Hi guys! I’m just a newbie in a way, that some years ago inherited a Nikon DX D7100 with a rather good Nikkor zoom 18-200mm VR (I understand it’s the first one, as they might have re-released it at later stages). I played with it for quite a while and took some really good pictures, but at this point it’s rather cumbersome to pack in the luggage, together with the drone as well. I’m considering a smaller mirrorless camera perhaps, so I can have something easier to carry around during a hike/tour/scooter ride. However, I would like to keep the portability with the zoom to some degree, as I really love how easily it made to frame subjects and get really good pics. Would you guys have recommendations for cameras (Nikon or not-Nikon), that can fit a Nikon lens with/without some adapter? Just in case this is a DX lens, not full frame, AFAIK (but I wouldn’t mind some…vignetting, or digitally/automatically cropping the picture after the fact, if needed).
Nikon itself offers an F-Mount to Z-Mount adapter which should retain autofocus and stuff like that on many lenses. the adapter is named FTZ Adapter. The z mount is nikons mount system for their mirrorless cameras.
So do some reading to find out if your lenses will work with it and the camera you are interested in and then decide if you like the lense enough to invest in the adapter and a compatible body.
I got a Nikon z30 last week used on marketplace, it came with 2 Nikon F lenses, the kit z lens and the FTZ ii (F To Z) adapter and our previous Nikon F lens still work (exif data is present and correct and AF works for some of the F lenses, but not all of them though). The FTZ I think is quite large, it will make your lens stick out an extra 3-4cm.
Thanks for this. This is the kind of input I wanted…I’m a bit concerned about the extra bulk the add-on might make, but I guess there’s no two ways around it.
The thing you’re asking about is an adapter. You could get f mount to: z mount (Nikon mirrorless), e mount (Sony), x mount (Fuji), etc. Not sure about Canon, they’ve been pretty protective of their new mount. It will add some overall length though.
If you’re looking for smaller gear, going to a mirror less system will result in a smaller body guaranteed. Modern glass can be smaller, but that’s not always the case. Especially for APS-C lenses. Most of the mirror less OEMs (Sony, Canon, Nikon) have been favoring FF glass. The glass will happily mount on a crop sensor body, but it will be physically larger than necessary.
If you want to save some size and mass, micro four thirds is worth a look. Something like the Olympus E-M5 or even E-M10, or Panasonic GX7/GX9 is pretty compact, and there are a bunch of compact micro four third zooms and primes out there.
I have a couple of fantastic older manual Nikon lenses that I use with my LUMIX GX9, and I love that combo. I have a simple cheap adapter, and the shots I get with the 300mm ai-s are stunning, I love that combo. As it’s a crop sensor, my lovely 1.2 50mm becomes more of a portrait/tele lens, but if that bothers you then a speed booster like the Metabones isn’t silly money, and gets you back down towards the original focal length.
I’m really hoping that there’s a GX9ii in the pipeline as I love mine but would appreciate a couple of upgrades, like phase detect etc. However, I think that the GX9 is still a very, very hard camera to beat for street and travel, and the range of lenses available for M4/3 makes it very versatile.
There is actually a G9M2 available now. I have the cheaper G95 and I like it!
The GX9 is a rangefinder camera without much of a grip, so the body is pretty compact. The G9M2 on the other hand is a M43 sensor in a FF body. Here’s the GX9 vs G9:
Oh yes, I completely ignored the x in that model. I do wish Lumix would make a new updated range finder, that would be a unique model for today’s market.
I totally agree. It seems like the strong suite for micro four thirds. If you’re willing to play the equivalence game a FF body with a slower prime (say f/2.0-f/2.8) is generally as compact as M43 body with a fast prime (say the Oly f/1.2s). Likewise, a number of the long Oly lenses, like the 100-400, are actually FF lenses with a M43 mount. Yeah, you get the 2.0 crop factor, but if you’re willing to shell out for a higher resolution FF body you can just crop.
That said, on pure size a rangefinder M43 with a somewhat slower prime can be truly compact. It seems like that’s where the M43 market would be, especially with the advent of high res FF bodies that crop well like Sony’s R line and A1, Nikon’s Z8/Z9, and Canon’s R5. Heck even Fuji’s X-H2 and XT-5. But since neither Panasonic or OM Systems are making these bodies anymore they must not have been very popular :(
Easily done! I’m constantly thinking I’ve found an answer to a question about the GX9, reading for a while, and then realising it’s about the G9, and it’s not relevant to my body. It’s a shame it’s not been updated yet, I really love this little camera and think that with a few updates, it could rival the Fuji x100 series in many ways.
