Nikon Z6/7 mirrorless system

[Birna Rørslett]

I wager a guess the new lens worked to satisfaction?

[Nikfuson]

I wager a guess the new lens worked to satisfaction?

Your wager is right. The lens is not perfect but for the money it is very, very good. Still a long canvas to paint before I can say I know this lens in ‘n out.

[Birna Rørslett]

I now see the contours of a complete lens line-up for my Z6 using the "ancient" RF Nikkors ('S' mount) and equivalents. the latter being of course more modern developments made by Cosina/Voigtländer in the mid 'naughties (approx. 2005). Using the Roxsen N(RF)-Z adapter or a dummy F-Z (for the 15mm Heliar), the focal length ranges covered in the shot below are 15 to 105mm. It should be evident these lenses are surprisingly petite even with their adapters added. They are a lot of fun to use on the Z cameras and results are surprisingly good too.

Lenses depicted here are Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Heliar (F mount),  Voigtländer 21mm f/4 SC Skopar (RF mount), 3.5cm f/1.8 W-Nikkor, 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor 'New Olympia' (in a focusing DIY mount), Voigtländer 50mm f/1.5 Nokton (RF mount), 8.5cm f/2 Nikkor (RF, the legendary Nikkor) on the Z6, 10.5cm f/2.5 Nikkor ('Sonnar' type). I do have some of the longer RF Nikkors such as the  25cm f/4 and 35cm f/4.5 as well, plus the 13.5cm f/4 Bellows-Nikkor. I also have a nice black 13.5cm f/3.5 Nikkor RF.

Nikon enthusiasts will note this particular 8.5cm Nikkor is the rarer Contax version as indicated by the 'C' engraved on the focusing barrel, but of course this has no significance on the Z camera with its visual focusing.

[JohnBrew]

Rented a Z7. I like it a lot. There are some features I like better than others. I really LIKE the placement of the ISO button. Probably because my thumb is double-jointed. The OK button will take some getting used to. At first every time I tried to navigate with the wheel I'd hit the OK button before the directional ring. First problem I've encountered is an inability to download files from the XQD card. My PC won't recognize it. My MacBook Pro recognizes it but won't download the files. I did download some stuff from Nikon which was supposed to facilitate the XQD, but didn't seem to be any real help. I have a call to my Nikon friend who has an 850 so I'm sure we'll be able to suss it out.

Not too impressed with the 24-70 so far. Comparing resolution between my 810 and Z7 on just the LCD's at 100% I see no advantage for the Z7. I suppose I would have to print larger than I am capable of to see an improvement from higher mp's.
Oh, the EVF is just fine. I expected I would hate it, but not the case at all.
More thoughts later...

BTW Birna, that 85 looks terrific on the camera.

[Birna Rørslett]

Do you have an XQD card reader? It's a pretty standard USB 3 device that also should be USB 2 backwards compatible.

[Frank Fremerey]

Rented a Z7. I like it a lot. There are some features I like better than others. I really LIKE the placement of the ISO button. Probably because my thumb is double-jointed. The OK button will take some getting used to. At first every time I tried to navigate with the wheel I'd hit the OK button before the directional ring. First problem I've encountered is an inability to download files from the XQD card. My PC won't recognize it. My MacBook Pro recognizes it but won't download the files. I did download some stuff from Nikon which was supposed to facilitate the XQD, but didn't seem to be any real help. I have a call to my Nikon friend who has an 850 so I'm sure we'll be able to suss it out.

Not too impressed with the 24-70 so far. Comparing resolution between my 810 and Z7 on just the LCD's at 100% I see no advantage for the Z7. I suppose I would have to print larger than I am capable of to see an improvement from higher mp's.
Oh, the EVF is just fine. I expected I would hate it, but not the case at all.
More thoughts later...

BTW Birna, that 85 looks terrific on the camera.

I guess you like to buy a Lexar Professional Workflow XQD reader with USB3...

[JohnBrew]

Do you have an XQD card reader? It's a pretty standard USB 3 device that also should be USB 2 backwards compatible.

Yes, they sent one with the rental. It uses a USB-2 connection, made by Sony. I haven't tried the cable from the camera to download with - is that even an option?

Frank, you may be right! I guess I could get one from B&H before I have to return the camera.

[Birna Rørslett]

Sometimes driver installation for new devices is all fucked up if you pardon the expression. I had issues with a Sony XQD reader on one of my Windows boxes and only managed to get it working by hooking it up to a USB 2 port, then install drivers, reboot and plug the reader into a USB 3 port. Now it just purrs along. Revenge of the Nerds, I'd surmise.

[Birna Rørslett]

---  BTW Birna, that 85 looks terrific on the camera.

I thought the same thus I actually went all out and purchased another 8.5cm Nikkor to get it in black livery instead of the chrome version already in my possession.

Optically they are identical, but looks do count Now the 3.5 cm f/1.8, 8.5 cm f/2, 10.5 cm f/2.5, and 13.5 cm f/3.5 all are in satin black with a dash of chrome to them.

[Akira]

Birna, if I'm not mistaken, I see an S-mount 50/1.4 (the last version of Gaussian design) as well.  How do you find its image characterics on digital?

[Birna Rørslett]

Yes, I commented it earlier as "Nikkor New Olympia" -- it is the 2005 Jubilee version that came with the Nikon S3 (2005) camera (which I also own together with a black S3 AP from mid '60s).

It is more contrasty than the older 50mm designs from the rangefinder era, no doubt thanks to improved optics and better coatings. Still it has the slightly softer, "rounded" rendition that make these older lenses so enjoyable.

[Akira]

Yes, I commented it earlier as "Nikkor New Olympia" -- it is the 2005 Jubilee version that came with the Nikon S3 (2005) camera (which I also own together with a black S3 AP from mid '60s).

It is more contrasty than the older 50mm designs from the rangefinder era, no doubt thanks to improved optics and better coatings. Still it has the slightly softer, "rounded" rendition that make these older lenses so enjoyable.

Thank you, Birna.  I didn't realize that the Jubilee version had the "Nipon Kogaku" designation on the front ring.  If I remember correctly, the original Olympia version was engraved "Nikon".

[JohnBrew]

Okay, my friend with the 850 solved the problem. And the answer is: go to Bridge, File, Get photos from camera. Then it will download what you have plugged in to the USB port. Interestingly the images came in to PS as D850 images. I think it is because I'm using an older version of PS due to problems with Windows 10.

[Jack Dahlgren]

I now see the contours of a complete lens line-up for my Z6 using the "ancient" RF Nikkors ('S' mount) and equivalents. the latter being of course more modern developments made by Cosina/Voigtländer in the mid 'naughties (approx. 2005). Using the Roxsen N(RF)-Z adapter or a dummy F-Z (for the 15mm Heliar), the focal length ranges covered in the shot below are 15 to 105mm. It should be evident these lenses are surprisingly petite even with their adapters added. They are a lot of fun to use on the Z cameras and results are surprisingly good too.

Lenses depicted here are Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Heliar (F mount),  Voigtländer 21mm f/4 SC Skopar (RF mount), 3.5cm f/1.8 W-Nikkor, 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor 'New Olympia' (in a focusing DIY mount), Voigtländer 50mm f/1.5 Nokton (RF mount), 8.5cm f/2 Nikkor (RF, the legendary Nikkor) on the Z6, 10.5cm f/2.5 Nikkor ('Sonnar' type). I do have some of the longer RF Nikkors such as the  25cm f/4 and 35cm f/4.5 as well, plus the 13.5cm f/4 Bellows-Nikkor. I also have a nice black 13.5cm f/3.5 Nikkor RF.

Nikon enthusiasts will note this particular 8.5cm Nikkor is the rarer Contax version as indicated by the 'C' engraved on the focusing barrel, but of course this has no significance on the Z camera with its visual focusing.

How are images from the 21mm f/4 and the 8.5cm? I think that might be a small kit to use (and doesn't overlap the kit zoom in focal length or character)

[Birna Rørslett]

The 21/4 Skopar is a recent addition and I just have done some test shots with it. They look good enough although still early days to describe the inherent character of this lens.

Some examples from the 8,5cm f/2 Nikkor RF are presented below. Taken with Sony A7 and Nikon Z6.