Kitpicking - and a new plan

All the in-transit items for the Z6 have arrived. 

Now what? 

It's time to select groupings! 

Part of the benefit of this is to check whether any lens might be expendable. The lack of small telezoom has caused to be creative in the 50-300mm zone, none of which is my favorite or final answer. 

Here are a few kits: 

• Max range: 20 + 24-85 + 100-400
• 24-85 + 70-300: two fx AF zooms
• 24-85 + 55-200dx* is lighter, but.. 
• Primes (20/40/70) plus telezoom of choice
• All manual focus: 28+50+70 + either 85+135 or Vivi 70-150/3.8
• The fastest kit: 20/28/40/70 + 80-200/3.5
• Lightest: 20/40/70 + 55-200*

Ah, but the weight.. 

• 
  Clearly the 100-400 adds plenty of range, but will not be carried often (1250g) when the Vivitar (510g) or Sigma (630g) will do. The 80-200 is pretty bulky too - but the 55-200* is even lighter! 
• Also clear is that the 300mm mirror lens is a decent alternative when grams and cubic inches matter. Weird bokeh and all! 
• Two wide-zoom alternatives have some merit. The 24-50 is a very lightweight option for the wide end - but far slower than the 28+40 primes and the 24-85. The 24-70/4 is better in that regard but is just 50g lighter; I feel what I have now is my best answer. All Z-native lenses have 5-axis stabilizer, but the 24-85G dual VR is as good - and is (minimally) wx sealed! 

One conflict that I see immediately is the 55-200dx vs 70-300. Both do good work but with strong compromises: much lower resolution* with the former, focus noise + no stabilizer² + slow AF with the latter, and no wx seals with either. The Vivitar and Tamron are sufficient, I expect. I shall not rush into anything though. 

* 80-300mm eq  - but @11Mpx resolution 

² see 24-85 shootout to see how much lens IS helps! 

---

Update! 

After the review above, I decided to make a rather large swap. 

So farewell to the marvelous yet still massive 100-400, to both of the lenses in conflict - and to the Viltrox 20 (I expect it to return later, assuming I ever pursue deep backpacking again). 

In return a Tamron Z-mount 70-300rxd will fill the telezoom gap, save me many grams, and use all the sensor unlike the dx 55-200mm. 

I'll be gaining 

• multiple weather seals 
• a better focus motor
• a USB port for software updates
• and the lightest 70-300mm zoom available in Z mount today!

The Vivitar and Focal zooms will remain for a while as I get comfortable with the New Order; their fate will be decided at leisure.

A $2 difference

 Well the kit is fully formed now. 

And it only took $2 to do it!

OK an additional $2, to be precise.

A well-worn but functional F-mount Tamron 100-400 vc usd lens will arrive next week. It was listed too low to meter so I claim that i was forced to bid! I chose a reasonable bid above the opening value, then added $2 above that nice round number. And the nice round number was the winning amount!

Anonymous
switches!

The lens has lost nearly all of its letters and numbers, especially around the focus and stabilizer switches. Given the (barely) winning bid, this is a truly not-big deal. And with the choice of a small dx zoom or the Sigma 70-300 fx (or my primes) for the long end, the bulk of this lens won't be something I take on every outing!

And so the kit, once all shipments reach their destinations, look like this:

• AF Primes (Z): viltrox 20, Nikkor 40
• MF Primes (pK): 28, 50, 70, 85, 135
• MF Primes (T/F): 300, 400, 500
• AF Zooms (F): 24-85vr, 70-300apo, 100-400vc
• MF Zooms: 70-150, 80-200

And that covers plenty of range for me. After all: the μ43 kit has 600mm/e if i really need it!

If I can afford to swap in more Z native lenses at some point, they would likely be the 24-70/4 and ..? A yet unannounced telephoto zoom that's compact and slower than f/4.5 .. something like a 50-200 f/4-5.6?

But only if it isn't something silly-slow like f/5-8! 

The reviews I've seen of the Nikk-Z 24-50 have not reassured me of first-party lenses that will tempt me. Perhaps smaller Asian sources will help out with FX lenses more suitable to the S9/BF/α7c body size?

Such lenses would be just my type!

 

call me Wimpy

 - but not for the hamburgers!

I've just resigned my campaign for slower DX/36x24 lenses, and ordered a Nikkor 55-200 VR². Yes, it will shoot at 10½ Mpixels on the Z6, which sucks. It will be an 80-300 mm/effective focal length.. which is what I'd like to find in a compact FX lens. If only I could shoot this at 1:1 or 5:4 with the entire sensor height.. but apparently Nikon frowns on such creativity. 

What counters the suck?

• it has VR². VR just showed me its value on the 24-85G lens with the Z6. And this VR is one better :)
• it cost $75. Not $250 (50-250 Z version), nor $475 (Tam rxd 70-300), nor >$700.
• it weighs 425 grams - with the FTZ adapter! Less than every mid-long telephoto I've looked into, even the bargain Sigma 70-300apo (630g) that I've been trying this week.

At some point one must choose our compromise. Here's mine. The Z50-250 has points in its favor, but neither are weather sealed. The dx 70-300vr would be ~550g and provide even more effective telephoto range - for a price.

Price is big because I'm not sold on 10Mpx± .. but we'll find out soon how much it hurts to shoot with that resolution. 

	Nikon Z6
	Viltrox 20
	Nikkor-z 40
	dx 55-200mm vr²
	Vivitar 70-150
	nikkor VR 24-85
	Qray 300
	Sig apo 70-300

24-85G Nikkor contest!

"Would that it 'twere so simple" - from Hail, Caesar! 

Well, this test was an easy one. Bummer that my preferred answer did not pan out.

I put the two 24-85 Nikkors G (VR and previous) in a dimly-lit room and shot it out. ISO 500, f/5.6 and an instruction manual about six feet away. Shutter was 1/2.5 seconds for easy VR evaluation. Elbows on knees but little other support; with ftz the lenses are just over 500g.

First up was the VR lens, fully engaged. Wow: an excellent result with lens and sensor VR in effect. No surprise? Well, 85mm and 1/4 second is 8+ stops - so an image this sharp was a surprise.

Turning off VR is simple, as the lens switch disables both internal and lens VR. It took me three tries and much more rigorous technique to achieve a nearly not-blurry shot. The other two were awful. 

Lens #2 with in-body VR was better than no VR.. but not by much. The internal VR definitely couldn't handle the shutter speed used in this scenario. Coming from Pentax and Lumix S5, it was disappointing. However: internal VR improves to a 5-axis system with Z-native lenses; bonus points for the marketing team for that 🫤 but my wallet is displeased. 

So about five minutes of testing convinced me that the slightly heavier VR lens is a keeper, and a 72mm cpl filter is in my future. I had hoped to run with just 52+67mm filters; oh well. At least I already have a 72mm split ND! 

Wow! on several levels

 After a sleepless night I did some browsing yesterday. I had a z6 in hand and lenses on the way, but the path they were taking was slow and tortuous - or maybe I was just impatient?

In any case, I encountered a 'used well' copy of the 24-85G that I had bought but just leaving New Jersey. This copy was a pinch less expensive and sitting in Adorama (New York) seeking adoption. I bought it and upgraded to fast shipping for under $10.

It arrived in 24 hours to our home in SW Washington! And we do not live in Portland or Vancouver, we're an hour away in a semi-rural Longview 'suburb'.  Wow.

When I opened it up, I noticed it had a 72mm lens cap. That's odd, the copy I sought and the online image all said 67mm. Oh, look at that - this was the 24-85G VR lens. Wow!!

I hadn't sought VR since the z6 body has its own within, but it can make use of the lens' internals to improve slow-expo images even more - so absolutely no complaints here. Well, maybe one: I suppose now I need few new filters.

Thanks Adorama!

And of course let's not forget: the non-VR lens is coming soon (it's probably past Philadelphia by now). 

While the front glass on the VR is larger and overall weight is up a few grams, most reviews I've seen rate the image qualities as essentially identical. The non-VR copy takes 67mm filters (also on their way as I write), so I suppose a showdown is coming. 

Inevitably. 

springy!

 We'll take it!

This is an ideal start to June - morning clouds, afternoon sunshine, max temps in the mid-70s. Since I cannot lift heavy objects yet post-surgery, the air conditioner can wait another 10 days. Tomorrow is the warmest in the forecast, so just one day of discomfort.

Nice.

Update - the Wx Underground forecast graphic is for valley-floor locations, which is always ~4 degrees off from our hill-top site. It's generally warmer in summer with thicker atmosphere, but colder in winter thanks to cold-air seepage. We reached 80° Friday up here, and NWS temperatures near 750' show mid-upper 60s next week. 

Nearly as nice!

kit, reborn - part LXVI-I-I

Looking ahead?

28 May 25

---

> The Z Kit  

After much reviewing of options, I allowed myself to save some cash by shifting the Big Kit to Nikon's Z6. I've nothing against them, but the Lumix S kit was refreshing in good ways. The S5 wasn't great for my uses but I felt the S1 was worth the extra bulk for what it brought me. The trouble was that a Z6 could do that for far less bulk and a few hundred $$ less - tilting touchscreen, ImgStab within, some moisture protection and nearly Lumix-identical sensor specs.

So here's what it will look like as of now:

• It began as a Z6, Viltrox 20/2.8, Nikkor 40/2, FTZ adapter,  and Vivitar 70-150/3.8 plus Pentax primes + a cute little Quantaray 300/5.6 catadioptric to 'cover' the long end :^)
• Phase Two arrived swiftly: Nikkor 24-85g VR + Sigma 70-300 lenses. That will provide an easy two-lens option for plenty of range, along with the primes! After a few tests I'm rethinking the 70-300 and will test-drive a dx 55-200 vr² as my crop telezoom. 

In my dreams, phase 3 would include the elder 35-150mm (Nikon-F f/2.8-4) . Plenty fast enough, great range and much lighter than the Z-native f/2-2.8 model. That depends on the Sigma and Vivitar lenses' performance, so it might remain a dream! I have no plans to initiate phase 3 in 2025.

Slow down, dude... 

Part of the funding for the Z6 came from returning the eM1.ii that I was attempting to bond with. That's a loss I can accept due to.. well, read on.

>  μ43 remains in play  

Someone at FredMir* decided to release their silver Lumix GX7 back into the wild. I've always been a sucker for that body, and my knowledge of it softens the loss of the somewhat unfamiliar eM1ß. It came with a silver Lumix 14-42ii, so I also sent in my Oly EZ lens and requested a silver Sigma 60/2.8. Plenty of flashiness in the new kit - and an onboard flash too, for times when that's useful!

>  Pentax  

Several K-mount lenses remain in play, mostly primes. Thanks to my .71x speed booster they have bonus focal lengths on the GXvii! The massive 80-200 f/2.8 with speed boost becomes an 112-284mm, f/2.5-equivalent beast!

Not shown:

• Vivitar 24mm prime - awaiting surgery for a focusing problem. A loose element, perhaps?
• Rikenon 70-150/4  - a decent lens, butthe Focal 80-200/3.5 seems to perform better. It's a 925g beast but much lighter than all f/2.8 AF equivalents.