Photography News Issue 63

Photography News | Issue 63 | photographynews.co.uk

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First tests

Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S £599

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Specs

The 50mm focal length is the classic standard prime lens for the 35mm format. It was the lens that cameras came bundled with – and for good reason. The view and perspective you get with a 50mm is natural and the lenses themselves are usuallynice and compact, have a fast aperture and are fine performers. The first thing that strikes home about the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S is its size and weight. It’s 86.5mm long and weighs 415g, compared to the 54mm and 280g of the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G and the 52.5mm and 185g of the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G. So, the new lens is both longer and heavier than existing Nikon 50mm lenses, which is no big deal, but we all thought mirrorless would save weight and bulk. When you look at the combined size comparisons, then the Z 7 with 50mm combination is more portable than the D850/50mm duo. We tried the Z-fit 50mm f/1.8 on a Z 7, with its 45.7-megapixel sensor sure to give the lens a good test. On the Z 7 camera body, the 50mm balances well, despite its size. The knurled focusing ring, which takes up half the lens’s length, is smooth in operation and gives full-time manual override. The only control on the lens is AF/ manual focus slider. That’s it. There is

Price

£599

Format Full-frame Mount Nikon Z

Autofocus Auto/manual

F/1.8

Construction 12 elements in nine groups Special lens elements Two ED elements, two aspherical elements Coatings Nano crystal coat Filter size 62mm Aperture range F/1.8-16 Diaphragm Nine blades Internal focus Yes Manual focus Yes Minimum focus 40cm Focus limiter No Distance scale No Depth-of-field scale No Image stabiliser No. In-camera VR Tripod collar No Lens hood HB-90 bayonet hood supplied Weather-sealed Dust and water sealed. Fluorine coating on front element repels dust and water Dimensions (dxl) 76x86.5mm Weight 415g Contact nikon.co.uk Although not a direct lens or camera comparison, I was keen to see how new tech fared against not-quite-so- new tech. I grabbed the Nikon D850 with the 50mm f/1.4G and did a few side by side shots with the 50mm f/1.8 S on the Z 7. This pair was shot at IWM Duxford using both cameras handheld. The exposure was 1/500sec at f/1.8, ISO 200 and processed through Lightroomwith default settings. The results from both cameras were impressive and, with better processing and some unsharp mask, there would be no problem using both shots big. There’s no doubt, however, that the 50mm f/1.8 on the Z 7 was the superior performer, with slightly better detail and contrast. Old v new

F/2.8

Above The Z 50mm f/1.8 S performed really well at open aperture

F/4

no vibration reduction system in the lens needed, because it’s all built into the camera body. With no focusing distance scale or depth-of-field scale, the lens looks rather bare, but that doesn’t deflect from the lens’s focusing and optical skills, which both rate highly. You get an impressive showing across the frame at f/1.8 and it only

gets better and better with stopping down. Wide open, the centre is better than the edges, but there is not a great deal in it and stopping down (even to f/2.8) improves the whole picture. By the time you get to f/5.6 and f/8, you feel assured of a leading-edge performance with fine detail that’s very nicely recorded. That remains true until you get to f/11 and f/16, where the image is softened a little by diffraction. Vignetting at the widest aperture is obvious, even with the Nikon Z 7’s in-camera menu item ‘vignette control’ switched on. So, if you want evenly lit shots, you will have to add some editing. The vignetting disappears from f/2.8 onwards. Shooting directly towards the light – even with the sun’s disk in the frame and without the hood – was well-handled and no nasty flare spots appeared, so that was an impressive showing from the lens, too. There is much to like about this lens, so although it appears expensive for a standard prime of modest aperture (Panasonic’s new S series 50mm f/1.4 is truly expensive), you do get a very fine-quality lens. WC

F/5.6

F/8

F/11

F/16

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D850 with 50mm f/1.4 at f/1.8

Verdict

Nikon Z system owners looking for a top standard lens can invest in this 50mm f/1.8 without any worries. It is a very high performance lens and, while it is not the most compact or cheapest 50mm standard lens around, it’s worth a serious look, because it is a crackerjack of a lens.

Z 7 and 50mm f/1.8 wide open

Pros Optical performance Cons Large for a 50mm f/1.8 prime, the price

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