According to new reports, Nikon is close to announcing a Z-mount retro-inspired camera, similar in design to the Df DSLR. The Zfc, as it is reportedly named, will be an APS-C camera that is expected to be similar in performance to the Z50 but comes wrapped in Nikon’s film roots.
While only one small image of the camera has leaked, Nikon Rumors has taken that and extrapolated several mock-ups to anticipate how the new camera will look, at least from the top.
Below is a mockup created by Nikon Rumors reader Andres Melendez from the above image. More can be seen here.
What can be seen is a shutter button, record button, still or video functionality, exposure compensation dial, and shutter speed dial along with a small aperture indication screen. More than that, the camera’s thin body is visible which heavily mimics the company’s film cameras from the last century — similar in shape and design to the Nikon FM cameras.
According to the report, the camera will be called the Zfc — it was also referred to as the Z30 in previous rumors — and will be a Z-mount APS-C camera that will be very close to the Z50 as far as technical specifications. The report says that three colors are possible: silver, black, and brown. The latter could refer to leather accents, but those details were unclear.
The report alleges that the camera will be announced on June 28 and possibly begin shipping starting at the end of July. It will reportedly cost $999.
In addition to the camera, Nikon will also release two APS-C prime lenses under what may be called an “SE” line: a 28mm f/2.8 and a 35mm f/1.8. The latter lens is expected to optionally ship with the Zfc as a kit lens. The new lenses won’t share the same retro aesthetic as the camera and instead will keep the familiar Nikkkor Z-mount design and aesthetic.
Nikon’s last foray into a retro-inspired digital camera was the Nikon Df in 2013. At the time, this design direction was unexpected and polarizing, yet the $2,750 camera performed very well for the time from an image quality standpoint. While not everyone was a fan of the design back then, Fujifilm’s continued push into slim, film camera-inspired designs has proven that it is a popular aesthetic worth pursuing.
Several mockups of the Zfc can be seen on Nikon Rumor’s original report here.
Image credits: Header photo by NEDM64, CC BY-SA 3.0
Author: Jaron Schneider
Source: Petapixel
