So, the ZF ...

[aerobat]

Yesterday I switched the Zf on and before I could take a first photo the back screen became unresponsive and an error was displayed like "shutter closed - press shutter release button ..."
It came back on without having to pull the battery but leaves a bad taste of having bought a lemon.

has anyone here had this issue - there seem to be similar issues with the sensor shield mechanism of Z8 / Z9?

[Birna Rørslett]

It happens with other Z cameras as well. Just follow the suggestion and press the shutter release and all is OK

[ColinM]

I bought my first Nikon (a D50), choosing the brand because of (amongst other things) the good availability of good quality second hand lenses.

I'm still using an F mount Nikon.
But was very pleased to see a local camera shop selling both second hand Z lenses and FTZII adapters. It may be time for a change soon.

[aerobat]

It happens with other Z cameras as well. Just follow the suggestion and press the shutter release and all is OK

Many thanks Birna - glad it's not to worry about

[aerobat]

Today I received the Zf-GR1 grip from an eBay seller in Japan. I bought the Zf with a free Smallgrip that wouldn't fit as the grip wasn't properly orthogonal. So it went straight to the bin. The Zf-GR1 fits well and its ergonomy was worth getting it from abroad. 

[Birna Rørslett]

I needed an L-bracket as there is the Foolography 'Unleashed' device to protect. It sits too exposed and vulnerable on the USB port for my liking. An existing bracket for my Z7 and a few minutes with a Dremel solved that problem.

[Snoogly]

Today I received the Zf-GR1 grip from an eBay seller in Japan. I bought the Zf with a free Smallgrip that wouldn't fit as the grip wasn't properly orthogonal. So it went straight to the bin. The Zf-GR1 fits well and its ergonomy was worth getting it from abroad.

It is indeed a nice thing. Here in Japan I was lucky to be able to order it at the same time I ordered the zF, basically on the day they were announced, I got mine, but since then the Japan market has been starved of ZF, and even the GR1 has been hard to find. Nikon sent everything overseas to earn proper money, totally abandoning the domestic poverty market using yen. The ZF is still on back order here, and new/used ones sell at a huge premium.

It’s the same for all Japanese products - the focus is on export. The domestic market is ignored, and we pay a fortune as prices are calculated in $. Doesn’t matter that Nikon, etc, are Japanese companies, prices are based on $ :-(

The full frame Voigtlander Z lenses are impossible to find here, while they are freely available overseas. Mapcamera sometimes has used 40mm for sale at basically the same price as new >>> which is never in stock.

Sorry for my rant, but in Japan we are being shafted in so many ways! :-(

[Snoogly]

Is anyone else using the ttartisan 6-bit M mount to a Nikon Z adapter? Potentially it’s a great way to use M mount lenses on a ZF, and get the joys of focus confirmation and focus point centric IBIS.

Problem is that it often (seemingly all the time in Japan) comes with old firmware, and will not work on a ZF. A firmware update fixes the problem, but a PC is needed - Mac NG.

But once updated it works well.

Even better is to add 6-bit squiggles to your M mount lens if it doesn’t already have them. Easy to DIY, and there are plenty of YouTube guides online.

Richard Wong seems to have the ‘best’ online review of the adapter, so it’s worth seeking it out. Also worth reading the comments to learn about any issues others have had.

But all in all it is a nice and relatively cheap way to turn M mount lenses into manual focus gods on a ZF ;-)

[Airy]

The full frame Voigtlander Z lenses are impossible to find here, while they are freely available overseas. Mapcamera sometimes has used 40mm for sale at basically the same price as new >>> which is never in stock.

Sorry for my rant, but in Japan we are being shafted in so many ways! :-(

The Voigtländer 40/1.2 has been out of stock in EU for quite a while now... others are in short supply too.

[Frank Fremerey]

The Voigtländer 40/1.2 has been out of stock in EU for quite a while now... others are in short supply too.

I was lucky to find a 1.0/50 Voigt and got it immediately, because the 1.2/40 was a wait for 6 months

[Airy]

I was lucky to find a 1.0/50 Voigt and got it immediately, because the 1.2/40 was a wait for 6 months

Same here: I headed for PCH in Brussels with the 40/1.2 in mind, but opted for the available 50/1.0 instead after 1/2h testing and seeing that it was way better than what some reviewers suggested. Of course I bought the sample that I tested (the one on the shelf), rather than another boxed one. One never knows... even if Voigtländer QC standards seem comparatively high.

[JJChan]

Is anyone else using the ttartisan 6-bit M mount to a Nikon Z adapter? Potentially it’s a great way to use M mount lenses on a ZF, and get the joys of focus confirmation and focus point centric IBIS.

Richard
Works well on Zf but needs firmware update.
Much more tolerant than the 6-bit reader on M240/M10 - lenses that need a lot of wiggling on those cameras register straight away. Would be nice to have Summilux 28mm f1.4 recognised, but works well for all others.

I had a friend 3d print this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3728955 and just used a sharpie to colour in blacks only. Even roughly coloured works.

Face recognition works well, I then magnify 100% (have set front Fn button on Zf for zoom) and fine focus. Very fast. Havent tried trap focus yet.

If you have any Leica or ZM lenses, it is great for the focus assist. I wish we had these for native Nikon F-mount lenses.

[Snoogly]

Richard
Works well on Zf but needs firmware update.
Much more tolerant than the 6-bit reader on M240/M10 - lenses that need a lot of wiggling on those cameras register straight away. Would be nice to have Summilux 28mm f1.4 recognised, but works well for all others.

I had a friend 3d print this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3728955 and just used a sharpie to colour in blacks only. Even roughly coloured works.

Face recognition works well, I then magnify 100% (have set front Fn button on Zf for zoom) and fine focus. Very fast. Havent tried trap focus yet.

If you have any Leica or ZM lenses, it is great for the focus assist. I wish we had these for native Nikon F-mount lenses.

I bought a similar gizmo for coding which is made of cardboard - but it is rugged enough to do the job.

Handily a simple M39 to M mount adapter ring can also be coded, so now my old 39mm Nikon rangefinder lenses can achieve focus confirmation

[Snoogly]

Just a heads-up that the Neewer Sony E to Nikon z adapter, in conjunction with an E to F adapter, enables the focus confirmation square with unchipped manual lenses. It’s crazy, but it works … I know because I bought one.

However, … The camera cannot ‘see’ beyond the Neewer adapter, which always reports itself as being a 50mm lens. Also, IBIS is disabled.

The result is focus confirmation with any manual lens, at the expense of no IBIS and wrong exif information.

I contacted Newer support, and got a rather unclear response… When connected to a computer with the provided USB cable a text file can be found, which contains the reference to 50mm. They mentioned this file, but did not explain if it can be self-changed, or how to do it. Even if possible, it would mean connecting the adapater to a computer every time you use a different focal length manual lens.

A couple of other people on forums and YouTube comments are also in contact with Neewer, trying to figure out if the issues can be resolved.

It really does give focus confirmation, however unlikely it sounds, but I cannot live with the caveats, and don’t want to fart around trying to fix it - so I will be sending it back today.