Non-Native Lenses and Adapters for Nikon Z Mirrorless

[faberryman]

You could always hold out a couple of years until Nikon fleshes out the lens line. What's the rush to ditch your current camera?

[Michael Erlewine]

You could always hold out a couple of years until Nikon fleshes out the lens line. What's the rush to ditch your current camera?

I don't have a Sony, but bought these lenses for use on the Z7. These are APO Voigtlander lenses, the 110mm said to be an improved copy of the Voigtlander APO 125mm Lanthar. Those are my reasons. Nikon has not brought out a new (and fantastic) macro, much less APO, for.... ever.

[Martin Kristiansen]

I don't have a Sony, but bought these lenses for use on the Z7. These are APO Voigtlander lenses, the 110mm said to be an improved copy of the Vigtlander APO 125mm Lanthar. Those are my reasons. Nikon has not brought out a new (and fantastic) macro, much less APO, for.... ever.

So you bought the two lenses, Sony mount, and a Nikon Z7 and then waited for an adapter to be invented? Is that correct? Now the adapter has been made, after a wait of several months, but by several accounts it’s not working out all that well quite yet. Is there a reason you didn’t just buy the Sony the lenses were meant for?

[Michael Erlewine]

So you bought the two lenses, Sony mount, and a Nikon Z7 and then waited for an adapter to be invented? Is that correct? Now the adapter has been made, after a wait of several months, but by several accounts it’s not working out all that well quite yet. Is there a reason you didn’t just buy the Sony the lenses were meant for?

I have had three different Sony mirrorless cameras and found that for my work that Nikon worked better, so I have the experience. The focus here, why I posted, was to get LIGHT on the problem I described not to discuss Sony. Thanks.

[Martin Kristiansen]

I didn’t want to discuss Sony. I wanted to understand the thought process that lead to what looks like a convoluted and ultimately failed plan. I guess some people just like to tinker 

[Michael Erlewine]

I didn’t want to discuss Sony. I wanted to understand the thought process that lead to what looks like a convoluted and ultimately failed plan. I guess some people just like to tinker

The plan is not "not working" now; there may be a solution now or in firmware; I don't know. It's not about "tinkering," but about mounting decent APO macro lenses on the Z-7.

[Michael Erlewine]

On closer examination, the adapter (for some reason) is not allowing the lens to stop down to take the actual shot after focusing wider open. Any ideas how to fix that?

[Michael Erlewine]

It looks like we have to set the aperture in the camera like a lot of other cameras. No big deal.

I understand. It was a momentary misunderstanding on my part. It looks OK. This with the Sony 65mm APO Macro  A rose, finishing up.

[Michael Erlewine]

The Voigtlander 110mm and 65mm APO Macros on the Nikon Z7 Camera

I’m a big fan of the Voigtlander APO lenses and have been for years. I was sad that Zeiss forbid them to keep making the Voigtlander 125mm APO Lanthar when they moved to Japan. It looks like that stricture is breaking up or at least bending with the advent of the Voigtlander 110mm and 65mm APO Macros in Sony E-Mount.

With my first look at the TZE-01 adapter from TechArt, I find the TZE-01 adapter easy to take on and off, so no “frozen-on” that some adapters show, where I have to take a pair of wide-pliers to gently get the adapter off.

I tested the TZE-01 with both the Voigtlander 65mm APO Macro and the Voigtlander 110mm APO Macro. The reviews I have read on these lenses praise the 110mm more than the 65mm, but I’m funny in what I like. First, I like a slightly wider macro lens and 65mm suits me fine.

They say the focus throw for both lenses is comparable, but I am only (or mostly) interested in the close-up and near macro range. For that, the 65mm macro has a focus throw of about 325 degrees, taking perhaps the last 50 degrees for the 2-meter distance and out.

As for the 110mm lens, it has about 250 degrees for the distance from 1:1 to 1:2, so for my purposes it has a more limited focus throw and it shows. I am used to a long focus through like the Voigtlander 125mm APO-Lanthar (630-degrees) and the Leical 100mm Elmarit-R (720 degrees) lenses. Compared to these classic lenses, the focus throw of new Voigtlander 110mm and 65mm APO lenses are a bit shorter than I like. Of the two new ones, the 65mm focus-throw does not bother me, but the 110mm is just enough shorter to make life more difficult than they would have had to. For close-up work I need a longer focus throw, although I try to make do.

Both lenses have 10-blades, not the best, but for me not a real problem. The 110mm lens goes 1:1, while the 65mm lens goes 1:2. I seldom work 1:1, so the wider range of the 65mm is just fine with me.

Neither of these lenses is up to what if find as the best for my work, lenses like:

APO EL Nikkor 105mm f/5.6
Schneider Macro-Varon 85mm f/4.5
Printing Nikkors (95mm, 105mm, and 150mm)
Nikkor “O” CRT lens 55mm f/1.2
Hartblei Superrotator Macro 120mm f/4 T/S
and others.

These new Voigtlanders are in the category of the Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 125mm f/2.5, but I prefer the 9-blades of the CV-125 to the new 65mm and 110mm with their 10-blades. The CV-125 APO Lanthar is a magic lens, IMO. These three Voigtlanders (like the CV-125) produce more artifacts when stacked than I like, but they clean up pretty well. I see the two new Voigtlanders (110mm and 65mm) as a good bet for non-studio work, shooting outside in the field, etc.

Right now, I am being a little hard on the 110mm and the 65mm APOs, to see if I will really use them. I probably will. The TZE-01 is so small that it’s almost like they were made for the Nikon Z7. I have a TZE-01 for each of them, so I won’t be doing a lot of taking the adapters on and off.

I may find I want to use these two lenses on a focus rail to get a smoother result when stacking focus, as I do.
I hate to do that  because the focus rail is not the best for the stacking software, but will check it out anyway.

Here are a few quick images taken with the CV-65 APO Macro. Still not happy with the 100mm... yet.

[Michael Erlewine]

The Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 110mm f/2.5 for Sony E-Mount

I have checked out the second Macro APO-Lanthar, this time the 110mm f/2.5 Lens for the Sony-E Mount, but on the TZE-01 adapter for the Nikon Z7. In the previous blog, I worked with the 65mm f/2 lens and found it very useful for my work, which is close-up stacking of images.

I am not as happy with the 110mm, for a couple of reasons, which may not affect most readers here, especially if you don’t stack focus.

Both the 65mm and the 110mm Voigtlander APO-Lanthars are about the same size, and they are external focus, so they hang way out there on the Nikon Z7 and the TZE-01 adapter. This is not SO bad if you are taking a single shot photo. Yet, for stacking, where I may have to take 150-250 images (or less or more), that overhanging lens is very hard to keep stationary. And the 110mm weighs 771 grams (1.78 lb.), while the 65mm weights 625 grams (1.4 lbs.). that 146 grams difference actually makes a difference in this case and for my work.

I usually use as a tripod head the geared Arca-Swiss C1 Cube. However, the C1 Cube is a little spongy because of the manual knob that allows the whole head to swing open 90-degrees. That knob has a little give to it. And so, given the long extension of the 110mm and the extra weight (146 grams), plus the helicoid on the 110mm is “stiffer” than the helicoid on the 65mm, the effort to turn the helicoid moves the lens more than it otherwise should, IMO. It’s no fun if you are doing many layers of images.

So, I went to the most steady tripod head I know of which is the Burzynski “Protec,” which as lens-master Bjørn Rørslett says “It simply defines what “dead solid” is all about.” Using the Burzynski helped a lot, but I still have to say that for complex focus stacking, the Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 110mm lens may not be for me. I can make it work, but my guess is that I may call on other lenses more often than choose it. 

So, there you have it. I like and can use the Voigtlander Macro APO-Lanthar 65mm lens, but have my doubts (and gave reasons) why the 110mm is probably a bridge too far as for stability in stacking images. It is just not steady enough because of weight, overhang-stress on the adapter, and stiffness of the helicoid, plus the focus throw is not (IMO) as long as I like them.

That aside, it is my best judgment, after examining the 110 APO-Lanthar that this lens is a step above in quality of the image from the legendary CV-125 (Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 125mm) lens. And so, I will be keeping it, but using it a little sparingly perhaps. This is an exquisite lens and I would recommend it.

[degrub]

The images with the 110 seem to have a "cooler" rendering than the 65 ?

[Michael Erlewine]

The images with the 110 seem to have a "cooler" rendering than the 65 ?

Hard to say. Different day, different light.

[D Fuller]

I received the TechArt adapter and I have the Voigtlander 110mm APO Macro Sony E-Mount and the Voitlander 65mm APO Macro in Sony E-Mount. However, the problem that appears, using either of these lenses and the adapter on the Z7, is that the image I see in the Live View or EVF seems the right lighting, but when I click the shutter, the resulting image is VERY much over exposed. So, in order to get a properly exposed image I have to try and see in the EVF or Live View and focus a VERY dark image to get a resulting properly exposed image. Any ideas or similar experiences. And this is a major PITA.

Unless there is a work-around, this is a major disappointment.  I have hoped to have a what-you-see-is-what-you-get experience with this adapter and these Voigtlander Son--E-Mount lenses.

That seems odd. I have a Novoflex Leica-M to Z adapter, and the camera performs as you would expect with both a 50mm Sumicron and the Voightlander f1.2 35mm. For exposure, it does not seem to matter whether I've properly set the Non-CPU lens data.

The Novoflex is a dumb adapter; there has to be something going on between the electronics of the Techart adapter and the camera. Does it work properly with an electronic aperture E lens?

[Michael Erlewine]

That seems odd. I have a Novoflex Leica-M to Z adapter, and the camera performs as you would expect with both a 50mm Sumicron and the Voightlander f1.2 35mm. For exposure, it does not seem to matter whether I've properly set the Non-CPU lens data.

The Novoflex is a dumb adapter; there has to be something going on between the electronics of the Techart adapter and the camera. Does it work properly with an electronic aperture E lens?

That was back when I first got the adapter. Everything seems fine at this point.

[D Fuller]

That was back when I first got the adapter. Everything seems fine at this point.

Good to know. Do you know what made it better?

[Michael Erlewine]

Good to know. Do you know what made it better?

I was expecting too much from it. I just had to coordinate the settings on the lens and the camera. Nothing is automatic, but works fine.

[D Fuller]

I was expecting too much from it. I just had to coordinate the settings on the lens and the camera. Nothing is automatic, but works fine.

So is it that the lens doesn't report its aperture to the camera or tht the Techart doesn't pass that info along to the camera? I ask because I'm interested in the Zeiss Loxia lenses for the Zs (for video). They're manual focus, but not haveing iris control from the camera would be a concern.

[Michael Erlewine]

So is it that the lens doesn't report its aperture to the camera or tht the Techart doesn't pass that info along to the camera? I ask because I'm interested in the Zeiss Loxia lenses for the Zs (for video). They're manual focus, but not haveing iris control from the camera would be a concern.

I suggest you check with Zeiss Loxia users. It may vary. I have not tried it on Zeiss, but on Voigtlander. I can change the aperture on the lens itself. If I try to change the aperture on the Nikon Z7 with the adapter, something happens, but I am not clear just what. It does not seem to change, but around f/5.6 onward it does.

Check with someone who has the lens you are asking about. Thanks.

[D Fuller]

I suggest you check with Zeiss Loxia users. It may vary. I have not tried it on Zeiss, but on Voigtlander. I can change the aperture on the lens itself. If I try to change the aperture on the Nikon Z7 with the adapter, something happens, but I am not clear just what. It does not seem to change, but around f/5.6 onward it does.

Check with someone who has the lens you are asking about. Thanks.

Great suggestion. Thanks.

[John R]

Thought I would add link to this video that shows the host trying the new Techart adapter from Nikon Z to Sony lens. Very short. He also says the FTZ Nikon adapter does not work as well as advertised. And that is another video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfjtT17FflY

JR