Mounting exotic lenses on the new Nikon Z6/7 cameras

[Birna Rørslett]

The final version of the Z adapter for my Oude Delft 65mm f/0.75 Rayxar is now completed. The adapter in fact turned out to be much easier to make than I initially thought. Apart from the lens badly needs internal cleaning to get dust off the lens surfaces, it works very well with the Z7. I decided to fix it at a position in which half-length portraits are just barely feasible, and just ignored the concomitant vignetting. With the 45 MPix sensor there is no problem cropping the image anyway.

This is a lens which is fun to play around with. As there is no aperture to adjust and no focusing mechanism, all one has to do is decide on the framing then take the picture -- couldn't be any simpler. Just by moving the lens ever so slightly, the rendered view changes dramatically.

The drawback is of course the massive weight of this lens, which means one has to lift the lens not the camera at any time. This has to be balanced against no need for speculating about getting the sharpest possible image, which is a liberating notion. As evident from the sample image below, veils of conventional concerns and worries simply vanish into thin air.

[BEZ]

The final version of the Z adapter for my Oude Delft 65mm f/0.75 Rayxar is now completed. The adapter in fact turned out to be much easier to make than I initially thought.

B, If you get time could you post a picture of the mount please?

Cheers

[BEZ]

My problem is the fuji X lens mount opening is just too small to slide over the Rayxar rear lens retaining metal shroud. If I remove the shroud as you have previously I don't have anything else to screw down the 52mm step up ring.

I thought about cutting the shroud, but would prefer to keep it intact for future use.

Did you experience vignetting when you had the lens set for the full head portrait you took of your friend?

I realise this is off topic please feel free to remove the post.

[Birna Rørslett]

Thanks to the combination of an extra-wide camera mount and a very short register distance (16mm), the new Nikon Z-range offers excellent opportunities for the experimentally inclined photographer with cupboards of strange optics.

Basically, one has the following options

• find a commercial adapter on eBay (doable for most standard mounts)
  
• cobble bits and pieces of existing adapter/rings
• get a factory mount and rethink everything

I invite all members to share their strategies and solutions.

[Birna Rørslett]

To answer some questions myself ....

I have ordered Nikon(S) rangefinder mount-Nikon Z on eBay, am awaiting these to arrive. The adapter allows all RF Nikkors with external bayonet to be attached to the Z camera.

To mount and focus the 50/1.4 RF or any of the 'normals' without focusing helicoid of their own, I have the superbly crafted Amadeo adapter. A pity it is for Sony E, however as the register distance for the Z is 16 vs 18mm for the Sony, I think a conversion is possible. Just need to locate a mechanic with a suitable lathe to shave off the Amadeo.

Leica M to Nikon Z are commercially available. I purchased one with the intention of hacking it later (see story on the Oude Delft 65/0.75 later).

There should be plenty of other existing mount>Z adapters either available now, or arriving soon.

If one can get hold of the spare factory mounts*, a Cokin 58mm ring for their filter system will fit nicely and snugly onto the Z bayonet. Thus, 58mm threads are available. The "conversion" takes 3-5 secs. Use a small rubber hammer to force the pieces together. No glue or screws are required. Many of my exotic lenses carry 52mm threads on their rear, thus a simple 58-52 step ring will suffice to mount any of these lenses in the Z.

First, two Z mounts without (left) and with 58mm Cokin adapter (right).

Second, an Oude Delft 50/0.75 Rayxar on my Z7 using the adapter above.

* I can order factory mounts if required. Just ask by PM

[Birna Rørslett]

Thanks for your patience, BEZ. Here is what I did with the 65/0.75.

The first option is to use the 52mm threads that I had installed on the rear of the 65mm lens (by adding a 39-52mm step ring and then using the removable shroud to keep the step ring in position). This will allow almost full frame coverage, and a wee bit further off focus than what we had before on 'E' and 'CX' mount bodies. A K-4 ring is used as an additional spacer in this case.

The second option, which is the one I landed on, is hacking a Leica M>Nikon Z adapter by removing the Leica mount from it, noticing the earlier described 39-52mm step ring fits precisely into the opening left by the removed Leica part, and that's it - more or less.  The 39mm male threads should be milled away to move the lens assembly a little deeper into the throat of the Z body. A few minutes with a Dremel and finishing off with a metal file and one is good to go.

A snapshot of the assembled adapter is below. Be careful to center the shroud of the Rayxar so it won't conflict with the internals of the Z mirror box (oh wait, the Z is mirrorless - must be the internal topography then, not a mirror box)

[BEZ]

Thank you B,  ....you have arrived at a similar set-up to what I have for my F mount cameras. No surprise as you told me how to do it previously 

The problem I have with my Fuji X mount is it does not quite fit over the rear lens metal shroud of the Rayxar. I think I may decide to accept the X mount is not an ideal match.

The only interest I have in the new Z mount cameras is for using with lenses like the Rayxar. Did you experience vignetting when you had the lens set for the full head portrait you took of your friend?

[Birna Rørslett]

There is a balance to be found here. Too close to the sensor one risks snagging the sensor and there is inadequate coverage of the FX frame, leading to severe vignetting. However, scene coverage increases to allow half-length portraits. Moving the lens out further reduces vignetting, but it becomes impossible to do anything else than close-ups.

[Jack Dahlgren]

To answer some questions myself ....


If one can get hold of the spare factory mounts*, a Cokin 58mm ring for their filter system will fit nicely and snugly onto the Z bayonet. Thus, 58mm threads are available. The "conversion" takes 3-5 secs. Use a small rubber hammer to force the pieces together. No glue or screws are required. Many of my exotic lenses carry 52mm threads on their rear, thus a simple 58-52 step ring will suffice to mount any of these lenses in the Z.

With such a heavy lens I would be worried about relying only on the press fit approach. Seems it would be simple to drill and tap at least one or two holes in the Cokin part to attach with the standard bayonet screws in their usual manner. Maybe something to consider for longer term use.

[Birna Rørslett]

The fit is quite robust. However, a few screws would achieve even better peace of mind I suppose.

[Seapy]

It is possible temperature differentials could cause an unexpected release.  Would be a shame to loose a good lens.

[Frank Fremerey]

this thread is part of the Nikongear DNA. I am not a craftsman, but I really love to watch

[Jakov Minić]

Very nice, Birna.
The Oude Delft must be a fun lens to use

[Birna Rørslett]

The lens is heavy fun. The selfie below indicates it is possible to hold the camera + 65/0.75 by one hand only, but the practice is not recommended plus better image quality can be obtained by looking into the finder. Depth of field is virtually no-existing, but the bokeh is superb.

I have kept the entire recorded frame to show the field coverage attainable. Not bad at all with the 45 MPix Z7 as cropping to a slightly less elongated frame still keeps most of the effective pixels.

[golunvolo]

The bokeh is fantastic. Transfers the sensation to the subject.