micro-nikkor Z

[David H. Hartman]

https://richardhaw.com/2021/06/27/review-nikkor-z-mc-50mm-f-2-8/

updated with distortion and vignetting examples. very disappointing

I guess from here on out the final results after in camera and or software processing is what to expect from Nikon. I feel mixed about this. I'd really like to see near zero distortion and no need for correction. I'd also like to see vignette tamed better: modest wide open and very well tamed by f/5.6.

Dave

[Jack Dahlgren]

I guess from here on out the final results after in camera and or software processing is what to expect from Nikon. I feel mixed about this. I'd really like to see near zero distortion and no need for correction. I'd also like to see vignette tamed better: modest wide open and very well tamed by f/5.6.

Dave

This is the way things are with complex systems.
Even simple things like brakes on your car have feedback loops and correction which allow you to stop more quickly than you would just by stomping on the pedal. The internet is littered with videos of idiots who turn off electronic traction control on their 500+ horsepower cars and immediately spin out of control.

For thousands of years human teams specialize and have people with certain strengths compensate for other weaknesses to deliver better results than could be obtained without that sort of specialization.

As someone who started in the film era, burning, dodging, masking, using different developers, papers, and techniques to get the best images from a photographic system were always part of the process.

That we are now using digital techniques to correct geometric distortion or evade the long reaches of the cos^4 law makes perfect sense and allows lens designers more degrees of freedom to produce lenses which have beautiful rendering. I would be disappointed if Nikon was NOT taking advantage of this.

[richardHaw]

If applying software correction, is the residual distortion sufficiently low to use it for reproduction applications?

i dont think so. this amount is too large for reproduction work

coin and stamp photographers will be disappointed by this.

vignetting is strange, you can see how the dirt in the background is getting more focused as i stop the iris down so it means that the iris is indeed getting smaller but the dark corners are still there despite stopping it down to f/8.

i used to have a low opinion about the 60/2.8G but it now looks good compared to this.

sharpness and aberration control is near-perfect though.

[Roland Vink]

Mechanical vignetting is like having the lens stopped down towards the corners. As you know, stopping down reduces many aberrations and improves sharpness, so many lenses are intentionally designed this way, but it does this at the expense of dark corners.

Higher vignetting is a side effect of mirrorless lens designs, especially for wide-angle lenses - the exit pupil is closer to the sensor so the image corners are relatively further from the lens than the centre, and the cos^4 law becomes more noticeable. It wasn't so much of a problem with SLR lenses since the mirror forced the exit pupil to be further from the sensor, the optics were more telecentric so the cos^4 effect was less.

Mechanical vignetting can be "fixed" by designing lenses with larger front and rear elements. But this makes the lens larger, and extra elements or special glasses may be required to keep corner performance to an acceptable level. And if you are going to use larger elements you may as well make the entire lens faster (with same amount of mechanical vignetting as the slower design) and charge more for it

Optical vignetting caused by the cos^4 law can be reduced by using more telecentric designs, but this causes the lens to become larger and we lose some of the advantages of mirrorless camera systems.

[richardHaw]

Distortion: 0.7

There’s just the merest hint of pincushion distortion but this will generally go completely unnoticed even when shooting straight-sided objects. And that’s even with in-camera correction switched off.

from:
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/nikon-z-mc-50mm-f28-review?fbclid=IwAR2iUelBWMUtupu9V4gGwSTNNnyFeZiOTrvCjGPY5imegBcLJ6Cj2TzQhGI


about the same amount that i tested, mine was around 0.8 i think.
i do not agree with what he said that it is not noticeable, everyone can clearly see that in my samples

as previously mentioned, this is probably a trade-off that nikon was willing to make.

DXO measured 0.3 for the 60/2.8G
https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Nikon/Nikon-AF-S-Micro-NIKKOR-60mm-F28G-ED-mounted-on-Nikon-D800E__814

i am usually not very critical of distortion but its unacceptable for a lens of this class to have anything that is noticeable without using tools and rulers.
i could clearly see lines curve inward. in fact, i even noticed that when i was looking at the peep-hole viewfinder of my Z6

i guess the older lenses had to perform better here since its harder to hide this with film as there are no post-process for distortion.

[Hugh_3170]

You have NAS!   

I prescribe wine.

Enjoy the wine (and the lens). 

I went to talk about the Z fc with my dealer and ended up with a 105 MC Nikkor in my bag!

[Ilkka Nissilä]

You have NAS!   

Tell me about it. ;-)

I had thought I was going to get a Z6 II to use the lens but it took me another week to be able to get a hold of one as they were out of stock all over the place. It seems the current rebates are making this camera move quickly.

I was taking casual photos of objects and people to get familiar with the equipment. The image quality of the lens was outstanding, especially beautiful out-of-focus rendering. The sensor dynamic range is excellent as well, I was shooting in bright sunlight and could lift shadows recklessly with very good results. Just about everything about the images is nice.

I did my standard torture test of autofocus with the Z6 II + 105 MC as well, which is approaching people on the street at distances of maybe 2-20 m. I tried single point, dynamic area, and wide-area with human face modes. The modes are easy to select (Fn1 programmed for focus area change)  though I'm used to seeing the focus area indicator on the top LCD which was absent with this new camera, so one has to view either through the viewfinder or back LCD to see the focus area change. I admit that it was not necessarily a fair test as a macro lens isn't necessarily going to focus its best on moving subjects at distances of several meters. But I was expecting a bit less erratic results. I got maybe 1 in 3 shots in focus when I was testing it on approaching people. With static subjects, AF seems to work fine. Also the 105 AF-S VR for F-mount doesn't autofocus all that great on this type of subject (approaching people) even with DSLR, but with 105/1.4 and 70-200/2.8 I'm used to most shots being in focus with DSLRs. I think it may simply not be an application the lens was designed for.

I think Nikon will sort out the AF in subsequent generations of cameras and I'm sure user skill and getting used to a new camera play a part as well.  I'll give it some more time. As with everything one has to be aware of the capabilities of the gear and use it for subjects that it works well for. I'll test it on some sundew tonight in Nuuksio and post some shots if I make it back alive (mosquitoes and swamp ... not the most comfortable environment).

[Hugh_3170]

Thank you for your impressions (and sorry for having teased you!).

It would seem from your description that this lens might, in addition to its intended use, be a worthy modern successor to the much loved 105mm f/2.5 for portraiture without going to the expense of the stellar 105mm f/1.4E  F-mount lens.

[Michael Erlewine]

More testing with the Z 105 Macro on the Z7ii camera. In this note, I am just looking at focus stacking and how that 105 Macro works with the Z7ii’s internal focus-stacking ability. It seems to work well. Since I know of no way to figure out the total number in steps that will be needed, one has to guess. For example, I guessed, using the smallest increment of “1” that 100 images would be enough to capture a single flower from front to back. Yet, no, that did not work. It only captured perhaps ¾ of the flower. Setting the increment to 150 steps seems to do the job.

However, why couldn’t Nikon let us set the front edge of the image, the rear edge of the image, and the size of the step, and tell us the number of steps, or better yet just produce a picture given those parameters? It would not be rocket science. I would think a firmware update could handle that.

Putting that quibble aside, it seems like a step size of “1” (and enough layers) would be enough for almost anything I need, which for me means I can make use of this lens for stacking focus. Now, all that remains is to consider the IQ of the image.

So far, the IQ seem OK, perhaps better than that. I have to admit, I have been kind of holding my nose as to the capability of the internal focus stacking of the Nikon 7ii, but I’ll have to stop that. The system can produce good focus-stacked images.

Now what am I going to do with all the skill I have acquired doing this by hand all these years? Oh well. All I really care about are the end results, yet the process also deserves respect. However, I can adapt to any process that produces good results. And the internal focus stacking is way faster and less jiggly than doing it by hand, especially if one considers the changing light of the sun and shadows.

It is true that I have macro lenses that have better IQ and are better corrected, many of them, but all of these are manual lenses and would have to go on an automatic focus rail if I wanted to automate them. Of course, as a professional critic (music and film) by trade, I can’t help but be critical. I’m not happy with equipment, or more correct I’m happy, but could always be happier if we just tweaked this or that.

Here is a stacked image using the Nikon Z 105 Macro on the Nikon Zii.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

I find sundew pretty difficult to photograph, as it grows in swamps and lives off catching insects many of which also love human blood. The swamp is wet and can pull you in. And it's hard to get things in usable depth of field.

I tested use of a small pillow (not unlike a bean bag) under the camera and took shots without a tripod, shock and horror. ;-)

This one is cropped from a horizontal image (problem was that the tilting screen just tilts one way, so I couldn't effectively shoot verticals without really getting into the water and mud.

This is with Z6 II + 105 MC, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 360.

I noticed mechanical shutter option is grayed out in the menu.  There is only auto and EFCS. I wonder if Nikon figured that since it's a macro lens they don't sharpness-ruining vibration to be selected by the user. ;-)

[ColinM]

... the 105 AF-S VR for F-mount doesn't autofocus all that great on this type of subject (even with DSLR, .

OK, not what either version of this lens was designed for, but my 105mm af/s seemed to handle fast moving subjects ok occasionally.
(this was taken along with a TC14  using a D300)



Meanwhile, I love your Sundew Ilkka, which appeared whilst I was still typing....

[golunvolo]

However, why couldn’t Nikon let us set the front edge of the image, the rear edge of the image, and the size of the step, and tell us the number of steps, or better yet just produce a picture given those parameters? It would not be rocket science. I would think a firmware update could handle that.

  My thoughts exactly the first time I attempt this feature. I´t will eliminate to wild guess and save a lot of time and effort.
  It does work as it is, mind you, but could be, as you propose, a more elegant solution.

[golunvolo]

Love that sundew Ilkka

[richardHaw]

looks like you're enjoying your new yoyo

i like the photo with the white flower.

please forgive my ignorance, what did you use for stitching the photos?

[Michael Erlewine]

looks like you're enjoying your new yoyo

i like the photo with the white flower.

please forgive my ignorance, what did you use for stitching the photos?

If you mean the lily, no stitching, just stacking.