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
QI want to trade in my D750 and 24-70mm f/2.8 for a Z 6II and get some lighter lenses. Would you recommend the Z 24-70mm, Z 28-75mm or Z 24-200mm?
Michael Jack
AThe Z 6II will save a bit of size and weight compared with the D750 but the lenses can make the most difference. For a lightweight standard zoom, it’s a tough choice between the retractable Z 24-70mm f/4 S and the Z 28-75mm f/2.8. I’d go for the 24-70mm for all-round performance and image quality unless you really want the faster aperture of the 28-75mm and don’t mind sacrificing a little wide-angle coverage.
I’m also a big fan of the Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR. Image quality is phenomenal for a ‘superzoom’ lens. There’s not much difference in weight between all three lenses, so it boils down to whether you’d prefer the versatility of the 24-200mm’s greater overall zoom range or the faster, constant apertures of the 24-70mm and 28-75mm lenses.
QI’ve read that the in-body stabilization of full-frame Z system cameras works with any lens, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with my 7Artisans 50mm f/1.05. Am I missing something? Simon Becker
AThe 7Artisans 50mm f/1.05 is a fully manual lens so not only do you have to adjust the focus and aperture via the lens’s control rings, but there’s no electronic communication between the lens and the camera body. This type of lens is often called a ‘non-cpu’ lens. By default, in-body stabilization is disabled, as the camera has no way of knowing the focal length and aperture of the lens. ‘VR’ is greyed out in the i-menu. To make in-body stabilization available, go into the camera’s Setup menu and select ‘NON-CPU lens data’. Here you can register the focal length and maximum aperture for up to 20 different non-electronic lenses, after which in-body stabilization will work with any of Nikon’s full-frame Z-system cameras.
QI’ve been shooting with a Z 6II and it tends to work loose on my tripod when I’m shooting in portrait/upright orientation. How can I prevent this? Graham Johnston
It sounds like you’re swivelling the camera to the left for portrait orientation, so the shutter button
is at the top. That can feel more natural in handheld shooting but doesn’t work well with a tripod. Try swivelling the camera the other way, so the shutter button is at the bottom.
A more elegant solution is to use an L-bracket. This fits along the bottom and left-hand side of the camera, with a tripod socket or Arca-swiss mounting plate on both surfaces. You can then easily swap between landscape and portrait without having to adjust the tripod head, while also maintaining a good balance. The 3 Legged Thing Zelda is particularly good, made from a single piece of aluminium alloy to eliminate any wobble and giving full access to all camera ports. A similar ‘Zayla’ is also available for the Z 50.
QMy new AF-S 200-500mm has Normal and Sport VR modes. What is the difference?
AFreya Nilsen
The AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6e ED VR features switchable Normal and Sports modes, rather than the Normal and Active common in older lenses. Normal is ideal for stationary subjects during handheld shooting or when using a monopod and gives good feedback of the stabilization effect in the camera’s viewfinder.
Sport mode is better for shooting fast-moving subjects. The viewfinder image is relatively unaffected, making it easier to track moving subjects, especially if and when they change direction. Another bonus of Sport VR mode is that if you’re shooting a sequence of images in fast continuous drive mode, there won’t be any slowdown in the frame rate and no increase in shutter lag.