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’d like to get a lens for my Nikon Z 50 that’s more wide-angle than the Z 16-50mm that came with the camera. What would you suggest?
Lyn Davidson
ANikon doesn’t make any DX format ultra-wide-angle lenses yet. One option would be to invest in a Nikon FTZ II Mount Adapter (£249/$250), which opens the door to using the vast range of Nikon and third-party F-mount lenses on the market.
With an adapter fitted, I’d go for the Nikon AF-P DX 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6g VR (£309/$307), which offers a generous maximum viewing angle of 109 degrees and comes complete with 3.5-stop VR. Naturally, that can be helpful if you’re using it with a DX format Z system camera, which lacks in-body stabilization.
If you’d rather go for a prime number, so to speak, I’d recommend the new Viltrox AF 13mm f/1.4 Z (£349/$429). It’s a DX format lens that’s available in native Z-mount. Although it has a narrower 94.1-degree viewing angle, it has a much faster aperture rating, and delivers excellent image quality.
QI’ve been considering the Nikon Z MC 50mm macro lens for shooting close-ups with my Z fc, but have seen mixed reviews. What would you recommend? Mark Reeves
AI tested the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 (£649/$647) for issue 129’s big test of macro lenses, and found it very appealing for general shooting. My only real issue with it for macro photography is that, at its shortest focus setting for full 1.0x magnification, the working distance between the front of the lens and the subject shrinks to just 5cm. That can feel uncomfortably close, especially for shooting bugs and insects.
If you can stretch your budget, the Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S (£999/$997) is a far superior lens, and has a much more natural macro working distance of 15cm. For a less expensive option (via an FTZ II Mount Adapter), I rate the F-mount Sigma Macro 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM very highly. It’s great value in the UK, at around £359/$619.
QI’m happy with my edited photos when I view them on my HP laptop, but they print very dark from my Canon ip7200 printer. Is there a fix that doesn’t involve tricky screen calibration?
Brian Rankin
Unless you buy a superexpensive A laptop, it’s likely to have a fairly basic screen that gives poor dynamic range and colour rendition. As you’ve found, it’s possible to edit images so that they look pretty good on-screen, but it’s a different story when you print them out.
Without going through all the technical turmoil of calibrating your screen, the easiest solution is to view a photo on-screen and to turn the laptop’s brightness down until the image looks vaguely similar to the printed image from your printer. You could then re-edit digital images accordingly before printing them. It’s also important to set the right paper type, like Canon Photo Paper Glossy II, before printing, otherwise the results may indeed be nowhere near what you’d expected. Q I tried to get prints made at a shop, but they don’t take XQD cards. Can I copy them to an SD card in my Z 6II? Also, what’s a good Raw editor?
Archie Coulter
You can copy images from an A XQD card to an SD card using the Copy Image(s) option in your camera’s Playback menu. You can also set up which type of memory card to use as the primary card.
For getting into Raw editing, look no further than Nikon’s own NX Studio app for Windows and macos. It’s quite easy to use, and it’s free to download.