Nikon Z6 firmware bug?

[ImageReflex]

I was excited about the prospect of trying the new eye focus feature in the firmware update with my 600/4 AFS D II lens when shooting sports. However, when I mount the camera and adapter to the lens, I get the fEE error and a message obscuring the viewfinder that says “Lock lens aperture ring at minimum aperture (largest f/-number).” The lens was at the minimum aperture and locked in that position at the time the camera displayed the error (the camera's error message won't go away unless I dismount the lens).

The same lens works just fine with my D4s/Df/D800 bodies. The only hangup seems to be the Z6.

I also tried the Z6/FTZ combination with a series I AFS 300/2.8 and 400/2.8. Both of those work. I also tried the Z6 with a 400/2.8 AFS D II lens a friend has, and it worked on that one, too.

Has anyone encountered problems when mounting the Z6/FTZ combo to a 600/4? I'm trying to figure out whether this is a bug in the firmware, or an incompatibility that Nikon has not admitted exists.

 

[Allan]

I did not have this problem, but I was told D lenses do not AF with the Z cameras and adapter. I know my 50mm 1.8 D doesn't AF.

 

[integrale]

AFAIK D lenses rely on an in-body focus drive but the FTZ does not have this. D lenses on a Z are then MF only.

This does not explain the error reported above. Have you tried moving the aparture ring away from the max setting and then turn it there after having mounted it?

 

[Allan]

I was just letting the OP know that if the problem just occurs with this lens it is not work bothering about unless he wants to use the 600 as a mf lens.

 

[ImageReflex]

I did not have this problem, but I was told D lenses do not AF with the Z cameras and adapter. I know my 50mm 1.8 D doesn't AF.

I am aware that older, non-AFS lenses, won’t AF with the FTZ adapter. I’m using it with a 600/4 AFS II lens, and although the stupid error message obscures the viewfinder and wont le the camera shoot, activating focus does seem to not only cause the camera to focus the lens, but to do so accurately. The problem with the combination is NOT the focus.

The problem s that the camera seems incapable of understanding that the lens is set to its smallest aperture.

 

[ImageReflex]

AFAIK D lenses rely on an in-body focus drive but the FTZ does not have this. D lenses on a Z are then MF only.

This does not explain the error reported above. Have you tried moving the aparture ring away from the max setting and then turn it there after having mounted it?

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I tried adjusting away from the smallest and back again with no change in the error. I’ve also tried cleaning contacts on the lens, and even tried using a 1.4 teleconverter to rule out any issue with the way that the lens contacts were interacting with the FTZ adapter. The same error appears in the viewfinder, even with the converter.

 

[ImageReflex]

I spoke with Nikon at length yesterday. They keep saying that the combination (Z6/FTZ/600mm) "should" work, and they are investigating further.

In the meantime, I heard from someone whose 28-70/2.8 AFS lens won't work with the Z6 and FTZ. I'm beginning to think that Nikon did not build support for all AF-S lenses into the firmware.

Has anyone else encountered problems using AF-S (non-G) lenses with a Z6 or Z7 and the FTZ adapter?

 

[Walter Rowe]

I have tried my AF-S 17-35/2.8 and AF-S 300/4 (non-VR). Both work fine with FTZ. My other lenses are E lenses (24-70/2.8E, 70-200/2.8E) and work fine with the FTZ.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Hmm, I'd be really mad if Nikon killed support on some AFS I/II lenses. I would contact NPS services at: nikonpro.com

They probably have a better direct line of support to Nikon. Did you try locking the small tab as well on the aperture ring?

 

[ImageReflex]

I'm an NPS member, so it wouldn't surprise me if Nikon took the position that AFS I/II lenses were not supported by the Z6/7. Nikon has already taken that position for purposes of priority repair (only currently supported lenses, and not all AFS I/II lenses, are eligible for priority repair).

I'm less than thrilled that Nikon publicly represented that the Z6 and FTZ adapter is compatible with all AFS lenses, when, in fact, that does not appear to be the case. If I'd known that certain lenses were not supported by the Z6/7, I probably would not have purchased the Z6, and instead, would have considered a more mature mirrorless system.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

I'm an NPS member, so it wouldn't surprise me if Nikon took the position that AFS I/II lenses were not supported by the Z6/7. Nikon has already taken that position for purposes of priority repair (only currently supported lenses, and not all AFS I/II lenses, are eligible for priority repair).

I'm less than thrilled that Nikon publicly represented that the Z6 and FTZ adapter is compatible with all AFS lenses, when, in fact, that does not appear to be the case. If I'd known that certain lenses were not supported by the Z6/7, I probably would not have purchased the Z6, and instead, would have considered a more mature mirrorless system.

I would try the 600mm on another Z or FTZ adapter just to rule out any variances that can cause the electronic contacts not to line up properly. Also did the combination work prior to the FW update? Nikon has a habit of trying to lock out third party manufacturers such as Tamron which has occasional issues after FW updates. Maybe Nikon inadvertently disabled the 600mm AFS I/II? I don't see why that lens would get disabled, but not others.

I'd really press your NPS rep to prioritize Nikon to respond. They could issue a minor FW update to address the problem, which usually happens after major updates since some issues like this can occur (ex: Nikon could do a fw 2.01 update).

 

[acnomad]

I'm an NPS member, so it wouldn't surprise me if Nikon took the position that AFS I/II lenses were not supported by the Z6/7. Nikon has already taken that position for purposes of priority repair (only currently supported lenses, and not all AFS I/II lenses, are eligible for priority repair).

I'm less than thrilled that Nikon publicly represented that the Z6 and FTZ adapter is compatible with all AFS lenses, when, in fact, that does not appear to be the case. If I'd known that certain lenses were not supported by the Z6/7, I probably would not have purchased the Z6, and instead, would have considered a more mature mirrorless system.

I have a 300/2.8D II which functions correctly on the Z6 and Z7 with the FTZ. Since your 600 works on your other bodies, I would suspect the FTZ rather than the lens.

 

[ImageReflex]

I contacted NPS, but the only suggestion I received was try cleaning the contacts with alcohol. My request to escalate the issue was apparently ignored.

 

[ijm5012]

Sam,

So the 600/4 II worked prior to FW 2.00, but does not work on FW 2.00, correct?

If so, then it would point to something getting "missed" in QA when evaluating compatibility across the entire AF-S range (this is likely the case, as others have reported that AF-S lenses with the aperture rings still work OK).

I know it's not of much help, but I would continue to call the help line and make a stink about this.

 

[ImageReflex]

Unfortunately, I did not test the combination before the firmware update. I only received the Z6 at the end of April, and Saturday was the first opportunity I had to put the camera on the 600mm.

 

[ImageReflex]

After today's conversations with Nikon, I'm just about ready to sell off all of my Nikon equipment and replace it.

One Nikon rep admitted that they don't have my series of the 600/4 in the office, and thus, they can't test the Z6/FTZ combination. That rep says that the problem has been escalated in the hopes that someone can figure out another approach to testing this combination.

Another Nikon rep says that the problem must be the lens and that it is in need of service (even though it works with every Nikon DSLR I have), and that I should send it to be serviced even though, as the same rep says, the lens is no longer serviceable (it's an AFS Series II lens--food for thought for those of you who haven't purchased the latest FL versions of lenses yet).

I'm beginning to think that Nikon made a very bold statement about Z6/FTZ compatibility with lenses without bothering to test the lenses claimed to be compatible, and now they don't want to admit that the advertising is actually false.

 

[ijm5012]

After today's conversations with Nikon, I'm just about ready to sell off all of my Nikon equipment and replace it.

One Nikon rep admitted that they don't have my series of the 600/4 in the office, and thus, they can't test the Z6/FTZ combination. That rep says that the problem has been escalated in the hopes that someone can figure out another approach to testing this combination.

Another Nikon rep says that the problem must be the lens and that it is in need of service (even though it works with every Nikon DSLR I have), and that I should send it to be serviced even though, as the same rep says, the lens is no longer serviceable (it's an AFS Series II lens--food for thought for those of you who haven't purchased the latest FL versions of lenses yet).

I'm beginning to think that Nikon made a very bold statement about Z6/FTZ compatibility with lenses without bothering to test the lenses claimed to be compatible, and now they don't want to admit that the advertising is actually false.

So what system will you move to then? Sony doesn't have a 500 or 600mm, only a 400mm. I guess you can adapt Canon EF lenses to an EOS R, but that's a pretty underwhelming camera IMO. Olympus does have a 300mm f/4 lens that's a very nice optic, and the recently released E-M1X has been getting great reviews from owners, but that's the m43 system (not certain if that matters to you or not).

So which system will you be switching to?

 

[ImageReflex]

Right now, I don't know. I've been an NPS member since 1990, and a Nikon shooter for a number of years before that. However, that should give you an idea of how frustrated I am with Nikon over this stupid issue.

Sony has a 400/2.8, and with the extender, that puts me into the same general area as the 600 (as it stands, if I want to use the Z6 with roughly the same thing, I need to use my 400/2.8 with the 1.4 teleconverter, resulting in a 560/4--I made some good images with that combination prior to buying the 600). I know someone who has the Sony, and the lens seems to be a fantastic performer (Sony's eye AF feature really seems to work, and the camera is capable of more like 20 fps instead of 12).

 

[acnomad]

Sony has a 400/2.8, and with the extender, that puts me into the same general area as the 600 (as it stands, if I want to use the Z6 with roughly the same thing, I need to use my 400/2.8 with the 1.4 teleconverter, resulting in a 560/4--I made some good images with that combination prior to buying the 600). I know someone who has the Sony, and the lens seems to be a fantastic performer (Sony's eye AF feature really seems to work, and the camera is capable of more like 20 fps instead of 12).

I watched a couple of the recent reviews of the Sony 400/2.8 and it indeed sounds like a great optic, especially coupled to the A9, a body capable of 20 fps with AF that tracks the eyeballs of soccer players. The linear AF motor sounds like it is lightning fast and the relocation of most of the elements closer to the center of gravity of the lens, not to mention the considerable weight reduction with the PF elements all sound very desirable. Now that Sony is committed to designing and manufacturing exotic long glass specifically made for mirrorless bodies, Nikon (and Canon) are in danger of lagging in both mirrorless body and long lens technology. Perhaps if you said all that to a NPS representative you might get some traction on a solution to the unsatisfactory situation they have placed you in. At a minimum, given the fact that your lens works perfectly fine on every body except your Z6+FTZ, they should offer to send you a replacement body and adapter to try out (without burning one of your annual equipment consignments).

 

[Palouse]

At a minimum, given the fact that your lens works perfectly fine on every body except your Z6+FTZ, they should offer to send you a replacement body and adapter to try out (without burning one of your annual equipment consignments).

Spot on!