Photography News Issue 66

Photography News | Issue 66 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Nikon 14-30mm f/4 S £1349

Specs

Up until the release of the Nikon 14- 30mm f/4 S, Nikon Z userswanting an ultra-wide angle zoom had no choice but to use F mount lenses via the FTZ adapter. There’s nothing wrong with that, and several great models to choose from, including Nikon’s and Sigma’s 14-24mm f/2.8s, but now the 14-30mm f/4 S is here and designed to take advantage of the new, wider Z mount, which should mean improved image quality. But with a 14-24mm f/2.8 S coming in 2020, is this lens an essential purchase, or one to avoid? At £1349, it’s certainly beyond an impulse purchase, but although it’s ‘only’ an f/4 lens and therefore not exactly ‘fast’, the aperture is constant, so it’s just as bright at the long end as the short. You’re only losing a stop versus an f/2.8 lens, meaning it’s just the same jump in ISO to compensate, which isn’t a problem on the Z Series cameras as they’re excellent noise performers. A positive of an f/4 aperture is that the 14-30mm is small and light. At 485g it’s half the weight of the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G’s 970g, and of course you need to couple that with the 130g FTZ converter to use it on the Z 6 or Z 7. In terms of size, the 14-30mm is only 85mm long when retracted, thanks to the travel-friendly locking system, and extends to about 120mm at 14mm. The advantages are clear – it makes the lens tiny and therefore highly attractive for travel work or lightweight landscaping. It handles well – the grooved zoom and control rings are both easily accessed from your supporting hand, as is the AF/MF switch. The zoom throw is only 45º, so you can adjust

For a lens this wide, light and versatile, the 14-30mm f/4 S puts in a stellar performance. Claims of excellent image quality on the Z series are well founded, as the lens is very sharp and suffers from few distortions. In real-world examples it’s brilliant, and won’t disappoint. Should Z Series users wait for 2020’s 14-24mm f/2.8 S? Maybe, if you truly need f/2.8. In any case, if the upcoming lens beats it, this would be a great travel option in its own right, and though not cheap, it’s certainly going to be more affordable. Pros Image quality, build, size, focusing, weather sealing, filter use Cons Price, f/4 maximum aperture, control ring easy to nudge There’s some vignetting, which disappears quickly as you stop down, but very little discernible fringing. Points of light were well retained at the edges of the frame, so it’s good for night work. There’s no obvious distortion, but this may be due to correctionbeingappliedautomatically to the Z Series’ Raw files in Photoshop and Lightroom. It can’t be turned off, so it’s difficult to know how much of the frame edge is being lost. At the end of the day, it gives superb results. KS Verdict AF performance is great. It’s fast and accurate, and seemed more brisk than the 24-70mm f/2.8 S and 24- 70mm f/4 S to me. It’s quiet, too, and the closest distance is 28cm, so you can get lots of rich foreground detail. The 14-30mm f/4 S will take regular screw-in filters, or holder rings on the front element – this is a big deal. As far as I know there are no 14mm zooms out there that don’t require a specialised – and expensive – holder to fit the grads and regular NDs vital for landscaping. The thread is 82mm, which may mean upgrading your filters, but that’s a small price to pay for the convenience. In use, I found the 14mm surprisingly wide, having got used to working with a 20mm prime as my widest lens. It takes some getting used to because it’s very easy to get all foreground and no subject. But you can also get some amazing skies with it, daytime and low light. Obviously, you also get the option of tightening composition through to 30mm, and there it’s a useful setting for documentary work. In terms of image quality, the 14- 30mm f/4 S really shines. Thanks to the much larger image circle allowed by the Z mount design it’s sharp from centre to edge. In our tests, running through the apertures at 14mm, 22mm and 30mm, the 14-30mm was excellent at the centre from wide open until the very smaller apertures, peaking around f/5.6 to f/11, and this was the case throughout the zoom. Edgesharpnessisgood, onlysmearing in the very corners, and improving as the focal lengths increase or aperture was stopped down.

Prices

£1349

Format Full-frame Mount Nikon Z

Autofocus Yes with manual override Construction

14 elements in 12 groups Special lens elements 4x ED and 4x aspherical elements Coatings Nano Crystal Coat, fluorine-coated front element Filter size 82mm Aperture range f/4 to f/22 Diaphragm 7 blades Internal focus Yes Minimum focus 28cm Focus limiter No Angle of view 114-72° Distance scale No Depth-of-field scale No Image stabiliser No (in-camera) Lens hood Included Weather-sealed Yes Dimensions (dxl) 89x85mm (retracted) Weight 485g Contact nikon.co.uk

composition quickly, and it feels very smooth in operation. The control ring, which like other Z lenses can be set to manual focus, aperture, exposure compensationor off is, I think, too light

and easy to move by accident. Several times in shooting I brushed it and changed focus or exposure. It would be great if there was a way to lock it, somehow.

14mm

22mm

30mm

F/4

F/5.6

F/8

F/11

F/16

F/22