I borrowed a friend’s 70-200fF2.8 FLED to use on my Z8 or Z9 with an FTZii. I discovered that the ISO was higher than I’d expect. I mainly shoot manual with auto ISO and exposure compensation.
After quite a bit of testing every Nikon F zoom lens gives a high ISO, but a 300PF and a 500PF work fine.
The sort of numbers we are talking about is ISO 2000 instead of ISO 200!
After an overnight epiphany I compared the depth of field between a 70-300F5.6 and my 300PF set to F5.6 and the zoom lens shows considerably more depth of field, so my conclusion is that the F stop is not being set correctly even though the camera thinks it is.
I have tried cycling the F stop, I have tried 2 different FTZii adapters and two different Z cameras.
I wonder if anyone has come across this before?
It’s not a big deal for me, but my friend is considering buying a Z8 to compliment her D850 and she has a lot of zooms.
I understand that the problem only occurs with your Z8/Z9 and zoom F lenses (not F-mount primes), right?
And your friend’s 70-200mm f/2.8 FL ED works properly when mounted on the D850.
I know my answer won't help you, but my 70-200/4G VR works perfectly with Z6 & Z5II using FTZ or FTZ II.
Let me remind that Nikon Z cameras intentionally stop down the lens aperture during live view and autofocus only up to f/5.6. If you set your aperture to a narrower value like f/8, or f/11, the camera holds the physical iris at f/5.6 for composition and focusing, then snaps it to your exact setting the moment the shutter opens. This also applies to F-mount lenses.
I've found that the FTZII hates power-on lens swaps, especially for non-CPU lenses, but in general it just behaves oddly in unexpected fashion when swapping lenses with the camera on. That's plus the behaviour that Ripolini notes.
Note I mostly use FTZII mounted lenses on my Z bodies, I own very few native lenses. All my currently used zooms are F mount and I've had no issues with them so long as I remember to power cycle on mount.
I've found that the FTZII hates power-on lens swaps...
Probably this is the answer to OP question.
I didn't know that FTZ II doesn't like power-on lens swaps. I always switch off my cameras before swapping lenses so I never noticed any odd behavior. Useful info, thanks.
I have noticed that even if the body is off, and I mount JUST the FTZii and THEN attach a lens to it, I get worse behavior than if I mount the entire stack at once.
That’s interesting. I think I mounted the FTZii first then the lens, but I did that for both the lenses that work properly and the ones that don’t.
Tnx. J.
RoamingScott wrote:
I have noticed that even if the body is off, and I mount JUST the FTZii and THEN attach a lens to it, I get worse behavior than if I mount the entire stack at once.
I always mount the FTZ/FTZ II first, and then my 70-200/4G. Why? because the 70-200 + FTZ combo is too long and doesn't fit my bag. When I travel, I bring the 24-70/4 S, the 70-200/4, and the 50/1.4 AI with the FTZ II attached. When I need to use the 70-200, with the camera turned off, I mount the 50/1.4 + FTZ, then remove the 50 and attach the 70-200. Finally, I turn on the camera and shoot with the zoom lens.
As I stated above, I never noticed any odd behavior: the 70-200/4G works like any Z lens.
Ripolini wrote:
I understand that the problem only occurs with your Z8/Z9 and zoom F lenses (not F-mount primes), right?
Correct.
And your friend’s 70-200mm f/2.8 FL ED works properly when mounted on the D850.
Also correct.
I know my answer won't help you, but my 70-200/4G VR works perfectly with Z6 & Z5II using FTZ or FTZ II.
That’s worth knowing. Tnx.
Let me remind that Nikon Z cameras intentionally stop down the lens aperture during live view and autofocus only up to f/5.6. If you set your aperture to a narrower value like f/8, or f/11, the camera holds the physical iris at f/5.6 for composition and focusing, then snaps it to your exact setting the moment the shutter opens. This also applies to F-mount lenses.
Yes. It helps focusing. ...Show more →
About mounting powered on. As a retired engineer this isn’t something I’d normally do as you’re sure to get an undefined state, but I’ll definitely try a complete mount first. I may even have a probe with a volt meter to see if anything is always live.
I've used the heck out of my FTZ and AF-S G lenses, and never had an instance like that. I do always turn off to swap lenses, but that shouldn't affect the camera's ability to control the lens.
The 70-200 f/2.8 E is, as the "E" denotes, electronic aperture. Assuming it's not a damaged lens (since it works on the D850), I would think it's just a firmware thing. Check your FTZ and camera firmware versions, and have her check the lens's firmware version.
Just done some more tests. I’ve tried mounting a F zoom lens making sure the camera doesn’t even have a battery, and it still misbehaves. Both with the FTZii all in one go and one piece at a time.
Interestingly though the connector closest to the Z has 1.74Volts on it even when the camera is switched off.
