Best feature Nikon DF has - is it doesnt have a Video mode.
If it had Expeed 4, be cool in black.

I think Nikon put some special magic sauce in the D4/Df sensor - I have a D4 and love the image quality I get from it.

I bought my Df back in 2019 and was so impressed with it I went out and bought another one. The colour rendition and dynamic range on this baby outclasses even my D700 and D810. I reckon you've grabbed yourself a bargain there Allen and yes, it will surely emerge as a legend.

What an accurate and articulate account of the great Df! All the reasons why I regretted selling mine. And all the reasons why I've just bought another (the first time in my life I've ever 'bought back in'). I think this camera was massively misunderstood at launch and in some ways five years ahead of its time. Why we never got a Df2 I don't know (ah, Nikon). Because the Zf is a very different thing. The thing Df fans always come back to is admittedly subjective: it shoots beautiful photos. But this isn't idle praise! I've shot and owned many digital cameras and for me, none can match the output of the Df for colour, 'texture' and noise control. Including Leica. But I think that now the spec wars are topping out, photographers are able to assess cameras more qualitatively. Now why did I sell my D4S..? Happy shooting!

Yes, the Df remains to this day the most satisfying digital camera I ever owned, mainly due to the IQ derived from its sensor. It is magical. And I still prefer the "real life" (D)SLR experience, despite the progress made by EVFs. People complain about AF performance and MF aids, but those work well for me: AF is very good except when in really low light/low contrast situations, and I have learned to fully trust the "grey dot" of the electronic rangefinder for manual focus (even when the "dot" does not flash on, the behaviour of the two triangles around it gives a reliable indication. And you still have your eye and the viewfinder's "ground" glass). In particular, 3D AF works very well, despite the absence of eye AF and the limited screen coverage of the AF module. Not failproof by any means,  but reliable enough for sharp focus in 95% of mainstream circumstances. For the rest, just buy an old D4 and get the same IQ. I have more fun shooting with the Df than with the Zf, even if the Zf beats it on all objective performance metrics.

I combine the Df with a Af D 35 mm f2 which makes it quite small or the Voigtländer 40mm manual f 2. It is one of my favorites and speaks to me...more than the Zf ever did

The df is the only camera from day one til now that has never left my side. It is simply my digital f3 and produces the best image quality.

I love the Df and have one in black and silver. I think these cameras are going to go for high prices eventually. These cameras are the closest you can get to shooting old and new Nikon glasses with the film experience. The image quality is stunning.

The Df was a gorgeous camera and deeply misunderstood at the time. Wonderful to see its resurgence. It was designed to be a digital Nikon F, built in their flagship Sendai factory with their flagship sensor and processor. It was intended to be used with all Nikkor f mount lenses going back to 1959. Nice video.

It makes me think, as a now retired lover of photography, when is enough technology enough?

I won't poo poo the A7Cii as I have never used one - I really think the D4, D4S and D3/S, D700 even all have that large pixel goodness - as the 16/18/20 megapixel Canons do too - anyways, why worry about the size or the shutter noise of a camera?  Why bother hiding at all, like you could play into the fact that you have white-haired loudness a bit, don't worry about, shit, you could pretend to be like Garry Winogrand, like you don't know what you're doing with the camera with looking like an oldie like that - these strengths should be played into is all I mean. Plus they allow us to use cheap, loud and obnoxious dSLRs and people just think you're daft and ignore you... and that is a good thing! Also something that young people can't do so well.

Interesting about the Z mount. I've been slowly learning photography for a few years and bought the DF just for that. It's been a tool to learn the basics on and now that I've finally started to print, I'm blown away by some of the pics that I've taken. More importantly, so was the photo lab 😊!

The Df definitely has some magic about it. I rarely shoot it these days but I just can't bare the idea of parting with it.

Hello Allen.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with the gear you actually use, and also your workflow with the final results of your photos.
Related to gear, according to many youtubers, everything they review is great, easy to use and has fantastic ergonomics. Then one goes to the store to try X brand mirrorless camera, and finds it has sharp dials, micro buttons, and terrible ergonomics.
So I really appreciate that you speak from experience.
Learning from you day after day.

❤LOVE IT

Great review mate 👍🏻 I’d now like to try one. Thanks for your candid insight 🙏🏻

It absolutely is a legend!  Firstly, it’s a pure stills camera, no video at all. Why other camera makers don’t produce stills only cameras is beyond me.  And it produces great color and B&W pics. I have two.

The Nikon Df looks like the Nikon D4. For that reason i use still the Nikon D4. The Nikon D4 is best camera out there. And it’s a legend as also the D3, D3S, D700 and the Df. For wedding i shoot always with the Nikon F4S. Working in the darkroom is always a special experience; after photographic exposure, you put the film or paper in the chemical baths and watch your image come to life.

Yes, I think it's on its way to becoming a classic, and there are several reasons. The first, and for me the most important, is that it's the only DSLR camera on which you can use any lens from the F line from 1959 to today. The image quality is the same as the D4, which, as many argue, along with the D700 and the D3/S, are the cameras that offer a fantastic balance between analog and digital texture. The same could be said of Canon with the 5D and 1D series. And I understand the same is true of some APS-C models from those brands and, for example, the Sigma DP. Those years were probably the best in the industry, always in terms of photography; video is a different matter. Furthermore, this isn't just a camera with a retro or vintage look; it's a camera with a different user experience, with classic-style buttons and dials that don't require using the menu. Fortunately, these cameras still have a long life ahead.  The path the industry subsequently took is well known: there was a race for MPX and hybrid cameras, with significant advances in focusing and video, not so much in photography, or often to the detriment of photography in the sense that cameras have become increasingly "digital," or the amount of internal processing has increased to "enhance" aspects such as sharpness, noise, and contrast through software, sometimes at the expense of "character" or sense of reality. I always come back to a video comparing a Nikon D200 vs. a Nikon Z7. You can search for "How does a 15-year-old camera compare to a 2021 camera? Nikon D200 vs. Nikon Z7," and I'm surprised to read the arguments in favor of the D200. Allen used Sony at one point. He even has a video explaining why he switched to Sony, but I couldn't find an explanation as to why he left Sony and returned to Nikon. If anyone knows if he addressed this issue in a video and could share the title, I'd be very grateful.

. I seem to remember most of the Df reviews of the time it first appeared were not very positive and they put me completely off it. I’m pleased to hear your thoughts so I’ll take another look. Currently I have the original Z7 and love it to pieces. It has the D850 sensor, the dynamic range of which is even slightly higher than the Z8 & Z9. I also have the new Fuji X 100 VI as an every day walk about camera and have never had so much fun. 40mpx, 35mm FFE (full frame equiv), lens ring to quickly digitally zoom to 50mm and 70mm FFE,  image stabilisation, fast enough auto focus, face and eye detect, built-in ND filter, leaf shutter, built-in flash, top flash sync speed 1/ 2,000 sec, auto focus works with infra red filter attached, Fuji film simulations, jacket pocketable. Couldn’t be without it now. Thanks Allen, I look forward to your follow up video.