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Z mount Primes


mark45831

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Recently I talked to a Nikon rep and played around with his samples. In fact he has all Z lenses (that have been announced) other than the 58mm/f0.95 with him.

 

All four f1.8 primes are well made, but they are not heavy and they are not tiny. As far as I know all of them are excellent optically, but the only one I personally have is the 35mm, since December 2018.

 

BTW, the 50mm is made in Thailand; the 24, 35, and 85mm are made in China.

 

On the other hand the 24-70/2.8 is pretty big and heavy, although no as bad as the F mount E AF-S VR version, while the two DX lenses are very much consumer lenses with a plastic mount.

 

Keep in mind that the S lenses are all considered high end. All of the above FX lenses are S, the two DX are not.

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Nikon once made the promise that they would never abandon their loyal customers by changing their lens mount, as Canon, Pentax, and others had done, to accommodate AF. Well, they broke that promise, no reason for loyalty now. Nikon users are free to explore other systems that have been in the mirrorless game much longer and have a full selection of lenses now. Lens adapters to use your obsolete F mount lenses are not the answer.
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by changing their lens mount

 

They haven't changed it, they've added an additional mount for those that want to move on from F and take advantage of newer technology that was impossible with the old F-mount. They've already said there's going to be a D6 and it's going to be in F-mount. No abandoning going on there. No broken promises.*

 

Lens adapters to use your obsolete F mount lenses are not the answer.

 

Errr, none of my F-mount lenses are obsolete....I'm sure they'll all work on the D6.... and the D750's and D850's replacement....:)

 

No promised Z-DX primes, now there's the current Nikon failure.

 

* NB. I'm not saying they won't, they just haven't yet....;)

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don't AF on many if not most current Nikons

AFAIK, the only current ones they won't work with are the consumer level DX bodies of the D3XXX and D5XXX series.

 

So, AFAIK all Screwdrive lenses will work on all FX bodies.

 

I'm not sure there are any D only DX lenses?

 

... and of course they won't work on Z-Mount unless someone makes a very complex adapter...! ;)

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Folks, happy Black Friday. Please keep in mind that this is Mark the OP's thread and he is asking about the quality of the Z mirrorless prime lenses. I would appreciate that everybody stays on topic.

 

To answer Mike's other question, yes, there is one Nikon DX lens model that is AF-D. When I saw one for the first time around 2003, 2004, I have very surprised that it was not AF-S, as most new lenses by that time were AF-S.

 

I happen to buy one later on. The 10.5mm/f2.8 DX AF-D fisheye is one of the three DX lenses I have.

Edited by ShunCheung
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When Nikon introduced the Z mount for mirrorless back in August 2018, they had one of their optical engineers produce this promotional video, explaining why the Z mount, which has the widest diameter (55mm) and shortest flange distance (16mm) has advantages over their competition. Of course, this is part of Nikon's marketing; please keep that in mind. I assume some of you have watched this video before, perhaps last year. That engineer's English maybe a bit difficult to understand, but there are English subtitles.

 

 

Now over a year later, a lot of the Z lenses so far are best in class, based on many different reviews. The 24-70mm/f4 S kit lens is quite affordable and is very very good. I bought the 14-30mm/f4 S recently and like it very much also. This is the first zoom that goes to as wide as 14mm and can take a conventional front filter (in this case 82mm).

 

However, other than the 58mm/f0.95 S, so far Nikon is producing the reasonably affordably f1.8 primes that tend to have within $1000. While they are not cheap, their prices are within reach, and Nikon is providing some discounts from the initial prices after a few months. However, there is a 50mm/f1.2 S scheduled for next year (2020). I would imagine that lens will be around $2000.

 

Finally, other than the top-of-the-line bodies and lenses, Nikon is taking advantage of the lower labor cost in Thailand and China. So far the only two Z-mount lenses produced in Japan are the 58mm/f0.95 S and 24-70mm/f2.8 S. Everything else is made either in Thailand or China. So to answer Mark's question, those f1.8 primes are on the expensive side and are optically excellent, but they are not the very top-of-the-line lenses.

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I wonder when/if any of the independents manage to reverse engineer the Z-Mount well enough to introduce their own primes and zooms?

 

I have no idea whether the communication protocols are similar other than the FTZ must translate from F > Z and Z > F.

 

Of the reviews of the FTZ on the Z7 I've read, many of the non-Nikon prime and zoom lenses have trouble and either don't work at-all or are very erratic and/or very slow.

 

Be nice to see SIGMA ART 2.0 lenses as competition to keep Nikon honest....:)

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Well, thats most.

Most people who own screwdrive D zoom or prime lenses wouldn't even consider buying a DX body.... the D850 pretty much put an end to the reach, ie pixels on target, advantage DX had for long teles.

 

I think Nikon's Z lens line up is growing nicely... and by all accounts, yes they are a bit pricey, but without exception, they have better IQ than their equally expensive (and sometimes more) F-Mount variants, especially the fast primes which were not that great compared to Sigma's ART line-up..

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Most people who own screwdrive D zoom or prime lenses wouldn't even consider buying a DX body....

Hey, don't presume to speak for 'most people'. I bought a screwdriver DX D7200 long after I'd been using a D700 and then a D800. That was before the D850 was a twinkle in Nikon's eye.

 

The attraction was 24 megapixels and no LPF stuck in front of it. With a pixel density of 250 per millimetre rather than the slightly more than 200 that the D800 provides. So there's definitely an advantage to sticking long glass in front of it.

 

For example: The fantastically sharp (screwdriver) AF IF-ED 180mm f/2.8 Nikkor gives an equivalent 270mm field-of-view on the D7200.

 

A 300mm-ish f/2.8 lens to cover FX would probably have cost me more than what I paid for the D7200 and its very useful 18-140mm kit lens.

 

Maybe the IQ isn't exactly the equivalent of a top drawer 270mm lens on full frame, but it's darned close.

 

And while a D850 would be nice, I really can't justify its cost in my retirement years. Plus its pixel density still doesn't get close to 250/mm (it's 228 -ish).

Edited by rodeo_joe|1
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Pentax didn't change their mount to accommodate AF. Well, everyone made some changes but both Nikon and Pentax allow manual focus lenses to be used (and in mid and high end DSLRs, with wide open metering). There have however been changes from time to time to the communications and control system of the F mount, which mostly mean that today you can use most old lenses with mid to high end DSLR cameras but not all new lenses on old camera bodies.

 

I cannot remember ever seeing a claim by Nikon that they would not change the mount (they have, many times) or that F mount is forever; this would be a ridiculous claim which no one should believe. Nothing lasts forever. However, for now Nikon are continuing the F mount system development as well as the new Z mount.

 

To the OP, the Z f/1.8 primes I have shot with are the 35/1.8 and 50/1.8 and they are both excellent, better than any F mount Nikkor I have used with those focal lengths. It is my understanding that the 24/1.8 and 85/1.8 continue in line. Cameralabs reviewed the 24/1.8 recently and suggested it competed head to head in quality with the Zeiss Otus 28/1.4.

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Although I prefer faster primes, I have been debating getting either the 35/1.8 or the 50/1.8. I find I use my Nikon Z6 most often with the Voigtländer Nokton 40mm f/1.4 and a third party M to Z adapter with an in-built close focusing helical. This lens is small, but very disappointing; beyond IQ it flares uncontrollably wide open, and so I find myself most often using it at f/2.8, which defeats the purpose of having a fast lens! The close focusing helical is nice though.

 

On my DSLR, I most often use 28mm or 85mm, but if I had to pick just one lens it would be the 45mm f/2.8 Ai-P. I am leaning towards the 35/1.8, if for no other reason than the better reproduction ratio, which I find useful in a single "walk-around" lens. I also already own four different F-mount primes between 45mm and 60mm, which I can use with an adapter.

 

But I am wondering if there is any reason comparing the lenses themselves to prefer the 50mm over the 35mm?

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Based on various reviews, all four f1.8 Z Series S primes (24, 35, 50, and 85mm) have received high marks. Some people even compare the 50mm/f1.8 S to the Zeiss Otus 55mm/f1.4. The problem is that the Otus lens line is designed for SLRs, and they need to work around the mirror, leaving 40+mm between the rear element and the sensor/film. The Nikon Z lenses as well as other mirrorless, rangefinder lenses have no such restrictions.

 

Personally, I have never warmed up to the 50mm focal length. My very first SLR lens was a Minolta 58mm/f1.4 from the 1970's. After I switched to Nikon in 1977, I never owned a Nikon 50mm lens for 30+ years until I finally got a 50mm/f1.8 AF-S. Most likely I won't get the 50mm/f1.8 S regardless of how excellent and how affordable it is (currently below $500), or the future 50mm/f1.2 S.

 

I do have the 35mm/f1.8 S and like it a lot, but I mostly use zoom lenses on my Z6.

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"so far there's not a Z-mount prime that doesn't blow the F-mount version out of the water. "

 

The latest medium fast Nikon F-mount primes don't set the bar very high if sharpness is important to you.

 

However, YMMV, IQ is more important to my work than weight, (and cost! such as the Sigma 85mm 1.4 ART

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A 50mm f/1.8 for $500 is cheap???

Ah, no! Not exactly......:(

 

I made a decision a while ago that price wasn't a problem (within reason) but IQ was.

 

I traded in my Sigma ART 35mm and 50mm for the 40mm, and don't regret it one moment..

 

I sold my Nikon 85mm 1.8 AFS and got the Sigma 85mm 1,4 ART. Sure, bigger, heavier and a few more £££, but much, much better for my needs.

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Nikon 85mm 1.4D

 

Interesting, I hated mine. I bought it on it's reputation... i tried to love it.

 

...and sold it for more than I paid for it.

 

Handheld or tripod with the self timer... it was just soft and it's OOF details were a bit messy/ busy.

 

The guy who bought it loved it enough to email me....!

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