Anyone using any of the ETZ adapters?

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

C

Camatose

Member
Member's gallery
Hello, new user with questions. I currently shoot Sony. I've been waiting with great anticipation for the A9III announcement, and with as cool as it is, it's not for me. At this point I think I'll be moving to the A1. Nothing wrong with that, right? But I've also had the Z8 in the back of my head since its release. With a decent selection of E mount lenses I'm wondering if the E to Z adapters work as advertised, or if they're more hype than substance? This forum seems to be populated by a good number of Sony and Nikon folks, so I'm hoping to get some input to help me decide.

Thanks for any help.
 
Member's gallery
Interesting question. The big reason I would think that one would want to move to Nikon (as I did) is for the lenses. Coming from Canon and Sony I wanted to adapt the Nikon lenses to my existing bodies and not the other way around. In fact, I played around with the ZRF adapters for a bit as I was waiting for my Z8 to arrive. Sony is driving the market, and undoubtedly the global shutter will populate to Nikon and Canon bodies as well. If you’re moving to the A1, I don’t see much of a reason to consider a Z8. BTW, with the announcement of the A9iii I would suspect that it should drive the A1 prices (especially used) down a bit. I would imagine that an A1ii if materializes sometime down the road would likely sport a global shutter and cost around $8k
 
Member's gallery
I see it from another angle. Sony's lens ecosystem is second to none, and since I already have what I need, doing a complete system swap makes no sense. If not for the ETZ type adapters on the market the Z8 wouldn't be on my radar. As it turns out though, they are, and it opens a completely different path to investigate. I don't plan on giving up my other Sony cameras, so the Z8 would serve as a Sony proxy with the adapter welded to the mount. I have not decided to move to the A1 yet, it is only one option along with the Z8, and possibly an A7R V, although it's (seemingly) reduced low-light capabilities require more research.

Since Sony isn't even going to drop the A1 firmware until March I now believe we won't see the A1m2 until the end of 2024 or even early 2025. I had originally thought we'd see it for the Olympics, but now it seems the A9III will be the Olympic star. If that is a correct assumption, I don't want to wait that long just in anticipation of a price drop. I expect to pull the trigger on one of these by the end of January, so trying to narrow the field now.
 
Member's gallery
Camatose said:
Hello, new user with questions. I currently shoot Sony. I've been waiting with great anticipation for the A9III announcement, and with as cool as it is, it's not for me. At this point I think I'll be moving to the A1. Nothing wrong with that, right? But I've also had the Z8 in the back of my head since its release. With a decent selection of E mount lenses I'm wondering if the E to Z adapters work as advertised, or if they're more hype than substance? This forum seems to be populated by a good number of Sony and Nikon folks, so I'm hoping to get some input to help me decide.

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

I use the Megadap ETZ21. It's pretty good, somewhat glitchy, does what it says, just not as fast or as reliably as the native lens on my Sony body. I only use it on the 24-70 2.8 GM II and a Z9.
 
Member's gallery
Nimi said:
I use the Megadap ETZ21. It's pretty good, somewhat glitchy, does what it says, just not as fast or as reliably as the native lens on my Sony body. I only use it on the 24-70 2.8 GM II and a Z9.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I see they just introduced a new version that's supposed to have fixed some of the weirdness. Is yours a first version?
 
Member's gallery
Perhaps this doesn't reflect the new version/firmware but here's a review with similar findings to those of Nimi:


Camatose, do you know of any review that shows improvements?
 
Member's gallery
Camatose said:
Thanks! I see they just introduced a new version that's supposed to have fixed some of the weirdness. Is yours a first version?
Click to expand...
It is, no plans to update though. I don't use it often enough and have a full array of Z lenses. My Sony lens is strictly for vid on a Sony cine body. Probably the best 24-70 I've used, but too much hassle going back and forth.
 
Member's gallery
IMHO, it's best to use glass designed to work with your camera, but I got tired of waiting for the Nikon 180-600mm lens for birding with my Z9 so got a Megadap E to Z 21 adapter and a Sony 200-600mm lens. The combination has performed very well and I have not found it glitchy at all. With their latest version of firmware, you can program the buttons on the lens, so no loss of functionality. I may be paying a speed penalty, but it's not noticeable to me. It gets a solid lock on BIF, one of my more challenging subjects. LrC lists the lens a VR 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 on my Z9 and let's me apply the correction filters for the Sony lens. So far, so good.

Black Bellied Whistling Duck Flying A 2000 x 1332.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
Member's gallery
I thought about that too, because I use Nikon Z8 but I really like some Sony lenses (specifically the 20-40 f4 which no one else has). If I thought the Megadap was reliable, I would get that lens for sure. However, if you read the reviews on B&H, everyone says the adaptors fail. Sometimes they work for a while then stop, sometimes they stop after only one or two uses. But the failure rate is near universal based on reviews, which means you simply cannot trust them. Too bad, because I really wanted to get one.
 
Member's gallery
MrFotoFool said:
I thought about that too, because I use Nikon Z8 but I really like some Sony lenses (specifically the 20-40 f4 which no one else has). If I thought the Megadap was reliable, I would get that lens for sure. However, if you read the reviews on B&H, everyone says the adaptors fail. Sometimes they work for a while then stop, sometimes they stop after only one or two uses. But the failure rate is near universal based on reviews, which means you simply cannot trust them. Too bad, because I really wanted to get one.
Click to expand...
I must have gotten a good copy as I've been using it fairly frequently for over a year now.
 
Member's gallery
I have the Megadap adapter, which I have used with the 200-600mm on both the Z9 and Z7 cameras. I, too, went this route because I did not relish waiting for the Nikon 180-600mm. It has worked just fine, including with the Sony 1.4x teleconverter. The only downside has been having to unmount and remount it when I put the teleconverter on the lens and then remove it later.

I have no regrets, as it eliminated all anxieties and frustrations related to waiting for a copy of the Nikon Z zoom. I actually did finally receive my copy, and the performance of the two lenses is pretty similar. I suppose I could sell the Sony zoom at this point. I figured that eventually the Megadap would stop working on my Nikon bodies with new firmware versions, but so far it works just fine.
 
Member's gallery
IngeKJ said:
Not hype. It works nearly as good as native lenses in my experience, but some lenses are better. Longer teles, 100-400, 200-600, 600GM work near flawlessly. The downside is the failure rate. Has not happened to me, but you need to be careful with the order of when you take the adapter on/off.
Click to expand...
And the proper order is?
 
Member's gallery
MrFotoFool said:
And the proper order is?
Click to expand...
I only have one Sony lens for my Z9, the 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3. I leave the adapter on the lens and mount them together. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, and there is a warning in the Megadap ETZ21 user manual, is to make sure you turn the camera off before mounting or un-mounting the adapter and lens. The manual says to mount the adapter, then the lens. When un-mounting, remove the lens, then the adapter.
 
Member's gallery
Strodav said:
I only have one Sony lens for my Z9, the 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3. I leave the adapter on the lens and mount them together. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, and there is a warning in the Megadap ETZ21 user manual, is to make sure you turn the camera off before mounting or un-mounting the adapter and lens. The manual says to mount the adapter, then the lens. When un-mounting, remove the lens, then the adapter.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I wonder if any of the reported failures are due to improper mounting or unmounting?
 
Member's gallery
There's a V2 out now, the V1 is no longer available. I suspect they've corrected some of the problems noted with the first one.

At any rate, I appreciate all of the input, but have decided that it's best to stay with Sony. As much as I like the Z8's specs (and cost), I don't think I'd be happy with the slower AF response some have mentioned. Yeah, the A1 will be a bit more painful, but as they say, "In for a penny, in for a pound."
 
Member's gallery
O>K I'm conflicted. So are the comments about the adapter based on V1 or V2? As models change the bugs get worked out. Are there any reports similar to the standard Steve does to answer this? I do not doubt people had problems but I would to see data one way or another both technical and reported failures with the Z9 for this adapter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top