Photography News 75 NEWSLETTER

First test

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PRICE: £1049

NIKON.CO.UK

Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S

SPECS › Price £1049 › In the box Nikkor Z24mm f/1.8 S lens, LC-72B cap, LF-N1 rear cap, HB-88 hood, CL-C1 case › Format 35mm full-frame, Nikon FX › Mount/s NikonZ › Construction 12 elements in 10 groups › Special lens elements One ED and four aspherical elements › Coatings Nano Crystal Coat › Filter size 72mm › Aperture range f/1.8 to f/16 › Diaphragm 9 blades › Autofocus yes › Manual focus yes › Internal focus yes › Minimum focus 25cm › Focus limiter No › Maximummagnification 0.15x › Distance scale No › Depth-of-field scale No › Image stabilizer No › Weather-sealed Yes › Other key features Programmable ring, SilentWave AFmotors › Dimensions 78x96.5mm › Weight 450g › Contact nikon.co.uk

With Nikon’s range of Z series lenses steadily growing, this fast wide-angle is well worth a look

This prime joins Nikon’s mirrorless Z range and as a full frame lens – FX in Nikon-land – it’s matched with the Z 6 and Z 7 bodies, giving a decent wide- angle, but not ultra-wide view. Use it in those cameras’ DX crop mode, or with the recent Z 50 you’ll get a 36mm equivalent. As an S lens it sits at the upper end of the range and its f/1.8 aperture makes it plenty fast enough for low-light and subject separation. We tested it on a Nikon Z 7 body. The Z 24mm f/1.8 S is by no means small, projecting quite a long way from the camera – but it’s not massively different in size of weight to the F-mount equivalent – just about 100g heavier and 13mm longer. It feels pretty well balanced on the Z 7 though, and is light by some standards. It’s weather sealed, and has a metal mount, both of which you’d expect for the outlay. The lens’s length provides plenty of room to grip the barrel, and as most of it is taken up by a finely grooved manual focus ring, you’re not going to struggle to find that. Like all Z lenses, the ring can be programmed to other camera functions, like exposure compensation or aperture, but these didn’t feel as precise to me as using the traditional buttons on the camera. There’s only one switch, which sets manual or autofocus. This all makes the lens feel, in one way, streamlined, or in another, a bit naked. For over £1000, a lens function button would have been nice, as on the Z 24-70mm f/2.8. There’s no VR switch as image stabilisation is dealt with by the Z 6 and Z 7 bodies.

If you’re planning to twin this with the Z 50 you won’t get VR at all, but in fairness, the price makes this unlikely. Manual focus is good, albeit with the slight feeling of disconnection that a non-mechanical ring gives. But there’s certainly enough accuracy, aided by a long throw and the Z bodies’ focus peaking and magnified views. This became obvious when I took advantage of the lens’s close focusing – the 25cmminimum limit got me right on top of small details, and was a benefit for textured foregrounds. You get great separation focusing that close. Switching to AF, I got some excellent front-to-back sharpness combining the close focusing with the Z bodies’ Focus Shift mode. And generally AF performed well. It isn’t the most decisive or speedy, but I had little trouble locking on in all but the darkest of low-contrast situations, and it’s very quiet. Using the Z 7 Eye and Face AF modes, it also performed well, keeping moving people in focus nine times out of ten, even at the wider apertures. In that way, it makes a neat walkaround, or documentary lens. At this price, you’d expect decent image quality, and the Z 24mm f/1.8 delivers. It’s very sharp wide open in the centre, reaching its peak around f/4. The best edge-to-edge sharpness was from f/5.6 to f/8, we found. There’s little or no distortion, and flare and fringing are both very well controlled. Vignetting is present wide open, but is eliminated after f/4. Overall an excellent performance. KS

ABOVE The Z 24mm f/1.8 S is a superb lens, giving excellent results in landscapes. Its lack of distortion makes it useful for architecture and interiors, too. Is it a vital buy if you have the 24-70mm f/4 or f/2.8? Perhaps only if you need the extra speed

No complaints about the Z 24mm f/1.8 S in terms of image quality. It can be used wide open and still delivers excellent sharpness in the centre. If you want optimum edge to edge results, you'll find them from f/5.6 to f/8.

F/1.8

F/2.8

F/4

Verdict If you’ve invested inNikon’sZseries, you’ll likely have plumped for the 24-70mm f/4 or f/2.8 alongwith the body. So is this a vital purchase only if you value the handling of a prime,want towork in very low light, or need subject separation inwide-angle view– it’s‘only’an f/1.8, but all of those things it does very nicely.There’s aZ20mm f/1.8 on the horizon, so that could beworthwaiting for if youwant awider view, but this is an excellent lens that won’t disappoint.

F/5.6

F/8

PROS Build, aperture, handling, excellent image quality CONS Not all that fast or cheap

F/11

F/16

Go to photographynews.co.uk to see more images from the Nikon Z 24mm f/18 S

Issue 75 | Photography News 81

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