Nikon Z* mirrorless

Hi Guys,

I'm just about to take the plunge on the Nikon Zf but was wondering what the best lens is for street. This will be my first foray into Nikon and I just want to pair it initially with one lens.

Your advice would be appreciated.

Cheers
 
Gandalf said:
Hi Guys,

I'm just about to take the plunge on the Nikon Zf but was wondering what the best lens is for street. This will be my first foray into Nikon and I just want to pair it initially with one lens.

Your advice would be appreciated.

Cheers
Click to expand...
If you go through the last 6 pages or so, to my eyes the Voigtlander 50mm APO seems an excellent lens if you don't mind 50mm as a focal length. It's on my radar.
 
Gandalf said:
Hi Guys,

I'm just about to take the plunge on the Nikon Zf but was wondering what the best lens is for street. This will be my first foray into Nikon and I just want to pair it initially with one lens.

Your advice would be appreciated.

Cheers
Click to expand...
The 40mm you can get it bundled with is half decent or the 35mm S f/1.8 is a big step up in IQ (I have one in the classifieds but not for long as being traded in tomorrow if not sold).
My favourite though is the Voigtlander 50mm APO but it's manual focus and rather expensive.
 
Gandalf said:
Hi Guys,

I'm just about to take the plunge on the Nikon Zf but was wondering what the best lens is for street. This will be my first foray into Nikon and I just want to pair it initially with one lens.

Your advice would be appreciated.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Zf. Nice. I’ve paired mine with the Voigtlander 50mm APO. It’s superb. But you’ll need to consider your own favourite focal length. And whether you’re an Auto Focus kind of guy. I’ve previously had the 35 & 50mm f1.8 Z lenses. Both top performers.
 
trevorbray said:
Zf. Nice. I’ve paired mine with the Voigtlander 50mm APO. It’s superb. But you’ll need to consider your own favourite focal length. And whether you’re an Auto Focus kind of guy. I’ve previously had the 35 & 50mm f1.8 Z lenses. Both top performers.
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Out of interest, do you get the Voigtlander in Z mount or Leica M?
 
So this thread is currently at 248 pages and I don’t know where to begin to read it to find out what I’d like to know.

My Nikon D750 has almost died - it stops working in cold weather but whenever I take it to be repaired, it starts working again and they can’t find the problem. So I’m wanting to get a new camera and wondering if it’s worth getting a mirrorless Nikon. I was drawn to the Z6 II.

I’ve been reading many reviews, comparison sights and asking around and not come to a conclusion as to whether I should upgrade to a mirrorless camera or stick with another Nikon F-mount camera.

I mostly do photography for a hobby, with the occasional case study for work. My favourite subjects are wildlife, travel and macro. I’ve needed a decent sensor for low light, as many animals seems to prefer running around in low light or darkness. But I don’t have loads of money to buy lots of Z-mounted new lenses as well as the new camera. So for the foreseeable, I would be using my f-mount lenses with an adaptor. I’ve been advised with that in mind, it’s not worth getting a mirrorless camera if I’m using old lenses, as the only benefit is that it’s lighter in weight. I’m sure that cannot be the only benefit!

It does seem silly if I’m going to be paying out a fair chunk of money for a new camera, not to get something better than my D750. And it is a chunky and heavy camera that I believe didn’t like all the time I spent in the rain and cold.

I’ve watched YouTube reviews about the adaptors and still not sure if using them with old lenses (some are tamron or Sigma) would be ideal. I’ve also been told that some have regretted getting a Z camera because of this. So any advice or feedback on this would be most appreciated. Thank you!
 
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PlanetClaire said:
So this thread is currently at 248 pages and I don’t know where to begin to read it to find out what I’d like to know.

My Nikon D750 has almost died - it stops working in cold weather but whenever I take it to be repaired, it starts working again and they can’t find the problem. So I’m wanting to get a new camera and wondering if it’s worth getting a mirrorless Nikon. I was drawn to the Z6 II.

I’ve been reading many reviews, comparison sights and asking around and not come to a conclusion as to whether I should upgrade to a mirrorless camera or stick with another Nikon F-mount camera.

I mostly do photography for a hobby, with the occasional case study for work. My favourite subjects are wildlife, travel and macro. I’ve needed a decent sensor for low light, as many animals seems to prefer running around in low light or darkness. But I don’t have loads of money to buy lots of Z-mounted new lenses as well as the new camera. So for the foreseeable, I would be using my f-mount lenses with an adaptor. I’ve been advised with that in mind, it’s not worth getting a mirrorless camera if I’m using old lenses, as the only benefit is that it’s lighter in weight. I’m sure that cannot be the only benefit!

It does seem silly if I’m going to be paying out a fair chunk of money for a new camera, not to get something better than my D750. And it is a chunky and heavy camera that I believe didn’t like all the time I spent in the rain and cold.

I’ve watched YouTube reviews about the adaptors and still not sure if using them with old lenses (some are tamron or Sigma) would be ideal. I’ve also been told that some have regretted getting a Z camera because of this. So any advice or feedback on this would be most appreciated. Thank you!
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It might be a battery problem if it comes and goes in cold weather.

If you do buy a new camera then the old F mount lenses can be used if you have a FTZ adapter (£169) as long as the lenses are designated as AFS lenses if you want AF otherwise they become manual focus lenses.
 
PlanetClaire said:
So this thread is currently at 248 pages and I don’t know where to begin to read it to find out what I’d like to know.

My Nikon D750 has almost died - it stops working in cold weather but whenever I take it to be repaired, it starts working again and they can’t find the problem. So I’m wanting to get a new camera and wondering if it’s worth getting a mirrorless Nikon. I was drawn to the Z6 II.

I’ve been reading many reviews, comparison sights and asking around and not come to a conclusion as to whether I should upgrade to a mirrorless camera or stick with another Nikon F-mount camera.

I mostly do photography for a hobby, with the occasional case study for work. My favourite subjects are wildlife, travel and macro. I’ve needed a decent sensor for low light, as many animals seems to prefer running around in low light or darkness. But I don’t have loads of money to buy lots of Z-mounted new lenses as well as the new camera. So for the foreseeable, I would be using my f-mount lenses with an adaptor. I’ve been advised with that in mind, it’s not worth getting a mirrorless camera if I’m using old lenses, as the only benefit is that it’s lighter in weight. I’m sure that cannot be the only benefit!

It does seem silly if I’m going to be paying out a fair chunk of money for a new camera, not to get something better than my D750. And it is a chunky and heavy camera that I believe didn’t like all the time I spent in the rain and cold.

I’ve watched YouTube reviews about the adaptors and still not sure if using them with old lenses (some are tamron or Sigma) would be ideal. I’ve also been told that some have regretted getting a Z camera because of this. So any advice or feedback on this would be most appreciated. Thank you!
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If I was in your situation and had the funds, I would purchase a Z6II or even better, wait for the "soon" to be expected Z6III. Any lens I had, worked as expected via the FTZ adapter on my Z6 and Z7II. Although some have reported problems with certain 3rd party lenses.
 
trevorbray said:
Remember that non CPU lenses don’t confirm manual focus.
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That’s not an issue. I’m used to manual lenses. Already use a few on the Zf. Just idly wondering if it would be more prudent and future-proofing to get such a lens in M mount with an adapter than native Z. Hypothetical question anyway.
 
Stephen L said:
That’s not an issue. I’m used to manual lenses. Already use a few on the Zf. Just idly wondering if it would be more prudent and future-proofing to get such a lens in M mount with an adapter than native Z. Hypothetical question anyway.
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No, there are other issues such as differences in vignetting and rendering, I had the same thoughts, researched the ass off it lol. All Voigtlander's depreciate heavily, have to suck it up unfortunately. Having said that it could quickly become your most used lens it's that good, so cost of ownership per shot over say 5 years will become irrelevant, use it occasionally and it's an expensive paper weight.
 
imattersuk said:
No, there are other issues such as differences in vignetting and rendering, I had the same thoughts, researched the ass off it lol. All Voigtlander's depreciate heavily, have to suck it up unfortunately. Having said that it could quickly become your most used lens it's that good, so cost of ownership per shot over say 5 years will become irrelevant, use it occasionally and it's an expensive paper weight.
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Useful points, thanks.
 
jknights said:
It might be a battery problem if it comes and goes in cold weather.

If you do buy a new camera then the old F mount lenses can be used if you have a FTZ adapter (£169) as long as the lenses are designated as AFS lenses if you want AF otherwise they become manual focus lenses.
Click to expand...
It’s weird because the camera switches on, but it just won’t take a photo. I’ve tried different batteries too. Am baffled.

thwnks for the feedback.
 
PlanetClaire said:
So this thread is currently at 248 pages and I don’t know where to begin to read it to find out what I’d like to know.

My Nikon D750 has almost died - it stops working in cold weather but whenever I take it to be repaired, it starts working again and they can’t find the problem. So I’m wanting to get a new camera and wondering if it’s worth getting a mirrorless Nikon. I was drawn to the Z6 II.

I’ve been reading many reviews, comparison sights and asking around and not come to a conclusion as to whether I should upgrade to a mirrorless camera or stick with another Nikon F-mount camera.

I mostly do photography for a hobby, with the occasional case study for work. My favourite subjects are wildlife, travel and macro. I’ve needed a decent sensor for low light, as many animals seems to prefer running around in low light or darkness. But I don’t have loads of money to buy lots of Z-mounted new lenses as well as the new camera. So for the foreseeable, I would be using my f-mount lenses with an adaptor. I’ve been advised with that in mind, it’s not worth getting a mirrorless camera if I’m using old lenses, as the only benefit is that it’s lighter in weight. I’m sure that cannot be the only benefit!

It does seem silly if I’m going to be paying out a fair chunk of money for a new camera, not to get something better than my D750. And it is a chunky and heavy camera that I believe didn’t like all the time I spent in the rain and cold.

I’ve watched YouTube reviews about the adaptors and still not sure if using them with old lenses (some are tamron or Sigma) would be ideal. I’ve also been told that some have regretted getting a Z camera because of this. So any advice or feedback on this would be most appreciated. Thank you!
Click to expand...
I was in a similar situation a couple of years back, although my D750s had survived plenty of rain (one's still going). I didn't consider a brand new Z6II worth the money for what it offers and picked up a low mileage D780. I prefer it to the D750 as it has a lot of little features than make a big difference - the liveview is vastly improved, but there is more.

That said, the Z8 would tempt me if it was half the price, so if I have the scratch when the currently mythical ZX6III appears I might just make the switch as I'd like the functions of the D780 liveview in the viewfinder.

The only caveat for my specific use if that if it lacks 'sheep detection' I'll give it a miss! :LOL:
 
PlanetClaire said:
So this thread is currently at 248 pages and I don’t know where to begin to read it to find out what I’d like to know.

My Nikon D750 has almost died - it stops working in cold weather but whenever I take it to be repaired, it starts working again and they can’t find the problem. So I’m wanting to get a new camera and wondering if it’s worth getting a mirrorless Nikon. I was drawn to the Z6 II.

I’ve been reading many reviews, comparison sights and asking around and not come to a conclusion as to whether I should upgrade to a mirrorless camera or stick with another Nikon F-mount camera.

I mostly do photography for a hobby, with the occasional case study for work. My favourite subjects are wildlife, travel and macro. I’ve needed a decent sensor for low light, as many animals seems to prefer running around in low light or darkness. But I don’t have loads of money to buy lots of Z-mounted new lenses as well as the new camera. So for the foreseeable, I would be using my f-mount lenses with an adaptor. I’ve been advised with that in mind, it’s not worth getting a mirrorless camera if I’m using old lenses, as the only benefit is that it’s lighter in weight. I’m sure that cannot be the only benefit!

It does seem silly if I’m going to be paying out a fair chunk of money for a new camera, not to get something better than my D750. And it is a chunky and heavy camera that I believe didn’t like all the time I spent in the rain and cold.

I’ve watched YouTube reviews about the adaptors and still not sure if using them with old lenses (some are tamron or Sigma) would be ideal. I’ve also been told that some have regretted getting a Z camera because of this. So any advice or feedback on this would be most appreciated. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Trouble with staying in F-mount is that what exists now is all there'll ever be. It's clear by now that they aren't making anything new in the DSLR world. Some people are fine with that, but you need to know you're one of them if that's how you choose. A new DSLR will likely be your last, because by the end of its lifespan there won't be much of a market left.

If you're ok with a couple months of wait-and-see, it's worth holding off on making a decision for a minute. Reason being the start of a new fiscal year (April/May/June) tends to be one of the windows when new camera announcements happen.

This year people are talking about a potential Z6III, which may turn out to match your needs nicely (if you're one to put stock in rumours, they're saying it'll be fast burst, good in low light, and have a Z8-tier autofocus system - all things you want for wildlife). Or if you then end up deciding a Z6II is enough for your needs, prices often drop after a successor gets announced.

You'll probably eventually want to get at least one Z lens in the future if you're concerned about weight - they're almost universally smaller and lighter than their older counterparts, especially after adding the FTZ adapter.
 
utterdrong said:
Trouble with staying in F-mount is that what exists now is all there'll ever be. It's clear by now that they aren't making anything new in the DSLR world. Some people are fine with that, but you need to know you're one of them if that's how you choose. A new DSLR will likely be your last, because by the end of its lifespan there won't be much of a market left.

If you're ok with a couple months of wait-and-see, it's worth holding off on making a decision for a minute. Reason being the start of a new fiscal year (April/May/June) tends to be one of the windows when new camera announcements happen.

This year people are talking about a potential Z6III, which may turn out to match your needs nicely (if you're one to put stock in rumours, they're saying it'll be fast burst, good in low light, and have a Z8-tier autofocus system - all things you want for wildlife). Or if you then end up deciding a Z6II is enough for your needs, prices often drop after a successor gets announced.

You'll probably eventually want to get at least one Z lens in the future if you're concerned about weight - they're almost universally smaller and lighter than their older counterparts, especially after adding the FTZ adapter.
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Thank you, this has been very helpful. Im going to India in September and need a decent camera for that. However, for work I have to keep borrowing my husband’s D750 and that’s not ideal. This weekend I had to use my old D5100 and that’s just not good enough after years with a D750: so I don’t think I can wait much longer!
 
PlanetClaire said:
Thank you, this has been very helpful. Im going to India in September and need a decent camera for that. However, for work I have to keep borrowing my husband’s D750 and that’s not ideal. This weekend I had to use my old D5100 and that’s just not good enough after years with a D750: so I don’t think I can wait much longer!
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I personally wouldn’t buy anything other than mirrorless now - it’s the direction of travel for all manufacturers.

Most people have used their f-mount lenses very happily with their new z bodies for years. I started with a full set of f mount glass on my original z6 and have been gradually replacing it with z mount stuff as and when it offers something better (smaller, better performance, new features etc).
 
Has anyone else used the Nikon Z DX 12-28 F3.5-5.6 PZ lens. I got one a while ago for my Z30, but to be honest, haven't really jelled with the Z30 so started using it more and more on my Z7 II and Z8 bodies. Even though I also own the FX 14-30 F4 Z lens, I'm finding this little lens a bit of a cracker.

It's tack sharp at all focal lengths, is weather sealed (yes it does has a plastic lens mount), but is dead light (just over 200g) and compact. I'm finding that the 18mm (equivalent) FOV is easier to mange that the super wide 14mm in as much as finding suitable subjects that don't look very distorted. I'm starting to think this will be a very nice addition to the 24-120 as a walkabout and holiday combination. Sure it's only provides a 20mp image but that's more than enough for holiday and travel photos methinks ? Am I missing anything obvious ? What's the posse think ?

Here it is mounted to my Z8

 
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Sootchucker said:
Has anyone else used the Nikon Z DX 12-28 F3.5-5.6 PZ lens. I got one a while ago for my Z30, but to be honest, haven't really jelled with the Z30 so started using it more and more on my Z7 II and Z8 bodies. Even though I also own the FX 14-30 F4 Z lens, I'm finding this little lens a bit of a cracker.

It's tack sharp at all focal lengths, is weather sealed (yes it does has a plastic lens mount), but is dead light (just over 200g) and compact. I'm finding that the 18mm (equivalent) FOV is easier to mange that the super wide 14mm in as much as finding suitable subjects that don't look very distorted. I'm starting to think this will be a very nice addition to the 24-120 as a walkabout and holiday combination. Sure it's only provides a 20mp image but that's more than enough for holiday and travel photos methinks ? Am I missing anything obvious ? What's the posse think ?

Here it is mounted to my Z8

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I have one that I use with my Z50. It's very good value for money and as you say sharp at all focal lengths.
 
Same here. I've used it with my z50 but as you say it will work fine with the FF bodies.
 
It's very interesting that Nikon are obviously confident they now have the lens skills to build a 14x zoom lens with a decent optical performance, and I'm sure given the lens type the F8 max aperture (from 200mm upwards), is to be expected to keep the costs and size manageable, but TBH, I already found the F6.3 max aperture from the 24-200 limiting at times in low light or indoors, (and I prefer these sort of zoom's that start from 24mm anyway), so very much doubt this will be anything I'll ever be interested in. Still from a purely engineering perspective it's impressive.
 
wibbly said:
Super zoom anyone?

NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens

Get out there with the lightweight NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens! With its wide to super-telephoto focal length range, you get unparalleled versatility.
www.nikon.co.uk
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Early reports are very good, but it's not a lens for me. The 24-200 is stretching my use of long lenses. Nice to see them continuing the development of Z lenses though.
 
Sootchucker said:
It's very interesting that Nikon are obviously confident they now have the lens skills to build a 14x zoom lens with a decent optical performance, and I'm sure given the lens type the F8 max aperture (from 200mm upwards), is to be expected to keep the costs and size manageable, but TBH, I already found the F6.3 max aperture from the 24-200 limiting at times in low light or indoors, (and I prefer these sort of zoom's that start from 24mm anyway), so very much doubt this will be anything I'll ever be interested in. Still from a purely engineering perspective it's impressive.
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The F8 did concern me as well although I was thinking that's two stops slower than the 28-300mm and a stop slower than the Sigma 100-400mm but I've miscalculated and it's one stop slower than the 28-300mm and half a stop lower than the 100-400mm so it's not too bad. I was quite happy with the 28-300mm on Nikon but with the 28-200mm/100-400mm on Sony I feel like I keep getting caught in the middle and needing to change so getting a bit more range than 200mm is a big plus for me.
 
It's a lens for someone, but not myself.
Obviously cost and focal range is going to be the big attraction for some, thinking a one lens for all situations.
That f8 at half its focal length is gonna impact/limit use and images out of it, especially for UK weather and moving subjects.
I'll stick with two lenses (24-120 and 100-400mm) that are vastly more expensive, heavier, larger and having to switch between them, in return for sharper, cleaner images.
 
There's times I have something in mind I want to shoot and I'll take particular lenses for it or where I need to maximise the image quality so I'll take a good number of lenses with me. But there's plenty of times I don't have any photos in mind at all and may end up taking no photos but that's the sort of time I really liked taking the 28-300mm since it could cover a wide range of scenarios in a compact package. Without the lens I found I grew out of the habit of carrying a bigger camera with me all the time so I'm wanting to get back to always having a camera on me.
 
I've never used zooms, so wanted to ask you guys, as I see you all mentioning that f8 at far end of that new lens would be an issue.
I'm not interested in that new zoom, but contemplating some other zoom options and was wondering - most of those cheaper ones with 300-400mm end, are about f6.3.
Is this already an issue at the end? For wildlife, like squarels, birds etc - would f6.3 be a big downer at 300-400mm end? Is it hard to take good quality, sharp images for those subjects at far end of those zooms at f6.3? I'm talking outdoors, UK's s***ty weather conditions for example ;)
 
phinix said:
I've never used zooms, so wanted to ask you guys, as I see you all mentioning that f8 at far end of that new lens would be an issue.
I'm not interested in that new zoom, but contemplating some other zoom options and was wondering - most of those cheaper ones with 300-400mm end, are about f6.3.
Is this already an issue at the end? For wildlife, like squarels, birds etc - would f6.3 be a big downer at 300-400mm end? Is it hard to take good quality, sharp images for those subjects at far end of those zooms at f6.3? I'm talking outdoors, UK's s***ty weather conditions for example ;)
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The latest long primes from Nikon are f6.3, so it's this new lenses drop in image quality and f8 that's going to make getting sharp, low noise images, that isolate the subject more difficult. Not impossible by any means, just difficult, especially on poor light conditions.
 
phinix said:
I've never used zooms, so wanted to ask you guys, as I see you all mentioning that f8 at far end of that new lens would be an issue.
I'm not interested in that new zoom, but contemplating some other zoom options and was wondering - most of those cheaper ones with 300-400mm end, are about f6.3.
Is this already an issue at the end? For wildlife, like squarels, birds etc - would f6.3 be a big downer at 300-400mm end? Is it hard to take good quality, sharp images for those subjects at far end of those zooms at f6.3? I'm talking outdoors, UK's s***ty weather conditions for example ;)
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It requires a lens that is optically perfect at f/11 to resolve optimally on the high resolution sensors (4-5um pixels)... but that considers 4 pixels per airy disk; i.e. optimal color resolution. If you want maximum sensor resolution it has to be optically perfect at f/5.6 (2 pixels/airy disk), and if you want maximum resolution with maximum contrast it needs to be perfect by f/2.8. Add in the requirement for higher ISO's which cause an increase in resolution noise and color noise, and lower resolution overall, these small aperture restrictions become quite limiting.

That's not to say it's unusable or anything... for years now I have been using super zooms with an f/6.3 limitation as my primary lens (wildlife/action). There's always a lot of tradeoffs to be made.
 
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