Sony 200-600 Lens on a Nikon Z9? Does it really work?? - The Megadap Adapter ETZ21 PRO
We test the Megadap Adapter Pro to see if you can use the full functionality of the Nikon Z9 with the Sony FE 200-600 Lens. In depth Autofocus , Video, And Hit rate tests.
LONG video so use the chapters.
Watch to see the results and our advice on if you should or who should buy this based on our tests.
Use the chapters to move around to the subjects you are interested in.
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00:00 - introduction
00:25 - The Megadap Adapter
04:42 - Why?
04:52 - Attaching the Adapter
07:57 - Sony 200-600 AF Tests
21:18 - Nikon Native Lens AF Tests
26:01 - Adapted Vs Native AF Results
26:24 - Sony Hit Rate
31:33 - Nikon Native Hit Rate
34:06 - Adapted Vs Native Stills Results
34:54 - Video Comparisons and Results
37:41 - My Conclusion
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Thanks for doing such a comprehensive review. I’m your exact test case and have been looking for a review of this adapter. I have a ton of Sony glass but am tired of the lack of updates via firmware. I used to shoot Nikon in the F2, F3 days and so the desire to return is there. I rented the Z8 and tried the Megadap E21 with the latest firmware and had similar results. I think for portraits and even predictable action, it works, and this will allow me to be selective in which Nikon glass to add first. Thanks again for all the work!!
Understand. My case to buy the adapter was some of my wider Sony glass like the 20mm 1.8 G. And I thought, why not test the 200-600 for longer lens shooters and see how the lens does. This adapter will work fine for me for aurora, landscapes, or more environmental wildlife shots with a Sony lens on the Nikon Z
Awesome vid, good info on the quirks of adapted 200-600!
Thanks! 👍
Thanks for making this video. Interesting experiment! I’m impressed with the engineering prowess that allows lenses from different manufacturers to work on the Nikon Z bodies. From your previous videos, the Fringer EF to Z adapter works really well except for not being able to use the optical image stabilization. In this video, it’s clear that the Nikon Z 180-600 works so much better than the adapted Sony lens! The Nikon PF series of lenses are so sharp, fast, lightweight, and more affordable than the traditional 400 mm f/2.8 and 600 mm f/4 lenses. They are quite compelling for wildlife photographers.
We are in a great time for photography. We are VERY spoiled lol.
Thanks for the video. Well done :)
Glad you liked it!
@@WILDALASKA It is one of the few videos, where I actually profit from. Real life examples, good conclusion... I learn something. I wonder however: how does the megadap with e-mount compare to the fringer-Adapter with ef-glass?
Thanks for this video. Nikon shooter here. I really want to keep my nikon up with nikon, and upgrade to mirrorless. I was almost giving up nikon bc sony have many more lens options, specially 3rd part. This is perfect. I can now get a z6ii with is a fantastic camera, and use sigma and tamron lens.
👍
This is a good combo and i have tested it. It works great !!!
Great to hear!
I think I may have found the solution to the AF "pulse" on the Sony. There is an "AF Fine Tune" feature on the Z cameras in the "wrench" menu and many places (including Fringer's manual, but not Megadap) mention that adapted lenses may benefit from a fine tune adjustment. I tried it on my Megadap-ted lenses and the ones needing adjustment do focus faster with less hunting after the AF Fine Tune. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the info. I did try that, but didn't notice it make enough difference to really talk about it. The adapter is still very useful, but you will take a hit with AF in stills and video. Now the fringer with the canon lenses is pretty much dead on adapted.
Ah good to know! I used the Canon 135mm f/2L with the Z8 and Fringer adapter and it was flawless, and faster than many of my native Z lenses. I'll ping the Fringer team to see if they are willing to make an FE->Z adapter since Megadap seems good but not perfect. Congratulations on surpassing 10k subscribers! @@WILDALASKA
cannot wait for you to get your hands on the RF 200-800mm lens that canon released
Ordered ;) I'll have a thought about that lens today or in the morning. Ships December *fingers crossed*
Happy birthday Scott! What are your thoughts about the new Canon RF 200-800mm?
Video later today or in the morning on my thoughts on it 😆
Hello, thank you for this video. How it the autofocus performance of this combo (Z9 and sony 200-600) in comparison with the native lens 180-600?
The Nikon lens in the video I used was the 180-600
@@WILDALASKA ok I see but does the AF speed and accuracy with the sony 200-600 with the megadap similar with nikon 180-600 ?
I have been looking for a video specifically about this. There isn't enough Z9 adapted lens videos with this amount of information, most just go "its works!" or "it kinda works" and leaves a lot to speculation. Being unable to get my hands on a 180-600 (sold out everywhere) and currently using a 200-500 F mount lens, the 200-600 looks like a viable go between for now (photographing youth sports) and this video addresses a lot of my questions and concerns. Thank you!
That 200-500 5.6 F mount is a great lens. Stick with it until you can get hold of the 180-600 would be my advise.
I would love to see you do a similar test with the RF 100-500 + the fringer adapter on the Z9 or Z8 (Maybe you had already tested that combo?)
So the finger ONLY works with EF lenses. I did a video on the EF 500 F4 with the finger on the Z9. I wish it worked with RF 😀
Are there the same problems with the other Sony to Z adapters? I have the Techart and I haven't experienced the same issues. Further, is it possible that different focus settings would benefit the adapted lens vs. the native lens? It would have been interesting to see how the Sony lens performs on a Sony body to see how much better it might be.
So far only the viltrox adapter can do semi true real time AF. But still not 100%
Having considered the Z8 or the Z9 and being frustrated with the Z6Ii and not trusting the autofocus system, watching this video really show how much the Z9 improved in that department
It really has.
Had the exact same problem with the ETZ21 original using this combo. It did this weird flutter. The AF performance on native lenses was always just that much better. Can’t beat native. This is one of the reasons I ended up selling all of my Sony gear.
Understand. It works and you can get great images, but hit rate suffers.
Wild Alaska aka Adapter King. Thanks man this is valuable info. I bought one of the EF-NZ II adapters after we messaged on instagram. It’s been awesome so far.
Ya the fringer does an amazing job. This adapter for Sony is so-so.
This comment has been so incredibly helpful! (I'm going to ask the Fringer guys to make a Sony to Nikon z adapter so that we don't need to keep using the Megadap stuff)
I almost think the Megadap is somehow converting the distance slightly incorrectly, and maybe that's why the motors need to do a small adjustment flutter before the focus is spot on.
I am a long-time Nikon user but I like the mirrorless technology so I bought my Sony a7R3 and 200-600mm before I got my Z7 and Z9. Then, I bought Megadap ETZ21 with the expectation that I can use Sony 200-600mm on my Nikon Z bodies but I was disappointed that with the AF performance. However, Megadap is good for landscape photography or static objects. I believe the problem is the Nikon Z Flange-back distance is 16mm and the Sony E Flange-back distance is 18mm. If the thickness of the Megadap ETZ21 is not 2mm, it could affect the AF speed and performance on the Z bodies. Thank you so much for sharing your thorough test.
It's something in the connection communication. The flange distance is a simple calc for the designers. Example is the Fringer adapter for the Canon EF to Nikon Z works flawlessly.
@@WILDALASKA Yes, definitely. ETZ21 acts like an interpreter but it may not be able to decipher the Sony AF algorithm and the Nikon AF algorithm completely or it takes ETZ21 more instruction cyles (more time) than necessary to complete the communication message (command) per my experience in avionics software. I really like your test methodology. You could be an excellent Test engineer. Thank you.
Just watched your Fringer EF to Z adapter and the autofocus on your EF lenses adapted to Z9 seemed much better, and without the flutter. Would you agree? Maybe the Fringer coders are more skilled?
No clue on coders, etc. But the frogger and ef lenses work great
Also it seems to me that this adapter is fine for things that don't need fast AF so portraits, landscape and product photography would be fine. Sports, wildlife, wedding and street photography could be frustrating experiences.
Agree. The adapter isn't bad, it's just not close enough to the full AF it promises. But it's still very usable. hence I own one 😄
Liked this 200-600mm sony lens when I used Sony A1 last year.....but since I switched back to Nikon...now 180-600mm Z lens appears similar
Yes the Sony 200-600 is fantastic. And im testing the 180-600 now and that may be the Sunday video. Both are fantastic . We are spoiled in this day and age for gear 😄
Great video and answered all my questions as I have been thinking of changing from my A9 to a Z8. I wonder if there is much difference between sharpness and contrast between the 2 lenses - perhaps something you could mention in your Sunday video
@@WILDALASKA can you compare the focus breathing in the sharpness at distance
I think that these adapters efficacy depends a lot on what you use them for fast action challenging subjects { birds in flight etc } not the best option. Whereas my main use cases are landscape and macro and the typically very good S-AF is plenty for this. Though in saying that ,as a long time Nikon SLR and DSLR user who only went to Sony for mirrorless I did not enjoy the feel ergonomics menus etc of the Sony FE bodies and was happy to "go home" when Nikon joined the fray. I initially used my Sony lenses { 12-24mm F/4. 24-105mm F/4, 24 GM, 35mm,55mm 85mm and 90mm macro } with no problems for my use case. I have since replaced all bar the 24mm GM . The Sony 90mm is very good but the Nikon 105mm is better and more importantly the automated focus bracketing is beyond useful
👍
There is a few reasons to want to adapt another body's lenses to your current one. It's a lens your system doesn't have any equivalent for. Example if you want to use the Tamron 50-400 lens on a Nikon Z or if you have a nice Sony lens like the Sigma 40mm f/1.4 Art lens or the original Tamron 35-150 2-2.8 and don't want to have to buy it again for your Nikon Z camera (that is my case as I have an A7R4 and a Z8)
Agree, that's why I won the adapter myself. For wide lenses I look at Sony first as I can use them on Sony and my Z9
Considering it's putting a Ford engine in a Chevy truck, I'm really impressed with how the Sony adapted to the Nikon Z series. Not perfect and it seemed native was a bit better. Looks like this may be an option for someone who shoots both systems and only wants to invest in one telephoto lens.
Exactly, that was my angle here really. As I have all 3 manufacturers. Some of the wide angle lenses I was hoping the adapter would make it where I could buy 1 lens and use it on both Sony and Nikon Z. Which looks like I can for video and some stills scenarios.
@@WILDALASKA sounds reasonable. I shoot Nikon and Canon. No easy to adapt those systems. This really is cool technology. Thanks again for such a through review and explanation of the pro and cons of this.
it's so cool that with today's adapters, the boundaries between systems are a little blurred. of course, it's better to have a native lens, but... sigma and tamron lenses...
We aere super spoiled with gear and technology now
My only concern is that you are adding very heavy lenses on the adapters, so you really need to be careful how you hold the camera+lens. Both FTZ and FTZ II for example set the upper limit to 1300gr. Megadap - that I do not own - on the non pro version sets the upper limit to 800gr. The Sony lens is around 2115gr. And the Z9 weights 1340gr. So, you have an adapter that holds 800gr between two expensive items that weighting more.
ANY lens over 3lbs should ALWAYS be carried by the lens and not the body regardless of adapted or not. I covered this in a recent video also. kzhead.info/sun/hbRxetVwaYKBh3k/bejne.html
@@WILDALASKA but Z9 is also heavier than the adapter, so you need to hold both.
There is now a new ETZ option, FUNMOUNT ETZ, and the ETZ Pro is released, which is waterproof and dustproof
I'd need on to test.
also the same as NEEWER ETZ。 Same circuit board and firmware，The difference from funmount ETZ Pro is that the rubber ring is waterproof and dustproof @@WILDALASKA
kzhead.info/sun/h81qdrOwpnmYdZs/bejne.html@@WILDALASKA
Just an update for those who are still waiting for an ETZ from Fringer: Since Fringer is a Chinese company, I am Chinese and have asked Fringer if they will release an ETZ adapter, and the answer is no. They believe that the distance between Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount is too short, and if the adapter is made, the strength will not meet their standards. The strength of the direct lens-to-body connection may be a risk (For any ETZ adapter). And they believe that the ETZ adapters on the market are only suitable for entertainment and not for professional use. So they won't launch the ETZ adapter.
Same issue on E to RF. Neither will happen and its more due to out licensing than anything else.
It's not missing ! It is miss identifying the target, i.e. the eye, this is a problem with settings, not the lens, camera or adaptor. Ooooh! my G, if I put a lens made by another company on to a camera, using a Adaptor from YET another company, it doesn't work as well as it would, if I use a lens made by the same company that made the camera ! OMG REALLY? YES OFC. have fun. The only thing on the Nikon which may be 100 % compatible with a Sony, is the Sensor, because Sony made it, (Not sure if they help with the AF). Sony had Convertors to use Canon and Nikon lenses on Sony bodies and guess what, niether the Nikon or the Canon lenses worked well in terms of AF or Image stabalization.
It IS missing as the motors are a little slow to acquire and interpret. It's what all adapters do. But how close can it get. Some do some don't. The LENS has no issue. The 200-600 Sony lens is amazing lens on a Sony body. We are looking at adapted and how the adapter works and how close can it get to native performance. No knocks on Sony or Nikon. It's how does this adapter work. That's all. Settle down now 😉 Thanks for the comments
Why would you ever put an adapter between two expensive units that have no weather sealing ?
I do it ALL the time. The Z9 with the EF 500F4. And the current fringer adapter has no weather sealing. I have on order the newer version that does have weather sealing. You do have some weather sealing on no weather sealed adapters at the body and lens, but it does reduce it.
And cuz a lot of times you don't need weather sealing?
Nikon's lenses are better than G-master lenses anyway. 🤷🏽♂️ lol
🤷♂️