Nikon FTZ Essential Info & Speed Tests!

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Steve

Steve

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In this video, we’ll reveal everything you need to know about the Nikon FTZ adapters, as well as answer questions like:

Does the FTZ adapter slow down F-mount lenses? (This is a shocker)
Does the FTZ adapter hurt image quality?
Can you use Z-mount TCs with the FTZ adapter?
Why is the FTZ adapter so thick?
Is there any difference between the original FTZ and the new one?

And so much more! If you’re a Nikon mirrorless shooter, you owe it to yourself to watch this quick 8-minute video!


Quick follow-up.

There have been a few comments here and elsewhere wondering about the AF speed of the gripped D850 + ENEL18 battery and un-gripped D850 + the normal battery and how that affects speed.

I've been saying that I believe the speed is the same, but it was bugging me since I haven't actually tested it. So, I just grabbed the 600E and tested with D850 with and without the grip (all batteries in question fully charged).

Yup, both are the same. 1/2 second (15 frames @ 30FPS). :)

I still contend that the speeds we're seeing both from the Z9 and and the D850 are simply the fastest speeds the AF motor can get the lens from minimum focus to infinity.

Another quick update. I knew I had tested the D6 and 600mm like this (no TC) and I finally found the clip and checked the time (I KNEW I had done that test at one point). The D6 speed for the 600mm from minimum focus to infinity is also 1/2 second, just like the D850 and just like the Z9. Again, I'm pretty sure the 600 F/4 tops out at 1/2 second from minimum focus distance to infinity no matter what camera is attached.
 
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That was impressive, great video and I think that will answer a lot of questions for people. Unfortunately, it has nearly convinced me to pick up a 1.4x TC for my 500mm PF. I have never been too happy with the IQ loss using TCs in the past using Canon and Fuji. How much does the 1.4X TC III impact it?
 
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abc123brian said:
That was impressive, great video and I think that will answer a lot of questions for people. Unfortunately, it has nearly convinced me to pick up a 1.4x TC for my 500mm PF. I have never been too happy with the IQ loss using TCs in the past using Canon and Fuji. How much does the 1.4X TC III impact it?
Click to expand...
The biggest issue I've seen with the 500PF + 1.4TC is AF sluggishness and inconsistency on DSLRs. I haven't used that combo in the field on the Z9, but I'm pretty confident it'll be just fine. When you do nail focus with the 500PF + 1.4TC, it's very sharp and I think the Z9 will make that much easier.
 
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Fascinating. Though I remain very happy with my D6/D850, this just adds validity to the notion that my F-mount lenses will continue working flawlessly with a prospective Z9. A suite of long F-mount glass, favoured by many in the forum is a significant investment. Knowing it will work brilliantly in the Zed world (particularly on the Z9) should help ease anxiety by many as they transition to the mirrorless world. This sort of stuff is worth its weight in gold. Steve, you should have a couple of emails from Nikon thanking you for the contribution you just made to their marketing efforts. 😁 Thanks as always.
 
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Thanks for the test, Steve. Very interesting.

I spent a couple of days last week photographing flying bald eagles along the Mississippis River with my Z9. Trying to get to know the camera, its settings, and its performance.

The birds were mostly on the far half of the river, so I used a TC with my 500 mm PF. One day with the 1.4x TCIII and one day with the 1.7x TCII. Both worked very well and I had no trouble following eagles or getting focus. (Of course eagles are not the fastest birds, but they do make some interesting maneuvers when fishing.) I did not do a quantitative comparison. And I am an enthusiast, not a pro, so my standards could be lower than others. But one of the things I have liked most about Z mirrorless bodies (I also have a Z7II and Z6II and used the initial versions too) is how well they work with TCs — F mount on adapted lenses and Z mount on native lenses.

Do you think the speed comparison would be different if compared to a D5 or D6?
 
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Thanks again, Steve!

Was the D850 gripped? The power from the battery drives the lens motors or course, and can create a speed difference (I think my 200-500mm is faster on the D850 with the grip and the en-el18 batteries, but no measured tests of that). My Z9 works well with my F mount glass as you found :)

...Dave...
 
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abc123brian said:
That was impressive, great video and I think that will answer a lot of questions for people. Unfortunately, it has nearly convinced me to pick up a 1.4x TC for my 500mm PF. I have never been too happy with the IQ loss using TCs in the past using Canon and Fuji. How much does the 1.4X TC III impact it?
Click to expand...
I think the optics of the 500 mm PF plus 1.4x TCIII are quite good. Of course, you lose a stop of light.

Will you use it on a Z body or a DSLR? I’ve used the 500 mm PF plus 1.4x TCIII a lot. Prior to the Z9, I found that I preferred the Z7II over the D850 or D500 when shooting the 500 mm PF + 1.4x TCIII. I think the Zs focus more accurately and all the focus points work on a Z body rather than just a few in the middle of the frame on a DSLR.

Of course now that I have a Z9, I will pick the Z9.
 
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Steve said:
The biggest issue I've seen with the 500PF + 1.4TC is AF sluggishness and inconsistency on DSLRs. I haven't used that combo in the field on the Z9, but I'm pretty confident it'll be just fine. When you do nail focus with the 500PF + 1.4TC, it's very sharp and I think the Z9 will make that much easier.
Click to expand...
That sounds promising and I think it sounds worth trying. I’ll see if I can find a used one this week and then check for a new one. I didn’t really want to buy any F mount stuff, but don’t plan to sell the 500mm PF.

BillW said:
I think the optics of the 500 mm PF plus 1.4x TCIII are quite good. Of course, you lose a stop of light.

Will you use it on a Z body or a DSLR? I’ve used the 500 mm PF plus 1.4x TCIII a lot. Prior to the Z9, I found that I preferred the Z7II over the D850 or D500 when shooting the 500 mm PF + 1.4x TCIII. I think the Zs focus more accurately and all the focus points work on a Z body rather than just a few in the middle of the frame on a DSLR.

Of course now that I have a Z9, I will pick the Z9.
Click to expand...
I will be using it with Z cameras. Plan to sell/trade my D500 this week or next, whenever I have time. Not a fan of going to F/8 but would likely only be using it for birds which I’m often in better light. If the over IQ impact is minimal, it should be worthwhile. Thanks.
 
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Dave Stargazer said:
Thanks again, Steve!

Was the D850 gripped? The power from the battery drives the lens motors or course, and can create a speed difference (I think my 200-500mm is faster on the D850 with the grip and the en-el18 batteries, but no measured tests of that). My Z9 works well with my F mount glass as you found :)

...Dave...
Click to expand...

That actually would be a good test - whether the battery alone makes a difference in AF speed. The D850 is a place where that can be tested.

Clearly, the FTZ has very little if any adverse impact on AF speed - it's all about the camera and lens.
 
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Honestly the 1.7Xtc works well too. I havent gotten much time with my 2.0X but i suspect it will be decent as well. One thing I noticed is the TCs seem sharper on the Z9, likely due to the increased accuracy of the Af system.
 
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Marcus Slade said:
Fascinating. Though I remain very happy with my D6/D850, this just adds validity to the notion that my F-mount lenses will continue working flawlessly with a prospective Z9. A suite of long F-mount glass, favoured by many in the forum is a significant investment. Knowing it will work brilliantly in the Zed world (particularly on the Z9) should help ease anxiety by many as they transition to the mirrorless world. This sort of stuff is worth its weight in gold. Steve, you should have a couple of emails from Nikon thanking you for the contribution you just made to their marketing efforts. 😁 Thanks as always.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)
It's funny, Nikon has never once contacted me and people I know who know people at Nikon have tried to get them to with no luck. It would be nice just to have access to some of this stuff early or at least be able to talk to people about some hard-to-find tech specs. Oh well...
 
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BillW said:
Do you think the speed comparison would be different if compared to a D5 or D6?
Click to expand...

Not for these tests (I've used the D5/6 for stuff like this before and it's the same as the D850). The D850 and D5/6 focus the lens at max speed - the motors can only move the focus ring at a certain max speed. I think the D5/6 do a better job with locking onto a target, but that's not just speed related.
 
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Dave Stargazer said:
Thanks again, Steve!

Was the D850 gripped? The power from the battery drives the lens motors or course, and can create a speed difference (I think my 200-500mm is faster on the D850 with the grip and the en-el18 batteries, but no measured tests of that). My Z9 works well with my F mount glass as you found :)

...Dave...
Click to expand...
It was gripped with the D5 battery. I'm not confident that it actually makes a difference in AF speed though - I think the D850 drives the lens at the maximum speed the lens motor is capable of either way. Anecdotally, I've never noticed any difference in AF speed between the gripped and unwrapped D850 and Nikon never states that it makes a difference. I though think if it did they would brag about it.
 
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Nice that the Z9 focuses as fast as the D850 does and what that means for the trickle down effect of the Z9 tech to the Z7III or whatever they decide to call the non gripped body. I'm not going to dispute Steve's numbers since he measured them and the numbers are what they are…but as a practical matter I'm not sure how much it really matters. Some of his (or maybe somebody else's, can't remember) previous testing did a similar test but with the focus limiter switch engaged so that the full focus ring through was much smaller. In those tests…the difference was still there but the magnitude of both the numbers and the difference was smaller…and as a practical matter I can't really say that using the adapted 500PF in focus limiter mode on my Z7II vs using it in the same mode on my previous D7500 makes any appreciable difference in speed. Yes…it's there, but an extra .2 of a second or so in focus limiter mode doesn't make a noticeable difference to me. True…you then can only focus from 8m to infinity with the 500PF instead of whatever the actual minimum focus distance is…but as a practical matter I almost never need to pull the lens out of focus limiter mode so it's really not a non problem. This also won't help much if you are focusing on close subjects since there's more focus ring throw there per change in focus distance than for distant subjects…but again I don't shoot very many wildlife shots at less than 25 feet anyway.
 
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