t embed into the raw files. This means if you want to shoot using recipes then you’re forced into baking the look into a JPEG and shooting the raw with it in case you do want to edit or change something later BUT that raw file won’t look anything like your JPEG and you have to start the edit from scratch. Not ideal.
Nikon’s recipe implementation is not only a lot more streamlined to install and use, it can also be used directly with raw files (with a caveat). Setting up a recipe on a Fujifilm camera essentially means opening up a website like mine and manually copying this list of settings on your camera. Not necessarily rocket science but a bit annoying if you want to add/remove new recipes to try out. Nikon’s implementation is much easier and can be done entirely without even touching your camera as long as you’ve setup your camera to connect to WiFi.
Once you’ve done that, you signup for a Nikon Imaging Cloud (NIC) account where you can browse recipes from other users and install or manage them with a simple web interface. If you don’t find recipes you quite like from Nikon’s official creators you can also create and install your own, or download ones from your favorite creator like me! You can even upload these custom recipes into Nikon’s Imaging Cloud and sync with your camera in the same way BUT you might want to add them manually. Doing so will unlock 9 extra recipes on your camera. As of May 2025 you can have 9 recipes synced from NIC and 9 custom recipes that you’ve installed using the memory card method (instructions here, super easy).
Once installed you can find all your recipes after Nikon’s pre-installed picture profiles. The best part is these recipes apply directly to raw images and the settings are embedded into the image files. Unlike Fujifilm recipes that only work by processing the image in camera and baking into a JPEG. Nikon’s method is essentially to apply an edit straight in camera, but use the raw image so you can always tweak it later. This would be quite beneficial on some of the images I’ve taken on the Fujifilm X100VI that just have too much film grain baked in.
The caveat I mentioned earlier is that the implementation into something like Lightroom still isn’t fully streamlined. The majority of the settings of the recipes transfer over but theres still a few that do not which will require you to use Nikon’s editing software (NX Studio) to replicate the exact settings you see when you snap the image. My current workaround is that if I want to use the image from straight out of camera then I just open the file up in Nikon’s software and export it that way. I hope in the future this can be fixed and bypass the need for Nikon’s editing software but for now this is what we have. In my testing essentially all the settings import into Lightroom besides the custom tone curves of recipes, which tends to be quite important for certain images.
Something else to mention is the recipes aren’t quite as good as some of the looks you can create on Fujifilm cameras - at least not yet. The lack of ability to add film grain, or start with a basis of a film emulation does restrict the Nikon recipes in certain ways. That being said I also think there just needs to be a bigger community of people creating for the platform. My hope is that Nikon keeps developing this as their implementation is a lot more intuitive than Fujifilm currently, there’s just a few key features missing to get that “vintage” feel that you can so easily within the Fujifilm ecosystem.
All the images within this article are straight out of camera (sometimes with very slight adjustments like crop or exposure), so it should be clear that the Nikon still produces fantastic images and styles. Especially considering the fact that these are raw images where the look isn’t baked in with the ability to tweak them unlike the recipes from Fujifilm. I’m hoping they continue to expand on these because it feels like if a brand gives people the ability to tinker and create custom recipes, that’s where the magic really happens. Find even more images and download my Nikon recipes for free here!
Using these recipes on the Nikon Zf is very easy as well. I’ve set a button on the front of the camera to open up the menu which you can scroll through a bunch of options including all of the built in Nikon presets. Most of those are too strong but Nikon allows you to change their strength from 0-10 right on the fly which really does make some of them useful, especially in the 30-50% range depending on the picture style.
Recipe - Fern by Ian Harland
The overall experience of recipes on Nikon is great. All they need to do now is push just a bit more to allow a few more raw settings to be tweaked to get the Straight out of camera images up to par with Fujifilms’.
I’ve left out so much here. We never even talked about how much better the auto-focus is in comparison to most of the Fujifilm experiences I’ve had, the Nikon Zf is absolutely a much more versatile camera that could easily even slot into being a professional powerhouse (interchangeable lenses, weather sealing, more robust video features). I didn’t touch on these because I really wanted to focus on how I’m personally using this camera, which is exactly the same as the Fujfilm X100VI - to shoot photos as a fun experience, nothing more. It does a superb job at that and absolutely makes me enjoy walking around with a camera around my neck again.
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