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 p.1 #1 · My first review of the Megadap ETZ21 Pro+ and GM 24mm f1.4 | |
I finally did it!
Bought the Megadap ETZ21 Pro+ and the infamous Sony GM 24mm f1.4 for my Nikon Zf.
I have and tested both the Nikon 24mm f1.8 S (selling it) and the 26mm f2.8 pancake.
The 24mm f1.8 S is an excellent lens: very sharp, well corrected, with good sunstars… but it looks so ugly on the Nikon Zf! When Nikon designed this lens, they clearly didn’t have in mind that they would one day make a retro camera. It looks great on any other Nikon camera, but not on the Zf.
Yes, I know — the look of a lens doesn’t matter as much as the photos it produces. But the thing is, I’m not a professional photographer, I don’t do this for a living. It’s purely a hobby, and because of that I want a camera/lens combo that shouts at me, “go out and take photos!”
The 24mm f1.8 S, with its long tube shape and big-mouth design, without an aperture ring, is anything but the right lens for that.
The 26mm f2.8!
I loved this lens: so small, so light it actually made my Zf lighter than my previous Fujifilm X-T5 + 18mm f1.4. Very sharp in the center and acceptable at the borders. It was the perfect lens for street photography in Warsaw.
But when I took it to the French Alps in October, it showed its limits. For landscapes, the corners were soft, and worse than that (for me), it has very poor flare resistance when shooting into the sun. The sunstars are “meh” even at f16, and you get huge green ghosting in the lower part of the photo. I had many shots I thought were great that I ended up deleting because of that.
So I got the Megadap ETZ21 Pro+, which finally has weather sealing, and the GM 24mm f1.4.
In terms of looks on the Zf, it doesn’t match the ultimate retro vibe of the 28mm f2.8, but it’s good enough to keep the overall aesthetic. Certainly way better than the Nikon 24mm f1.8 S, thanks to its narrower 67mm filter thread vs 72mm, which doesn’t hide the Zf, plus its classic shape and aperture ring.
As expected, the aperture ring works flawlessly. What was less expected is the programmable button — it also works well on Nikon.
AF is as fast, if not faster, than the 26mm f2.8. I’d say it’s as good as the 24mm f1.8 S.
Of course, AF-S vs AF-C or single point vs 3D depends on the situation. Personally, I always use AF-C in low light because AF-S hunts back and forth, but for sunstars I use AF-S + single point. They all work with the GM 24mm f1.4 on the Megadap.
The only thing I noticed is that eye detection is slightly less sensitive than with a native Nikon lens. Don’t get me wrong — it works — but with a Nikon lens it can detect eyes from a bit farther away. I’ll have to test this more. But hey, it even detects eyes on a painted doll 
IBIS works very well; I managed to get sharp photos down to 1/3s!
Sharpness is excellent — I’d say a tad better than the Nikon 24mm S, which is already very sharp.
At f5.6 it’s at its best, and even at f11, f14 and f16 it keeps a lot of contrast.
Good news: corner sharpness does not get mushy because of the Megadap. It stays sharp even in the extreme corners at f5.6 or f8, with maybe a very faint loss that you’d probably also get on a Sony body — that’s just how wide-angle lenses behave. It definitely has nothing to do with the obvious corner softness of the 26mm f2.8.
Bokeh!
This is the best wide-angle lens I’ve ever had for smooth bokeh. Subject detail and sharpness at f1.4 are excellent, and the out-of-focus area is very smooth, letting you take creative shots.
Minimum focus distance is 24 cm from the sensor, but since the Megadap adds 2 mm, you can actually get a bit closer to your subject than on a Sony body.
If there's one negative about the Megadap adapter (so far), it's that they should have made it black instead of silver — it would have blended perfectly.
All in all, I’m very happy with this combo. No regrets.
Of course, I still need to take it out in the field to get a “clearer picture.” I tested it for about a week at home and around my area.
If you have any questions, please ask.
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