Nikon Z8 with F mount lenses

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Eswar

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Hi,
I am a serious amateur mostly into Bird, Wildlife and Landscape Photography invested heavily into Nikon DSLR bodies and F mount lenses. I currently use Nikon D4s and Nikon D500 bodies with a range of F mount lenses including Nikkor AFS 600 mm f 4 E FL ED VR lens, Nikon AFS 300 mm f 2.8 ED VR lens, Nikon AFS 200-400 f4 VR lens, Nikon AFS 70-200 mm f 2.8 E FL ED VR lens etc.
I am toying with the idea of buying a Nikon Z8 mirrorless body basically for its Bird Eye and Animal AF.

My question is whether the Nikon Z8 which uses the small EN EL 15C battery can provide quick and accurate AF with my current set of F mount lenses especially with fast and accurate Bird Eye AF.
I have no immediate plans to get into the Mirrorless lens system as I can't afford them.

Can anyone who has actual experience with F mount lenses listed above mounted on the Nikon Z8 body via a FTZ II Adapter share their experiences? Thanks in advance.

Eswar
 
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Eswar said:
My question is whether the Nikon Z8 which uses the small EN EL 15C battery can provide quick and accurate AF with my current set of F mount lenses especially with fast and accurate Bird Eye AF.
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Yes, I use my Z8 with F mount lenses all the time including the 600mm f/4 E FL, 500mm and 300mm PF lenses and 70-200mm f/2.8 E lens. All of these work fantastically with the Z8 and the Z8 AF system remains accurate with all the tracking features and the lenses focus very quickly with that setup.

I would not hesitate to continue using your F mount lenses with a Z series camera via one of the FTZ adapters.
 
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DRwyoming said:
Yes, I use my Z8 with F mount lenses all the time including the 600mm f/4 E FL, 500mm and 300mm PF lenses and 70-200mm f/2.8 E lens. All of these work fantastically with the Z8 and the Z8 AF system remains accurate with all the tracking features and the lenses focus very quickly with that setup.

I would not hesitate to continue using your F mount lenses with a Z series camera via one of the FTZ adapters.
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Thanks DRwyoming
 
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Not wanting to highjack the subject, but it is related. Using F-lenses (especiialy, superteles like 600 FL) heavily on a Z9, I'm experiencing a slight wobble and even a slight noise during the burst in the AF-C mode with Sport IS enabled (have not used Normal lately--will need to re-check that). Is this normal? As for the original question: yes, I'm very happy with how much better the F-lenses work with the Z system.
 
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I've had no issues using F-mount lenses with the FTZ on Z cameras. In a couple of cases, the improved sensor of the Z cameras made the images sharper - certainly more consistently sharp. And there is little or no need for AF fine tuning with most lenses on Z cameras.

You are still limited by the design of the F-mount lens, and the AF speed of the camera and lens together. More recent lenses tend to be faster - but not always. Some lenses are similar as bare lenses, but faster when you add a teleconverter. Steve did some good testing of AF speed, but for practical reasons was testing from minimum focus to infinity or a distant target. If you pre-focus near the correct distance, focus is nearly instantaneous.

There are still older lenses that are slow focusing. The 200-500 is relatively slow. There are other individual lenses that may be slow. AF speed is faster on a Z8/Z9/ZF with the latest processor than with the Z6/Z6i/Z5 etc.

AF speed on the Z9 - as with the D6/D5 and other flagship bodies - is generally faster than with other bodies. So if you are using the EN-EL15c battery in a Z8, focus may be fast, but slower than using a more powerful battery like the ENEL18 battery in a D6.
 
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EricBowles said:
I've had no issues using F-mount lenses with the FTZ on Z cameras. In a couple of cases, the improved sensor of the Z cameras made the images sharper - certainly more consistently sharp. And there is little or no need for AF fine tuning with most lenses on Z cameras.

You are still limited by the design of the F-mount lens, and the AF speed of the camera and lens together. More recent lenses tend to be faster - but not always. Some lenses are similar as bare lenses, but faster when you add a teleconverter. Steve did some good testing of AF speed, but for practical reasons was testing from minimum focus to infinity or a distant target. If you pre-focus near the correct distance, focus is nearly instantaneous.

There are still older lenses that are slow focusing. The 200-500 is relatively slow. There are other individual lenses that may be slow. AF speed is faster on a Z8/Z9/ZF with the latest processor than with the Z6/Z6i/Z5 etc.

AF speed on the Z9 - as with the D6/D5 and other flagship bodies - is generally faster than with other bodies. So if you are using the EN-EL15c battery in a Z8, focus may be fast, but slower than using a more powerful battery like the ENEL18 battery in a D6.
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Are you experiencing/familiar with the issue with the vibration I mentioned above Eric, if I may ask?
 
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I am using 500/300 pf with various teleconverters on a Z8 with very good results, better AF and better image quality compared to DSLR as others already stated
But lastly I noticed a continuous wobble of some seconds not during firing but when I am with camera/ 500 pf lens on hands
This sound must be from the VR system that is working continuously when the camera is ON (on my previous D500, VR was working with a shutter half press)
I will check again with bare lens.
 
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Nasos Kosmas said:
I am using 500/300 pf with various teleconverters on a Z8 with very good results, better AF and better image quality compared to DSLR as others already stated
But lastly I noticed a continuous wobble of some seconds not during firing but when I am with camera/ 500 pf lens on hands
This sound must be from the VR system that is working continuously when the camera is ON (on my previous D500, VR was working with a shutter half press)
I will check again with bare lens.
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Just to clarify, I am not referring to any significant noise while the lens is idle--only to the vibration and a rumbling sort of noise while pressing the shutter button during a continuous burst.
 
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IMHO - I think those who speak of poor results with F mount lenses on ML bodies are mostly the armchair gearheads who talk/write a lot and photograph little.
 
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My experience with F-mount lenses on my Z8 is mostly with zooms: 100-600 Tamron, 18-55 Nikkor and one other Nikkor lens that I don’t recall off hand. The large zoom with the FTZ II pushes the center of gravity of the lens out just enough with the weight of the lens that I am no longer able to hand hold it. But I am 71 years old and am still somewhat weak from hand surgery. I haven’t found the other zooms to be a problem holding but the AF is slower and, frankly, not as good of optics as the AF primes.
 
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I have a few of the same lenses you have and they work great on the Z8 and the FTZII adapter. CAUTION: DO NOT TRY A Z MOUNT LENS, they are so light and short compared to the F mount, that you will agonize and debate in your head weather you should stick to your, budget or follow the 20 good reasons why you should switch systems (until you see what you can get for the F mounts, then you agonize even more) 🤣🤣
 
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Optically, all my F-mounts work great. As another poster mentioned, the balance can change. I find the 70-200 f2.8 E a bit uncomfortable to hand hold for an extended period.
 
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Steve said:
I did a video awhile back about this. I used a Z9, but in my experience the Z8 is just as fast so those tokens transfer:

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I watched your video. It was very informative. I just wanted to know how they work with the Z 8. Thanks anyways. Appreciate it very much. I have already ordered a Z8 based on the opinions of many users in response to my post. Thanks everyone.
 
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Can't say it any better than Steve. IMHO, my F Mount lenses seemed to perform better on my Z cameras but, at this point, I only have Z lenses. When I got into the Z system, I purchased a Z6 with a 24-70/F4, both of which I still own. As a sports shooter, I use a pair of Z9s and my Z8 or Z6s for everything else. I can only dream about BIF; however I do have a buddy who is quite skilled at birds and other wildlife. Best of luck and have fun with your new purchase.
 
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CJC2 said:
Can't say it any better than Steve. IMHO, my F Mount lenses seemed to perform better on my Z cameras but, at this point, I only have Z lenses. When I got into the Z system, I purchased a Z6 with a 24-70/F4, both of which I still own. As a sports shooter, I use a pair of Z9s and my Z8 or Z6s for everything else. I can only dream about BIF; however I do have a buddy who is quite skilled at birds and other wildlife. Best of luck and have fun with your new purchase.
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Thanks CJC2
 
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aringer said:
I have a few of the same lenses you have and they work great on the Z8 and the FTZII adapter. CAUTION: DO NOT TRY A Z MOUNT LENS, they are so light and short compared to the F mount, that you will agonize and debate in your head weather you should stick to your, budget or follow the 20 good reasons why you should switch systems (until you see what you can get for the F mounts, then you agonize even more) 🤣🤣
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😁
 
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