Some Assembly Required

 The new kit is coming together, lenses from both older and new kits. Several old kits contributed to filling in the blanks:

• Pentax primes lenses are available in many focal lengths from 28 to 200mm, but the four shown here are likely to see the most use.
• Several T-mount teleprimes have been resting in the closet, and have seen time with many caneras over time. The Hanimex 400 and Quantaray reflex 300 are oldies but goodies! My Sakar 500/8 mirror lens isn't worth the trouble though.
• The Z-native set is now* complete with the 16-50,  50-250 and 17/23/40mm primes.

I had contemplated a couple of other primes at the wide end, or perhaps the 12-28pz ..but the budget stopped at a used 16-50mm. That will do just fine - for now.

 

It's weird that the Z50 video skills are so much better than the slightly newer Z5; apparently its smaller size means faster offloading, so higher video specs are available. Most reviewers note the Z6 Z7 and Z50 use backside-illuminated sensors, and the Z5 apparently does not. 

Editorial - 

Nikon is rather vague about the camera sensors in its bodies - and to nobody's surprise, no owners have volunteered to crack open their cameras to find out! The only two BSI 'dx' bodies that clearly make the claim use 26-Mpx sensor (IMX571, and new IMX695 BSI stacked design); the older 20.9 sensor is no longer current, but clearly Nikon has some in hand for its z50ii. Thom Hogan says the IMX321  (special to Nikon) is the D500/D7500 sensor: to those who seek clarity, none shall pass. Thom chose not to list a sensor designation for his z50/z30 specs page. The z50 sensor claims to be .1mm wider than the D7500.. a quibble/rounding error, or a conspiracy beyond comprehension?

The D7500 Dxo score of 86 is essentially the same "IMX321n" as the D500 score of 85, and the Z-dx models seem to have one similar with pdaf capabilities. One speculator says the wiring to the sensor strongly implies BSI. 

So the answer is informed speculation. 

*Update 7/13: the elder 7artisans 10/2.8 af is selling for $100, now that the mark² is available. A mark¹ will be arriving soon! The primes as shown are showing in blue as 35mm equivalent, and make for A nice fl stair-step of 15/25/35/60/105 - with 150/205/450/600mm/eq also available. -Nice!-

Winner lose, loser win

Lyric from Steve Winwood, Go 

For reasons that I accept as reasonable, a Z50 is coming soon - and the eM1 and a lens or three are leaving.

• Pros: larger sensor, smaller camera, tilt screen, USB battery recharge, Nikon menus like my former Z6, 'solitude' picture control
• Cons: no IStab inside, shorter battery life, usbμ port, plus a few Oly/OM features which I like yet never used!

Its 'starter kit' is TTArtisan 17mm + Viltrox (23, 40mm) primes, and the VRs 16-50 and 50-250mm. For now the Pentax 70+100+135 will fill the small-tele slot.

The camera comes with 3 batteries and a charger, so power won't be a big issue. 

I briefly considered a Z30, but its only view is via its flip screen; that outweighs the usbC power port for me. I rarely make use of a flip screen, but will use the tilt design frequently!

Note that the eM1² departure does not kill the μ43 kit! The gf9 and Lumix 14-140, plus a few nice primes, will carry on.

If the kit were to expand soon, I'd expect either the Nikkor 12-28 or Viltrox 14/4 to be next.

I may regret this.. er these

A memory intrudes!

Back in my Pentax days of lens swapping I owned a Sigma 21-35 for my aps.c camera. It was rather bulky, and extremely prone to flare.. but still gave good results when used carefully. I found a Nikon model for $30 - it can fill behind the 40/2 now and then if I don't just pass it along. Might be fun for sky images, unless brighter stars make ghost images 👻

One thing is for sure: I can get $30 worth of use from it, however long it stays!

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Update! Wow. 

Here is my 9/30/14 post about this lens in Pentax mount. But does the new one have the permanent hood? We shall see..  

The 21-35 Zoom-γ lens arrived 7/25. Works decently and is fairly fast, but its reputation-killer is for massive flare. I didn't get to test that. It has no hood so it's not identical to the Pentax model I had before; a hood is on the way.

Fingers crossed..

 I dismantled my vivitar 24/2.8 (s/#37xxx =Tokina) and poked around. I unscrewed the rear element, cleaned and examined it - and that was about all it seemed I could do without major disassembly. 

Testing showed the same problem as before: the view approached infinity focus only when it was focused nearly to the minimum value! Almost like an extension tube, but reversed? Hmm.

So I took it apart again and noticed two shims that limited the depth of the rear element. I unscrewed the rear element slightly and tested again. Same result.

On reopening I discovered it had three shims! So I took two out and tried again. Hey that looks better!

By now it was 10pm so I was shooting indoor tests. Worse still, I was set on a telephoto focal length for internal IS was set to 135mm! I tried both the 24 and 28mm lenses with a much improved shake reduction value, and I believe that both lenses are now giving quite decent results! 

If spare time is available in daylight, I will check it again. Good night and high hopes for tomorrow's tests!!

Vivitar 24, smc-a 28, 24-85g +ftz

Update: sunlight tests show the 24/2.8 is working much better. However, it is not as good as the 24-85g at f/4. That isn't a great shock, as the prime failed to wow me before the adjustment failed; it's simply not a great copy and it's perhaps 30? years older. Also: the 24-85g/VR is that good! 

Testing my Pentax-A 28/2.8 against the zoom shows a pretty close contest between them at f/4 (zoom is f/3.8 at 28mm). I didn't get rigorous as the lenses don't really compete so Team Pentax will have their turns! As for autofocus kit, it means the wide shots are well covered with 24-85 and 40/2.

As noted elsewhere, I've released the 20mm for now (plus other gear) to acquire the Tamron 70-300 rxd. I really like the idea of having an 18-20mm prime, but its usefulness is not great. When I'm certain of a long hike above treeline, something small in that range will be valuable - but such a trip is not in the works. Perhaps by then a few other wide primes will be available!

 

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! 

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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.

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. 

Zomething New

I've tried to steer my big kit back toward Lumix S .. but the S9 refuses to drop into my price range, the S1 is hovering just out of reach (both price and kilograms!) and the s5 .. well it didn't quite suit me. The Lumix II bodies are most excellent, and substantially beyond my budget.

Other trends are intent on shifting me to Nikon Z!

In the Z world, the z5 is priced right but feels.. wrong. Not a bad camera, just too similar to the S5 and with more video limitations. The next step up is the z6, which .. really feels like a fair match. A tilting touchscreen that is almost to Lumix level of interaction, decently 4k capable, and a viewfinder better than most (above S5, below S1) for using manual-focus lenses. It has fewer aspect ratios that impress me in the Lumix bodies, but it does include 1:1 which allows many dx/aps-c lenses to play nicely. I gratefully accept! Sadly the 'open gate' (video on full 3:2 sensor) video option is Lumix-only in my price range :^(

Mirrorless systems did not play nice with my Minolta A- or Sigma SA- mount lenses. Both SA-L & A-E adapter setups came with many limitations. The FTZ solution apparently does not have those problems; also, nikon-G slr lenses* are both talented and available at good prices.

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How to decide?

At some point one must choose from two decent options. Here's my z6 logic:

• 

  apotelyt table screen-shot

  Bsi sensor: z6 (though no dxo-rated difference)
• aa filter: s1 has none
• Screen: both excellent but s1 better
• Tilt screen: nice on both, again s1 better
• Hdmi: neither is micro = good
• autofocus: z6, though will vary by type of shooting
• Battery life: z6 test results are curiously low?
• Weight: z6 in a landslide :^0

Many features are pretty much a draw, but both options are preferable for me over Sonys or the s5. Low weight, phaseAF and improved sensor vs. massive with very good build and more aspect ratios for both stills And video. 

I wasted plenty of time & energy attempting to adapt SA>L and A>E -with very limited success (despite each one dealing with a single company - sigma is SA and an L member, Sony owns A and E). It seems that Nikon took this more seriously with its FTZ protocol so I can use nikon G* with very few constraints! Farewell to lost causes..

* though no af drive for D lenses :-/