Ask Matthew
Our resident Nikon expert Matthew Richards answers your questions and solves your problems. If you have a Nikon-related question, email it to mail@nphotomag.com
Our Nikon savant Matthew answers all your questions
QA camera dealer sold me a D7500 with a Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 lens but, in the June 2020 issue (N-photo 111), you recommended the Nikon 18-200mm. Have I been given bad information?
Gary Heath
AThe Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM Contemporary is a perfectly good lens and it’s very good value at around £259/$399. Image quality is almost as good as from the Nikon 18-200mm. It’s not quite as sharp in the short to medium sector of the zoom range, but has less barrel distortion at the short end. The Sigma’s handling isn’t as refined, as the focus ring rotates during autofocus. The Nikon has a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system in which the manual focus ring remains stationary, but can also be used for the manual override of autofocus without the need to switch to manual focus mode.
Ultimately, the Nikon is the better of the two lenses, but costs nearly twice as much cash. The Sigma is a very good money-saving option, as well as being more compact and lightweight. It’s certainly not a bad choice.
QIs it true that the in-body stabilization of Z 6 and Z 7 cameras is unavailable when using fully manual lenses that lack an electronic processor? Damien Thatcher
AThere are some fully manual lenses available in Nikon Z-mount options, like the Samyang/rokinon MF 14mm f/2.8 (£310/$349) and MF 85mm f/1.4 (£300/$329). Unlike many of the company’s manual-focus lenses for Nikon DSLRS, they have no CPU (Central Processor Unit) and therefore can’t communicate electronically with the camera. That being said, you can still use the optional ‘focus peaking’ display to help with accurate focusing, and the electronic viewfinder/rear screen can automatically boost the preview image brightness when narrowing the aperture using the on-lens aperture ring. By default, in-body stabilization is disabled, as the camera has no way of knowing the focal length of the lens. However, you can enable stabilization by selecting the ‘NON-CPU lens data’ option in the Setup menu. Here you can set up the focal length and maximum aperture for up to 20 different non-electronic lenses.
QI want to use lighting based on two flashguns with RF triggering, but I’m on a very limited budget. What would you recommend?
Sarah Philips
AInfrared triggering is available via the pop-up flash module of many Nikon cameras but RF (Radio Frequency) is more reliable, has a much greater range and can work around obstacles between the trigger and receiver.
Nikon’s own-brand SB-5000 Speedlight has a built-in RF receiver, but works out very pricey at around £1140/$1194 for a pair, and you’d still need to buy an RF trigger.
A more budget-friendly option is the Hähnel Modus 600RT MK II Pro Kit, at £499/$559. This includes two high-performance flashguns, which are powered by Li-ion battery packs and feature built-in RF transceivers. The kit also includes a hotshoemounting Viper TTL RF trigger. For a really low-budget yet highly effective solution, I’d buy a pair of Yongnuo YN685 I-TTL HSS RF wireless Speedlights for Nikon, plus a Yongnuo YN-622N-TX I-TTL RF trigger. The whole setup comes to around £239/$269.
QI’ve been trying to use my Tamron 90mm macro lens on my new Z 6 camera via an FTZ Mount Adapter, but it won’t autofocus. Why is this?
Adrian Cox
AMost of Tamron’s current lenses for Nikon DSLRS work just fine on Z-series mirrorless bodies, via an FTZ Mount Adapter. However, you might need to update the firmware to the latest edition. This can usually be easily carried out with Tamron’s TAP-IN
Console (£75/$59), which simply connects the lens to a computer via a USB cable. In some cases, you’ll need to send the lens to a Tamron service centre.
Tamron is still working on firmware updates for the SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 VC USD and the first edition of the SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD, but they’re not yet available. Unfortunately, firmware updates will not be released for some other recent lenses, including the 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro and the SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD.