NEW ZF-WHAT LENSES/

Leica M, Hasselblad, Fuji X E and X100, Epson R-D and Panasonic L100 user. The Pano and X100 are, of course fixed lens and no problem, The epson is the next least bothersome, with the hasselblad coming in first for Dust Collection. I had a Nikon Z7 and it was middle of the road for dust. I use the 18-55 on the X E3 nearly permanently and it seldom shows dust putting it third for dust and the Leica second. I would probably rate the Z7 ahead of the Fuji and behind the Leica. I change lenses frequently on all of them. The Epson is the one that surprised me the most.
 
IMG_1576.JPEG

I thought fixed lens cameras (at least the ones without lenses that motor in and out) were more or less immune to sensor dust issues too, but see that nasty looking dust spot just left of center about 1/3 of the way down? I took that photo two days ago with my iPhone 13 Pro. The lenses are perfectly clean (I double-checked). I seem to have a dust spot on the sensor of the telephoto camera.
 
cant go wrong with a 50 which I have a few of. I alos have the new 75 nokton which i love.

o will say that quite often i debate whether or not to go full af with lenses. It does become a bit annoying to focus manually sometimes. But when you hit it, it rocks.

btw, help me get my dedicated zf site going at www.nikon-zf.com

put a picture or two up.

JT
 
I ended up purchasing the Nikon Z 24-120f4S lens and am blown away. Back in my day, zooms were noticeably softer than primes. Granted I give up a bit of aperture but this is an amazing lens. I also have the 40f2 kit lens and am thinking adopter for my M lenses. I am betting the 50f1.2 Nokton would be amazing on the Zf.

My biggest issue is the 600+ camera manual. I much prefer my Leica MP's manual.
 
I love everything about the Nikon Zf, except the elephant in the room, no good manual focus Z native prime lenses. I've got the Zfc and a bevy of Olympus Pen F primes, and I thought that worked pretty well. Until I put on that Voightlander 23mm f1.2 and fell in love. The lens communicates to the camera body, it has the same feel as the MF Nikkors I used for decades, it mounts right to the camera, no adapters, and optically it is very good. But it's one of only a few Z native primes. And there are next to none for the Full Frame Zf. If Voightlander came out with a full frame 28mm Z mount prime, and a full frame 85mm Z mount prime, and maybe a 35mm, I'd pick up a Zf in a heartbeat.

Best,
-Tim
 
My favorite lens for day-trips and short hikes is the 24-50 f4-6.3. Not a night vision lens, for that I would use the 40/2 or 28/2.8 or Nokton 40/1.4 with Techart TMZ-02. The lens weights 195g and makes a rather small kit with the Zf. The lens performs well enough with the lower MP sensor of the Zf and is dust and drip-water resistant according to Nikon specs. I had the Z 24-70S and borrowed the Z24-120S, and none of these lenses were noticeably better than my Z24-200, which is not a S-series lens but perfect for long hikes in the mountains.
 
When I got my Z7 I got the wedding photog's pair but in f4. A little smaller than the 2.8 lenses but still pretty hefty by Fuji and Leica standards. Still they both were sharp, I shot at 400 a lot or even higher in the dark. Up to about 1600 the noise wasn't bad at all, but was there.
 
I love everything about the Nikon Zf, except the elephant in the room, no good manual focus Z native prime lenses. I've got the Zfc and a bevy of Olympus Pen F primes, and I thought that worked pretty well. Until I put on that Voightlander 23mm f1.2 and fell in love. The lens communicates to the camera body, it has the same feel as the MF Nikkors I used for decades, it mounts right to the camera, no adapters, and optically it is very good. But it's one of only a few Z native primes. And there are next to none for the Full Frame Zf. If Voightlander came out with a full frame 28mm Z mount prime, and a full frame 85mm Z mount prime, and maybe a 35mm, I'd pick up a Zf in a heartbeat.
Given that Voigtlander's full frame mirrorless lenses tend to be mount-optimized versions of their M mount lenses, look to their back catalogue to see what is likely to come from them. So far, Voigtlander have the following in full frame Z mount:

15mm f4.5 Heliar
35mm f2 APO Lanthar
40mm f1.2 Nokton
50mm f1 Nokton
50mm f2 APO Lanthar
65mm f2 Macro APO Lanthar

Hopefully for Z mount users, they will also port the 28mm f1.5 Nokton, 75mm f1.5 Nokton and 90mm f2.8 APO Skopar. Voigtlander also has a 110mm f2.5 APO Lanthar for Sony E mount, which may or may not make its way to Z. They are probably watching sales figures and gauging the market before committing to more lens ports.
 
Last edited:
I would like advice on using a couple M mount lenses on the Zf. I am wondering about the 21f2.8 Zeiss Biogon and the 50f1.2 Nokton. I have heard different things about the 21 Biogon on the Zf but only good things about the 50 Nokton. I am hoping someone can confirm or deny the bad things I have heard about the 21 Biogon before I spend money on an adopter.
 
Back
Top Bottom