Techart TZM-02 Leica M to Nikon Z Autofocus Adapter Review
The second-generation Leica M to Nikon Z AF lens adapter TZM-02 from Techart will be officially released soon. I am fortunate enough to borrow this engineering sample for testing, let’s see how the autofocus performs.
The Techart TZM-02 adapter is now avaliable at techartpro.com. For those who lived in Hong Kong, you can go to jbMall webstore (affiliate link) to buy the lenses.
Specification
Weight: ~150g
Diameter: ～68mm
*Compatible with all the latest Nikon Full Frame & APS-C camera models (Z9, Z7II, Z7, Z6II, Z6,Z5, Z50, Zfc, Z30, etc)
*not applicable to LTM/M mount lenses with a infinity lock button near the lens mount
In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) Settings
By adjusting the aperture value, we can change the focal length value transmitted to the camera to obtain better image stabilization. The relationship between the aperture value and the focal length value transmitted is shown on the following table:
| Aperture Value(F) | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Lens Focal Length(mm) | 135 | 90 | 85 | 75 | 55 | 50 | 40 | 35 |
| Aperture Value(F) | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.6 |
| Lens Focal Length(mm) | 28 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 12 |
| Lens Focal Length(mm)* | 300 | 200 | 180 | 150 |
* 20mm to 12mm and 300mm to 150mm share the same aperture values, you need to adjust the aperture to F8 and press the shutter button to switch between the two sets of value.
The aperture value of the camera body does not affect the metering of the camera, aperture value will affect the camera IBIS setting and the focal length value in the EXIF. If the focal length of the lens is not in the above list, we can choose a value closest to the focal length of the lens. For example, you can choose F1.1(90mm) for a 100mm lens and so on.
Position of the Adapter when Power Off
Adjust the aperture to F6.3 and press the shutter button, the adapter will remain in place when the camera is turned off.
Adjust the aperture to F7.0 and press the shutter button, the adapter will automatically retract to the infinity position when the camera is turned off.
Build and Design
The lens mount adopts a similar design to the LM-EA9 adapter introduced earlier. The autofocus is achieved by pushing the lens back and forth. Compared to the first-generation adapter TZM-01, this second generation adapter is more compact by removing the bulge at the bottom.
Focus Distance
Since the AF adapter itself acts as a variable extension tube, the minimum focus distance of the lens will change when the adapter is in operation. The following table summarizes the change in minimum focus distance of the commonly used lenses.
| Lens Focal Length | Lens Focused at (Meter) | Minimum Focus Distance with TZM-02 (Meter) |
|---|---|---|
| 35mm | 0.7 | <0.35 |
| 35mm | ∞ (無限遠) | <0.45 |
| 50mm | 1 | ~0.5 |
| 50mm | ∞ (無限遠) | <0.8 |
| 90mm | 1 | ~0.75 |
| 90mm | ∞ (無限遠) | <2.3 |
Focus Speed (Stills Mode)
The focusing speed and stability of Techart TZM-02’s on the Nikon Z 7II is significantly improved over the previous generation. Please refers to the following test videos:
The following video tests the focus speed when AF-C is used at different aperture:
Focus Speed (Video Mode)
Because four small servo motors were used instead of one in the previous generation, the autofocus performance on video moade was greatly improved. The following video was shot with a 55mm F1.2 lens. For such a shallow depth of field, you can still focus accurately on the cat’s eye most of the time. When the lens is out of focus, the adapter can re-focus the cat’s eyes very quickly.
Conclusion
I found the TZM-02 on the Nikon Z 7II has a larger focus area compare to the LM-EA9 on the Sony A7IV. In Video Mode, such autofocus performance will allow many Leica M mount lenses used for video without any modification. If you have any questions on this Techart TZM-02 adapter, fell free to leave a message using the comment section below.
Hello, I am really disappointed by the way the company reacts to my malfunctiong TZM-02. THey do not react.
I bought the TZM-02 from Amazon in Germany in September 2023 for around 360 euros, assuming that the legal warranty rules also apply here. The adapter arrived after a while and everything worked perfectly with my NIKON z6ii and the Leica M lenses. I was very excited. It happened two weeks ago during a photo shoot with a Leica -M- 28 mm lens. The first ten recordings were good, then nothing worked anymore. There was only a blurry image in the viewfinder and no movement in the lens and nothing could be focused manually either. A photography colleague lent me a Z autofocus lens, which worked without any problems. I was worried that the camera’s internal electronics had been damaged. Fortunately, this was not the case. At home I checked various settings. To no avail, the adapter stopped working. I contacted the seller via Amazon, who then sent me a link to a strange Chinese website so that I could perform a firmware update on the adapter. Unfortunately, that didn’t work, which is what I told him. Then nothing came from the seller. I then contacted Amazon, who immediately confirmed receipt of my email and that experts would take care of this case. So far nothing has happened.
It’s identical with Megadap and their ETZ21 Sony E > Nikon Z adapter. The support from these vendors/manufacturers ends the day you purchase the adapter > from then on you’re on your own. No warranty periods, no refunds, no replacement, no servicing, nothing, no replies to your e-mails, nada … And one simply has to take this into account when buying these adapters.
Thanks for sharing your experience! If you have not updated the firmware of the camera, the adapter should work without any firmware update. Wish you will hear news from Amazon soon.
Hi,
Very hepfull article. Thank you
I saw that the TZM-02 is scheduled for mid-February.. Do you think there is a manufacturing difficulty on this product? I think switch to Sony if necessary.
I am not a representative of Techart so I don’t know what caused the delay. Pick whatever that fits your camera.
Thanks for this. It’s not clear to me when and where I need to adjust the aperture value. Can you please explain more in detail? Thanks!
You can adjust the aperture value the same way as you are using an native Z mount AF lens. I have explained how the aperture value works it in the review and you can refer to the official manual https://techartpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/User-Manual-TZM02.pdf .
Just started using TZM-02 on my Nikon Z 8 … with 7Artisans 28/1.4 it’s so bad, I can actually say it does not work at all; it fails at acquiring focus 19 times out of 20. Useless.
With Voigtlander 21/1.4 and 40/1.2 it works … kind of. It manages to get focus in about 6 tries out of 10, but when it gets stuck, it’s game over > camera reset, battery out and such.
It basically is a disaster; at 500-530€ for European customers (price + shipping + customs + VAT) selling this is almost a crime. It should work much, much better than this. As it is > not worth 50€ and I regret I made the purchase!
BTW; with the new Z f things are even worse.
I tried the TZM-02 on a ZF and I can confirm your observation: the adapter shows more focus hunting on a ZF than on Z7II. On some of the less sharp lens, it never nail the focus. I have reported this to Techart and I hope they will release a new firmware to address the issue.
got it, not worth it… very inconsistent focusing, forget about autofocus indoors, less painful to focus manually
Thanks for your feedback. Let us see if firmware update will improve the focusing.
Did you notice that the adapter really struggle to recover when the subject becomes way too out of focus? Let’s say you try to focus on a white wall with no contrast, and the adapter would extend all the way and get confused because everything becomes a blur right now. You have to find something closer to the focal plane before the adapter would return to normal operation. With native lenses the focus motor would attempt to rack back and forth in this situation and quickly finds the subject again. This is something I rarely experience with the TZM-01 but easy to trigger on the 2nd generation.
Yes. I notice this few times when testing the engineering sample. It seems this issue persist on the retail version. This should be fixable via a firmware update.
Will this adapter work on a Nikon Z5?
Hi jim,
This adapter will works on a Nikon Z5.
Hi,
how about the sound. Is the new Techart ZM2 for Leica M to Nikon 7 as loud as the previous one?
Hi,
The Techart TZM-02 is much less lossy than the TZM-01. You can hear the focusing sound on the video test https://youtu.be/GzxEbsSCujc .