Hi,
after an extensive research and thinking, I plan to switch from the DSLRs to the mirrorless world, and I wanted to ask… what Z camera and lenses do you use? What for?
I currently own a D3500 with a couple of lenses:
- AF-P 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DX VR kit lens
- AF-P 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 DX ED VR kit lens
- SIGMA 105mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM MACRO
- SIGMA 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM
but I’m thinking about switching to the Z5 II paired with the Z 24-70mm f/4 S. This change is rather radical, but it is mostly driven by problems with the last of the named lenses – the 17-50 f/2.8…
The thing is, it’s theoretically a great lens. Perfect central sharpness, constant f/2.8 aperture, physical switches… but there are a few problems that really frustrate me.
I bought it as an upgrade over the kit lens that seemed to suffer field curvature in a few scenarios… but uhh… the Sigma seems to suffer the same, but on top of that also has a severe back and front focusing issue at the same time (depending on the focal length and focus distance combo) – which is where the field curvature really starts to creep in, e.g. focusing the center point on ∞ (with the whole scene at ∞ distance) gives me bokeh on one side… I tried to fine-tune it (D7500), but had no success at all – it was always wrong in some scenario. It could theoretically be calibrated under a warranty repair, but that didn’t feel like the best option.
It’s also really old and there are, to my best knowledge, no newer 17-50mm range f/2.8 lenses. The AF is also pretty slow, but comparing it to the AF-P kit lenses is quite unfair.
Since DSLRs are discontinued (I don’t want to use the word ‘dead’, heck I’m still using one), even if I got it working there’s nowhere to go, really. No future-viable upgrade path besides perhaps going with full-frame Nikon DSLRs. I thought I could perhaps make it work for a little longer, but idk, I don’t feel good about it.
As I said, the Z5 II really got my appeal. The latest AF system being equally capable in the viewfinder and using the LCD screen, BSI full-frame 24Mpx CMOS, IBIS, 11fps, fully articulating screen, etc. etc. … oh and also being brand new. The 24-70mm f/4 S seems like a solid universal lens that should cover majority of my needs (as per my analysis of the lenses I’ve used in the past two years) till I’d be able to afford more lenses. I also considered the Z 24-120mm f/4 S, but it’s very expensive compared to the kit I’m getting and the Z 24-200mm has too many compromises.
I thought of getting an FTZ II for the SIGMA 105mm MACRO (the only full-frame F-mount lens I own), but in comparison to selling it that could be a net difference of €500 or even more, for not a whole lot of macro that I was shooting. As a native replacement, the Z 70-180mm f/2.8 is particularly interesting:
- max. magnification of 0.48x would most likely suffice, as I struggled to get a good photo beyond 0.5x anyways: in too little light I had to deal with either too shallow DoF or a lot of noise (stacking outdoors is out of question)
- f/2.8 – I love a constant aperture and it seems like a much more affordable option to the Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S, as it’s about half the price
- I’d have to get a macro flash if I wanted to keep the SIGMA 105 as the Z full-frames don’t have on-board flashes… welp!
- 70-180 range is a lot less than I’ve previously had (105-450mm equiv.), but I might not need much more, given that I don’t shoot wildlife.
… but if I did, there’s a third lens to complete the set, the Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR. That would give me the 24-600mm range without gaps… Perhaps one day? If those two wouldn’t fit me, there’s still the affordable Tamron Z 70-300mm Di III RXD f/4.5-6.3, which would give me a cheaper lens with a longer reach. Although I’d probably need some sort of macro lens, as I like to take photos of details and neither the 24-70 or the 70-300 would do that well enough I’m afraid.
And lastly, there’s an the advantage of the Z mount where you should theoretically be able to adapt almost any mount and make it work reasonably well – Sony E to Z adapters are pretty interesting, since there are a lot of great FE lenses. I’d probably stay native on lenses where I’d like to have maximum speed and reliability, but for other occasions it seems like a viable choice of extending my kit.
The NIKKORs 24-70, 70-180 and Tamron 70-300 are fully supported in the current lensfun (the 180-600 is in develop version), so I’d only have to shoot the noise sample set for the Z5 II and I should be good to go.
So what do you use? Do you have any adapters, perhaps FTZ and still rock your older F-mount lenses, or did go already switch to all Z-mount? I’m curious what you use…
Also, if you made it this far, thanks for reading 