Nikon Z6/7 mirrorless system

[Birna Rørslett]

Finally -- very much delayed and awaited -- my first Z system parts arrived. This evening I received the Z7 kit (Z7, 24-70/4, FTZ), and the 35/1.8 S-Line Nikkor. Still awaiting the Z6 and probably in spring 2019, the mighty new Noct 58/0.95.

First observation is that my Foolography GPS unit, as I (hoped|expected) did work flawlessly on the Z7.

Will now scour the internet to find a suitable L-bracket for these camera models.



This is a continuation of the older thread http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,7705.0.html
As people now are getting their Z's, we can contribute actual experiences more than idle speculations

All NG members are welcome to participate, of course

[Frank Fremerey]

My foolography did not arrive yet...

[Birna Rørslett]

Spoke to Oliver Perialis the CEO of Foolography today. He told me they had been flooded with requests and the last days sent out several thousand of the new 'Unleashed'. Your unit might be there, Frank.

I moved an older model, Dx00'09, from one of my Nikons just to test whether it worked on the Z7. Which it did without any issues. Thus, now my camera has seen its first modification, as one part of the rubber gasket on the left hand side has been cut away for the GPS device.

Also threw away the hot shoe cover thingie. Another small step in the direction of a personal camera set up.

Now, time to cue suitable music and find a comfortable chair. The manual is thick.

[Erik Lund]

Congratulations    enjoy! We are all looking forward to hear and see your findings good and bad 

[Birna Rørslett]

The Z7 is like most new Nikons -- an enjoyable piece of camera gear. Although the menu system is pretty extensive, the basic functions are easily configured and one is ready for actual shooting very quickly indeed.

A quick trip to deliver my little red Peugeot to the repair facility this morning produced some photos as "collateral damage". Morning hours are very dark this time of the year, so I just pushed the release and hoped for the best.

Z7, 35/1.8 (everything on "A"). This lens is very sharp and quite light weight to boot.

[Airy]

Very crisp rendering indeed (settings ?).
I was surprized to see the results with the Noct. Although the lens was clearly the resolution-limiting factor, using it with the Z7 seemed to improve things slighlty. Of course, camera settings (such as sharpening) could have been tweaked; I could not check, not knowing where to look in my short experimentation time. A pity I could not take the XQD card for further scrutiny.

[Birna Rørslett]

A few tidbits of observations.

• the 2.1 cm f/4 Nikkor will *not* mount to the FTZ adapter. In essence good as this prevents a destruction of the adapter.
  
• the various old fisheyes with long rear ends will all mount and work well. Tried with 7.5/5.6, 8/8, 10/5.6 OP. No more "fooling" the reflex mirror!
  
• non-AI lenses such as the 50/2 will mount and operate properly. This implies a new spring for the oldest Nikkors.
  

[Eddie Draaisma]

After using the Z7 for 5 weeks, it is the focus by wire as implemented in the S-line lenses that bothers me most. The speed-dependent, non-linear (and jittery) MF operation just does not work for me. It is not that focus by wire cannot be done properly; for example the Sony GM lenses have a much better focus by wire implementation by means of linear behaviour (like mechanical lenses) and properly damped focus rings. Also, the Sony A7rIII EVF is much faster in magnified mode, a boon for MF work. (I know, the Sonys have some issues too but that is outside the scope of this thread).

Second thing I don't like is working with a single adapter, it makes changing lenses when both Z-mount and F-mount lenses are used in combination with a single FTZ adapter much more cumbersome. The solution is either to buy more adapters (one for each f-mount lens) or to go back to the D850 body for F-lenses. I did the last.

I am on the second 35/1.8S now, the first one had a bad right edge at far (infinity) distances.

[Birna Rørslett]

To be frank, I think love for the S-line Nikkors will be an acquired taste for anyone familiar with the old Nikkors. The new lenses are excellent optical designs, no doubt about that, but at the same time they are a little - let's point the finger on the issue - a tad soulless. They deliver crisp and sharp images and produce few surprises of their own. The casing is slick, non-personal, and similar to the design of so many other contemporary lenses. The focusing action., if done by MF, is not perfect if you work with gloves as there is too little friction on the focusing ring itself. Whether the plastic shells are resistant to knocks and bumps only time will tell.

[Birna Rørslett]

... and I still await the new Noct 58/0.95. S-line design, or not.

[gryphon1911]

A few tidbits of observations.

• the 2.1 cm f/4 Nikkor will *not* mount to the FTZ adapter. In essence good as this prevents a destruction of the adapter.
  
• the various old fisheyes with long rear ends will all mount and work well. Tried with 7.5/5.6, 8/8, 10/5.6 OP. No more "fooling" the reflex mirror!
  
• non-AI lenses such as the 50/2 will mount and operate properly. This implies a new spring for the oldest Nikkors.
  

I'm honestly very excited by this last statement.  I am anxious to get the Z6 and try out my MF Nikkors on it. Thanks for sharing.

[Birna Rørslett]

The time to get those nice old Nikkors whilst they are cheap is *now*.

[simato73]

Judging from what I can read (but have not been following very carefully), if the Z-series Nikon mirrorless had arrived four years ago, I probably would have not switched to Fuji, but I have now reached a state of "good enough" and am not that interested in more purchases, including of Fuji gear.
Unless I win the lottery and have cash to burn, it is now late.

Having said that, I hope to have the opportunity to see the Z6-7 in the flesh at a future NG get-together.

[Birna Rørslett]

The latter wish is my command.

[Eddie Draaisma]

Judging from what I can read (but have not been following very carefully), if the Z-series Nikon mirrorless had arrived four years ago, I probably would have not switched to Fuji, but I have now reached a state of "good enough" and am not that interested in more purchases, including of Fuji gear.
Unless I win the lottery and have cash to burn, it is now late.

The Fuji's with the right lenses attached are still smaller and lighter compared to any other 24x36mm ILC (except the Leica). For this reason I kept the X-Pro 2 with both 23/2 and 50/2. The other Fuji stuff had to go.