Techart adapter TZM-02 - Autofocus your M lenses

[Leicaboy Norway]

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Hello guys!

Just wanted to share how I like and how I'm using the Techart adapter, TZM 02. And also what this adapter is.

I bought the adapter with my own money and have not spoken to the people who make it

What is it? How does it work?

- It's an electronic adapter to put on the mount of your Nikon and Sony mirrorless cameras. I have the Nikon one and for what it's worth, I've heard the Nikon one works better, especially for ZF and another pretty new mirrorless Nikon (don't remember which one)..

- I've heard from people who love it (like me), and people who said it doesnt work or broke, and they can't get in touch with the manufacturer, and people who say it's alright but nothing more.

- When you put the adapter on your Nikon, you then put a Leica M lens in the adapter and it allows you to autofocus your M lens with Nikon. How? By pushing your lens back and forward. 

- It will even allow you to use eye af. Supposedly the TZM-02 is an upgrade from the original (which I never tried), and now has 2 or 3 small motors inside the adapter.

My experience

For me it was a gamble and pretty much why I bought the Nikon ZF. I had the Q 3 43 but sold it. This is more fun (for me), not saying the q43 isn't great, but wow this is fun.

I'm nailing portraits with eye af on 1.4 with my summilux 50 asph. And my 35mm summicron asph is shining too.

 

It seems like the smallest m lenes work better. And supposedly there are issues with FLE lenses. AFIK my 50 1.4 asph is fle, isnt it? Anyway, it is working pretty good for me. Sometimes it can struggle with close focus, but if you adjust manually on the focusing tab you can now also focus closer than 0,7 with these ragnefinder lenses on the nikon.

 

I took it a step further and got more adapters. I got a Pentax K to M mount and a Contax CY to M mount so I could do more autofocus of vintage lenses. Again, heavier lenses struggle more. It says it can take 500g, but I don't know.

Last weekend I went cross country skiing with the Contax Zeiss 35-70mm f/3.4 on my Nikon ZF with the adapter and I got some great shots. AF isn't as reliable as the tiny Summicron 35 asph, but it's good. 

I still have my Pentax K-1, and some Pentaxians will tell you the Pentax 43mm 1.9 limited in k mount will focus fast. If so, the techart is lightning fast, it's the same principle as far as I know, but it does it faster. It's not as good as the native AF glass available for Nikon ZF, but it's pretty darn good in my experience.

 

I got the adapter from aliexpress before christmas, they had some sort of sale. I guess you would be in trouble if it breaks. And the evidence seem to say it can break.

BUT that being said, I haven't had this much fun in a while.

Edited February 14 by Leicaboy Norway

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[Ernstk]

Expensive?

[Leicaboy Norway]

9 minutes ago, Ernstk said:

Expensive?

I think I paid $200 for it, maybe $250.

Let's put it like this: if it works and doesnt get bricked, it's a steal, otherwise, kinda expensive

Would love to hear if anyone else here is using the adapter too

[Leicaboy Norway]

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[wda]

Quote, When you put the adapter on your Nikon, you then put a Leica M lens in the adapter and it allows you to autofocus your M lens with Nikon. How? By pushing your lens back and forward.  unquote

Unbelievable!

 

[Leicaboy Norway]

37 minutes ago, wda said:

Quote, When you put the adapter on your Nikon, you then put a Leica M lens in the adapter and it allows you to autofocus your M lens with Nikon. How? By pushing your lens back and forward.  unquote

Unbelievable!

 

Right?!

One thing is how the quality of the Leica M glass is superb.

But the size too make them so convenient.

I do wish the Nikon ZF was smaller though, that's my only complaint  The ZF is a bit wider and a bit more chuncky than a Leica Q for example.

[lct]

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5 hours ago, Leicaboy Norway said:

[...] supposedly there are issues with FLE lenses. AFIK my 50 1.4 asph is fle, isnt it? [...]

I don’t see significant differences between FLE lenses and non FLE lenses the way i use my Techart LM-EA7 adapter on Sony body. In both cases, i prefocus the lens manually till it looks sharp enough in the EVF and i let the adapter nail the focus. BTW, as faras my lenses are concerned, the Summilux 50/1.4 asph v1 is a FLE lens indeed, the Summicron 50/2 apo too, also the Summilux 35/1.4 FLE v1 and the Summicron 75/2 apo. All work well with my Techart LM-EA7, not to say that i use it much as i prefer manual focus anyway but i say this just for info.