Nikon Df review

Price, specs and rating based on 50mm f/1.8G kit

There’s an emerging trend for digital cameras with modern internal components and a distinctly retro exterior. With the Df, Nikon has certainly got the retro part of that equation right. The angular magnesium alloy body takes its design cues from Nikon F series film cameras dating back to the 1950s. It even revives Nikon’s old logo from that era.

It’s not just about looks, though. The Df supports virtually every Nikon F Mount lens ever made, including old manual focus (known as non-Ai) models that won’t fit on other digital SLRs. It’s also littered with sturdy metal dials and levers.

Nikon Df Controls

The dials on the top plate cover shutter speed, ISO speed and exposure compensation. They’re not necessarily quicker to use than conventional command dials and buttons, but they’re certainly more satisfying. They also provide an at-a-glance readout of the camera’s current settings. The accompanying lock buttons to prevent accidental changes make these dials a little fiddly to adjust, but we got used to it during the course of the review.

The front command dial is mounted vertically rather than protruding from the camera. We found it comfortable but others have been less impressed. There are further switches for drive and metering mode, plus a curious little PASM exposure mode dial that must be lifted to unlock it. There’s a generous smattering of single-function buttons, including bracket and AF-On. The latter allows the autofocus and shutter release to be invoked independently. The dedicated ISO speed dial means there’s no direct access to the Auto ISO function, but we were able to assign this to the Fn button on the front of the camera.

This is the first SLR we’ve seen in a long time that can’t record video. We can only assume that this is by design rather than necessity, as the camera has all the hardware in place to do so. The message is clear: this is a photographer’s camera, and people who want to mess around with video can look elsewhere. Nikon hasn’t gone so far as to exclude live view, though. There’s a dedicated button to activate it, and the view can be magnified to fine-tune manual focus.

The other main thrust to the design is an attempt to cut down on the bulk and weight normally associated with a full frame camera. The handgrip is much smaller than usual, and as a result the shutter release button has been relocated to the main top plate. For us, it’s a significant setback for ergonomics compared to the Nikon D610.

The relocated shutter release and the various dials mean there’s only room for a small LCD screen on the top of the camera. It can show the current card and battery capacities, shutter speed and aperture, but it lacks the D610’s ability to display the JPEG/RAW, white balance, metering, Active D-Lighting and autofocus settings. As with various other upmarket Nikon SLRs, adjusting the white balance and JPEG/RAW quality settings involves holding down the relevant button with the left thumb and spinning the command dials. However, the Df relies on the main screen to relay these settings. It’s hardly a great setback but it doesn’t feel as neat as its siblings with larger LCD screens on their top plates.

Nikon Df Battery

The smaller grip means less room for a battery, so the Df uses the 1230mAh battery from the Nikon D5300 rather than the D610’s chunkier 1900mAh cell. Thankfully, it still manages to take 1,400 shots from a single charge – considerably more than the D610’s 900 shots. There’s no room for a dedicated card compartment, though. A single SDXC slot resides beside the battery compartment, which could be a pain when using a tripod. The Df also lacks an integrated flash. It’s unclear whether this was done to reduce its size and weight or more for the retro design ethos.

Despite all these nips and tucks, the Df is only 85g lighter than the D610. It’s 3mm shorter but 2mm wider, and while the stubby handgrip has reduced its depth by 15mm, attaching a lens cancels out this benefit. It’s about the same weight as a premium cropped-sensor SLR, and certainly no featherweight model.

Nikon Df Sensor and Autofocus

Inside, there’s the same 16.2-megapixel full-frame sensor that appears in Nikon’s flagship D4. The D4 – and its sensor – are a couple of years old now, but the moderate resolution on such a large sensor bodes well for noise levels. The pentaprism viewfinder is the same as in its full-frame peers with a 0.7x magnification and 100% field of view, giving a big, bright view of the scene in front of the lens.

It’s accompanied by the same 39-point autofocus sensor as the D610, with nine cross-type sensors for increased sensitivity. This is essentially the same autofocus sensor that appears on the consumer-grade Nikon D5300. While it’s a good fit for a cropped-sensor SLR, on a full-frame model the autofocus points are bunched together in the centre of the frame too much for our liking. It’s probably the D610’s weakest feature, and a big disappointment on the pricier Df.

We also found that this autofocus sensor struggled to lock onto subjects in low light, not least because there’s no autofocus assist lamp. It coped reasonably well with high-contrast subjects under household artificial light, but vague and moving subjects proved trickier. Autofocus sensitivity is quoted at -1 EV, which falls short of the -2 EV sensitivity of other cameras at this price, such as the Nikon D800 and Canon 5D Mark III, and the cheaper Canon EOS 6D‘s -3 EV sensitivity.

Focusing issues aside, shot-to-shot performance was excellent at 0.3 seconds. The 5.4fps continuous performance is a tad disappointing, though; the cheaper, higher-resolution D610 managed 6fps. At least there’s a decent-sized buffer, lasting for 30 JPEGs or 22 RAW frames before slowing to the speed of the card.

Nikon Df Image Quality

With no video capture facility, the Df really needs to hit the ball out of the park for photo quality. Fortunately, that’s exactly what it does. Our test shots were beautifully exposed and packed with crisp detail. Shooting RAW and processing in Adobe Lightroom gave an extra few ounces of precision to details. Noise levels were the lowest we’ve ever seen, with almost a one-stop advantage over the D610. The 24-megapixel D610 or 36-megapixel D800 might be better choices for big prints, but for us the Df comes top for image quality.

Processing RAW files in Lightroom gives the best results, but there’s not much wrong with the Df’s JPEG output

The sharp lines and smooth gradients in this JPEG are pretty much faultless

A fast lens in front of a full-frame sensor is a winning combination for narrow depth-of-field effects

The same combination comes up trumps in low light, allowing us to freeze motion with a fast shutter speed without the image succumbing to noise

Even the maximum native ISO 12800 setting looks remarkably clean

It’s only by ISO 51,200 that noise becomes intrusive

Nikon Df Conclusion

In the UK the Df is available only in kit form with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. This lens has had a cosmetic makeover to reflect the Df’s retro design, and it’s a good match with its relatively low weight and capable low-light performance.

However, the Df isn’t our top choice of camera for low-light photography, due to its less-than-spectacular autofocus performance. It’s not particularly small or light, either. We love all those dials and levers, and we’re quite taken by the retro appearance. Ultimately, though, the D610 seems like the smarter choice with its more comfortable handgrip, integrated flash, autofocus assist lamp and video capabilities. The fact that it’s little more than half the price leaves the Df high and dry.