Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
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p.44 #1 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
fjablo wrote:
Maybe it’s less so the 3 vs 5 axis but rather the missing distance info that makes IBIS less effective with CV lenses.
I can hand-hold the adapted AF-D 35mm to 1sec, but was struggling to get sharp images at 1/4 with the CV 50 APO..
Should double-check with the 50mm 1.8G at some point
Beyond the handholding rule of thumb of 1/focal length without IBIS, you are getting about 3 and 2/3rds of a stop with the CV 50 APO and about 5 stops with the AF-D 35. When I test for IBIS with every lens I have tested so far I get 2 stops difference between shots on my Nikon Z7. Sometimes I get 5 or six stops. Sometimes I get 3 or 4 stops. The hand movement for most people is a pretty random event and for most people it isn't all that consistent, so I am not sure what you are observing isn't just that normal inconsistency in hand movement and how stabilization affects it. When I test for IBIS I do a minimum of 50 shots at a given shutter speed and I consider the lens to have that many stops if 80% of them are reasonably sharp. So if that number is let's say 4 stops, then I will get typically 20% sharp at 6 stops. When I test this way lenses with 3-axis stabilization get about half a stop less than those with 5-axis stabilization, but I would never know that if I didn't test with lots and lots of shots. The variation between shots is just too big, for me at least, to see a difference unless I take a lot of shots.
p.44 #2 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
Anyone with feedback on experience/feedback adapting Contax G lenses successfully on ZF- especially Wide angles?
The techart TZM adapter has been updated via firmware to work on the ZF but still no updates for the TZG adapter.
p.44 #3 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
lsds wrote:
Anyone with feedback on experience/feedback adapting Contax G lenses successfully on ZF- especially Wide angles?
The techart TZM adapter has been updated via firmware to work on the ZF but still no updates for the TZG adapter.
I've tried with an adapter from G-Z (manual focus) and the images are still not good with Contax G21/28 lenses - color casting and edge smears, although they are less so than images taken with Nikon Z7.
p.44 #4 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
ocean2059 wrote:
I've tried with an adapter from G-Z (manual focus) and the images are still not good with Contax G21/28 lenses - color casting and edge smears, although they are less so than images taken with Nikon Z7.
Have you tried the PCX filter solution + post processing with the CG wide angles? Should be able to handle as it was a known issue with the Z’s and results were better with the BSI sensor on the Zs and slightly slimmer stack.
p.44 #6 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
RoamingScott wrote:
I can't believe Nikon introduced the ZFc/ZF line and didn't bother to create an F to Z adapter with a freaking aperture follower. No one wants to adjust aperture on their manual chipped lenses with the control wheels!!
In general, I totally agree. The ZFc/ZF cameras are largely form over function at the expense of all the things that make Fuji cameras and film cameras actually fun to use. Lucky for Nikon, the ZF blows the even the 40mp Fuji's IQ and DR away at nearly half the megapixels.
If the FTZ adapter actually focused AF-D (screwdrive) lenses, and allowed them to work seamlessly, I would have bought into Nikon Z a few years ago. I really love some of the old AF-D glass... the 35/2, 50/1.4 and to a lesser extent the 85/1.4 are bargains these days and all have a great look.
p.44 #7 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
lsds wrote:
Have you tried the PCX filter solution + post processing with the CG wide angles? Should be able to handle as it was a known issue with the Z’s and results were better with the BSI sensor on the Zs and slightly slimmer stack.
I did try the PCX filter and it worked okay for the G28/2.8 on Z7 but not for the G21/2.8. Somehow, with my manual focus adapter, the G21/2.8 won't focus to infinity with the PCX attached. I have given up on trying to use wide angle Contax G lenses on digital bodies and started going back to shoot films with a pair of Contax G1 and G2 bodies now.
p.44 #9 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
I just sold my Zf kit and went to a Leica SL2-S instead, now that they're within range of the Nikon, price wise. Yes the Zf has electronic aids for adapted manual focus, but the viewfinder was too low resolution to verify critical focus. Plus the camera was just too damned complicated to set up. I don't need 30 different AF/MF options scattered across a dozen different menu locations. I didn't (and won't) use a color camera enough to stay familiar with the location and interaction of all of the options. For example, took my kid out for a fall portrait shoot -- took me 20 minutes of f'n around in menus to figure out why my rear screen wasn't turning on for some overhead shots. When YouTube menu deep dives for camera setup take nearly 2 hours to watch e2e, something is seriously wrong. I need a camera to give me a few autofocus options, drive modes, button layout choices, and then to just get the hell out of my way.
Another thing that bugged me about the Zf -- the dials. Why did Nikon give you dials, but the neglected to give you the ability to just set a dial to A? Instead, for auto ISO or auto shutter speed, you're forced to go a$$ deep into menu hell.
Plus the colors were meh. Yellow aspen leaves, which should have been super vibrant, took a lot of work to get that way in post.
Anyway, I've dropped the hammer on the Z mount kit, and am now fully entrenched in the Leica/Sigma/Lumix ecosystem. The SL bodies are just a model of simplicity, efficiency, and the viewfinder makes MF lenses SO easy to focus -- to the point where I just sold my color M10 body as well because I can focus the SL even faster and more accurately.
p.44 #10 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
psyclism wrote:
I just sold my Zf kit and went to a Leica SL2-S instead, now that they're within range of the Nikon, price wise. Yes the Zf has electronic aids for adapted manual focus, but the viewfinder was too low resolution to verify critical focus. Plus the camera was just too damned complicated to set up. I don't need 30 different AF/MF options scattered across a dozen different menu locations. I didn't (and won't) use a color camera enough to stay familiar with the location and interaction of all of the options. For example, took my kid out for a fall portrait shoot -- took me 20 minutes of f'n around in menus to figure out why my rear screen wasn't turning on for some overhead shots. When YouTube menu deep dives for camera setup take nearly 2 hours to watch e2e, something is seriously wrong. I need a camera to give me a few autofocus options, drive modes, button layout choices, and then to just get the hell out of my way.
Another thing that bugged me about the Zf -- the dials. Why did Nikon give you dials, but the neglected to give you the ability to just set a dial to A? Instead, for auto ISO or auto shutter speed, you're forced to go a$$ deep into menu hell.
Plus the colors were meh. Yellow aspen leaves, which should have been super vibrant, took a lot of work to get that way in post.
Anyway, I've dropped the hammer on the Z mount kit, and am now fully entrenched in the Leica/Sigma/Lumix ecosystem. The SL bodies are just a model of simplicity, efficiency, and the viewfinder makes MF lenses SO easy to focus -- to the point where I just sold my color M10 body as well because I can focus the SL even faster and more accurately....Show more →
Interesting, I am a sl2s user and actually i am thinking of doing the contrary, the sl2s is a beautiful camera, but the sluggish autofocus, and the manual focus assist tools are making me want to go to the ZF. The sl2s has a great EVF, but for manual focus i feel its useless, its only great if you zoom in, or if you have a great eye. Since i dont have such a good eye site...I actually can focus faster with the m, and hope that it will be smae with the ZF...
What keeps me from doing it, is that i haven't been able to test the ZF and that I really like the sl2s colors/sensor.
p.44 #11 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
Malabito wrote:
Interesting, I am a sl2s user and actually i am thinking of doing the contrary, the sl2s is a beautiful camera, but the sluggish autofocus, and the manual focus assist tools are making me want to go to the ZF. The sl2s has a great EVF, but for manual focus i feel its useless, its only great if you zoom in, or if you have a great eye. Since i dont have such a good eye site...I actually can focus faster with the m, and hope that it will be smae with the ZF...
What keeps me from doing it, is that i haven't been able to test the ZF and that I really like the sl2s colors/sensor.
The Zf focus aids, in my experience, weren't reliable. I'd have a green box on an eye, and even zoomed in the EVF wasn't detailed enough to confirm focus. I'd take the shot, only to find that the camera wasn't actually as focused on the eye as it said. Getting a false sense of security from a focus aid that wasn't terribly accurate, with no real way to verify focus outside of a tethered laptop, was not in the least bit helpful.
p.44 #12 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
psyclism wrote:
The Zf focus aids, in my experience, weren't reliable. I'd have a green box on an eye, and even zoomed in the EVF wasn't detailed enough to confirm focus. I'd take the shot, only to find that the camera wasn't actually as focused on the eye as it said. Getting a false sense of security from a focus aid that wasn't terribly accurate, with no real way to verify focus outside of a tethered laptop, was not in the least bit helpful.
this has been my experience as well, very frustrating. surely this can be addressed via firmware, hopefully sooner than later.
p.44 #13 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
A short explanation. I got myself a Miranda Auto sensorex EE for almost no money. I want to try it out again and feel how it is to use since it was my first real camera with which I learned how to take photos when I was a kid, I think my parents spent 10-15 USD for the kit with three primes in 1980 The camera is very nice and seem to function after some work-out.
So here is the Miranda 50mm F1.8 on the Zf, full open. To make things worse(?) I use a Fotodiox Miranda to Nikon F adapter with a x1.4 lens and the FTZ. Truly lo-fi but I like the result in some way, Jpegs picture controll auto. Maybe I'll invest in a real Miranda to Z-adapter, it depends on the other lenses that are on their way.
p.44 #16 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
Getting ready for work this morning my dog comes in with the top to my daughter's trashcan stuck on her head. She was evidently dumpster diving for some left over goldfish wrappers in my daughter's room. Gave me an opportunity to test out my new 28.
Thypoch Simera 28 1.4 M mount adapter with TTartisan and used green box focus confirmation on all of these.
p.44 #19 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
psyclism wrote:
I just sold my Zf kit and went to a Leica SL2-S instead, now that they're within range of the Nikon, price wise. Yes the Zf has electronic aids for adapted manual focus, but the viewfinder was too low resolution to verify critical focus. Plus the camera was just too damned complicated to set up. I don't need 30 different AF/MF options scattered across a dozen different menu locations. I didn't (and won't) use a color camera enough to stay familiar with the location and interaction of all of the options. For example, took my kid out for a fall portrait shoot -- took me 20 minutes of f'n around in menus to figure out why my rear screen wasn't turning on for some overhead shots. When YouTube menu deep dives for camera setup take nearly 2 hours to watch e2e, something is seriously wrong. I need a camera to give me a few autofocus options, drive modes, button layout choices, and then to just get the hell out of my way.
Another thing that bugged me about the Zf -- the dials. Why did Nikon give you dials, but the neglected to give you the ability to just set a dial to A? Instead, for auto ISO or auto shutter speed, you're forced to go a$$ deep into menu hell.
Plus the colors were meh. Yellow aspen leaves, which should have been super vibrant, took a lot of work to get that way in post.
Anyway, I've dropped the hammer on the Z mount kit, and am now fully entrenched in the Leica/Sigma/Lumix ecosystem. The SL bodies are just a model of simplicity, efficiency, and the viewfinder makes MF lenses SO easy to focus -- to the point where I just sold my color M10 body as well because I can focus the SL even faster and more accurately....Show more →
Is the EVF smooth on the SL2-S when you zoom in?
I changed from XH-2 to ZF, and the EVF lag (punched in on eye) is annoying me a bit more than I thought it would (ignoring resolution differences).
The camera is very nice and seem to function after some work-out.
