Nikon Zf Manual Focus: Steal Like an Artist?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มิ.ย. 2024
- #leica #leicaphotography #nikonzf
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0:00 Introduction
1:32 The best manual focus 35mm M-Mount lens
2:26 Nikon Zf has transformed manual focus
4:36 Best manual focus settings on the Nikon Zf
5:10 The best lens adapter for Z-mount
6:19 How the Zf steals like an artist
This is one of the best videos on photography I have ever seen and I have watched almost all of them. :) thanks so much for this one. Excellent work.
Wow, thank you! More content to come!
High quality video- informative, inspirational, enjoyable, and relatable. Thank you for your work
Thank you for watching! More to come soon
Thanks for another piece of inspiration, and happy and safe travels to you.
Thanks Warren - hoping to make lots of great content and be inspired by Tokyo during my time there. Hope you’re well and happy shooting!
This video dropped just in time. I just got a voightlander ultron 35 m and was about to start testing it with my Zf. Subscribed, loved your creativity!
Thanks so much - the Ultron 35mm is a great lens. I love that it has a focus tab, which seems to be absent from the rest of Voigtlander's offerings!
Love the addition of compositional theory and they way you are thinking about your images. Thanks!
Thanks for watching and commenting Matt! More content coming soon
Not sure if I missed you mentioning it, but the TTartisan adapter also enables anything mounted to use the ZF’s focus confirmation, so when it detects the subject in focus, the focus square turns green. I thought that was super useful in that it minimizes the need to zoom in. Also from there any manual lens adapted to M mount, then mounted to the TTA adapter gets that functionality too.
Thanks for the info!
And also enables trap focus. Trap focus with eye/face detection!
The tech has gotten so much better across the board. Thanks for the tip!
Very well produced video. Subscribed.🤩
Thanks so much! More content to come next week
First I got to say, I loved the video, the Zf is truely a beautiful camera. The way your camera looks is just so nice!
The Zf is built like a tank yet looks beautiful - Nikon really knocked it out of the park with this one. Thanks for watching!
I bought the book before the video was even finished 😅 10/10, thanks for sharing!
It's a great book for creators - I strangely find more inspiration from books than photographs these days. Thanks for sharing, more content to come!
TTArtisan M-Z adapter came out a year ago, I wonder why it is so little known out there
Thanks for the awesome hints ;)
Very underrated - I had to find out from TH-cam comments and go down a rabbit hole. Thanks for watching!
Great video thanks a lot ! The story telling (based on Steal like an Artist) is really pleasant , congrats !! Also, about the ZF experience, did you think about using Voigtlander Z mount lenses ? I was thinking it might be an even better experience overall.
Yes I love voigtlander lenses! I have lots in M mount so can’t justify buying them all again just to use on Z mount. But Voigtlander are really savvy in working with the big brands. Thanks for watching
I really enjoy your videos
Thanks for taking the time to comment! Japan trip is coming up next
Thanks Jack, this was great! I’ve been primarily a Leica shooter for a long time and just recently picked up a Zf because of the manual dials and the manual focus aids to use with my Leica glass.
We have the same setup! Considered a SL2S to pair with M glass but that series doesn’t have the same vibe for some reason. Thanks for watching and happy shooting!
@@BokehTherapy Hey, I was actually wondering if you already tried the SL2-S, in comparison to the ZF for manual focusing lenses. Both bodies are currently on a same budget (if we consider buying an SL2-S second hand), both are 24MPX, with a good EVF experience for manual focus, and both are very good regarding the high ISO performance. Anyway, thanks a lot for the video, I really liked it ! :)
I don’t think the SL2S autofocus is as good as the Zf (if that matters to you) and native Nikon lenses are cheaper than Leica glass? But if you want to go sigma then L Mount Leica cameras are a great option. I personally think the Leica experience is most unique on the M system, the SL system always seems to be playing catchup on specs. They are beautiful to hold and use though - hope you can find a great price on one!
@@BokehTherapy Actually, I always find myself coming back to the M despite the price tag, and I guess I am trying to find a more "versatile" alternative. That's where your video was really on point ! Anyway, thanks again for sharing and keep going ! 👍
I am really surprised how much I liked the Zf. Think I am a Nikon convert now, you should try one out. New video dropping today, thanks for watching!
Another great video Jack! In the short time I used the Zf, I enjoyed using it. But the poor ergonomics even with the smallrig handle made me return it. The weight of it (a pro and con at the same time lol) added to the ergonomic issue for me.
Yup the Zf ergo problems are real. I am going to try to hunt down the official Nikon grip (Japan exclusive for some reason) when I land in Tokyo. With the smaller primes it’s OK! I love the weight actually, makes it very balanced and not flopping around front heavy on a neck strap.
Great job on this one regarding the Zf. Now I'm even more curious, what you will bring to Japan to shoot :)
I have my Zf since release, but didn't have the chance yet to dive into the manual focus topic of the Zf, which looks amazing. Just picked up a Summicron 50mm F2 v5 this week and would be very nice to use it on the Zf.
Question to you regarding the adapter you use: Did you experience any miss focusing at infinity? Samual from SamualStreetLife mentioned in his Zf videos, that most adapters he tried had issues to focus at infinity with adapted manual focus lenses, except the Voigtländer one.
Have a nice trip in Japan mate!
Summicron is a legendary lens! Congrats! I was focusing at infinity with this adapter at f5.6 f8 - seemed to work fine for me? But tolerances matter less when you get to focus through the EVF. One more video before I get to Japan - thanks again for watching!
@@BokehTherapy my pleasure 😊
Yeah the Summicron is really nice and I somehow missed 50mm after shooting 28mm and 35mm for a relative long time! Was able to get it used for a very good price and did some shots with my M9 and I just love to see how this lens renders. Really great look. Can’t wait to shoot this on my M6 😊
Will you bring film with you to Japan?
No film in my kit yet - I think it will be inevitable at some point!
Nice video! Would you say that you enjoy using the Nikon compare to the Leica M?
I love the Nikon way more than I thought I would - really similar vibe with the Zf and the Leica M. Nothing beats the rangefinder but Nikon Z is probably my main autofocusing system moving forward
What an amazing UX feature for manual focus! I jumped to the X-T2 from the a7II back in the day because of the dual EVF split screen between composing and 100% punch in. I thought that was genius back then, except the focus peaking was on the 100% view not the composition view - which is the opposite of what you want. 😂
I like the Canon mini game they have where you align the two green triangles, but they don't have it available to third-party I'm pretty sure. Loving what Nikon have here. Great insights on art and composition too. Awesome work here as usual. 👑
The XT line from Fuji was pretty great for manual focus too - crop sensor made adapting glass a little trickier though. Every brand should jump onboard manual glass - official adapters, automatic EXIF selection would be nice. Thanks for watching!
@@BokehTherapy 100%. It was a struggle for anything wide enough for me. I love the depth of an 18 or 20mm on aps-c. I think Leica and Voigtlander have a 21, which is getting a little close to the 35 eq. , but not a bad option considering its a bit of a ghost town. 😂
I also wish Microsoft would implement meta data visibility and editing capabilities in File Explorer for images, video, and audio. It would be great to be able to organizer's and tag images right in the File Browser, as well as fix music meta data too. I love a bit of quality UX.
I think we are underserved by all the major electronic device manufacturers. Here’s hoping the next wave of devices has built in photo support
Great video again! I like your music taste too, where do you find your music?
I use Artlist! Great selection of tracks for video editors. Thanks for watching
Hi, Did you observe any problems using Leica M 35mm on the ZF, like smearing for example? I want to use A Leica 28mm/2.8 and am not sure about the results...thank you!
Hmmm I didn’t see any smearing but the Zf is only 24 megapixels. The 35mm summilux can resolve 61 megapixels so it might show up at higher resolutions? The Leica Nikon pairing works a lot better than I thought it would
Hey Jack,
was looking into this, how is the size and weight of your nikon ZF with the M lens adapted vs the leica you have?
Is it still compact and easy / discreet to slip into a bag?
Reckon any neck soreness if you leave it on your neck as a walkabout holiday camera with the adapted leica M lens?
I am using it right now in Japan - adapted M lenses and the Nikon 40mm f2 work great on the Zf. No neck soreness, just some hand soreness if you don’t have the right grip. Heavier lenses are tricker - the f1.8 35mm and 50mm S primes would be the heaviest I would go. EVF hump makes it less compact than a M rangefinder, but that’s true for every SLR shaped camera
@@BokehTherapy thanks for the feedback!
Yes was looking at the nikon 40mm f2 as the combo if I wish to use AF. Predominantly I wish to use my voigtlander 35 1.4 M mount.
Do you reckon the Nikon ZF will replace your sony A7c ii and leica m for street / holiday? (Since you're using it in Japan now?)
I think it will replace my A7C - even though it is heavier the Zf is much more fun to use. I will always pack more than 1 camera as backup for travel though, so it pairs well with a M setup
@@BokehTherapy Cheers thanks for sharing your experience!
Looks like a great solution.
The Amazon link for the adapter only has the E mount version unfortunately.
I think stock fluctuates over time - it is quite a popular adapter. Will update the links once stock comes in - thanks for watching!
Direct link to TTArtisan's shopify front has best chance of finding up to date stock: ttartisan.myshopify.com/?ref=qucarpva
@@BokehTherapy I have ordered one from Aliexpress. $121 AUD with free shipping to Australia.
That’s great - hope it works well for your workflow!
Is it possible to disable subject detection, keep the square box and have it in the center of the display?
I'd like to have a fixed focus point at the center and not have focus peaking on the whole display.
Yes you can disable subject detection and disable focus point movement. As for focus peaking, it only “peaks” what’s in focus but that will be across the whole frame if you’re stopped down or focused to infinity? You can turn down the focus peaking sensitivity to the lowest setting too
You can also set the camera to trap focus with this adapter. Shutter will only fire if subject is in focus(AF-C)
Amazing! I think the techart autofocus adapters work great too
Yes. I own both Techart and TTArisans adapters. Techart one is 400 USD but you get full autofocus. TTArisans is much cheaper and great for either manual focus with green confirmation box or for trap focusing. Cheers
Nikon has amazing autofocusing glass so great options all around - happy shooting!
That blue jacket is cold my brother.
Double Helix works leather from Japan - one of the best out there
So this adapter enables M mount lenes to work on the ZF along with the green focus hitting. This is what I was looking for but thought didn't exist.
Yes it works a treat! I didn’t want to buy all the voigtlander lenses again in Nikon Z Mount to get this functionality, hoping Nikon make their own version of this adapter.
@@BokehTherapy perfect. Now which voigtlander to go for? You have the 50 1.2 or the 75 1.5? I'm drawn between the two.
The 75mm was too hard for rangefinder shooting for me personally, although it should be fine using the Zf. I went with the 50mm f1.2 in the end to use on both Leica M and ZF
The adapter works a treat! Thanks for the tip. Do you know if the Nikon ftz 6 bit adapter does the same with old Nikkor manual glass?
Great to hear! I think the FTZ adapters (both versions 1 and 2) are supposed to have this functionality with F mount glass. I have no F mount glass (yet) so haven’t tried this out yet
You should be able to use focus confirmation mixed with focus release priority in the menus to replicate focus trapping that used to be popular on DSLRs. Basically, you just hold the shutter while racking focus and when the camera confirms focus (green box/dot) it'll fire the shutter.
The annoying part of how Nikon has focus confirmation available in manual focus, especially with how far the Zf goes, with even just using a EtoZ adapter then a dummy EtoWhatever adapter (or native e-mount manual only/dumb lens), is that it's 100% possible with an extremely simple firmware update to just enable this function in general regardless of the presence of contacts or not. Just like how you had to enable the shutter on early mirrorless cameras to be able to use adapted/full manual lenses in general, Nikon could have it as a wrench menu option to enable focus confirmation regardless of the situation. They're not going to do this because that would make it that much easier for people to maybe be content with a manual option rather than buying their Z-mount lens for hundreds if not thousands (that's where the money is after all, at least they didn't pull a Canon).
If Nikon decided to be nice (not holding my breath) they could add focus confirmation as an option on the dummy page used to put in exif data for IBIS. If they did that, I'd probably buy a Zf instantly.
Thanks for the info - I have stopped holding my breath for firmware fixes from any of the companies. Just too much hassle for them it seems without immediate ROI. Hope you’re right though, that feature sounds great. Thanks for watching!
Where are your glasses from
Oscar Wylee, an Australian brand. Thanks for watching!
Nice
Thanks for watching!
Perfect timing, as an M shooter with twins I'm starting to think I need an AF camera
It is better than the SL2s but not sure about the SL3. I sure love the extra funds to buy more lenses though. Happy shooting!
I feel offended that someone put the Leica logo on the Nikon. Aren't't Panasonic and Huawei enough?
lol it’s just for fun! Testament to how good Nikon’s manual focus experience is. Thanks for watching
Nice work! Just give us an extra second or so to see your images since they pass in front of the screen too quickly.
Thanks for the feedback - will slow down the pace on pictures in future videos
zf is the best
I think so too - thanks for watching!
No proper view finder
Yup hard to beat rangefinder experience. EVFs are great for those of us with bad eyesight though