New Travel Kit - Nikon Z7
I came to the realization that I needed a smaller, lighter camera kit for my travels. It needed to be able to produce the high-quality images yet be easy to handle and operate. After handling the Nikon Z7 at a local camera reseller I was sold; the Nikon Z7 is small and like, but importantly it felt like a Nikon.
After using this camera kit for several months, around Arizona and on trips to Greece and Germany, I can now say I've found exactly what I was looking for. This article shares my thoughts on this camera kit. It’s not an in-depth or technical review, it’s a review of how it’s impacted me as a travel photographer.
In this review I will use the following set of gear in reference:
- Nikon Z 7 camera (review) (Nikon)
- Nikkor Z 24-70 mm f/4 S Lens (review) (Nikon)
- Nikkor Z 14-30 mm f/4 S Lens (review) (Nikon)
- Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S Lens (review) (Nikon)
- Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S Lens (review) (Nikon)
I used an older lens from my previous kit on both trips; the Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II AF-S Zoom Lens on the Greece trip and the Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens on the Germany trip. Both of these lenses are F Mount lenses mounted to the Z7 using the Nikon FTZ adapter.
Light Weight
The travel industry has become more unforgiving in recent years for those carrying large and heavy luggage, levying sometimes excessive fees, regardless whether it is checked in and carry on. For a travel photographer weight becomes a prime consideration, as a result I'm always looking for lightweight gear.
In my last two trips, to Greece and Germany, I carried my camera kit in a Pacsafe Venturesafe X30 Anti-Theft Adventure Backpack (Amazon). This is not a traditional camera backpack. Its a 30-liter bag, weighing in at 2.6 lbs., empty. Fully loaded with all my gear (the kit listed above), the bag weighed in at mere 14.2 lbs. I don't carry my laptop in the same bag, I prefer to use another carry-on bag instead, so that I never have to take the backpack off.
Prior to these two trips I carried a full DSLR kit in a ThinkTank Airport Commuter, weighing in at about 4.2 lbs., empty, and it was obvious that I was carrying a lot of camera gear and it was quite heavy (at about 30+ lbs.) on my back.
Update: Since this review was originally written, I have added the Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S lens to the kit. Weighing in at 16.6 oz. (470 g), this lens doesn't change the dynamics of having a lightweight system very much. [11/18/2019]
Image Quality
The bedrock of this new kit is the mirrorless 45.7 MP full frame Nikon Z7 camera, featuring In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS).
The image quality of this camera and the lenses designed for it are simply stunning. Featuring the same basic sensor (with modifications for use in a mirrorless camera) as the award-winning Nikon D850, the sensor is high in sharpness and relatively low noise (low for such a high megapixel camera).
Sample Images
The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 S lens is one of the sharpest 50mm lenses you can buy. Here I was shooting at ISO 64, 6 seconds at f2.8 at about 8:30pm. The image is relatively noise free, even at a 6 second exposure.
While travelling the islands of Greece, I found the kit lens, the Nikkor 24-70 mm f/4 S lens, to provide a good combination of size and weight, without loss of image quality. This is an outstanding lens and a perfect companion lens for travel photography. There were times I wished for something wider, but I found this lens to be sufficient in many instances.
Both of these images were taken with the Nikkor 105mm Micro lens, mounted to the camera via the FTZ adapter. I found this combination to be stable and not front heavy as I was expecting.
To Learn More...
To learn more about the Nikon Z 7 see: Nikon Z 7 Official Site
