Nikon Z6 / Z7 Photos....

[Vince Lupo]

Still getting used to this camera. I tried the 'highlight-weighted metering' and this is what I got:


Z7 Joe by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

This is with the 50mm lens at f/1.8 - still beautifully sharp, and a ton of info in the shadows. Highlights seem to hold pretty well, though to me they look a bit 'veiled'. Clearly I need to spend a lot more time with this camera!

I shot a video with it this week for a client and it was really great. The in-camera image stabilization works very well, and the video looks really good.

 

[Huss]

One thing I noticed is when I adapt lenses the EVF does not represent the actual exposure which is very disappointing. I have it set correctly etc (believe me I checked, double checked, triple checked etc..), but the exposures come out way too dark if I go by the EVF. I have to go by the histogram in the EVF and push it to the right just before it clips.

No comments from anyone who has tried to adapt lenses?

 

[ZivcoPhoto]

I don’t have that issue with my Z6 and Leica R glass, my M42 CZ Jena lenses or Leica M glass and certainly not with G or earlier NIKON glass. I just focus wide open, then set “F” stop I want and camera does the rest.....with the non- NIKON lenses. I let the camera pick ISO up to 50,000 so no hiccups there exposure wise.

 

[KEH]

I bought a Z7 a few weeks ago. It will be my second body for my wildlife work in Africa, but I figured it would make a great camera for experimenting with various manual focus lenses.

I want to acknowledge Huss for taking the lead on using adapted lenses on the Nikon Z bodies. This triggered my interest.

A couple of photos from Washington DC appear below. The first is with a 50mm Cron, the second with a Zeiss M-mount 35mm/2.8 C-Biogon. The Cron behaves like a champ, but the Zeiss 35 is distinctly soft in the corners.The same is true for the Leica Emarit 28/2.8, while the CV 28/1.8 LTM Nocton is stronger in the corners. More experimentation required.

Like Vince I bought the 50/1.8 Z and I'm extremely impressed.

Anyway, this promises to be a lot of fun when I am not off in the African bush.

Cheers,
Kirk

 

[Vince Lupo]

Getting there. With the 85/1.8 wide open - this lens has no business being this sharp wide open!


Riley Z7 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

If you must know, I'm opening these images in ACR and then PhotoShop CC. Very little is being done to them -- a little bit of burning and dodging, not much else.

 

[Huss]

I don’t have that issue with my Z6 and Leica R glass, my M42 CZ Jena lenses or Leica M glass and certainly not with G or earlier NIKON glass. I just focus wide open, then set “F” stop I want and camera does the rest.....with the non- NIKON lenses. I let the camera pick ISO up to 50,000 so no hiccups there exposure wise.

The Z7 unfortunately does not work like that. With any non chipped lenses even with the EVF set to 'show actual exposure' (or whatever that setting is), the images come out about 3 stops too dark. What I see in the EVF is disappointingly inaccurate, I need to use the histogram in the EVF and push it to the right.
Other Z7 users on Fredmiranda.com have mentioned similar findings.

It is such a bummer because I can adapt any lens onto my Leica M240, and the crappy, really crappy EVF2 shows the correct exposure no matter what foreign chunk of glass is on the front.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Both with the new 24-70 f/2.8 S lens for the Z7:


Whitetail by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Riley Z7 #2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Vince Lupo]

Did a very small test this afternoon the in the backyard with the Z7 and the Monochrom 246.

Both cameras were at ISO 320, both lenses were at f/2 (50/1.8 for the Nikon, 50/1.4 Summilux ASPH for the Leica).

First here are the completely uncorrected versions (OOC RAW for both). Can you tell which is which?


Leica Monochrom Nikon Z7 Test2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Leica Monochrom Nikon Z7 Test1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Both cameras were set at Aperture Priority and the center of each was pointed at the same spot (more or less the nose of the Buddha).

Now here are 'corrected' versions of each shot -- by that I mean that I tried to make each shot look as good as I thought I could. No sharpening at all, yet I tried to get their tones as close to each other as possible.


Monochrom Z7 Corrected2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Monochrom Z7 Corrected1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Both the first and second versions of each pair are from the same respective camera (so #1 of each is the same camera, #2 of each is the same camera).

Any thoughts?

 

[Larry Cloetta]

First person who says, “ I can always tell the $3,000 Summilux 50 ASPH on a Leica Monochrom from the $600 Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 S lens on a Nikon Z7 when I look at a fiber print, so this test is useless......” That person has to buy the rest of us dinner.

 

[Vince Lupo]

First person who says, “ I can always tell the $3,000 Summilux 50 ASPH on a Leica Monochrom from the $600 Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 S lens on a Nikon Z7 when I look at a fiber print, so this test is useless......” That person has to buy the rest of us dinner.

You’re definitely right there! Both are exceedingly close. I’m actually surprised at how good all those Z lenses are.

I now have the 35, 50, 85 and now the 24-70/2.8 and each and every one of them is super-duper. This camera has certainly made me reconsider the immediate purchase of the M10 Monochrom when it is released.

One thing I forgot to post were tight crops of these images. Stand by!

 

[Vince Lupo]

Crop from first 'corrected' photo:


Monochrom Z7 Corrected2 Crop by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Crop from second 'corrected' photo:


Monochrom Z7 Corrected1 Crop by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Don't forget - both of these were shot at f/2, no sharpening added in post.

 

[oldwino]

I am going to guess that the second set is from the Nikon.

But I’m prepared to be wrong. ;-)

I like my Z6 a lot.

 

[MikeL]

Thanks for the test Vince. Splittin hairs here. My guess is #2 is 50mm asph since the in-focus falloff seems slightly quicker. That’s one reason I’m not a fan of the asph’s is the abrupt out-of-focus transitions. In your photos, it might be where the focus is for each lens that’s giving me that impression. Again, splitting hairs.

 

[Vince Lupo]

First one is the Nikon, second is the Monochrom. Both pretty darned close - also illustrates how the sensors are doing.

Of course this is just a quick, seat of the pants test. Not on a tripod, just a spur of the moment side-by-side test. Next will likely be print comparisons!

 

[Huss]

Good stuff Vince. Comparisons like this is why I never was interested in the Monochroms.
You should do the same if you can between an M240 and the Monochrom.

 

[Vince Lupo]

I don't have access to an M240, however I have made prints from my M-D (which I think is pretty much the same sensor). Black and white prints look good, and I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between them and those from the Monochrom.

I still love my Monochrom, but this initial test gives me a bit of an idea of the potential pathway forward for me.

One thing I did find interesting is why the Leica's meter read that scene differently than the Nikon's, and seemed to overexpose by 1/2-2/3 of a stop (I even have the Leica's meter set to -1/3). Still managed to hold onto the highlights though!

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Gosh, excellent comparison, revealing but tiny differences. Superb black and white tones in both too.

 

[Huss]

The meter on my m240 always seems to overexpose by that amount. Anytime the scene is slightly dark or subdued. This is in classic meter mode.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Gosh, excellent comparison, revealing but tiny differences. Superb black and white tones in both too.

Thanks Charles -- I'm going to do it again. In my last post I was wondering why the Leica seemed to overexpose the scene -- I just found out why. I checked my metering setting in the Nikon -- I had it set to Highlight Weighted. Whoops.

I'm going to try it again with both meters set to manual to make sure I get the same initial exposures. I think I'll also try the 35mm lenses (I have the 35/1.8 for the Nikon, and a 35/1.4 Summilux and goggled 35/2 Summicron V1).

So here's a question -- 24mp CMOS Monochrom sensor vs the 45mp Nikon sensor. Does the lack of the Bayer filter in the Monochrom seemingly 'bump up' the megapixels? I am completely not up on this stuff, so if someone has some more 'seasoned' info than I do, please let me know!

 

[Vince Lupo]

The meter on my m240 always seems to overexpose by that amount. Anytime the scene is slightly dark or subdued. This is in classic meter mode.

Yes I have had that happen too -- I seem to go back and forth between -1/3 and -2/3 in my meter adjustments. Classic mode as well. Interestingly I've never had it happen with the M-D.