Looking for some info on options for a good zoom lens for the Z7?
brands & pricing..low end and high end.
Thanks so much

Well, I'd recommend either waiting for the Sony digital Alpha DSLR lens adaptor, or getting one of the Nikon adaptors that have been marketed for the JVD HD100 series (same mount as the Z7).

Then, you can buy a pretty cheap (<$300) DSLR 15-70mm lens. With the 7.5x crop factor, that would give you the equivalent field of view of a 110-500mm lens. And, since, you'd only be using the center of the lens, it should be pretty good optical quality, too.

You'd probably lose steady shot and autofocus (although maybe not with the Sony lenses -- depends on how sophisticated Sony's promised adaptor is), but so what?

Hi Todd, I am using the Nikon 80-200f-2.8 ED and I am very happy with it - razor sharp with excellent colours and contrast. You can only use it manual. Get the Nikon adapter form Mike Tapa - www.mtfservices.com - works great. I also use bar support system and follow focus made by RedRock and it all works wonderfully.
It is important to note that you can only use lenses with the iris ring or else you can control the iris.

Thanks guys,
Man, I thought I would have to be spending upto 6 grand for a new telephoto lens....
Brian, any idea what the sony adapter will be going for? And why this is better? And will we have a choice between a Canon or Nikon? Can you talk a littl ebit more about why I'm only going to be able to use the middle part of the lens. And maybe the issues of trying to zoom with this type of set-up.

Ofer, what is the longest lens you have used, and how did it work? Thanks for the links..

Quick question to those in the know, I have a nikkor 50mm f1.4 and a 105mm f2.5 manual lenses in superb condition.

Am I right in saying that these will fit my Z7 with the adaptor quoted from mike tappa and give me two prime lenses at 350mm and 735mm?

Quick question to those in the know, I have a nikkor 50mm f1.4 and a 105mm f2.5 manual lenses in superb condition.

Am I right in saying that these will fit my Z7 with the adaptor quoted from mike tappa and give me two prime lenses at 350mm and 735mm?

That is correct...

I have one of these adapters for my Z7, Nikon 18-200mm lens, and Tamron 10.5-17mm Fisheye. Very good results so far.

Brian, any idea what the sony adapter will be going for? And why this is better? And will we have a choice between a Canon or Nikon? Can you talk a littl ebit more about why I'm only going to be able to use the middle part of the lens. And maybe the issues of trying to zoom with this type of set-up. .

I have no idea how much the Sony adapter will cost (since it's Sony, I wouldn't be surprised if it's overpriced), and I really don't know much about the details. If it's a simple mechanical mount like the MTF adapter, it won't necessarily be any better. On the other hand, it's possible Sony might come out with something that would allow the Z7 to access the autofocus and auto-iris features of Sony's DSLR lenses. If you don't care about such things, just get the Nikon adapter and be happy.

Just to be clear, when I was talking about the "center of the lens," I wasn't referring to the zoom distance. I think you should be able to access the full zoom range. Because you'll be using a lens designed for a 35mm film frame (or APS-C sized sensor if it's a DSLR lens) on a 1/3" sensor, you'll effectively be "cropping out" a smaller diameter circle from the center of the lens's image. Most lenses are sharpest at the center, and any aberrations or distortions tend to appear at the edge of the frame. This also why you get a smaller field of view, equivalent to a lens 7.5 times the focal length.

I'm no expert, though, and have only recently (I hope) understood this phenomenon myself. There may be others who can explain this more clearly.

That is correct...

I have one of these adapters for my Z7, Nikon 18-200mm lens, and Tamron 10.5-17mm Fisheye. Very good results so far.

OOOO me have to get one of those adaptors for wildlife and mega close ups

Bingo ordered one today for delivery tommorow the 1st May

Thanks guys,
Man, I thought I would have to be spending upto 6 grand for a new telephoto lens....
Brian, any idea what the sony adapter will be going for? And why this is better? And will we have a choice between a Canon or Nikon? Can you talk a littl ebit more about why I'm only going to be able to use the middle part of the lens. And maybe the issues of trying to zoom with this type of set-up.

Ofer, what is the longest lens you have used, and how did it work? Thanks for the links..

Hi Todd, the longest lens I am using is the Nikon 400 f3.5 ED manual focus and it gives SUPERB results. I have only tested it indoors but going to try it in the field very soon. You are working with an effective 2800mm f3.5 lens which is an AWESOME tool for wildlife. I am using it with a Wimberley tripod head as I don't have any intentions to do any camera movements with it as vibrations is an issue. Have a look at my site under NEW PHOTO.
http://www.oferlevyphotography.com

Hey, Ofer

Are you using a Nikon 35mm lens or a DSLR lens?

Brian, I'm trying to wrap my head around all this...
First, I don't shoot stills so hang tight with me here. What is the difference between a Nikon 35mm lens or a DSLR lens?

Second, if Ofer is shooting a Nikon 400 f3.5 ED how does that factor in that he is working with an effective 2800mm f3.5 lens? Am I missing something here?

If you put a 400mm lens on the Z7, isn't that what you are shooting out of the z7 - 400mm?

Brian, do you use all Nikon lenses on your Z7?

By the way... thanks you guys for all the input...

A 400mm lens on a 35mm SLR camera will produce an 8x magnification (a 50mm lens on such a camera produces roughly the same FOV as the human eye ->>>>400/50 =8x).

The sensor size on a Z7 is much smaller than the equivalent exposed area on 35mm film and so a lens designed for a 35mm film camera will produce a much greater magnification on such a wee sensor. The difference is approx 7x (aye seven!!) -so a 400mm lens designed for a 35mm SLR camera will, on the Z7 behave like a (400x7) 2800mm lens producing a whopping 56x magnification > brilliant for wildlife videography but not so hot for panoramics!!! If extreme magnification is needed then this is an excellent & fairly cheap way to achieve it -though there are certain practical difficulties: finding your target with such a narrow FOV is one big headache whilst the other is keeping such a rig still -the least vibration will be magnified beyond belief.

Re standard Nikon 35mm SLR & DSLR lens differences -there isn't much difference. Digital sensors are more sensitive to ghost & flare than is film so the newer DSLR lenses are re-vamped 35mm lenses with extra lens coatings to minimize this effect & optimise their perfomance on DSLR >presumably such lenses are also the better choice for HDV cams.

Todd,

Steve's explanation is pretty good. Also, check out this thread for further discussion:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=109489

Imagine a 35mm, rectangular film frame. That's the size of an image that a 35mm lens is designed to resolve.

Now take a rectangle that's only 1/3" (8.4mm) in diagonal. Place that smaller rectangle inside, right at the center of, the 35mm rectangle. That's what the 1/3" CMOS sensor on the Z7 will see if you attach a 35mm lens to the camera. That portion of the image (or "field of view") will be equivalent to what you would see if the focal length were 7 times larger. So, a 50mm focal length lens designed for a 35mm film frame will look like a 350mm lens if you look at it with a 1/3" sensor.

It's not really a magnification, though, because you haven't changed the optical qualities of the lens. It's really a "crop factor."

I don't own a Z7, yet. I'm hoping to buy one in the next month or so.

What's still not clear to me, though, is if there is a difference in the size of the image resolved by 35mm lenses vs. DSLR lenses. I think there should be, because the standard APS-C DSLR sensor is 23.4mm X 15mm, NOT 35mm. This would suggest that the crop factor for 35mm lenses should be somewhat different than the crop factor for DSLR lenses. So far, I haven't found anyone able to confirm my suspicion.

I guess I'll just have to try it out when I get my camera and see for myself!

EDIT: All, right. I went and reread Mel Enriquez's explanation in the thread I referenced above. I think I get it now. The crop factor is the same for either 35mm or DSLR lenses, because you're measuring off the focal length, which doesn't change. So if I were going to replicate the same "normal" field of view for three different cameras I'd use:
- a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera;
- a 33mm lens on an APS-C DSLR camera, and;
- a 7mm lens on a 1/3" CMOS camera like the Z7.

Conversely, if I want a super-telephoto look, I'll need:
- a 500mm lens on a 35mm camera;
- a 333mm lens on an APS-C DSLR camera;
- but can get by with only a 71mm lens on a 1/3" CMOS camera.

Right?

The sensor sizes of different DSLR cameras can vary ...........to pick Canon SLRs -the 1Ds series have full 35mm sensors thus no cropping, the 1D series have a slightly smaller sensor yielding a cropping factor of 1.3x, whilst the 40D has an APS-C sized sensor giving a cropping factor of 1.6x.

A 50mm standard lens & a 50mm DSLR will yield the same angle of view -but the size of the sensor receiving the light will then crop this AOV (or not). As APS-C sensor-sized cameras are so popular lens manufacturers have designed lenses that are optimised to APS-C sensors. To use Sigma as an example -Sigma's 4.5mm f2.8 EX DC HSM Lens (fisheye) has an angle of view of 180 degrees on an APS-C sensor, whilst the Sigma 8mm f3.5 EX DG Fisheye Lens has a 180 degree AOV on a full-sized sensor camera. The former lens is designed for APS-C digital SLRs only & the latter for full-sized sensor cameras (though can also be used on APS-C cameras) but note though they yield the same AOV on their 'target' cameras the former is a 4.5mm lens & the latter 8mm.

Confusing or what?????

Holy Smokes... this is amazing...
I have a hard time imagining that the quality when attaching a 300m nikon lens will be crisp.

So Brian,
When you pick up you new Z7,
What is the ultimate setup for wildlife outdoor shooting?
I guess I'm wondering what type of Nikon lens would be the best match for the Z7? Will you wait for the Sony adapter?

This has been a great thread so far...

Well, after looking at some of the wildlife images on Ofer Levy's site, I'd say just use whatever he uses. :-)

I am now SO glad I bought up all this old nikkor glass 6 months ago!

It opens up new ideas for shooting with the Z7!

I hear ya...
Ofer, Those pics are really nice... Those aren't frame grabs from video are they? I'm assuming those shots are stills...

So, We are looking at fully manual lenses, manual zoom, manual focus, using these lenses as if they were on a slr but know on a video camera? If thats true... awesome.

I hear ya...
Ofer, Those pics are really nice... Those aren't frame grabs from video are they? I'm assuming those shots are stills...

So, We are looking at fully manual lenses, manual zoom, manual focus, using these lenses as if they were on a slr but know on a video camera? If thats true... awesome.

Thanks Todd, all the photos on my website were taken with DSLR - mostly Canon EOS 1D Mark 2 and the still lenses - 300mm f2.8, 400 f5.6, 500 f4

I use the Nikon 300f2.8 and 400 f3.5 exactly the same way I would use stills - no camera movement and mounted on a Wimberley still camera tripod head. I have tried to mount it on my fluid head but I don't think it is a good idea even with the bar support system. I now attach the combo - Z7+300/400 lens using the lens collar - that feels much more balanced, safer and reasonable to me.

I use the Nikon 80-200 with the Z7 mounted on my fluid head withthe bar support system and it works great !

Yes, you are looking at manual everyhting ! (-:

If there is any question or doubt about the image quality reduction when applying a DSLR lens to the Z7, be rest assured that there is none. If anything, I see a better image than the Sony stock lens. At long distances, like any super telephoto situation, heat waves from the earth are noticable. Other than that, this is an awesome situation for wildlife cinematographers.

I ordered my lens adapter from Mike Tapa, as recommended by Ofer. It was shipped and recieved at my doorstep (London to Western Nebraska) in 3 days!!!

My 10.5 - 17mm Tokina Fisheye attached to my Z7 offers a super close application. I have not figured out when I am going to use it, however, I did some tests and filmed objects that were literally 2" from the camera lens. Obviously the spherical fisheye look is eliminated with the 7X factor conversion to 75-119mm. But, man...it is pretty cool!!