F-mount lenses on an FTZ adapter

[GreenSlade]

I bought a Z5 with an FTZ adapter, thinking that I could upgrade the F-mount glass with Z-mount as finances allow. Recently I was looking at a full frame F-mount macro lens and wondered if I'd get FX mode with it via the adapter instead of DX mode. Would the lens be recognised as a full frame and the camera would go into FX mode or, because it's on the adapter, would the camera go into DX mode?

 

[BF Hammer]

Z5 is FX size sensor so it will use a full-frame FX F-mount lens in FX mode.

But there are limitations as to which lenses will work with the FTZ adapter so knowing which lens you are looking at is also important. For instance I have a Tamron 90mm macro lens that worked great with my D750 and D7000 before that. But it just won't function with Z5 and FTZ adapter since I bought those. It's a known issue I only discovered after upgrading. I recently bought a Z105mm macro because of that.

 

[Fred Kingston_RIP]

All of my FX lenses work as expected on my FTZ II... "D" Lenses are different because the electronics are different. So they're full manual but do work... My older AIS lenses work also... The lenseis that work manual use Focus Peaking... which is for schnizzle with these old eyes.

 

[Clovishound]

This picture was shot with a Nikon VR 105mm micro 2.8 G lens (FX) mounted to a Z5 using an FTAZ adapter. The lens worked quite well on the Z5 with all capabilities intact, including full frame rendition.

Having said that, if you have the money for the Z mount 105mm micro Nikon, I would opt for that. It's supposed to be an incredible macro lens.

 

[GreenSlade]

All of my FX lenses work as expected on my FTZ II... "D" Lenses are different because the electronics are different. So they're full manual but do work... My older AIS lenses work also... The lenseis that work manual use Focus Peaking... which is for schnizzle with these old eyes.

Thanks for the info. I don't have any specific lenses in mind right now because I wanted to look at options. If I have an FTZ adapter anyway and that's going to give me access to proper full frame capability it would be silly not to take advantage of the cost savings. There's a better balance with the quick release mounted on the FTZ. Maybe I'll start with -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-AF-S-70-300-4-5-5-6G-IF-ED/dp/B000HJPK2C?th=1

 

[GreenSlade]

This picture was shot with a Nikon VR 105mm micro 2.8 G lens (FX) mounted to a Z5 using an FTAZ adapter. The lens worked quite well on the Z5 with all capabilities intact, including full frame rendition.

View attachment 395255


Having said that, if you have the money for the Z mount 105mm micro Nikon, I would opt for that. It's supposed to be an incredible macro lens.

Thanks for that. What I didn't want to do was to go through all the palaver of buying a lens then finding out it wasn't going to give me full frame after all. I'd guess that since the Z mount is more recent the quality is going to be that much better so I suppose there's going a be a premium Still, if the Z mount doesn't work out it's good to know there's a fall-back. I'll do some checking and grovelling.

 

[Fred Kingston_RIP]

Here's a thought... There are several reputable sources for USED camera lenses that grade their stock and give warrantees... Camera lenses are like cars, when you drive them off the lot, they lose value that doesn't impact their functionality or quality. Keep your eye out for the lenses that you want and periodically scan those available sites for what you want.

 

[Clovishound]

If you are looking at the 70-300 lens as a macro, you will be disappointed. It is a tele zoom. My daughter has this lens and it works well as a tele, but it does not provide close focus capability. It's minimum focus distance is just shy of 4 ft with a magnification ratio of .25. A true macro lens will give you 1.0, more commonly known as 1:1. Also a true macro lens is also optimized for close focus images, ie your close ups will probably be sharper.

Unfortunately this also comes at a price. The Z 105 micro lens runs a tad over $1,000. In England it's probably higher due to VAT taxes and other things. If you want to do macro on a budget, you can do what I am doing now and get a set of extension tubes and use it with a shorter focal length lens. I'm using it with my 24-70 F4 zoom, and get decent results. It's not as sharp as the dedicated macro lens, and working distances are short, but I can live with that now. I have a current thread going about my experiences with extension tubes, if you are interested.

Settling for extension tubes

 

[BF Hammer]

As already brought up the 70-300mm lens is not a macro lens by any measure. I would not even recommend using extension tubes with it on a Z-mount camera simply due to the fact you would be doing a double-adapter stack. It might work, but you double the amount of possible ways it could fail. Extension tubes on an F-mount camera, I say not a bad thing to do since it is only 1 "adapter" in play.

I don't know if you are still using an older F-mount body in addition to the Z5 (I do that). If you are just using the Z5, really consider saving for Z-mount lenses instead of picking the low-hanging fruit with F-mount. It will reward you for years to come.

My opinion: the Z105mm micro is the best option, but it is not the only option. Check with stores, it is currently is sold with $100USD instant rebate in the USA this month, and I expect some similar deals in world markets also. The lens also shows up from time to time used, but not that often due to being a fairly new model. But there are some Z-mount aftermarket lenses out there. Manual focus mainly, but also lower cost for sure.