Steve Spencer
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 p.45 #13 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses | |
wastedimages wrote:
I have the Zf already, and it is impressive as hell. For the next few months I can play around with my legacy pentax glass which I am enjoying.
Then Im going to want to buy some manual lenses.
I need to decide whether to
buy the CV lenses in Z mount ( can only use on the ZF)
buy the CV lenses in M Mount ( can use on the Zf, A7R2 and possible future Leica)
Ignore the CV lenses and save the extra for the Elmarit/summicron/summilux lenses
I respect retrofocus as a photographer (I think his work is excellent) and I think his arguments are sound, but I think about these issues slightly differently. Whether I go with Leica M mount lenses or lenses for the specific mirrorless camera depends on whether the lenses underperform on mirrorless or not. I don't want my lenses to have reduced performance because of the cover glass on the sensor. Despite that concern some lenses work fine in Leica M mount when they are adapted and I typically get those in Leica M mount.
Now there are two ways to make the lenses and sensors match. You can buy lenses optimized for the sensor or you can get the camera sensor modified. Either way it will cost, or potentially cost, a bit of money to get your lenses and sensor "matched." If you buy lenses optimized for the Z-mount, then if you switch cameras to another brand you will have to sell them and buy lenses optimized for the other mount (you can use E-mount lenses on Z-mount with an adapter, but Z-mount lenses cannot be used on any other mount). You will likely lose a bit a money in the switch. On the other hand if you modify the sensor in your camera, then you will pay about $500 to get a sensor that is optimized for Leica M mount lenses (and older film lenses like your Pentax legacy lenses). If you keep your M mount and legacy film lenses, and want to continue to get performance optimized for them, then you will have to modify the sensor on future cameras as well (unless you go with a film camera or a Leica camera). Either way, you pay for optimizing the match between your lenses and your camera, but for me that is a price I am willing to pay.
Here is what I am doing specifically. I have a Sony A7r V. I have a bunch of Voigtlander E mount lenses for it. Right now I have the 21 f/1.4, 40 f/1.2, 50 f/1.2, and 50 f/2 APO. I also have the 75 f/1.5 in Leica M mount that I adapt. I adapt that lens because Fred's (and several other people here) testing has pretty clearly shown that this lens' performance is not affected by the thicker sensor stack on Sony E-mount. I also plan to get the Voigtlander 28 f/1.5 in Sony E mount, which will be available in a few weeks later this year, and I plan to swap the 40 f/1.2 for the 35 f/2 APO, and sometime either this year or next I will very likely get the Voigtlander 90 f/2 ultron APO--Fred is testing that right now and it looks like a lens I would like--but that one I will likely get in Leica M mount as well. So, for me you can see I get the Leica M mount version of Voigtlander (and other brands) lenses when I think the performance is unaffected by the sensor stack, but I get the mirrorless mount version when I think it is affected by the sensor stack, but I do so knowing that if I switch camera brands, which I have been known to do, then I will have to sell those lenses and buy other ones for the new mount and will lose a bit of money in the process (typically about $100 a lens). Note with this plan there is only one lens I have in Sony E mount that you couldn't get in Nikon Z mount.
I have also seriously considered modifying the sensor of my camera, but have decided not to do that just yet. If I did, then I could (and would) buy all Leica M mount lenses. I would go this route if there were Leica M mount lenses I really wanted to use that weren't available in mirrorless mount, but with so many good Voigtlander lenses and more nice lenses coming from other manufacturers there are no Leica M mount only lenses that I feel would add something I would use much at all to my kit.
As you can see these decisions, in my view, come down to some pretty nuanced personal preferences. I don't think you need to solve what you plan to do right away. Your plan to start sounds solid to me, but do know that your options include all the ones you mention plus potentially getting your sensor modified.
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