Warning to owners of Viltrox and other third-party Z lenses

[Birna Rørslett]

Earlier today, I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with a non-functional Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 lens on my Z fc. I had just upgraded firmware on the camera from 1.30 to 1.40. The camera simply did not recognise the lens and would not allow AF.

When I, frustrated and annoyed, returned home I rapidly found this was an issue with the latest firmware for Nikon Z fc, Z 30, and probably Z50 as well. The issue affected all my Viltrox lenses: 13/1.4, 23/1.4, and 56/1.4.

Thus my advice is: stick to your current firmware for these cameras if you use, or plan to use, any third-party lenses with electronic lens-camera communication. NB: this does not apply to the Voigtländer Z-mount lenses. As Cosina/Voigtländer apparently co-operate to use official Nikon technology, I got a sneaking feeling that Nikon silently have tried to pull the rug under other third-party offerings??

For Z 30: firmware 1.00 is OK, 1.10 is not.

For Z fc: firmware 1.30 is OK, 1.40 is not

I no longer have the Z 50 so cannot comment on that model.

Nikon immediately drops earlier firmware versions for downloading once the latest firmware is announced. However, either save the .bin file from an earlier camera upgrade, or get the required firmware from independent sites (do a quick search on the 'net).

[bressong]

yes, it's very possible in that way.
when something is working , no need to upgrade.

you can wait that Viltrox to upgrade the lens firmware

[Birna Rørslett]

I downgraded my Z fc to firmware 1.30 and now everything is ship-shape again.

It is a breeze to downgrade the firmware by the way. Just put the .bin file into the root directory of a SD card and select 'upgrade' in the firmware menu. You will be asked to allow "upgrade" from 1.40-> 1.30 (for the Z fc). Do ensure any existing 1.40 .bin file is removed from the card first.

[longzoom]

It is what I warned you, ladies and gentlemen, about 2 years ago. After the pre-last update to my Z7, it stopped focusing on my Tammy 24-70/2.8. Zero reaction, as usual. Pretty understandable, why.  LZ

[Fons Baerken]

Thanks for warning Birna; certainly to free the 24/1.7 from competition.

[Akira]

Unfortunately, that seems to prove that the compatibility of Viltrox AF lenses to the Nikon Z mount was the result of the reverse-engineering, not the official license.

[Birna Rørslett]

Unfortunately, that seems to prove that the compatibility of Viltrox AF lenses to the Nikon Z mount was the result of the reverse-engineering, not the official license.

I never was in doubt about that .... however, the Viltrox team did a marvellous job so the Nikon Z bodies happily accepted these lenses, AF was very fast and spot on, and EXIF was complete including the full name of the lens.

For now, I will be careful about any firmware upgrade unless there is a secure manner to reverse it. Meaning at the very least that one should keep [several] copies of the firmware files on local storage media.

Nikon ought to reconsider their policy. When specialised lenses are available for the Z system, more Z cameras can be sold. As long as there is no direct equivalent lens in the current or scheduled Nikon line-up, these third-party items can only enhance the entire Z system. As seen from the user perspective, of course. Any business should consider such aspects.

[Birna Rørslett]

The Viltrox team apparently already has solved the issues created by Nikon's latest firmware upgrade .... I just downloaded their firmware update for my Viltrox lenses. That was responsive action

However, the fact that a single third-party maker deals sensible with incompatibility  does not avoid the potential pitfalls created by new firmware upgrades from Nikon. So my advice of keeping fallback files for any upgrade that needs to be reversed, still stands.

[Bern]

The Viltrox team apparently already has solved the issues created by Nikon's latest firmware upgrade .... I just downloaded their firmware update for my Viltrox lenses. That was responsive action

Thank you  Birna for the warning and the update.. Have you updated the Zfc firmware to 1.4 again ir just stuck with 1.3 version?

[mxbianco]

That near-sighted attitude by Nikon towards their customers is going to turn against it in the long run...

When I learned that the original Nikon FTZ and FTZ2 were NOT allowing AF to my two Sigma ART F-mount lenses (24/1.4 and 35/1.4), while the Viltrox NFZ was perfectly compatible, guess what I will be buying next in case I need another F-mount to Z body adapter? Not an original Nikon product, for sure!

ciao from Massimo

[Stephan]

I have both (FTZ, FTZII) and the Sigma ART 20+35F1.4 and had no problems from day one. No FW-Updates required on both sides...

[Birna Rørslett]

Updated firnware on lenses, then Z fc.  All is now functional again. No thanks to Nikon, though.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

I am glad to hear that the issue has been resolved.

Would the Viltrox 13mm it be a good choice for astro-landscape type images?

[Fons Baerken]

I wonder what type of cable is needed for updating the viltrox lenses cant remember any kind of cable was included with the viltrox lenses?!

[Snoogly]

I wonder what type of cable is needed for updating the viltrox lenses cant remember any kind of cable was included with the viltrox lenses?!

I found that any old cable with the right ends worked.