Nikon Z 7 × Street

Photographers often say that physical mobility, speed and AF performance are key factors in street photography. As you walk along the streets, you might encounter something of interest and release the shutter, before continuing on your journey once again. After all, this is Hong Kong, a city that never sleeps. In this article I will share the shooting capabilities of the Nikon Z 7 as experienced by a photographer who is so captivated by street photography that he has made it his life’s work to capture such scenes. (Report by Koji Ueda)

I rode on a ferry and photographed Hong Kong Island. The image quality was so good that you wouldn't think it was taken with a standard zoom lens. You can see that image is captured sharply right to the very edges.

At a tram stop. A street photo incorporating the form of a pigeon that came swooping down. The Nikon Z 7 made it a cinch to take this shot, thanks to its high speed continuous shooting and extremely smooth electronic viewfinder (EVF).

Physical mobility, speed, and autofocus (AF) performance are all important factors in street photography. The Nikon Z 7 satisfies all of these. The EVF is without compromise, providing a natural yet bright and detailed view right to the edges, which allows you to concentrate on the shoot. The deep grip allows you to shoot for long periods of time without getting tired. This shoot was of the streets of Hong Kong, which is the subject of my life's work.

The first suprise is the image quality obtained when using the camera together with a Z mount lens. Thanks to the large mount diameter and advanced lenses, images are resolved sharply right to the edges of the screen. With the new lenses and EXPEED 6, the Nikon Z 7 has achieved never-before-seen clearness and sharpness from the foreground right into the distance, with images having a three-dimensional feel.

In street photography, autofocusing is a key point, with the Nikon Z 7 focusing with a degree of accuracy pretty much similar to the D850, from backlit to low light conditions. In addition, the ruggedness and superior dust and drip resistance are the same as for previous models. Although it was frequently raining during the shoot, I was able to continue without any worries thanks to a dust and drip resistant design on par with that of the D850.

As for the battery performance, I felt that I was able to shoot for relatively longer than what was listed in the catalogue specs. It is sufficient to have two batteries on hand when shooting from morning till night. With the release of the Nikon Z 7, street photography will become that much easier.