New To Mirrorless - Need Help With Nikon Z50 II
p.1 #1New To Mirrorless - Need Help With Nikon Z50 II
So, I'm a complete noob to Mirrorless and I just purchased my first body. I can not for the life of me figure out how to disable the lens aperture from physically adjusting in real time as I change the f stop. I would like it to operate like an SLR and only stop down at the time of exposure. Any help would be much appreciated. And if this is a dumb thing to want to do with a mirrorless camera, please educate me. 😁
Nov 07, 2026 at 03:02 PM
p.1 #2New To Mirrorless - Need Help With Nikon Z50 II
Oh joy, something to look forward to if I ever switch to mirrorless.
Nov 07, 2026 at 03:23 PM
p.1 #3New To Mirrorless - Need Help With Nikon Z50 II
I'm going to assume the menus are similar between your Z50ii and my Z5ii. I'm also assuming you have a modern Z_mount lens.
Look in the Owner's Manul under Custom Menus, item D-10. That's where you (which is to say I) can select the viewfinder's behavior. It is described in detail in that part of the owner's manual. You will want to use Aperture Priority Mode, I expect, so that you can select the Aperture. Or Manual Mode.
I never bothered to learn that stuff because I use only manual-focus, F-mount lenses with the FTZ converter, which requires Aperture Priority Mode or Manual Mode, and dims the view as the aperture is stopped down. There may be brightness control but I don't need to know.
Look in the Owner's Manul under Custom Menus, item D-10. That's where you (which is to say I) can select the viewfinder's behavior. It is described in detail in that part of the owner's manual. You will want to use Aperture Priority Mode, I expect, so that you can select the Aperture. Or Manual Mode.
I never bothered to learn that stuff because I use only manual-focus, F-mount lenses with the FTZ converter, which requires Aperture Priority Mode or Manual Mode, and dims the view as the aperture is stopped down. There may be brightness control but I don't need to know.
Nov 07, 2026 at 03:59 PM
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p.1 #4New To Mirrorless - Need Help With Nikon Z50 II
jimmuller wrote:
I'm going to assume the menus are similar between your Z50ii and my Z5ii. I'm also assuming you have a modern Z_mount lens.
Look in the Owner's Manul under Custom Menus, item D-10. That's where you (which is to say I) can select the viewfinder's behavior. It is described in detail in that part of the owner's manual. You will want to use Aperture Priority Mode, I expect, so that you can select the Aperture. Or Manual Mode.
I never bothered to learn that stuff because I use only manual-focus, F-mount lenses with the FTZ converter, which requires Aperture Priority Mode or...Show more →
I've read the manual and tried every variation of those settings. There isn't an option to disable that functionality at least for me. The behavior is identical for both Z mount lenses that came with the camera as well two AF-S lenses that I tried via the FTZ-II. I must be missing something though.
I'm going to assume the menus are similar between your Z50ii and my Z5ii. I'm also assuming you have a modern Z_mount lens.
Look in the Owner's Manul under Custom Menus, item D-10. That's where you (which is to say I) can select the viewfinder's behavior. It is described in detail in that part of the owner's manual. You will want to use Aperture Priority Mode, I expect, so that you can select the Aperture. Or Manual Mode.
I never bothered to learn that stuff because I use only manual-focus, F-mount lenses with the FTZ converter, which requires Aperture Priority Mode or...Show more →
I've read the manual and tried every variation of those settings. There isn't an option to disable that functionality at least for me. The behavior is identical for both Z mount lenses that came with the camera as well two AF-S lenses that I tried via the FTZ-II. I must be missing something though.
Nov 07, 2026 at 04:22 PM
p.1 #5New To Mirrorless - Need Help With Nikon Z50 II
IIRC it won't stop down further than f/5.6 until you take the shot, as it wants to keep enough light for the AF system etc to work properly. So for example if you set f/2.8 you will be seeing f/2.8, if you set f/11 you will be seeing f/5.6 until you press the shutter and it will stop down the rest of the way just for the shot.
But I'm not sure if there is a setting to make it stay wide open until the shot.
To be fair there isn't really much point in making it stay wide open until the shot with mirrorless, as you aren't so reliant on the lens aperture for viewfinder brightness/visibility.
The lens stopping down as you change the aperture gives a better preview of depth of field and how the photo will actually look (if stopping the aperture down makes the viewfinder too dark, the photo is going to be too dark as well), so I suggest just getting used to it.
But I'm not sure if there is a setting to make it stay wide open until the shot.
To be fair there isn't really much point in making it stay wide open until the shot with mirrorless, as you aren't so reliant on the lens aperture for viewfinder brightness/visibility.
The lens stopping down as you change the aperture gives a better preview of depth of field and how the photo will actually look (if stopping the aperture down makes the viewfinder too dark, the photo is going to be too dark as well), so I suggest just getting used to it.
Nov 07, 2026 at 04:26 PM
p.1 #6New To Mirrorless - Need Help With Nikon Z50 II
GravelBen wrote:
IIRC it won't stop down further than f/5.6 until you take the shot, as it wants to keep enough light for the AF system etc to work properly. So for example if you set f/2.8 you will be seeing f/2.8, if you set f/11 you will be seeing f/5.6 until you press the shutter and it will stop down the rest of the way just for the shot.
But I'm not sure if there is a setting to make it stay wide open until the shot.
To be fair there isn't really much point in making it stay wide open until the...Show more →
Thank you very much for this explanation. It makes a bit more sense now. Like I said I am absolutely new to Mirrorless and it will definitely be an adjustment.
IIRC it won't stop down further than f/5.6 until you take the shot, as it wants to keep enough light for the AF system etc to work properly. So for example if you set f/2.8 you will be seeing f/2.8, if you set f/11 you will be seeing f/5.6 until you press the shutter and it will stop down the rest of the way just for the shot.
But I'm not sure if there is a setting to make it stay wide open until the shot.
To be fair there isn't really much point in making it stay wide open until the...Show more →
Thank you very much for this explanation. It makes a bit more sense now. Like I said I am absolutely new to Mirrorless and it will definitely be an adjustment.
Nov 07, 2026 at 05:04 PM