Which screw AF lenses would you use if a Z screw AF adaptor was available?

It's not that it can't be done, but it voids the purpose of getting the latest and greatest body over anything that came out in the last 5 years or so, and many of us already have. The only reason for me to upgrade from the D850 is for better AF performance, particularly with moving subjects, so if I have to focus manually, buying a new body is useless.

If you are after better AF performance, why would you use screwdriver, pre-AF-S style AF? In fact, for the best AF results, I pretty much would limit to native Z-mount lenses and fairly recent AF-S lenses, e.g. within the last few years.

If you are after better AF performance, why would you use screwdriver, pre-AF-S style AF? In fact, for the best AF results, I pretty much would limit to native Z-mount lenses and fairly recent AF-S lenses, e.g. within the last few years.

 

If I buy a Z body, sure, I would slowly replace my lenses with dedicated Z-mount ones, but that would be a gradual process over a period of years.

 

Even when I got my D850 a few years ago, I thought the only thing I could imagine improving on it was AF performance (not that a D850 has bad AF, but I recently started photographing sports, or just children running around, and that can definitely be a challenge to keep up with), even though at the time I wasn't thinking my next body would be mirrorless.

 

Now I have seen a couple of reports about adapted lenses on the Z9, and while AF may not perform as well as native lenses, they still look promising, even compared to the D6. I am hoping that soon the technology in the Z9 will trickle down to the prosumer bodies, and I will be able to pick up a "Z7III" for under 2/3 of the Z9's price. Either way, I'm not in a hurry.

Just a thought, but I wonder if some of the older AF lenses wouldn't focus too well with Contrast Detect AF because of their lack there of.... and maybe the mechanics are too imprecise for the too and fro movements.?

 

More modern glass types and coatings really do bump up the micro-contrast.

I still have a few screw drive lens that I use on older bodies , I would not buy a new F mount lens, I might pick up a used 300pf or something along those line so long as I am getting a steal, I have bought a hand full of pre Ai, their dirt cheap and fun to play with and get some nice results with some. But I would like to see a 135 DC and 180 2.8D in in the Z mount. Not so much the DC but I like the focal lengths. the 180 2.8D is still very nice on the Z7.

Just a thought, but I wonder if some of the older AF lenses wouldn't focus too well with Contrast Detect AF because of their lack there of.... and maybe the mechanics are too imprecise for the too and fro movements.?

 

To some extent this is true but the D780 focuses screwdriver AF Nikkors quite well in live view (reportedly). So, it's possible to achieve.

 

More modern glass types and coatings really do bump up the micro-contrast.

 

They do, but some like the different feel of the images from some of the older lenses.

They do, but some like the different feel of the images from some of the older lenses.

Indeed!

 

However, I feel it's easier to replicate that required 'feel' from a position of clinically 'cold' than the other way around.

 

Bit like film 'look' emulation in RAW processing.

 

It's interesting how, once you've removed all chromatic aberrations and noise from a digital image, the remaining noise really looks like film-grain....:D

the remaining noise really looks like film-grain....

And why not?

Randomness is, well, random.