My Blog

Nikon Z7 for Landscape Photography

Mirrorless Revolution

Nikon Z7 For Landscape Photography: 

The Nikon Z7 makes a near-perfect landscape photography camera. This camera is a pleasure to use out in the field with its excellent weather protection and high dynamic and resolution, if there is an image to capture the Nikon Z7 can achieve your vision.

Overcast with rain was the day's weather forecast but I did not wish to stay in and miss a day of the Autumn colors of fall trees. It would have been much more striking had Mr. Sun joined the sky but that was not to be on this day.  The image below is a downsampled version as all these images are due to the Z7's massive file sizes.

This was a simple one-day outing with the Nikon Z7 for some Autumn colors and my overview and experience. If I did not have the Nikon Z7 I would be lugging around my D850 DSLR with a 24-70 lens which if you have not the pleasure in the past of lifting that combo to your eye you know it can tire on you very quickly.  I am pleased to report the new Nikon Z7 is a delight to use with its compact size and weight when coupled with the 24-70s f/4 lens.  I very much appreciate the ease of carrying the Z7 and lens combo.  I never once tried or became frustrated with the operation.

New Camera Settings and Finding What I Needed: I only had one head scratch moment when I discovered that my profile I "thought" I set up for shooting landscapes and saved to U2 was not saved or maybe it was my oversight, that error meant I just shot 100 images in jpeg, aargh. I rarely shoot JPEG and thought I switched and saved the settings for RAW but noticed they were all saved as normal.  Once I made that small correction - I had no further moments of finding what I needed using either the dials, menus or using the back I button.  Speaking of which with the Z7 you can customize the i Menu to your taste.

The Nikon Z7 is an excellent choice for landscape photography - you will appreciate the very high-quality image detail, ease of use, exceptional electronic viewfinder, rear touch screen, rugged build and layout - all these make for quick frustration-free shooting. The Nikon Z7 allows you to focus on the composition rather than the camera. 

When I go out shooting I normally attach the camera to the tripod and sling it over my shoulder with the Nikon Z7 it is effortless, as I find a possible composition I simply drop the tripod to the ground and fire up the camera and the Nikon is ready to go almost instantly - much faster startup than any camera I used to date. With the touchscreen, it is simple to swipe up down to quickly find a menu item.  

Although I had an overcast day I appreciate the ISO range, allowing me to set the ISO to the lowest and aperture to f/20 to achieve what normally requires an ND filter, but of course, I will integrate my ND filters when a wider aperture is needed. 

I did not attempt to adjust the in-camera White Balance and with the Z7 you have a couple of choices.  I did notice my images were a bit warm for my taste - this is something I need to experience to see how the settings work in real life.

What I like about the Z7 for Landscape Photography

  • Compact and lightweight - easy to carry
  • High resolution and edge to edge sharpness with a good quality lens
  • Electronic Viewfinder - You see the results before you take the photo
  • LCD Screen - Tilt, Touch Focus and ease of reading
  • Top screen with all the shooting details I need
  • Image Quality - very impressive
  • Three User Profiles with customizable i menus for video and photography
  • Ease of Use and Nikon's Top Quality/Build
  • Remote control via BlueTooth and smartphone for hands-off shooting those long exposures

Summary:  I used to carry my D850 for shooting nature/landscape photography but now after having used the Nikon Z7 on several outings I did not see any difference except the Z7 has superior customizable features at your fingertips and the Z7 is much more compact. Using the Nikon Z7 is a pleasure out in the field I shot all day problem-free even in the day-long drizzle. I carried two spare batteries to be safe, but never needed them and after 535 shots I still had 23% left.

Support this site by using my Amazon Associate Links

Get your Nikon Z7II

Get Your Nikon Z6II

More links