Is the Nikon Zf Still Good in 2026?

If you’re considering the Nikon Zf in 2026, we’ve got some really good news for you. Did you know that it’s even better than the Canon R3? And even better than some higher end cameras still today. We’ve been updating our Nikon Zf review over and over again. And now, we think we’re at the end.

The following text is from our updated to the Nikon ZF review. You can find the full review here at this link.

Is The Nikon Zf a Good Camera in 2026?

The other day, my buddy who owns a Nikon ZR tried the 7Artisans 135mm f1.8 on my Zf. “How is your autofocus so fast?,” he asked. “What settings are you using?” And that, to me, helped to solidify my decision that the Nikon Zf has to still be one of the absolute best cameras that the company made in years. It has gone through autofocus upgrades, Picture Control profile updates, and so much more. Sure, it’s still lacking a joystick. But it’s still very capable and I’ve used it still on gigs. Let alone, my buddy was surprised by how it performs with a Chinese third-party lens. He was using the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 on his Zr, for reference.

I’m writing this section of the review article on a Sunday at the end of May. And just now, I’ve realized something insane: the Nikon Zf is a far more capable camera for photography than even the Canon R3. Sure, it came out like two years later, but if I had actually spent money on a Canon R3 and I looked at this little retro thing coming from Nikon and how capable it is, I’d be livid.

Granted, I’ve also done a lot of upgrades to my Nikon Zf in the way of a sensor shield (sensor clip-in filter) from Kolari Vision and a good third-party metal grip that helps when needed.

The staff and I have also really started to conclude our investigation into what’s wrong with flash and the Nikon Zf. It works just fine with the Flashpoint Nano R2 and XPLOR 100 Pro II TTL flash when you go into HSS and set the transmitter to do that. I even torture tested it, and had zero issues here. This really leads us to believe our final findings: which is that the Zf’s flash issue is a combination of both the flash hot shoe, mechanical settings, and the transmitters.

The camera also has things like pre-shot burst capabilities.

So is the Nikon Zf still a good camera in 2026? Absolutely. Honestly, all it needed was a joystick, a bit more heft, a grip that can come with the camera for using more serious lenses, a fix to the mechanical interface with the hot shoe, and a sensor shield. And if I’m being even more nitpicky, I’d move some of the buttons to be more in-line with the Nikon Z8 series of cameras because the Zf is insanely powerful and I currently even use it alongside the Nikon D850 still.

This otherwise is one of the most perfect cameras on the market for pure photography.

I highly doubt that Nikon is going to issue anymore firmware updates for this camera going forward. But if they do, we’ll update this review.

Still, this review has had at least three journalists work on it over the years and we’ve got the most exhaustive test of anyone out there.