Leica M to Nikon Z AUTOFOCUS adapters now available

[LarsHP]

I have been on the lookout for an autofocus adapter for M mount lenses on Nikon Z bodies since before I bought my Z6. Techart made such an adapter for Sony a7 / a9 cameras, so I figured that it was just a question of time before there would be such an adapter for Nikon Z cameras.

I made a thread in the adapted lens talk forum two weeks ago, and today I have ordered one of the two available adapters. Yes, that's right! There is not only one from Techart, but another - and obviously different - one made by the people behind Gabale, while using their new brand name: Megadap.

The official (English language) Megadap site is here with just one product so far: the autofocus adapter for M mount lenses on Nikon Z cameras. It is also available on Amazon and eBay. Search for "Megadap MTZ11".

Official images from Megadap (Gabale)

The competing adapter called Techart TZM-01 is not on their official (English language) site yet, but it is already for sale on eBay. Search for "Techart TZM-01".

Both are selling for about US$ 350 including shipping at the moment.

 

[LarsHP]

Quote from press release:

Megadap unveiled the world’s first autofocus adapter for manual lenses on Nikon Z cameras

Hong Kong, 29 Oct 2020 – Megadap, a new manufacturer of electronic adapters, has unveiled the new Megadap Leica M – Nikon Z Autofocus Adapter. It is the World’s First adapter to be used on Nikon Z cameras which can turn manual focus lenses into autofocus.

The new Megadap adapter replaces the focusing mechanism of the lens by incorporating a extendable bayonet structure. The adapter is built with electronic contacts to communicate with the Nikon Z cameras and utilizes the camera phase-detection autofocus algorithm to determine the focus spot. The motor in the adapter will then drive the bayonet to extend or retract. The distance between the lens and the camera sensor will hereby be adjusted until the focus is reached.

The focusing experience of Megadap is fast and precise. It currently supports Single shot AF (AF-S), Continuous AF (AF-C) and servo AF (AF-F) mode. For AF-area, Single-point AF, Wide-area AF (S/L) and Auto-area AF can all be used. It is compatible with Nikon Z6, Z7, Z50, Z6 (ii) and Z7 (ii).

Unlike similar products being made for other camera systems, the new Megadap adapter is built with a new patented circular extension structure so that it is able to support heavier lenses and eradicate any potential wobbling bayonet issues after prolonged use. It also incorporates a much longer extension (maximum 6.5mm bayonet extension). This is longer than the focus throw of most manual lenses in the market and is gives the lens a much wider focusing range. A micro USB port is equipped for future firmware updates.

In addition to the Leica M-mount lenses, users can also stack additional adapters to turn lenses with other mounts (E.g. EF, F, FD, PK, MD, OM, M42, LR, CY, etc) into autofocus. Owners of legacy manual lenses will now have an entirely new experience with the modern autofocus technology.

 

[FKS]

Thanks Lars, looking forward to your review as I'm intrigued by the idea of using this with adapters for other mounts. It would be nice to finally AF with my Contax lenses, among others.

 

[KLaban]

Fascinated to hear about focus range, speed and accuracy.

Please do report back.

 

[HeavyDuty]

It’s interesting from a technical standpoint, but... why? My Leica M lenses are the best manual focusing lenses I own with superb helicals, and my Z6 has great focusing aids.

 

[LarsHP]

I will of course report back when I get the adapter and have tried it. It will be in about two weeks.

As to why buying such an adapter for use with M mount lenses on a Z6, my reasoning is this:

1) For use when AF is needed. AF is usually faster and more precise than manual focus when shooting moving subjects like people.

2) Getting EXIF data in the files.

Another potential benefit on is getting fast and (hopefully) precise infinity focus adjustment for use with lenses that have floating elements. I don't have any FL lenses right now, but this feature is good to have if/when I get such a lens.

 

[calgarykev]

Looking forward to what you find!

I'm also hoping to see results on both the Z6 and Z5 to see if the sensor (and stack) make any difference. From what I've seen so far the Z6 works better around the edges with Leica lenses (especially wide) than Sony, Canon and Panasonic full frames.

Addressing "Why do this?" comments above in my case: I'm a Leica shooter and get a bit stuck on the odd occasion when I need to shoot closeup or macro, tele longer than 135mm and my father's old tilt/shift. While there are ways around all of this with the M-D they range from inconvenient to impractical.

For just about all of my shooting I prefer a rangefinder as my main tool. I've been playing with a few mirrorless that fill the gaps fine but don't make good use of my Leica lenses so they don't function as a backup. I prefer not to buy overlapping lenses for my 2nd camera.

I expect the only lens I'll buy, or preferably rent, for the 2nd camera is the long tele. Other than that it's only going to get used for my 2 macro lenses and the tilt/shift, all Canon FD mounts. I already have the FD adapted to the M so I only need one adapter.

These adapters look attractive to me because for the price, rudimentary AF is a useful feature for say the tilt/shift and close up, not necessarily macro. While I prefer the manual focus of a rangefinder, I have not been satisfied with manual focus on mirrorless; not sure why but peaking, punch-in and PIP are just not my thing.

If the camera I wind up with is as good as the Z6, I'll probably do a little more than just fill the gaps but still it's how well it works with the the adapted lenses that will determine if it gets selected as a backup.

 

[JohnXTanner]

Another potential benefit on is getting fast and (hopefully) precise infinity focus adjustment for use with lenses that have floating elements. I don't have any FL lenses right now, but this feature is good to have if/when I get such a lens.

I don't quite understand that. I assume that the adaptor works with the manual focus set to infinity (presumably if you set it shorter, then the combination couldn't focus to infinity).

This is fine, or should be, with lenses that don't have floating elements or anything similar as they're designed such that focusing oves the entire set of lens elements, which is what the adaptor will do.

But if your subject is closer than infinity, the floating element moves to compensate when you focus manually. If you use the adaptor though, the manual focus will still be set to infinity and so the optical performance is likely to be worse than if you'd focused the lens manually.

Thus, as far as I can see, the adaptor isn't really appropriate for lenses with floating elements.

 

[LarsHP]

Another potential benefit on is getting fast and (hopefully) precise infinity focus adjustment for use with lenses that have floating elements. I don't have any FL lenses right now, but this feature is good to have if/when I get such a lens.

I don't quite understand that. I assume that the adaptor works with the manual focus set to infinity (presumably if you set it shorter, then the combination couldn't focus to infinity).

This is fine, or should be, with lenses that don't have floating elements or anything similar as they're designed such that focusing oves the entire set of lens elements, which is what the adaptor will do.

But if your subject is closer than infinity, the floating element moves to compensate when you focus manually. If you use the adaptor though, the manual focus will still be set to infinity and so the optical performance is likely to be worse than if you'd focused the lens manually.

Thus, as far as I can see, the adaptor isn't really appropriate for lenses with floating elements.

We agree, but it appears that I did not make what I meant clear. The case I was thinking of is getting the floating element construction optimized by setting the lens at infinity and then autofocus at a point in the horizon - and then focus manually from there.

This issue is that - unfortunately - different M lenses need different adapter thickness. In theory all should focus precisely at infinity when the lens is set to it and the adapter has the exact thickness, but that is not the case with the M mount lenses I have. Either you could use one adapter for each lens or perhaps have a few adapters with different thickness and then use them with the lenses that pair best with them - or you could have an adapter that allows you to adjust for precise infinity. That is exactly what the AF adapter will let you do - quickly.

 

[LarsHP]

AF test with face detection:



No noise from the AF motor!

 

[Raymond L]

Another potential benefit on is getting fast and (hopefully) precise infinity focus adjustment for use with lenses that have floating elements. I don't have any FL lenses right now, but this feature is good to have if/when I get such a lens.

I don't quite understand that. I assume that the adaptor works with the manual focus set to infinity (presumably if you set it shorter, then the combination couldn't focus to infinity).

This is fine, or should be, with lenses that don't have floating elements or anything similar as they're designed such that focusing oves the entire set of lens elements, which is what the adaptor will do.

But if your subject is closer than infinity, the floating element moves to compensate when you focus manually. If you use the adaptor though, the manual focus will still be set to infinity and so the optical performance is likely to be worse than if you'd focused the lens manually.

Thus, as far as I can see, the adaptor isn't really appropriate for lenses with floating elements.

We agree, but it appears that I did not make what I meant clear. The case I was thinking of is getting the floating element construction optimized by setting the lens at infinity and then autofocus at a point in the horizon - and then focus manually from there.

This issue is that - unfortunately - different M lenses need different adapter thickness. In theory all should focus precisely at infinity when the lens is set to it and the adapter has the exact thickness, but that is not the case with the M mount lenses I have. Either you could use one adapter for each lens or perhaps have a few adapters with different thickness and then use them with the lenses that pair best with them - or you could have an adapter that allows you to adjust for precise infinity. That is exactly what the AF adapter will let you do - quickly.

I am following this pretty closely. I was trying find the max weight the adaptor can hold.



The question of why and for lenses that have FL...

Convenient factor #1: i want the requirement of continuous AF but i want to shoot wide open... i tend to use my (techart pro) as “manual focus assist” .. i know i will be maintaining a distance thats between 2-2.5m but i want “tack sharp” focus on the face/eyes.. so i set the focus accordingly

convenience factor #2: i like and prefer the vintage lenses rendition from my konica 40mm 1.8 /nikkor 50mm 1.4 Q/ nikkor 50mm 1.8 e series pancake BUT i have constraints (running toddlers) but i want to shoot wide open (f2-f2.8)..

these “two” convenience factors have made my manual lenses more appealing to me now (“the vintage rendition”)

obviously if you want the “best” performance from your M lenses you are better off getting a M body (M10-R) for the RF experience... and this (for me) is not practical on most occasions now.

 

[JohnXTanner]

Fair enough, but if you're going to focus manually anyway, then a dumb adaptor is surely going to be virtually as good? Are the M lenses or the dumb adaptor so far from specification that you'd be able to tell the difference do you think? Otherwise, it seems like an expensive solution to a problem (maybe not so expensive if your M lenses are made by Leica though).

 

[Raymond L]

Fair enough, but if you're going to focus manually anyway, then a dumb adaptor is surely going to be virtually as good? Are the M lenses or the dumb adaptor so far from specification that you'd be able to tell the difference do you think? Otherwise, it seems like an expensive solution to a problem (maybe not so expensive if your M lenses are made by Leica though).

It’s hard to argue this one. For every option there is always criticism.. in my head it sounds like this..

1 - just use a dumb adaptor

critic: well those dumb adaptors are just some cheap adaptor from china.. so you are going to adapt your $6500 AUD 35 1.4 FLE ? What are the tolerances of the adapter ?

2 - just buy a premium dumb adaptor

solution: Ok I’ll buy a really expensive adaptor with a Helicoid and this thing is going to be sweet as

critic: wow. So you are using a helicoid to get a closer min focus distance ? That’s not within the optimum spec when the lens was design by Dr Leica XYZ back in 19XX.. you aren’t getting the optimum results ! Terrible!

3 - just buy a AF adaptor

critic: what’s the point ? These lenses were designed to be manual focus and thus they should be used that way! Go shoot film.. or just get a digital Leica

IMO: I think the manufacturers choosing the Leica M mount is a fairly smart decision, yes you can mount M lenses. But as the M mount flange distance is so short.. it opens up a realm of buying other adaptors to adapt to...Nikon,Konica,Minolta, M42...

but back to your question I think it depends on what lens you use, my Leica lenses that I have experimented with are more “vintage” non-asph lenses so they have a fair amount of character.. I wouldn’t be sweating on shooting outside of the min focus distance.... BUT if I had the APO line up.. I probably would want to use the Leica M10-R to get the most out of it..

 

[Paul Richman]

AF test with face detection:
No noise from the AF motor!

Impressive! Thanks for posting.

 

[LarsHP]

Fair enough, but if you're going to focus manually anyway, then a dumb adaptor is surely going to be virtually as good? Are the M lenses or the dumb adaptor so far from specification that you'd be able to tell the difference do you think? Otherwise, it seems like an expensive solution to a problem (maybe not so expensive if your M lenses are made by Leica though).

I wouldn't buy an AF adapter if I was only going to use manual focus.

I wrote two points that are the reasons for me to buy the MTZ11. In short: 1) Getting AF, and 2) Getting EXIF data.

Then - without numbering it, since it's not a deciding factor for me since I don't own a single lens of that kind, but a possible additional benefit - I added getting precise infinity focus with lenses that have floating elements. For some, this is a big deal, and the adapter will be able to adjust automatically for each new FLE lens you mount by a quick focus acquirement at something in the horizon. (I don't know if one will be able to see a difference in the final image if the adapter thickness is slightly off. I just refer to this issue since I have read several people noting this as something they worry about when using FLE lenses with adapters.)

In addition to this rather nerdy feature, you will have EXIF data in your files from your FLE lens. And by the way, I think most M mount lenses with FLE are Leica brand lenses. Zeiss has only a few and Voigtländer has one at the most AFAIK.

 

[Raymond L]

Fair enough, but if you're going to focus manually anyway, then a dumb adaptor is surely going to be virtually as good? Are the M lenses or the dumb adaptor so far from specification that you'd be able to tell the difference do you think? Otherwise, it seems like an expensive solution to a problem (maybe not so expensive if your M lenses are made by Leica though).

I wouldn't buy an AF adapter if I was only going to use manual focus.

I wrote two points that are the reasons for me to buy the MTZ11. In short: 1) Getting AF, and 2) Getting EXIF data.

Then - without numbering it, since it's not a deciding factor for me since I don't own a single lens of that kind, but a possible additional benefit - I added getting precise infinity focus with lenses that have floating elements. For some, this is a big deal, and the adapter will be able to adjust automatically for each new FLE lens you mount by a quick focus acquirement at something in the horizon. (I don't know if one will be able to see a difference in the final image if the adapter thickness is slightly off. I just refer to this issue since I have read several people noting this as something they worry about when using FLE lenses with adapters.)

In addition to this rather nerdy feature, you will have EXIF data in your files from your FLE lens. And by the way, I think most M mount lenses with FLE are Leica brand lenses. Zeiss has only a few and Voigtländer has one at the most AFAIK.

Nice.

EXIF DATA

Hmm I think I might have missed this detail when i was reading through the brochure/ watching the video.

Are you implying that the adapter can read the bit coding from the lens ?



I know the techart pro implementation had its limitations, the developers coded the adaptor as a “40mm Sony lens” and the only exif data you could “program” is by setting the “f stop” to a specific number that represented the focal length of the lens. Once set you need to put the F stop back to F2, as that’s the “baseline” for exposure.. obviously you can change the F stop on the (physical) lens.. so what that means from exif.. you could only derive the “focal length” that it was shot in.. the actual lens + approx f stop shot is not captured .. so basically it’s not worth the hassle for me..

BUT I am keen hearing how the EXIF data is tracked with this adapter.

 

[LarsHP]

Nice.

EXIF DATA

Hmm I think I might have missed this detail when i was reading through the brochure/ watching the video.
Are you implying that the adapter can read the bit coding from the lens ?

I know the techart pro implementation had its limitations, the developers coded the adaptor as a “40mm Sony lens” and the only exif data you could “program” is by setting the “f stop” to a specific number that represented the focal length of the lens. Once set you need to put the F stop back to F2, as that’s the “baseline” for exposure.. obviously you can change the F stop on the (physical) lens.. so what that means from exif.. you could only derive the “focal length” that it was shot in.. the actual lens + approx f stop shot is not captured .. so basically it’s not worth the hassle for me..

BUT I am keen hearing how the EXIF data is tracked with this adapter.

No, it doesn't read the 6-bit code.

Based on the description by a user on Facebook, who already have it, it works like this:

Setting focal length:

With the adapter mounted on the camera, set aperture at a value between f/6.3 and f/36 (where each f-stop corresponds to a focal length from 10mm to 135mm; see chart). Then take a picture and turn off the camera. When the camera is turned on again, the adapter will tell the camera the selected focal length.

Setting aperture:

While shooting, you can select from f/1.4 to f/5.6 on the front dial of the camera. This will be shown in the EXIF data just like on a native lens. Note that the smallest aperture you can set is f/5.6. Stopping down (with the camera dial) will be a mess. As I understand it, there are two ways of using the aperture setting:

1) If you only need the EXIF to show max f-stop, then continue as usual by stopping down on the lens after initially setting the max aperture. You will miss the exact aperture you selected in EXIF, but you avoid errors that may happen when working handheld / fast.

2) If you want the EXIF to show the actual aperture setting, then you need to set the aperture on both the camera dial and the lens. However, this is limited to f/5.6. Beyond f/5.6 is (apparently) not possible since the adapter will interpret it as an attempt to set a new focal length.

The first one is a set it and forget it solution while the second requires you to remember to change the aperture setting on the front dial on the camera every time you change aperture on the lens. I think this may be most useful for slow and careful work; typically with the camera on tripod. Trying to do it when things go fast might end up in a mess.

This is first gen. firmware. It can be updated since there is a micro-USB contact for it in the adapter.


Chart from a Megadap MTZ11 user on Facebook.

 

[LarsHP]

One more video with AF test showing very little noise from the AF motor:

 

[Raymond L]

Nice.

EXIF DATA

Hmm I think I might have missed this detail when i was reading through the brochure/ watching the video.
Are you implying that the adapter can read the bit coding from the lens ?

I know the techart pro implementation had its limitations, the developers coded the adaptor as a “40mm Sony lens” and the only exif data you could “program” is by setting the “f stop” to a specific number that represented the focal length of the lens. Once set you need to put the F stop back to F2, as that’s the “baseline” for exposure.. obviously you can change the F stop on the (physical) lens.. so what that means from exif.. you could only derive the “focal length” that it was shot in.. the actual lens + approx f stop shot is not captured .. so basically it’s not worth the hassle for me..

BUT I am keen hearing how the EXIF data is tracked with this adapter.

No, it doesn't read the 6-bit code.

Based on the description by a user on Facebook, who already have it, it works like this:

Setting focal length:

With the adapter mounted on the camera, set aperture at a value between f/6.3 and f/36 (where each f-stop corresponds to a focal length from 10mm to 135mm; see chart). Then take a picture and turn off the camera. When the camera is turned on again, the adapter will tell the camera the selected focal length.

Setting aperture:

While shooting, you can select from f/1.4 to f/5.6 on the front dial of the camera. This will be shown in the EXIF data just like on a native lens. Note that the smallest aperture you can set is f/5.6. Stopping down (with the camera dial) will be a mess. As I understand it, there are two ways of using the aperture setting:

1) If you only need the EXIF to show max f-stop, then continue as usual by stopping down on the lens after initially setting the max aperture. You will miss the exact aperture you selected in EXIF, but you avoid errors that may happen when working handheld / fast.

2) If you want the EXIF to show the actual aperture setting, then you need to set the aperture on both the camera dial and the lens. However, this is limited to f/5.6. Beyond f/5.6 is (apparently) not possible since the adapter will interpret it as an attempt to set a new focal length.

The first one is a set it and forget it solution while the second requires you to remember to change the aperture setting on the front dial on the camera every time you change aperture on the lens. I think this may be most useful for slow and careful work; typically with the camera on tripod. Trying to do it when things go fast might end up in a mess.

This is first gen. firmware. It can be updated since there is a micro-USB contact for it in the adapter.

Ok it’s similar in some aspects to the techart pro on my Sony. But with the added advantage of passing through the max F stop value to exif. Showing the actual f stop is abit tricky with the 5.6 but I personally wouldn’t go to that effort..

Sounds promising really look forward to more reviews.

 

[LarsHP]

Ok it’s similar in some aspects to the techart pro on my Sony. But with the added advantage of passing through the max F stop value to exif. Showing the actual f stop is abit tricky with the 5.6 but I personally wouldn’t go to that effort..

Sounds promising really look forward to more reviews.

Yes, I also see myself mostly just setting the max f-stop for the usual stuff while maybe making use of the ability to save actual f-stop when doing test shots etc.