Arrival of Nikon mirrorless (finally!)

[Erik Lund]

All Nikkor F will mount. Most likely they will need a CPU to make use of some functions.

[Seapy]

This seems ambiguous?  "...from the digital era".

I wasn't aware of a clear distinction in the lens lineup between the 'film era' and the 'digital era' There were chipped lenses long before the D1, for example I had an early micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D which had contacts.

From what I understand there are lenses still made which have no chip.

I don't think a screw focus lens is a definition, there are of screw focus lenses post digital era I think...

So in this context what is meant by digital era lenses?  Could it mean chipped lenses?  If so Birna better get stocked up with Dandelions!     Chipping may experience a renaissance.

[Jack Dahlgren]

All Nikkor F will mount. Most likely they will need a CPU to make use of some functions.

What exactly does a chipped lens do? I know it communicates lens focal length and max f stop which the camera can use for metering and for keeping record of which lens was used, but without it what function would be lost?

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The DX 10.5mm fisheye is screw drive AF and digital era. But if Nikon only make full-frame mirrorless then they might not care about providing autofocus for that.

The decision to support full functionality of all Nikkors or limit the support to certain features or certain types is not a trivial one. I hope they make an adapter with full support and another one which supports everything else but not autofocus on lenses that rely on body motor to drive the AF. This would allow the user to purchase the right adapter and only pay for the level of support that they need.

[Akira]

The screw-driven AF can be given up, as the adapter needs an integrated motor.  But the focus aid (by magnifying the image) and the metering should not be that difficult to support.  All other mirrorless cameras "except for Nikon 1" support them even via a dumb mount adapter.

[MILLIREHM]

A new Z-Bayonet with a bigger diameter as to be expected.
Now it really depends on how good the F-mount adapter it is. I hope it is otherwise this system might going to fail.

[Luke Miller]

Kenko made a 1.4 teleconverter for Nikon AF-D lenses.  It passed through the camera body's focus motor connection.  So it is technically possible for AF-D lenses to have autofocus support in the new mirrorless body without a motor in the mount adapter..

[fish_shooter]

I doubt that the body will have a screw drive so a pass-through will not do the trick. The bigger question is whether the adapter will actuate the auto diaphragm (of non-E lenses)  which is more probable given that it can be a small and cheap part as it had to be in all previous SLRs regardless of how cheap they were.

My guess is the new Z mount camera-lens connection will be all-electronic like the E lenses so there will need to be gadgets for each of the legacy mechanical linkages (recall the the rabbit ears - done away with when Ai came out but there was still a mechanical aspect).

Tom

[Peter Forsell]

Kenko made a 1.4 teleconverter for Nikon AF-D lenses.  It passed through the camera body's focus motor connection.  So it is technically possible for AF-D lenses to have autofocus support in the new mirrorless body without a motor in the mount adapter..

I don't think the new mirrorless body will have an AF motor.

[Seapy]

TC16a anybody?

[Jack Dahlgren]

I doubt that the body will have a screw drive so a pass-through will not do the trick. The bigger question is whether the adapter will actuate the auto diaphragm (of non-E lenses)  which is more probable given that it can be a small and cheap part as it had to be in all previous SLRs regardless of how cheap they were.

My guess is the new Z mount camera-lens connection will be all-electronic like the E lenses so there will need to be gadgets for each of the legacy mechanical linkages (recall the the rabbit ears - done away with when Ai came out but there was still a mechanical aspect).

Tom

If they have an adapter with AI aperture indexing, it would be pretty simple to make one with pre-AI indexing. It would be fun to put those old prongs to use again.

[Roland Vink]

The TC-16a has AF in the same way a normal screw-drive AF lens works, it won't focus unless the camera has a built-in AF motor.

On the other hand, the original TC-16 (no "a") for the F3-AF had the AF motor built into the TC. It's a rather bulky unit, even though the AF motor is quite small since it just needs to drive small elements in the TC:


As Ilkka suggested, it could be possible that Nikon produces more than one F-mount adapter:

(V1) The simplest would be an all-electronic "E" adapter. It would provide AF only with AF-S, AF-P and AF-I lenses (no screw-drive AF) and automatic aperture only on lenses with the electronic "E" diaphragm. Since it has no mechanical linkage, the adapter could also support stop-down metering with other lenses with a manual aperture ring, so could be usable with pre-AI, AI and early AF lenses. It would not be compatible with G lenses. My feeling is that Nikon would consider this adapter too limited so would not go for this option.

(V2) More likely is an adapter as above which also has a built-in motor so that it can stop down lenses with the mechanical aperture linkage - which is the vast majority of F-mount lenses. It would AF with AF-S, AF-P and AF-I lenses (no screw-drive AF) and would support metering and automatic aperture with CPU lenses. However it would not support metering with other lenses. If the mechanical linkage could be disconnected it stop-down metering could be a possibility.

In theory it could also support metering and automatic aperture with AI-S lenses, provided lens CPU data is entered in the camera, the aperture is set via the camera (not lens), and the lens aperture ring is set to minimum aperture, but it would need to detect the AI-S indicator "scoop" on the lens. It would not work with AI and older lenses due to the non-linear aperture action. Given that Nikon has not made a camera which distinguishes AI from AI-S since the late 1980s, this seems unlikely.

(V3) If V2 also has an AI linkage, it would also offer metering with AI lenses. It would not be compatible with pre-AI lenses unless the AI tab could be flipped up.

(v4) The most comprehensive, complex, and expensive adaptor would also have a built-in AF motor like the old TC-16, to support screw-drive AF. This would provide backward compatibility with almost every F-mount lens made...

[fish_shooter]

Good summary of hypothetical adapters. Nikon could compensate for the loss of AF with screw drive lenses by having highly (sophisticated crunching of the data off the image sensor) discriminating (given the possibility of working aperture use) visual focusing aids.

[Seapy]

Thank you Roland, I had the TC16a, wasn't aware of the TC16.

Fine bit of theorising, will be very interesting to see what route Nikon take.  Probably a middle route...  Given the "digital age" hint.

Is this something a third party might develop... Perhaps in the form of a TC.  Fascinating times.

[Eddie Draaisma]

Full support for E and G lenses, and all other lenses with aperture rings to be used stopped down and without AF is maybe all we get...

The new mount will have it’s virtues for new lens designs. But it is a PITA to have to use an adapter for F-mount lenses, nothing fascinating on that at all.