DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

Search

Submit A Story

Nikon Z

Which Nikon Z mirrorless camera is right for you? See all of them compared

by 1 Comment

Nikon was one of the last to join the world of serious mirrorless cameras. Sure, they had the Nikon 1 system, but that doesn’t really count. Their first full-frame mirrorless camera announcement was at Photokina 2018. Since then, the company’s announced ten more full-frame and APS-C cameras. But which one is right for you?

What might be an advantage for one person may be a disadvantage for another, and vice versa. In this video, photographer Matt Irwin looks at all of them, from the lowest entry-level Nikon Z30 (buy here) to the flagship Nikon Z9 (buy here). He compares the benefits and pitfalls of each to help you decide which one you should go for.

Sigma announces its first Nikon Z mount lenses

by 3 Comments

There have been many rumours about this one over the past few months, but now it’s official. Sigma has announced development their first Nikon Z mount mirrorless lenses. Three of Sigma’s popular lenses are going to be coming to Nikon Z to kick things off, but there’s a catch. You see, we’re not going to get the fancy Art or Sports series lenses. We’re not even getting full-frame lenses. Not yet, anyway.

What Sigma is releasing are Z mount versions of the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary, the 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary and the 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lenses. This is their APS-C lineup that’s also available for Sony E, Canon EF-M, Fuji X, Micro Four Thirds and L-Mount. All three lenses are to be released simultaneously.

Techart’s TZM-02 adapter brings faster autofocus for manual focus lenses to Nikon Z bodies

by Add Comment

Techart has announced their new TZM-02 Leica M lens to Nikon Z mirrorless camera autofocus adapter. The TZM-02, naturally, replaces the TZM-01 announced in 2020 in the Techart lineup and brings it in line with the company’s LMEA9 Leica M to Sony E lens adapter released a few months ago. This means it sees a motor upgrade, switching from a single motor to an arrangement of four smaller motors.

Combined, these four motors provide more power, speed and accuracy than its predecessor. This means it performs better with smaller lenses but also handles larger lenses. Why Leica M, though? Well, Leica M cameras are manual focus. You can also easily adapt pretty much every manual focus lens type out there – M42, Pentax K, Canon FD, etc. – to Leica M, so you’ll be able to autofocus with just about anything.

Sigma product announcement scheduled for Jan 12th – First Sigma Z mount lens on the way?

by Add Comment

Sigma Global has announced a new Sigma Stage online event for January 12th at 9pm JST. That means noon for the UK, 7am Eastern or 4am Pacific. As per usual, Sigma hasn’t given any hints as to what might be coming, simply saying “New Products Presentation” – suggesting we might see more than one thing – but recent rumours suggest we might be seeing the new Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports lens.

The DG DN designation means it’ll be a full-frame lens designed specifically for mirrorless cameras. But what’s particularly special about this lens – other than being an update to the past popular DSLR lens – is that it looks set to be Sigma’s first lens for Nikon Z mount cameras. If it turns out to be true, then “new products” might be many of their existing DG DN lenses also being announced for Z Mount.

Sigma to release its first Nikon Z mount lens, the 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 Sports in 2023

by 1 Comment

Well, this certainly has taken a while but it looks like Sigma’s getting ready to release their first Z mount autofocus lens in 2023. And it’s not just a Z mount version of an existing lens – although, I expect those will come in time – but a new lens announcement. According to reports, Sigma will be announcing a 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports lens in 2023 – a mirrorless refresh of the Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports for DSLRs.

So far, the rumours say that it will be coming in Nikon Z and Sony E mounts, with no mention of anything else. But given that Sigma’s in the L mount alliance and has two L mount mirrorless cameras of their own – the Sigma fp and fp L – I can’t imagine they won’t release it in L mount flavour, too.

Meike releases manual focus 25mm f/0.95 lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras (including Canon RF)

by Add Comment

Meike has announced a new 25mm f/0.95 lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. It’s a manual focus lens, which means it’s coming in Canon RF mount as well as Canon EF-M, Fuji X, Nikon Z, Sony E and Micro Four Thirds. This isn’t the first 25mm f/0.95 lens on the market, but it is Meike’s first at this focal length and aperture, which should keep Meike lens fans happy.

Being an APS-C lens, it offers a field of view similar to 37.5mm on full-frame. When used on MFT cameras, it’s equivalent to 50mm on full-frame. It has a 13-blade aperture for as round a bokeh as possible with 11 elements in 9 groups and a minimum focus distance of only 25cm. The Sony E mount version has already been released, with the others coming later in December.

Nikon has finally announced its MC-N10 remote control grip for Z mirrorless cameras

by 4 Comments

Back in April when Nikon announced the Nikon Z9 firmware update (don’t install it, there’s a newer one), they also teased the development of a new product. But not just a new product, an entirely new type of product. For Nikon, at least. It was the Nikon MC-N10 Remote Grip for use with Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. Essentially, it was a duplicate of the handgrip of the camera for remote operation.

Designed primarily for use on things like shoulder rigs, the Nikon MC-N10 grip provides a whole extra set of controls including start/stop recording, ISO, AF-ON, shutter button, ISO, exposure control, and the usual array of buttons as well as front and rear command dials and an on/off switch.

Nikon’s Nikkor Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S features a built-in 1.4x teleconverter for 840mm f/5.6 reach

by Add Comment

Hey, guess what? Yeah, that’s right, more gear announcements. This time it’s Nikon’s turn with their new Nikkor Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S lens. This 600mm monster has a maximum aperture of f/4 and a built-in 1.4x teleconverter to give you the equivalent of an 840mm f/5.6 lens without any extra hardware required. Of course, for more extreme needs, it’s also compatible with Nikon’s Z mount 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, too.

The autofocus is powered by Nikon’s Silky Swift Voice Coil Motor (SSVCM) with an optical encoder to ensure precise positioning with high-speed motorsports and wildlife. Its built-in Vibration Reduction provides up to 5 stops of stabilisation or 5.5 stops when using a Nikon Z camera that supports Synchro VR. It’s built to handle extreme situations and is fully weather-sealed from dust, dirt and moisture.

Meike has released an autofocus adapter to let you use Canon EF/EF-S lenses on Nikon Z bodies

by 1 Comment

No matter which team you shoot for, it seems that the Canon EF mount has sort of become the de facto universal standard for (almost) all of them. Kind of like the lens equivalent of a Bowens mount. And if the camera you’re using doesn’t have a native EF mount, whatever mount you do have can be easily adapted. Now that adaption seems to have come to Nikon Z cameras, thanks to Meike.

Meike’s new MK-EFTZ-B adapter lets you mount Canon EF and EF-S lenses onto Nikon Z bodies with full autofocus support and aperture control from the camera body. It even appears to support Canon’s IS lens stabilisation system, too, according to Meike’s description of the product on their website and also transmits EXIF data along to the camera body.

Former Nikon R&D General Manager says the DSLR era “is already over”

by 4 Comments

With recent rumours of Nikon’s withdrawal from the DSLR market – to which Nikon quickly responded by denying nothing – it was almost inevitable, really, that more would come out of this. Now, former Nikon General Manager and designer of the Nikon Df DSLR, Tetsuro Goto has also responded to the situation essentially saying that SLRs have already reached their peak performance and there’s nothing left to do.

His opinion is neither confirming nor denying any claims on behalf of Nikon but he believes that the SLR system as a whole is dead – Don’t tell Pentax. “I think the ‘historical’ role of SLRs has already ended, he says in an interview with AERA dot. He believes that it’s reached the point at which the technology is the best it can ever be and that, in at least Nikon’s case, “the mirrorless Z series should inherit it”.

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts