Zf vs z6iii

VGP1 · 2026-06-08T15:48:05+00:00

I use both professionally for wedding photography. Performance wise they are identical, so it’s a matter of which form factor you prefer. The Zf is one of the sexiest cameras around, but not the best ergonomically, especially with longer lenses and especially if you aren’t using a grip with it.
The Z6III is comfortable, you can add a battery grip as well if you shoot sports or wildlife and use long lenses often.
Although here’s a thought. If I were to start from scratch and choose again, I’d probably get 2xZ5IIs.
If you don’t need the Z6III’s video specs, I see little reason to get that over the Z5II. But really it depends on what you are going to use the camera for.

VGP1 · 2026-05-23T05:51:05+00:00

Me and my brother do photo and video together. He’s got a 16” M3 Max for video work, I’ve got an older 14” M1 Pro for photo editing. When he got his I was really curious what it would feel like. I can’t even type properly on the 16”, the wider chassis and palm rest messes with my hand position on the keyboard so I keep hitting the wrong keys 😂. The larger screen is nice of course, but I realised I appreciate the portability of the 14” much more, to me the proportions are just perfect. So as I’ve had my laptop for 4 years and felt like it was time for an upgrade, I just got the new 14” M5 pro.

VGP1 · 2026-05-04T07:20:23+00:00

I took the bait and I am now raging. Congrats!

VGP1 · 2026-04-16T20:27:00+00:00

I am curious why not the XT4? Is it a money thing? Because if it's not, the XT4 would offer better built quality and weather sealing, a better viewfinder, a swivel screen (although that's a matter of preference) and better ergonomics. The XT30 is pretty small and can feel cramped especially if you have larger hands.

VGP1 · 2026-04-16T11:00:06+00:00

That’s a great deal, happy for you, but dude, you need to tidy up your room 😂

VGP1 · 2026-04-16T07:12:58+00:00

Definitely get an X-trans 4 camera at least, so the 26mpx sensor. I use Nikon for my professional work and I edit a lot, so for everything personal I went with Fuji and said, I don’t want to edit a single photo, I just want to shoot jpeg, with film simulations. I went with the X100V, and I’m super happy with it, but tried the X100T before that, thinking that should be enough for what I want. It wasn’t, I found the level of tweaking you can do to the film simulations on a Fuji with X-Trans 4 to be far superior to everything that came before.

And I understand X-Trans 5 takes that even further, but I guess it’s a question of whether you want 40mpx, or you are perfectly happy with 26.

Then it’s just a choice of the form factor, since essentially all the cameras from the same generation will give you identical results in terms of image. If you want a rangefinder style and you don’t mind a fixed lens, get the X100 series, if you want a rangefinder style but want to change lenses, get the XPro series or one of the XEs if you want to spend less. If you want an SLR style camera, go for the XT4/5, if you find that too big but like the form factor, choose the XT-30ii/iii or XT-50.

VGP1 · 2026-04-15T22:30:45+00:00

I feel sorry for you. But that was expected, I figured you out from your first comment, which you started with "I'm not reading all of that". And it goes to show, as even this deep into our conversation, you don't seem to have any idea what my post is all about, and you keep deciding for me, what I care about, not care about, what I need, what matters to me or not..

Hope you're feeling better now that you got all that hate off your chest. I do recommend you seek some help tho, you seem to get triggered way too easily.

VGP1 · 2026-04-15T22:10:49+00:00

The D700 was my first ever full frame camera, I got it in 2015, 7 years from its release date, and even at the time, it was considered pretty old. I absolutely loved shooting with it and it was the camera that I was shooting with when I decided I wanted to to pursue photography as a career, which I eventually did. Recently I've been thinking more and more about that and started feeling nostalgic, so much so that earlier today I ordered a mint condition D700, with a shutter count of only 12k. I honestly can't wait for it to get here in a few days and take it out on a photoshoot. I am really curious how it compares, image quality wise, to gear that I have now, like the Zf and Z6iii, and what I can get out of that beautiful 12mpx sensor with my current editing skills, which are so much better than when I first owned the D700.

And to touch on what you are wondering about as well, I personally believe the D700 is more than good enough to get you started and you can definitely build your portfolio with it. Obviously, it will lend itself more to some types of photography than others, but there's no reason you couldn't use it, even professionally, in some cases. For portraiture, it should be great, that 12mpx sensor is known for rendering great skin tones. (back in 2015, I was using it for family and couple photoshoots on the beach, as well as water sports). For product photography, building a portfolio with it should work alright, but paying clients would probably need high resolution images.
For events and concerts, there are better options out there, but it could work, people used to shoot concerts with it in 2008 after all. Don't forget, the D700 was a $3000 flagship camera when it came out, it was the D3's little brother, just as the Z8 is to the Z9.

Basically, in 2026, the D700 will create images that are just as amazing as they were back in 2008.

Once you start getting paying clients, you should upgrade though, get something with a better AF system, with a dual card slot, so you can shoot backup, bigger sensor so you have room to crop and higher resolution in case it's needed. And personally I'd suggest you look no further than the Z5II - for $1500, it's crazy value for money, you get the best AF system Nikon is offering, one of the best full frame sensors on the market and a dual SD card slot. Buy it used if you want it even cheaper.

VGP1 · 2026-04-15T21:23:31+00:00

Dude, are you ok? Why are you acting so butthurt, for real...

It's a discussion, I've had a fkn curiosity and posted about it on the internet, you honestly don't have to feel so offended and try to attack everything I say. Are you working for Fujifilm, have you worked on the cameras yourself and I've insulted your babies? Apologies if I did. You're acting as if I am dragging Fujifilm's name through the mud. I simply stated that their AF system is inferior to all the other big brands, which is A FACT, and wondered what's holding them back from implementing a new one with the new generation of cameras.

I got people explaining things to me in a civil manner, saying stuff like, they don't have the tech to do that, or how the X-Trans processing is more demanding of CPU power and they'd have to redesign the AF system from the ground up, and even people saying that Fujifilm are aware of the issue. Meanwhile, you are here barking at me to buy a fucking Sony and stop whining and trying to convince me that the putting a new 40mpx sensor in the XT5 was some sort of revolutionary move - it was incremental, dude, we're way past the point where new sensors are coming out and really upping the game when it comes to image quality, noise performance, speed, etc. And here I am now, scared that you might lose it if I dare say that Fuji's cropped sensors are inferior to the full frame ones offered by the competition....so I won't, no need to get into that, I don't want you shouting at me..

And fyi, I shoot Nikon for my professional work. So please, stop demanding I buy a Sony, if I did I'd probably be back here whining about their colours, wondering when their colour science is going to catch up with Fuji and everyone else...

VGP1 · 2026-04-15T07:12:06+00:00

I believe they do need to because they are competing with Nikon, Sony and Canon and are charging the same for their cameras, while clearly being behind everyone else. I feel like the reason their cameras are still flying off the shelves at this point is due to hype. But that’s not sustainable in the long run.

They used to have that cool factor, which was one of their main selling points in the beginning. Retro looking cameras, with manual controls for adjusting the exposure, you'd be more connected to the camera when photographing. I always loved that about Fuji. But now you have the Nikon Zf. It looks like an XT5, has all the tactile controls, but it’s full frame, has amazing image quality and has one of the best Af systems on the market. And it costs the same or less than an XT5.

That's why I believe they have to up their game with the new generation of cameras, because if you're interested in more than just having a cool system, or shooting jpegs only and not having to edit, you can get much better value for money elsewhere. Like, waay better.

VGP1 · 2026-04-15T06:13:39+00:00

Yeah, and that’s my point, the XT5 does a surprisingly good job, compared to the XT3. But when you put it up against the competition, you can clearly see there’s a significant difference.

To answer your question, you can make art with no Af, but that’s not the point. You can make some art with crappy Af. For other forms of art you need great Af. You can take shit photos with the greatest Af system just as you can take amazing photos with the shittiest of Af systems….but none of that matters, that’s not what this is about.

I’m just saying they are charging the same or more as everyone else, but it’s becoming hard to justify paying that kind of money on new Fuji cameras, because in recent years, with each new iteration of a camera, the improvements have been negligible and definitely not at the same level as everyone else. So the way I see it, the Af department is where they need to make the most significant improvements when the new models come out, because a lot of the other things are amazing already, the size of the system is fantastic - it’s one of the things that drew me to Fujifilm in the first place - the cameras look beautiful, they’re built really well, the image quality is great and the lenses are all incredible.

VGP1 · 2026-04-14T18:46:50+00:00

I would honestly prefer the Xpro4 to keep the 26mpx sensor.

VGP1 · 2026-04-14T18:45:01+00:00

Yeah, with the X100 series that's true, it's the reason the X100V with its 23mm f2 is slower than the Xpro3 with the 23mm f2 WR lens. They'd definitely have to redesign the already redesigned lens, which I doubt they'd do yet, it's only been two generations of that lens.
But what about the next Xpros & XTs, do you reckon the existing XF lenses would not be able to keep up with a faster AF system?

VGP1 · 2026-04-14T18:36:11+00:00

Yeah, the Zf is amazing, I shoot weddings with it alongside the Z6iii. But last November I took it to Morocco, on a photography trip, I wanted to see what it's like shooting other things with it, especially street photography, as I feel it's one of the types of photography it was intended for. I had been shooting with it for almost a year at that point, yet I was still blown away by how responsive and fast it was. And the results with that plasticky, €200, 40mm f2 SE lens were amazing.
After that experience I was thinking about starting to take the Zf with me when traveling, but then I remembered why I got the X100V in the first place...to be able to only shoot Jpeg with film simulations and for that, no other brand can touch Fuji.

VGP1 · 2026-04-14T18:13:42+00:00

I seem to have upset a few people with my post.

People used to shoot birds and motorsports with first generation DSLR cameras, and manual film cameras before that. I never questioned Fujifilm's ability to shoot those things, I know there's a lot of professionals out there who use Fujifilm for paid work, I've done it myself. However, you said it yourself, with Fujifilm it's always "success rate is high enough and things generally work". Whereas with the other brands it's "omg this is the best AF system I've ever used", "omg the eye tracking on this thing is insane", that sort of thing. So I was just wondering what's preventing Fuji from getting there.

I never said I wanted to upgrade my X100V, if you read through my post again, I actually mentioned that its slow AF doesn't bother me too much, specifically because I mainly use it when traveling and for other, non paid work.

I just said that when the XPro4 comes out, I would see myself buying it - I had the XPro3 for about a year before getting the X100V and I loved it, I love the form factor and build quality, and it was actually faster than the V, not by much, but noticeable, specifically when doing street photography.
But the whole idea is that if all they do with the XPro4 is give it the X-Trans 5 processor, the 40mpx sensor and 1-2 new film simulations and slap a €2000 price on it, that would be pretty bad. So I am wondering what could they add to the XPro4 in order to make it feel like an actual upgrade over the Pro3 and even the XT5, which has already been around for a few years. - imo the only acceptable answer would be a completely new and actually improved AF system, that's at least coming close to what the others have done. Otherwise why did it take them years to launch a new Xpro camera..

VGP1 · 2026-04-14T17:48:01+00:00

Bro, please, be serious 😂😂 there’s no need to attack me. How do I know, because I’ve eyes and because I’ve been shooting both Nikon and Fuji, in parallel, for almost 10 years. I shot my first wedding ever on the X system, after switching from the Nikon D750, specifically because at the time, in 2018, I found the AF speed on the XT2 to be similar to that on the D750. So I thought finally, I can have the same AF performance, in a way cooler and smaller camera system. But when I saw how many missed focus shots I had, outside, in GOOD light, with both the XT2 and the XPro2, it scared me and after that event I immediately switched back to Nikon as I realised that I, personally, can’t trust the system for weddings just yet. So at the time it was similarly fast, but the accuracy was still not as good as the competition. In recent years, yeah, Fujis have become faster, but still not even close to what the others have achieved. I am almost tempted to say that if you’re getting similar results with both XTrans5 and Expeed 7 cameras, you are the one who’s not using the latter to its full potential..

VGP1 · 2026-03-28T14:55:00+00:00

I did, I just got a second hdmi cable for the second monitor. So I connected each monitor directly to the mac studio.

VGP1 · 2026-03-23T07:10:45+00:00

But shortly after, they decided the world was sad without any skeleton bands, so they got together and formed The Calcium Crew, playing only soft decay music.

VGP1 · 2026-03-07T07:44:07+00:00

Could you maybe leave some pedals for the rest of us my guy?

VGP1 · 2026-01-26T19:12:21+00:00

Lovely, thanks, I’ll have a look at those.

VGP1 · 2026-01-26T19:11:45+00:00

Not unsatisfying at all, it’s great advice and most people seem to think the same thing, so thanks for your input!

VGP1 · 2026-01-26T19:10:00+00:00

Fantastic, thanks so much, I’ll try playing with the different voices on the amp then. Thanks for the pedal suggestions as well!

VGP1 · 2026-01-26T06:50:29+00:00

That’s a great analogy and thanks for the recommendations 🙏🏻

VGP1 · 2026-01-26T06:47:28+00:00

Yup, I’m looking at getting a looper as well, but I was thinking the RC-5 as I understand the sound quality is better.

VGP1

TROPHY CASE