p.46 #1 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
Can someone tell me if trap focus is possible with Z mount Voigtlander lenses and, if so, how to set it up? I followed all the guides and my shutter button still acts normally.
p.46 #2 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
saxguy wrote:
Can someone tell me if trap focus is possible with Z mount Voigtlander lenses and, if so, how to set it up? I followed all the guides and my shutter button still acts normally.
I believe you need a smart adapter so the camera thinks it has an autofocus lens attached. With a Voigtlander Z lens, the camera knows it has a manual lens so the shutter release is always active. Trap focus works by setting the camera to AF-S, and the camera ignores your AF mode choice with a Voigtlander Z lens.
p.46 #3 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
OffTrail wrote:
I believe you need a smart adapter so the camera thinks it has an autofocus lens attached. With a Voigtlander Z lens, the camera knows it has a manual lens so the shutter release is always active. Trap focus works by setting the camera to AF-S, and the camera ignores your AF mode choice with a Voigtlander Z lens.
Ah, thank you. I guess the question then becomes whether a Z mount Voigtlander mounted to the zf has better image quality than an adapted M Mount Voigtlander with a smart adapter.
p.46 #4 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
saxguy wrote:
Ah, thank you. I guess the question then becomes whether a Z mount Voigtlander mounted to the zf has better image quality than an adapted M Mount Voigtlander with a smart adapter.
The Z versions are generally optimized for the Z sensor stack, so IQ can sometimes be better. For me, the ergonomic upsides of the Z versions are what makes the biggest difference. They're a bit bigger and fit the general size of the Zf better, rings turn the Nikon direction, and of course there's no need to rely on an adapter. And the Z versions typically come with hoods, it seems, where M versions don't.
p.46 #5 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
saxguy wrote:
Ah, thank you. I guess the question then becomes whether a Z mount Voigtlander mounted to the zf has better image quality than an adapted M Mount Voigtlander with a smart adapter.
There were some posts discussing this, I think the considered opinion was 50mm and above you should be OK with adapted glass but the wider you go, the more chance there was of smearing at the edges.
I am sure someone will come along and link to it.
Next month I will be buying the Nokton 40mm F1.4 for my Bessa-T, I will get the TTartisans 6bit adapter as well and test how bad the edge performance is on my Zf
It is a shame as M mount lenses would be ideal for me, I could adapt them to my Sony, use on film and adapt on my Zf, but I suspect that for 28mm and maybe 35 that might not be the way to go.
p.46 #6 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
Apparently I should have read the manual about using manual focus lenses. I got the zf and Z mount Voigtlander 50 f/1 a few days ago and have been taking some test shots. The images were reasonably sharp, but not as sharp as I would have hoped for, judging by what I've been reading and seeing with that combination. I even ordered another copy of the lens in case I just got a bad copy. This was in conjunction with subject detect and using the green box confirmation around the eye. I was finding it incredibly difficult to keep the green box lit at f1...
...until I realized that if I half pressed the shutter it would activate IBIS while I was focusing and any minor movements back and forth would be compensated for. Night and day difference. This is a great combination with the zf. I ordered the 40 1.2, which should be here today. I wish there was something in the 21-24mm range in Z mount from Voigtlander as well. I'm not a fan of 28mm and don't really use 35mm that much.
FWIW, I've been a Leica shooter for years, currently using the SL3 with the APO Summicron lenses (21, 35, 75), the 50 Summilux-SL and I also have the Q3 43. So far the shooting experience with the zf has been great. In low light the EVFs of the SL3 and Q3 43 can get a bit laggy and, even with magnification, the two cameras can be tricky to manually focus (autofocus is a crapshoot in low light with both of them). I don't think the zf can replace the other cameras for everything, but for low light and travel I could see it having a very solid place in my bag.
p.46 #7 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
saxguy wrote:
...until I realized that if I half pressed the shutter it would activate IBIS while I was focusing and any minor movements back and forth would be compensated for.
I have never once seen this behavior, but I have my ZF set up like my Z9 with Sport mode and I'm not tying IBIS to the focus point. I have full time IBIS, shutter or not. How is yours set up?
p.46 #8 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
RoamingScott wrote:
I have never once seen this behavior, but I have my ZF set up like my Z9 with Sport mode and I'm not tying IBIS to the focus point. I have full time IBIS, shutter or not. How is yours set up?
I'll have to check when I get home, but there was definitely a difference in the ease of keeping the box green upon half press vs not pressing the shutter button at all.
p.46 #9 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
RoamingScott wrote:
I have never once seen this behavior, but I have my ZF set up like my Z9 with Sport mode and I'm not tying IBIS to the focus point. I have full time IBIS, shutter or not. How is yours set up?
I just checked. Mine is set up in normal mode with IBIS attached to the focus point. The way I understand it, if it's not then it prioritizes the center of the frame. I almost never put my subject dead center so I'm assuming this is the better way to go for what I shoot.
p.46 #10 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
saxguy wrote:
I just checked. Mine is set up in normal mode with IBIS attached to the focus point. The way I understand it, if it's not then it prioritizes the center of the frame. I almost never put my subject dead center so I'm assuming this is the better way to go for what I shoot.
I don't know if it was discussed in THIS thread, but was definitely seen and discussed by OP, that attaching IBIS to your focus point could lead to smeary corners. It's one of those things you hear about every so often but I've never seen great A/B testing on it. Just keep that in mind.
For what it's worth, I've never had any complaints about leaving it turned off for subjects anywhere in the frame.
Watching the way Nikon demonstrates this feature, it's easy to visualize why the side of the frame opposite of the focal point would be markedly blurrier due to the way the IBIS unit is moving in the Z plane. You could then conclude that the corner performance would get worse on the opposite side the further from the center your focal point is. The wisdom on the release of the ZF was to leave this feature off, but of course everyone should try for themselves.
p.46 #11 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
Thanks. Being that the main lens I plan to use with the zf is the 50 f/1, I'm not sure if having the opposite corner slightly less sharp is a concern. I still have my Q3 43 and SL3 with the APO SL lenses when I want to shoot everything critically sharp. I'm primarily a 50mm shooter, so maybe the best of both worlds would be to carry the CV 50 APO as well and make the IBIS adjustment accordingly. Even with the two 50s and the 40 1.2 it's significantly lighter than my SL3 with even one APO lens mounted.
p.46 #12 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
FWIW, my second copy of the CV 50 f/1 Z mount arrived and it is noticeably sharper at f/1 than the first. If anyone is picking up this lens and aren't happy with the sharpness it may be worthwhile to try another one; or if your retailer offers returns order two and compare them.
p.46 #13 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
ocean2059 wrote:
Yes, the green focus confirmation box of Zf does work for all the Zeiss ZF.2 lenses. I use the original Nikon FTZ adapter (version 1). But you're correct that the Z7 does not have that feature. I hope Nikon will update the firmware for Z7 in the future.
Thanks. Does not help me much though, since most Zeiss lenses I own are ZF.
p.46 #15 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
cyra wrote:
Thanks. Does not help me much though, since most Zeiss lenses I own are ZF.
While you miss focus confirmation, the upside is you can use the aperture ring normally with the FTZ.
With ZF.2 lenses, the camera will tell you to move the physical aperture ring to the minimum, and then you have to control aperture on the body. Though, ZF.2 owners could always use a dumb adapter to use like a ZF lens.
Alternatively, you can use the funmount etz with a f-mount to e-mount stacked. You program (edit textfile) the funmount with the focal length of the ZF lens and then you can have focus confirmation and manual aperture control on the lens. The best of both worlds. But you would have to edit the file on the adapter each time you changed focal lengths.
BastianK shows this can be done with a smartphone (Android atleast).
p.46 #17 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
I made it through this very informative thread to finally conclude that I'll just stick with my X-Pro2 and X-Pro3 with Fujifilm X-mount Voigtlander lenses for now. Will wait to see how the rumored Canon retro-styled camera ends up. Hopefully they find a way to make it smaller
p.46 #20 · Nikon Zf as a platform for adapted/native manual focus lenses
E-mount CV 28/1.5, 50/1.2, and 75/1.5 and the Sigma 35i with the ETZ21 Pro.
As expected the 28 doesn’t perform as well on the Zf as it does on Sony bodies, but the 50 and 75 appear to have no noticeable image quality degradation. The Sigma does appear softer wide open but very sharp at 2.8 so I need to test that more thoroughly.
Interestingly the adapter mounts smoothly to my Sony and Sigma lenses but it’s a very tight fit with the E-mount Voigtlanders.
