Adapting Lenses on the Nikon Zf

Over the last year or so I’ve grown very fond of the Nikon Zf. It’s one of those cameras that is right in all the ways that matter to me. One of those things is how adaptable the Z mount is: I can slap on any Sony lens and get full autofocus. Or use an old MD mount Minolta 45mm f2 I have lying around. Or use any of M-mount lenses!

There is quite a bit of information online about adapting M glass to Z bodies. It’s obviously possible and usable (and there’s even an autofocus adapter if you want) but I wanted to see how it performs with my particular set of M lenses. Nothing scientific, just kind of a standard tripod shot of my backyard. All shot at ISO 100, 1/400th, and f8.

On the first row: Voigtlander 21mm f1.8, Voigtlander 28mm f2 Ultron v2, Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 Nokton.

And the second row: Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4, Voigtlander 75mm f1.9 Ultron, Voigtlander 90mm f2.8 APO-Skopar.

Honestly? These look really good to me. The 21mm looks distorted to my eyes, but that was true on the M10. I think in general these are easily good enough for the kind of stuff I point a camera at. (The Ultrons specifically are spectacular lenses for the price…or full stop.)

Just for the sake of comparison I also did the same shots at various focal lengths on my Nikon 24-70 f4 S. 28mm, 50mm, and 70mm.

I struggle hard to see a difference. Maybe, maybe at 250% in Capture One the S is sharper is some areas. In practice it’s identical. I also have the Z version of the Voigtlander 50mm f2 APO-Lanthar but that lens easily beats anything else I own as far as image quality so I left it out.

All of this faff just to say: the Nikon Zf has replaced digital M cameras for me. The top-notch manual focus implementation, the flippy screen (it’s a Zf-D!), the dramatically lower cost. Yeah, I know it’s never going to be the exact same as The Rangefinder Experience, but that’s what my MP is for. For everything else, the Zf wins.