Sony NEX to Nikon Z homemade Mount adaptor

To use Nikon-Z camera with my system, I needed to make a mount adaptor to attach Sony NEX optics on Nikon-Z which is not available on the market.  —– If it is not there, why not to make one myself (is my motto).  Since I made so many lenses etc to use on Sony A7R, to remake them for Nikon-Z mount is too much work. 

And to have a lens comparison kind of work, there are so many mount adaptor to EOS but very few to Nikon, its mean, since I got EOS to NEX adaptor, such as Rollei to EOS, Contax to EOS, etc, and EOS to NEX, Leica to NEX then NEX to N-Z, all those lenses could be summarized on Nikon-Z . (in theory but may not be in practice. 😀 )  (So far, it seems that the N-Z7 camera can easily deal with even a dark pinhole while showing very little noise, they seems to be pretty usable and in comparison, in camera VR seems to be very effective.   (However, intentionally set M mode, 1/2 second for the test, still the result was not shaky picture —– It’s too good to be true though, it was discovered that it was not because of the VR but the shatter makes very little vibration and the lens I used (Canon 100mm macro F2.8 with proxer) happen to be very solid and steady even for handheld shooting.)

But the hidden cost of N-Z was, —– that the XQD memory card is hugely expensive and we need to buy Sony XQD card reader for a whopping cost of £40 ! —– I thought, card reader should be about £5 though, in close look both of them were rare Made in Japan, not from China or Korea but by Sony themselves ! —– then there was a second thought, wait a moment, has Sony got memory factory ? = the XQD Memory chip might come from Toshiba Yokkaichi Factory. )   😀

There is only 2 mm gap between those 2 mount. (Nikon Z got 16mm and Sony NEX is 18mm)   2 mm is so small to fill —– you may think, though it is a quite troublesome 2 mm.    Unlike M42 (Pentax screw mount), bayonet mount needs to fill many requirements.  Bayonet claws needed to have slick enough but not wobbling, tight enough spring to hold the male craw, and as it can slip off, it needs to have a secure stopper pin. etc etc.  Use Nikon F lens on Canon EOS case, the EOS mount was large enough to accommodate Nikon bayonet therefore 2.5mm gap was enough to make an adaptor. (so, we can easily get them cheap about £5 from China)   

The another trouble between NEX and N-Z is, Sony lens wouldn’t work on anywhere else, other than a Sony camera.   There is no manual focus ring, neither manual F stop control.  Attempt to use Sony lens on N-Z would be useless = forget it. —– Yet still, as all of my homemade lenses are utterly bare minimum = nothing automatic, there wouldn’t be any problem of those functions.  = as long as my optics stays there securely, I can take picture, and that is all what I need.

Base material I got for mount adaptor was a 58mm reverse adaptor for Nikon-Z from China. = This adaptor goes to Nikon side.  And to receive the bottom of Sony side was, simply a rear lens cap for Sony lens.  

Then the work starts.  They are all very very simple work = scrape off the 58mm screw part on the ring.  And to cut out the bayonet part from the lens cap.  —– Still it took nearly half day. (don’t get short-tempered = it would spoil all the effort done within a short second = Be a good Buddhist ! —– remember, even a rain drop would carve the rock)  😀    (If you got a good milling machine, even a bench drill with milling bit, such kind of work would be a matter of few minutes though the machine wouldn’t make you enlightened)   😀

 

(by the way,  the surface of the adaptor photo left, was finished with oil-stone)

Then, insert the bayonet ring of the lens cap into the N-Z adaptor ring and fix it.  (The lens on the adaptor would be as secure as how the lens cap stays on the lens = don’t expect too much —– anyhow, the cost of this adaptor was only about £6 or so) —— (and get enlightened was an option   😀  )

Voila, NEX to N-Z lens mount adaptor (though, it has no stopper pin, the heavy lens could fallen off, yet still, it works perfect with my homemade — such as 110 Pentax lens, Vest Pocket camera lens etc etc.  

Thanks goodness, I did very good job ! 

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Over a year, after Nikon Z came to the world, now the adaptor NEX lens to N-Z camera appeared on the market. The product which I got from China was well made and only about £10 = it convinced me that it would be cheaper to buy this than to make one out of Nikon-Z 58 mm reverse ring, which I did in this post.

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A cool customer like me who need to use the adaptor only for the homemade NEX mount lens, this adaptor works perfect, but if anybody who wants to use a genuine Sony lens on Nikon-Z would be utterly disappointed. The Sony lens was not designed to work manual on any camera body other than Sony. So, never attempt to do it, or to buy this adaptor.

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