There is a lot of talk on the Internet about the Nikon Z7 capabilities for wildlife photography, especially of birds in flight. I took out the Z7 for the kind of bird photos I normally do and I am very, very happy with the results.

First, if you select DX crop, the image gets automatically enlarged to fill the wonderful EVF. No more squinting to see the small masked-out image of dSLR-FX cameras. No need to carry an additional DX body to get more reach with telephoto lenses. The best of both worlds!

Switching image area was very helpful when I was photographing birds at the excellent feeders that artist-wildlife tracker Cope has set out in his property in the Costa Rican lowland rainforest. In DX mode, my telephoto plus teleconverter had the right power for small birds like tanagers or hummingbirds. However, I was too close to fit pigeons or oropendolas in the cropped frame and was very happy to be able to go into FX mode for them without changing camera bodies.

I have not gotten a chance to photograph water birds in flight, but I feel pretty confident the Z7 will be up to the task: I could get in focus sequences of Blue and White Sparrows fairly consistently (provided I was able to lock focus in the fast, tiny birds). Just a test! I have nothing publishable as I got small bird silhouettes only. This of course is why the camera locked confidently on hummingbirds at the feeders in AF-C mode.

The other feature I loved is the silent electronic shutter. No noise to spook out nervous birds and also no vibration to blur photos with long lenses and teleconverters. The photo of the Crested Owls is a perfect example of this.

I told a friend I was not reviewing the camera… I am letting it prove its worth: It is very expensive so it better perform!

I will keep adding user experiences as I explore the possibilities offered by the sophisticated technologies built into this small and well built camera. Let me know if there is something you would like to know, and also if you want to share your experiences!