caffeine65 Loc: Milwaukee, WI

Good Evening all,
This is a PEBCAC issue (problem exists between chair and camera). :) I inherited my dad's Nikon z50. I am enjoying taking pictures with it (I had been using a Nikon P900 which I still love). The problem is that I am having issues attaching the "big" lens. My dad had purchased a Sigma 150-600mm. He experimented with it a few times (he loved taking pictures of birds from a distance). Now when I try to attach the lens to the camera it does not attach. I can get the existing lens (a 50-250 that came with the camera) on and off with no problems - just not the Sigma. (Matching up the white dot on the lens to the white dot on the camera.) Is it possible the lens is missing something for it to attach? The existing l I have pictures attached of the base. The 50-250 does look slightly different. Thanks all for helping with my dumb question. My dad always loved this site and this forum.

Grump's Photos Loc: Dunedin FL

First, I think that the lens is an F-mount lens, and second, the camera uses lenses built for the Z-mount. If that is truly what you are dealing with, there has to be an adapter between the lens and the camera body. Nikon calls this the FTZ because it adapts F mount lenses To Z mount bodies. If your Dad was actually using this combo, there has to be an FTZ adapter around somewhere.......
Andy

caffeine65 Loc: Milwaukee, WI

Thanks. He had it set up a few times last fall when he was photographing birds. I will look through his stuff to see if I can find one.

Najataagihe

Condolences on the loss of your father.

niteman3d Loc: South Central Pennsylvania, USA

Here's an idea of what you're looking for... there are two of them, but either will work on the Z50. Good luck!
https://silentpeakphoto.com/gear/lenses/lens-news/ftz-ii-versus-ftz-adapter/

MrPhotog

Just a thought: Check to see if the adapter is already attached to another lens. If your dad had one ‘F’ mount lens, he may have had more, and shared the adapter between them.

caffeine65 Loc: Milwaukee, WI

Thank you.

caffeine65 Loc: Milwaukee, WI

Thank you all for your help!

MRHooker2u Loc: Kingston, WA

This brings back old memories of a computer tech I once worked with. Whenever there was a computer issue he always attributed it to the "loose nut between the chair and the computer"!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I agree... you need a Nikon F-mount to Nikon Z-mount adapter.

The F-mount was used by Nikon from 1959 to present on their SLRs and DSLRs. There have been some changes to it over the years, as aperture control was automated and became electronic and lenses transitioned from manual focus to autofocus. There are several types of those adapters... some more expensive, some less expensive. But they differ in the type of lens that can be adapted.

However, if the lens has electronic contacts (as seen in both your photos), the adapter also needs to have electronic contacts in order to work correctly. While the cheaper, simpler adapter without electronic connectivity will allow the lens to be mounted onto the camera, it will be manual focus only and you'll be unable to adjust the lens aperture.

If there are more F-mount lenses you need to adapt, look closely at them. Obviously that Sigma 150-600mm requires the type of adapter that has the electronic contacts. You may also see lenses that are manual focus only and use a mechanical ring on the rear to adjust the lens aperture. Those use one of the simpler, less expensive types of adapters. There are also lenses that use a mechanical means of adjusting the aperture, but don't have a ring do do so. Some of the adapters are designed to accommodate that type, too.

There are also Nikon F-mount autofocus lenses that don't have a motor in the lens itself, but use a "screw drive" motor in the camera body to autofocus. None of the Z-series camera or adapters support this type of autofocus, AFAIK... So while they can be fitted and, depending upon type, the aperture can be controlled, those lenses will be manual focus only (examples include the Tokina 100mm and Nikkor 200mm macro lenses).

Looking for the F to Z adapters that support the electronically controlled lenses, all I could finder were Nikon's own. They have two... the original FTZ and the FTZ "II". The original FTZ has a "bump" on the bottom which is designed to allow some lenses to be mounted onto a tripod. However, it also gets in the way of mounting some other lenses on a tripod, so they created a "II" version without that "bump".

Nikon FTZ: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1488632-REG/nikon_4185b_ftz_mount_adapter.html

Nikon FTZ II: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1669887-REG/nikon_niftz2_ftz_ii_mount_adapter.html

Here is a list of the F to Z adapters that B&H Photo offers: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Lens-Adapters/ci/3420/N/4077634486?filters=fct_accelerator-booster-turbo-hidden_6898%3Ano%2Cfct_camera-body-mount_1595%3Anikon-z-mount%2Cfct_lens-mount_1596%3Anikon-f%7Cnikon-f-e-type-lens%7Cnikon-f-g-type-lens

Among those the $39 Urth adapter is the type that works with lenses that are manual focus only and have a ring built in to adjust the aperture. The $79 Fotodiox Pro adapter is the type for manual focus lenses without the aperture adjustment ring.

Note: A couple of the adapters on that list have other features... The 2 or 3 with a helicoid presumably are used to also serve as a macro extension tube. Another I noticed has a built in variable ND filter. I would avoid those unless they meet your specific needs.