There are some drawbacks, and in this review, I will cover all of the pros and cons, as well as which types of photography I believe the “FC” is perfect for. With that said, let’s dive in!

Nikon Z fc Specifications

• SENSOR: 21-megapixel CMOS sensor, APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm)
• LENS MOUNT: Nikon Z (Mirrorless)
• STILL IMAGES: 5568 x 3712 pixels, NEF raw, (12-bit, 14-bit) JPG
• VIDEO: 4K 30p, H.264
• ISO: 100-51200 (HI ISO up to 204800)
• AUTOFOCUS: Hybrid AF, 209 points, face/eye detection
• SHOOTING SPEED (FPS): 11 FPS 12-bit raw, 9 FPS 14-bit raw
• SHUTTER SPEEDS: 30-1/4000 sec, Bulb
• STABILIZATION: No (Only with certain lenses)
• VIEWFINDER: 2.36 MP EVF, 1.02x magnification
• LCD: 3-inch, 1.04 MP, fully-articulated touchscreen
• CONNECTIVITY: USB 3.2 (PD power), micro HDMI, Wifi, Bluetooth
• STORAGE: SD (single slot)
• BATTERY: EN-EL25 (300-shot rating)
• BODY CONSTRUCTION: Metal alloy & high-grade plastic
• SIZE: 135 x 94 x 44 mm (5.31 x 3.7 x 1.73″)
• WEIGHT: 445 g (0.98 lb / 15.70 oz)
• PRICE: $956 ($1096 with lens)
  (B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

Nikon Z fc Review | Who Should Buy It?

The Nikon Z fc is a great camera for any photographer, whether you’re a beginner, a serious hobbyist, or even a professional looking for an everyday camera. It’s not a flagship pro camera, but it’s not trying to be, of course. The Z fc is a lot like the classic Nikon FG etc that it harkens back to: an everyday camera you can take everywhere.

However, there are still two main questions you should ask yourself when considering the Z fc. First and foremost, are you mostly a photographer, or are you more of a vlogger and/or videographer? Because if you’re the latter, you should wait for our Nikon Z30 review to come out; that camera is made specifically for vlogging and video.

Of course, the second question is, how much do you like the retro style? Do you appreciate the nostalgic look and the mechanical operation of a classic camera, or are you indifferent? If the visual appeal isn’t there, then while I would question your eyesight and your taste, I’d also recommend checking out the Nikon Z50, since it is best described as a Z fc with more modern ergonomics.

There’s a lot more to it than that, and we’ll talk about additional alternatives later, but for now, you get the idea.

Travel, Vacation, & Wanderlust Adventure Photography

If you have a big vacation or any type of adventure coming up, you’re probably looking for a camera that can do a little of everything, without being a chore to carry. Therefore, you want it to be compact and portable, of course, yet as capable and versatile as possible. You don’t want to stand out as a typical tourist with a huge (and expensive-looking) camera. Yet, at the same time, you want a camera that looks cool, right?

The Nikon Z fc is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s portable enough that you’ll happily take it everywhere you go, and it’s got a classic look that fits in anywhere. Whether you’re photographing a dramatic landscape, a concert, or just candid snapshots on the beach or around town, you’ll enjoy the experience of having the Z fc with you, and the image results will look highly professional.

Everyday Candid & Street Photography

The Nikon Z fc is the camera I would carry around with me everywhere in daily life, too. Whether it is simply hanging out with friends, family, and/or pets, or if it’s an outing to a theme park or a weekend hike, I once again appreciate the camera’s portability, as well as the physical controls that set it apart from entry-level cameras with limited controls.

My favorite pairing was the Nikon Z fc with the Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8, which is a great DX-FX “bridge lens” at a mere ~$275. Personally, just for the sake of aesthetic appeal, I opted for the “special edition” with its Nikkor AIS-like appearance, for $306. With an equivalent focal length of 42mm, it was great for casual snapshots of daily life.

Portrait photographers might instead appreciate the Nikon Z 40mm f/2, another FX lens that is DX budget-friendly at about $275, with an equivalent focal length of 60mm. More on that next…

Portrait & Wedding Photography

Obviously, this is not a professional camera, but its sensor delivers professional-level image quality, and its aesthetic is certainly classy enough to be seen at any event. If I’m not “on the clock” and responsible for guaranteeing certain results, then I would rather be seen with this camera around my neck compared to anything else! For paid wedding photography, however, I do absolutely require a camera with dual card slots, flagship level autofocus reliability, and preferably in-body stabilization to go with a complete arsenal of prime and fast-aperture zoom lenses.

Having said that, I would consider using the Z fc as a professional tool for less critical work such as short portrait sessions, or really anything from product photography to real estate work.

As long as the Z fc is paired with the right lenses; that is key. Currently, there just aren’t many DX_specific f/2.8 zooms yet, nor any DX-specific fast-aperture primes, but as I mentioned earlier, lenses such as the (FX) affordable 28mm f/2.8 and 40mm f/2 pair beautifully with Nikon DX bodies. Alternatively for professional portrait work, I would absolutely consider the (FX) Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8 to be a great choice as long as your portraiture style can afford the working distance to accommodate 28mm on a crop sensor.

Wildlife & Sports Photography

For active outdoor nature photography subjects in general, the Nikon Z fc is a delight to use. If you’re a photographer who simply loves the craft of photography and the operation of a classic camera, then you’ll have fun. The Nikon DX MC 50mm f/2.8 is an excellent macro lens, and relatively budget-friendly. Autofocus at 1:1 macro reproduction is possible, by the way.

On the other hand, for high-speed wildlife imagery, the Nikon Z fc is not a replacement for Nikon DX flagship bodies like the Nikon D500. The D500 is a legendary APSC camera for any type of high-speed action photography.

So, if you’re mostly interested in challenging subjects such as birds in flight, or team sports, or racing sports etc, then I’d recommend waiting for Nikon to make a flagship-level DX mirrorless camera, similar to the Nikon D500 DSLR. (Imagine a beefed-up Nikon Z50, throw in the autofocus of the flagship Z9, and price it around $1,800. Hopefully, Nikon hears my wishlist!)

Landscape Photography

I had a great time using the Nikon Z fc for various types of landscapes, including hand-holding some blue hour cityscapes and suburban landscapes in low light. The 16-50mm kit lens is a fantastic complement to the Z fc in its silver form, plus, it also delivers incredibly sharp results both optically and in terms of stabilizing your handheld images.

All in all, I would love to take the Z fc on any hiking or backpacking trip for serious landscape photography, with the only caveat being that I would have to bring an FTZ adapter if I wanted to use an ultra-wide lens such as the lightweight Nikon DX 10-20mm.

Nightscape & Astrophotography

I didn’t get a chance to take the Nikon Z fc out to photograph the stars. However, the sensor is as good as (or better than) Nikon’s other 20-megapixel DX sensors; therefore, I can tell you with confidence that this is one of the best APS-C sensors around for astrophotography and nightscapes.

Your limiting factor will, of course, be the lenses; Nikon’s Z mount does not yet have any native wide-angle fast-aperture lenses, so you’ll be relying on the Nikon FTZ adapter and DSLR lenses.

Nikon Z fc Review | Pros & Cons

To summarize this entire section, if you like spoilers: The Nikon Z fc is well-built, intuitive to use, and the images are excellent. Its main drawback is simply that Nikon’s Z-mount DX lens lineup is not yet as well established as some other APS-C mounts. Therefore, a complete kit will require either using FX (full-frame) Z-mount lenses, or the Nikon FTZ adapter with Nikon DSLR F-mount DX/FX lenses.

Other than that, there’s a lot to like, and not much to complain about. The Z fc is a wonderful photography camera and a decent video camera.

Image Quality

The Nikon Z fc images are beautiful right out of the box. Although I recommend shooting in raw NEF mode and processing images in Lightroom, the in-camera JPG results are beautiful, especially when you take the time to switch the “Picture Control” to an appropriate setting, such as Landscape, Portrait, or Vivid. Nikon has a trick up their sleeve in this regard, however, so be sure to read this whole section!

As you can see in the above sample images and crops, the overall image quality is superb. I am most impressed by the relatively low noise levels at ISO 6400, even in the shadow areas. This was impossible even for full-frame sensors, in the early days. To get these professional levels of image results in such a relatively affordable, portable camera, is truly a sign of how far digital cameras have come in the last decade.

Nikon In-Camera Picture Controls + Adobe Lightroom

It is very important to note that Nikon has teamed up with Adobe in recent years, so if you are shooting raw NEF files, and you designate, say, Vivid Picture Control in-camera, then Lightroom will recognize and automatically set your raw processing color profile to “Camera Vivid” as well!

This is also a huge leap forward, one that all recent Nikon cameras have enjoyed, compared to previous NEF file editing results in older Adobe software. All new Nikon NEF images now look absolutely better than any other raw image format!

So, if you spend just a little extra time to make your photos look good on the back of the camera, even when shooting RAW, then your un-edited results will look about as good as, or even better than, if you had shot JPG! Even the in-camera B&W images look gorgeous.

Autofocus Performance

This is one area where Nikon’s earliest mirrorless cameras didn’t perform up to par with the highest level of competitors, at the time. (~4 years ago) However, as one of Nikon’s newest cameras at present,the Z fc is a reliable performer for most subjects, in most lighting conditions.

It is certainly not on the same level as the likes of the flagship Nikon Z9, but I would trust the Z fc in most casual conditions. I would also recommend it over any of Nikon’s similar DSLRs, such as the D3000-class and D5000-class cameras, for the simple reason of autofocus especially when it comes to faces/eyes in portraits.

Overall Performance & Speed

The Nikon Z fc is pretty impressive in terms of its overall speed and performance, especially compared to any entry-level DSLR that you might be upgrading from. It achieves 11 FPS, albeit in 12-bit NEF and with a buffer that won’t last forever if you want to just “smash” the shutter. I always use 12-bit NEFs to maximize my buffer and memory card space, however, if you want 14-bit NEF files you will be at 9 FPS.

Video Performance

With 4K 30p video that uses the full width of the Z fc sensor, you get quite impressive results. Manage your Picture Controls carefully, and your MP4 video files will look beautiful with minimal need for color grading. Having said that, this is not a video-oriented camera, so I wouldn’t expect it to be a top choice for filmmaking. There’s a mini HDMI  mic jack, but no headphone jack.

Design & Durability

Nikon did a great job of combining modern and retro design elements, in a relatively durable body. The Z fc does not have weather-sealing, and some of the parts are plastic, however, the overall feel and handling still give a satisfying sense of tactile feedback. When you’re operating the camera, it is just the right balance of old-school controls, (specifically, your ISO, shutter speed, and EV compensation.

Also, seeing your aperture in a little LCD window that is reminiscent of a film SLR’s frame counter is a very nice touch. Last but not least, the more modern controls of basic command dials, and a physical exposure mode switch are very welcomed, too, since many entry-level cameras only have one command dial, and require you to dig through quick menus to change from manual exposure to aperture priority, for example.

Last but not least, well, I’ll just show you these images, provided by Nikon…

Features & Customizations

I have talked a lot about how you’ll like this camera if you’re specifically interested in the retro style, however, the practical use of the camera isn’t even hindered by its retro design. If anything, its mechanical controls give it an edge over most other entry-level cameras! Whether you’re an experienced pro who prefers manual control, or you’re a total beginner just learning about manual control, you’re actually better off with this camera compared to anything else at this price or lower.

A few of the buttons are customizable, and I wish that there were even more menu items as options, but I think Nikon struck a good balance to avoid overwhelming most photographers.

Thankfully, the Z fc doesn’t require you to dive deep into every page of the menu in order to get the most out of the camera, unlike some competitors (*cough*Sony*cough*) which require hours of menu-digging in order to find various important options, and to put each button and quick menu space to use.

Nikon Z fc Battery Life

The final measure of overall performance is, of course, battery life. With an excellent EVF and a large rear LCD touchscreen, but no IBIS, the battery life is more than adequate for a camera in this class of compacts. It is good that you can use basically the same type of portable battery pack to charge and even power the Z fc via its USB-C port, though, because any all-day photography adventure will definitely deplete the Nikon EN-EL25.

Value

The ~$1,000 range is an amazing value price point for modern digital cameras. Nikon, and other companies, are able to deliver the image results of a professional camera that cost 2-3 times more in years past, while keeping the user-friendly operation of an entry-level camera.

Honestly, I would have liked to see Nikon add just one feature in this sub-$1,000 category, of course: in-body stabilization. No other APS-C camera besides the Fuji X-S10 offers this, though, so there is little precedent for it. Nikon has been known to set the precedent before, though.

To be precise: The Z fc is $956 without a lens, or $1,096 with a 16-50mm kit lens, or $1,196 with the classic-style Nikon 28mm f/2.8 lens. All of these kits represent an excellent value.

Nikon Z fc Review | Compared To The Competition

First, I want to compare the Nikon Z fc against its most direct competition, the Nikon Z50 and Nikon Z30. Then, I’ll compare it against other alternatives, both mirrorless and DSLR.

Basically, the Nikon Z fc is nearly the same as the Z50, with the biggest difference being the retro style of the Z fc. Both cameras, and the Z30, all share a very similar sensor, including most of their AF system, plus many other specs. The biggest difference is in the physical design of each camera, and you probably already know which camera looks moreright for you you as a photographer/videographer.

The only thing left to mention is that the much newer Z fc (and Z30) did add eye detection to the Z50’s face detection, which is a useful bonus for anyone who is going to do a lot of focusing on faces and eyes.

Regarding the Nikon Z30 in particular, which lacks an electronic viewfinder: Personally, I really love using viewfinders even for video, and the Nikon Z 30 doesn’t have one. Meanwhile, the Nikon Z fc has a fully articulated LCD, making it usable for vlogging. Therefore, unless you’re literally always doing nothing but selfie videos/photos, I’d recommend the Z fc instead of the Z30.

Nikon DX mirrorless VS Nikon D500 DSLR

When it comes to alternatives that are not mirrorless and/or not Nikon, a few cameras come to mind. As I mentioned, the Nikon DX flagship, the D500, is still a workhorse of a camera, and a favorite for telephoto wildlife & sports photographers. You get Nikon’s 3D tracking, and an optical viewfinder which is optimal for high-speed subjects.

Nikon Z fc VS Fuji

The other camera that could be compared to the Nikon Z fc is the Fujifilm X-T30 II. Fuji is well-known for retro looking digital cameras, but the options vary greatly in price and specs, so many of them just don’t directly compare . The X-T30 is the closest to the Nikon Z fc, and honestly, it really is close enough that I’d consider it a toss-up if it weren’t for a few subtle factors.

Firstly, I just prefer Nikon’s control layout in general. Part of that is personal familiarity, but part of it is, in my opinion, actual superior design in terms of the combination of dedicated control dials plus modern ergonomic controls. I dislike Fuji’s smooth, tiny little joystick button, as well as some of the other control/interface choices.

Secondly, however, there is no denying that Fuji’s X-mount lens lineup is one of the most complete lineups of any mirrorless camera system. It boasts every possible iteration of professional and semi-professional zoom and prime lenses, from exotic f/1.0 and f/1.2 primes and f/2.8 zooms, to impressive f/1.4 and f/2 primes as well as excellent f/4 zooms.

Nikon’s DX Z-mount bodies can only begin to compete with Fuji’s lineup of APS-C cameras if an FTZ adapter, and also full-frame Z-mount and F-mount lenses, are considered fair game.

Nikon Z fc VS Sony APS-C

The same thing goes for comparing Nikon against Sony. Firstly, though, I must note that Sony doesn’t even offer a retro style camera to compare with the Z fc. Any comparison we can make is mainly academic, which kind of defeats the purpose of the Nikon.

With that said, Sony’s APS-C cameras offer two advantages, generally speaking: autofocus consistency, and lens arsenal. The E-mount APS-C options are expansive, and their Real-Time AF tracking is one of the best algorithms around.

[Related: Nikon Z50 Review]

All in all, the Nikon Z fc’s price point of under $1K is not easy to compete in, because most cameras are making one compromise or another, such as missing flagship autofocus, or blazing speed, or dual card slots, or weather sealing, stabilization, etc. A few cameras have one or two of those features, but not all. Personally, I think the Z fc is well positioned among its competition, especially considering its unique offering of style.

Nikon Z fc Review | Conclusion

If you like the timeless aesthetic of the early film SLR era and the tactile feel of mechanical dials, the Nikon Z fc is the perfect camera for you. Raising the camera to your eye and “just taking pictures” is a wonderful experience. Under the hood, the camera’s modern technology does a great job of being there when you need it, keeping advanced operation in a relatively user-friendly package.

All in all, the Nikon Z fc is one of the most unique additions to the Nikon mirrorless lineup, complementing the offerings of the Nikon Z50 and Nikon Z30. The Nikon DX Z-mount lens lineup is obviously far from complete, but between the trio of kit zooms and the impressively affordable FX compact primes, the Z fc should still appeal to many photographers as one of the best retro-styled cameras for everyday life or your next big adventure!

Check Pricing & Availability

The Z fc is $956 without a lens, or $1,096 with a 16-50mm kit lens, or $1,196 with the classic-style Nikon 28mm f/2.8 lens.

(B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

The Nikkor Z 20mm f/1.8 S joins the Nikkor 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm f/1.8 S as one of the best collections of f/1.8 primes ever assembled, in my opinion. Some photographers hear the “f/1.8” and they automatically think about low-quality lenses that are made for amateurs. However, Nikon absolutely did not go that route with any of these lenses. As I mentioned, all of them are high-quality, flagship optics with impressive image quality and build quality alike.

If you’re looking for something even better, then there might be additional f/1.2 primes or f/1.4 primes from Nikon, eventually, but for now, there weren’t any on the roadmap the last time I checked. Alternately, if you’re looking for something more affordable than the ~$1,050 price tag of this Nikkor Z S-line lens, your options will be very limited to other optics which simply don’t offer the same level of quality in literally any regard. Want the spoiler alert? I’m going to highly recommend that you either get this 20mm lens, or its slightly more affordable 24mm little sibling. Depending on the type of photography you do, one of them will likely be a perfect all-around wide-angle prime for you.

Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S | Specifications

• FOCAL LENGHT & ANGLE OF VIEW: 20mm FX, (30mm DX) 94°
• LENS MOUNT(S): Nikkor Z full-frame (and DX APSC) mirrorless
• APERTURE & RANGE: F/1.8-16, rounded 9-blade
• STABILIZATION: No
• AUTOFOCUS: Multi-focus system, twin stepper motor,
• MANUAL FOCUS: Yes, electronic, no focus distance scale
• OPTICAL CONSTRUCTION: 14 Elements in 11 groups, 3 aspherical, 3 Extra-Low Dispersion, Nano Crystal Coat, Super Integrated Coating
• MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTION: Metal, high-grade plastic,
• MAGNIFICATION & FOCUS DISTANCE: 0.19x, 7.87″ (20 cm)
• FILTER THREADS & HOOD: 77mm, 1-piece plastic hood
• SIZE: 3.33 x 4.27 in (84.5 x 108.5 mm)
• WEIGHT: 1.11 lb (505 g)
• PRICE: $1046.95
  (B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S Review | Who Should Buy It?

At over $1K, this is actually the most expensive f/1.8 prime lens that Nikon makes! It may not seem like much of an investment compared to some of the other professional Nikkor lenses that cost well over $2,000, but let’s be honest, a thousand dollars is a lot of money.

So, while there are literally no competitive alternatives on the Nikon Z mount that really stack up, (more about that later) …just because this lens is one of the best 20mm f/1.8’s I’ve ever reviewed doesn’t mean it’s right for the photography subjects you shoot or your creative style.

Wedding & Portrait Photography

NOTE: I had this lens for testing during a “lockdown”; there were no weddings or portrait sessions booked for me to photograph! So, I’ll be speaking from 15+ years of experience as a wedding and portrait photographer.

If you’re a photojournalist of any kind or a portrait photographer, you might not want 20mm, 24mm might be a little better suited to your needs. No problem; the Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S is virtually the same lens, just a little less wide, and also $50 cheaper at $996.

Of course, hopefully, you know your creative style as a wedding or portrait photographer, and if you know you really like being close-up in the action, and if you’ve often found yourself say, for example, wishing you could go a little wider than your 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom, then you might actually like this lens for those subjects! Just don’t compose any human subject too tightly in the frame, or too close-up, because the distortion of any ~20mm lens is going to be quite wonky.

Fashion, Editorial, & Commercial Photography

If you do very high-end professional work, whether it is fashion portraits or product photography, then you probably will want to be working at longer focal lengths to avoid distortion on your subjects. When it comes to investing in Nikkor Z lenses, you should be starting at the opposite end of the line, with something like the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S, and then going wider as needed.

Honestly, you might prefer a wide-angle zoom instead, since you’ll most likely be working stopped-down anyways; Personally, I would toss the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S in my camera bag and be perfectly happy!

Candid & Street Photography

For all types of candid photography, having a wide-angle prime lens that allows you to either get up-close with the action or capture a sweeping view, is a really useful tool. Add to that the f/1.8 aperture, which allows you to capture photos in very dim lighting conditions and also blur the background nicely for candid portraits and other detail photos, and you can create some truly unique images.

Once again, however, before I recommend buying this lens, I have to remind you to make sure you want 20mm instead of 24mm. I won’t repeat myself in telling you why, though! (Out of curiosity, please leave a comment below and let me know if you prefer either 20mm or 24mm, for which photography subject, and why! Thanks in advance.)

Landscape Photography

If you want corner-to-corner sharpness, and a lens with very low distortion, plus a physical build quality that is rugged enough to take the abuse of the wilderness for many years, then this is your dream 20mm prime. It’s pretty much perfect for landscape photography.

I’ll talk more about the image quality next in the Pros & Cons section, but suffice it to say, this lens is a great choice. Yes, it’s a bit large and expensive for any landscape photographer who literally does all of their work at f/11, and to be quite honest, as a photography nerd I’d be tempted to just sacrifice a tiny bit or corner sharpness and get a gorgeous looking classic 20mm lens like the Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AIS, on the FTZ adapter. But, that’s just me and my nostalgia.

Besides, many landscape photographers these days are also photographing the same landscapes at night, at faster apertures, and this is where the modern native Z-mount glass really shines…

Nightscape & Astrophotography

Indeed, this is where the lens truly excels! Very few fast-aperture lenses, especially wide-angle primes, have good image quality in the corners. Most of them, including large, heavy, exotic lenses like the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art, simply have poor sharpness, bad coma & astigmatism, serious vignetting, and quite a bit of field curvature.

With that said, this is one of the best wide-angle prime lenses I’ve ever tested in each of those regards. Excellent corner sharpness, with minimal field curvature. Low coma & astigmatism, in fact, it’s virtually gone by f/2.8. And although there is of course some vignetting, the built-in profile corrects it quite nicely without adding too much noise/grain due to significant shadow recovery, unless you’re using extremely high ISOs and severely under-exposing your images.

Long story short, if you are an astro-landscape photographer who shoots Nikon, you should be considering this lens!

Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S Review | Pros & Cons

I already mentioned that this lens is extremely well made and has excellent image quality. There are a few subtleties that I will now expand on. Basically, the lens is impressively sturdy, but has a rather minimal design, and is just a little bit bigger than I would have expected it to be as a mirrorless design with a relatively modest aperture. Either way, it is definitely worth the investment.

Image Quality

Even when I mount this lens on the 45-megapixel Nikon Z7 II or Z7, the image quality is excellent. Sharpness is about as good as it can be throughout almost the entire image frame, and the only way to see any real difference between f/1.8 and f/4 or f/8 is to look at the last few pixels of the extreme corners, at 45 megapixels.

Oh, and due to faint field curvature, if you set focus perfectly for the dead-center of your image frame, you won’t actually be achieving maximum focus at the extreme corners. Above is a worst-case scenario example.

Honestly? Considering the price tag (and the size & weight( of this lens, I would have liked to see it be TRULY FLAWLESS, with a perfectly flat plane of focus, and absolutely excellent sharpness in the corners that out-resolves even 45-megapixel sensors. Unfortunately, I am a reasonable person; I know that to achieve such perfection would have required making the lens even more exotic, and therefor bigger and more expensive. All in all, I think Nikon achieved an optimal balance of sharpness for the portability and price of this lens.

If you’re an astro-landscape photographer, be sure to set focus on your stars for somewhere around the rule-of-thirds area, and you’ll get excellent center-to-corner results such as you see below:

Vignetting & Distortion

Distortion and vignetting are quite low, and if you turn on the in-camera correction profile, (which carries over to Adobe Lightroom seamlessly, by the way) you will not see any distortion and very minimal vignetting.

Bokeh

For those of you who love to blur the background of their images, this lens’ rounded aperture blades will render very smooth, aesthetic background blur, even when you’re working with some of the most “busy” cluttered backgrounds, such as wire textures or twigs.

Colors & Contrast

On any of Nikon’s mirrorless cameras, with their gorgeous NEF raw files that play nice with Adobe Lightroom nowadays, this lens will render absolutely gorgeous colors and contrast. Honestly, I am often downright shocked at how little my Nikon mirrorless raw images need to be edited these days!

Color Fringing, Aberration, Coma & Astigmatism

The other technical aspects of image quality are impressive, too; there are very few artifacts overall, such as color fringing, chromatic aberration, and coma or astigmatism.

Remember to set focus off-center, not dead-center, for optimal image quality evenly throughout the entire frame when photographing the stars!

Sunstars & Flare

Flare effects are minimal, thanks to all the exotic coatings Nikon has put on this lens. Sunstars are quite excellent. As I mentioned earlier, though, if you really are obsessed with sunstars, then consider one of the older Nikkor 20mm primes, because their aperture blades produce the most gorgeous needle-sharp sunstars I’ve ever seen.

Macro & Close-Up Photography

As a 20mm wide-angle lens, actual magnification or reproduction is not this lens’ strong suit. Having said that, you can still focus close-up enough with this lens to really blur the background and isolate a subject, and really fill the frame with most ordinary small objects.

This Nikkor Z does not lose any image quality when focusing at its closest range, which is not something that can be said for some of the older wide-angle lenses. Although, to be honest, Nikon has been the pioneer of optical designs that remain very sharp even when focused close-up, they have been working on such wide-angle lenses for literally decades, and were/are well ahead of virtually all the competition.

Durability & Weather Sealing

Nikon is using the “S-line” name to denote that this is a truly professional-grade lens. It has weather sealing, and overall feels solid enough to serve you well for many years. Everything about it is smooth and well-made, too, a subtle blend of minimal, modern, and maybe even some faint retro vibes.

Autofocus Performance

This is one of Nikon’s high-end lenses in terms of autofocus; it has twin AF motors that are able to make focusing very snappy and very accurate. Simply put, as long as the camera body itself has the autofocus technology to nail focus in low light, this lens is up to the task of locking onto and tracking your subject.

Manual Focus Performance

This lens has a very large, smooth-operating focus ring, and the electronically-controlled precision is excellent. The lens doesn’t have a focus distance window, like a few of Nikon’s highest-end flagship lenses, but considering that the lens’ goal is to be as compact as possible, I think that’s fine.

Value

This Nikkor f/1.8 prime lens is the highest priced f/1.8 prime lens that Nikon has ever made, and for good reason. It is that good. It really comes down to this, though: 20mm is a unique focal length, so if you don’t really need a 20mm prime, there are many other lenses you should consider first, and you might wind up with “only” $500-750 left to spend on a 20mm prime.

If you decide that a full-frame mirrorless 20mm f/1.8 is exactly what you need, just keep saving up until you can afford this lens. Otherwise, consider instead the Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S for ~$1K, or one of the wide-angle zoom lenses from Nikon that covers this focal length, even though they cost more.

Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S Review | Compared To The Competition

20mm prime lenses are definitely a specialty item; most photographers will either prefer a zoom that covers this range, or a 24mm lens. Therefore, we just don’t have very many other 20mm prime lenses to consider!

There are a handful of Nikon F-mount (DSLR-made) 20mm primes that are quite good, and there is a grand total of one other (third-party) native Z-mount 20mm f/1.8 prime lens which isn’t very good. I’m only going to mention the lenses which I believe you should remotely consider.

The Nikon AF-S 20mm f/1.8 G ED is quite good, (our review is here!) and quite affordable if you have the FTZ adapter. However, this modern Z-mount Nikkor is definitely sharper, has better autofocus performance, and has more professional durability.

The one thing I truly love about the F-mount Nikkor 20mm f/1.8 is the absolutely gorgeous sun stars it creates, which harken back to the early days of manual focus lenses.

Nikon makes a couple of other 20mm f/2.8 prime lenses, both of which are very old, and a bit more affordable. Honestly? I’m very nostalgic for the classic manual focus Nikkor AIS 20mm f/2.8, it just looks really cool, and the image quality is…not bad! So, if you like manual focus lenses, and especially if you like classic pin-point sun stars for your cityscape photography, it’s a unique specialty lens.

Of course, if you’re open to using the Nikon FTZ adapter, there are a few third party options, from the giant, exotic, pricey Sigma 20mm f/1.4, (~$900) to the modest, compact, affordable Rokinon/Samyang 20mm f/1.8.  (~$490)

Again, to be honest, none of these lenses are as good as this new Nikkor Z S-line lens. They’re not nearly as sharp except in the image’s dead-center, and their overall physical qualities make them sub-optimal investments as well, in my opinion.

What alternatives do I actually recommend? Aside from lower quality, low-budget options, I suggest considering a zoom lens that covers the 20mm range, simply because I know what most photographers are going to actually want to use in the real world. Also, I’ve reviewed both the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S and the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S, and they are both great lenses. They both cost more, but they’re both excellent investments that cover almost the entire range of what most photographers will want in a wide-angle lens.

Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S VS Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G

Of course, for those of you who are interested, we can also consider an entirely different mount, just for fun. I highly doubt that a 20mm prime lens will be the reason that any photographer chooses one entire system/mount over another, let alone switches from one to another, but, sure, let’s talk about the Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G, why not!

Basically, the Sony 20mm f/1.8 is a very nice and compact lens with an aperture ring and a customizable Fn button, for about $800-900, depending on if you can find it with “instant savings”.

Other than those specs that might be in favor of the Sony, the two lenses are pretty similar in their performance. That is to say, they’re both absolutely excellent, very sharp, with almost zero flaws until you start looking in the extreme corners.

For all you astro-landscape photographers out there: both of these 20mm f/1.8 lenses have a faint bit of field curvature when shooting wide-open through about f/2.8, unfortunately. However, neither has much coma/astigmatism at all, even wide open, which is truly impressive! The bottom line for me as a nightscape photographer is that I would love to own either of these lenses, it would simply depend on which system I owned in the first place. I would not switch systems for either of these lenses alone.

Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S Review | Conclusion

Here’s the bottom line: This is a great lens that offers high-end flagship performance and durability, but it comes at a relatively high price compared to most f/1.8 primes you’ve seen. That’s because this really is a professional lens!

If 20mm is what you’re looking for, this is one of the best primes on the market. There are a lot of great alternatives out there, though, including Nikon’s f/2.8 and f/4 zooms which cover 20mm with excellent image quality, and other lenses that “only” hit 24mm, if that’s all you need.

So, do you know for sure whether or not an excellent 20mm prime is right for you? Or, do you have any additional questions? Leave a comment below.

Check Pricing & Availability

The Nikon Nikkor Z 20mm f/1.8 S is available for $1,495.95 from these trusted retailers:

(B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

In 2020, Nikon announced the mirrorless version of that legendary full-frame ultra-wide f/2.8 zoom, and it really is a worthy successor, having been completely redesigned from scratch. Now, however, the competition has improved immensely! Basically all exotic wide-angle lenses these days are impressive; even the third-party options that would have been “complete junk” 10-15 years ago.

So, is the Nikon mirrorless 14-24mm worth it? Spoiler alert: YES, it is. It has a lot to offer the different types of photographers who need an f/2.8 ultra-wide zoom. Having said that, not every style of photographer really needs this focal range, and not every type of photography truly requires f/2.8 these days.

Therefore, in this review I will explain why you might want this lens, and what types of photography it’s perfect for. Also, I’ll help you consider instances in which you might choose an alternative. Let’s dive in!

Nikon Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Specifications

• FOCAL LENGHT & ANGLE OF VIEW: 14-24mm, 114° to 84°
• LENS MOUNT(S): Nikon Z (full-frame mirrorless)
• APERTURE & RANGE: f/2.8-22, 9, rounded blades
• STABILIZATION: No (in-body stabilization)
• AUTOFOCUS: Yes, silent stepper motor
• MANUAL FOCUS: Yes, electronically controlled, LCD display focus/hyperfocal distance
• OPTICAL CONSTRUCTION: 16 Elements in 11 Groups, 3 aspherical, 4 extra-low dispersion, ARNEO, Nano, Super Integrated Coatings
• MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTION: Metal & high-grade plastic, weather-sealed mount & barrel
• MAGNIFICATION & FOCUS DISTANCE: 11 in, (28 cm) 0.13x magnification
• FILTER THREADS & HOOD: 2x hoods, 112mm threaded filters w/ larger hood
• SIZE: 3.5 x 4.9 in. (88.5 x 124.5 mm)
• WEIGHT: 1.4 lb / 650 g
• PRICE: $2,396
  (B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Review | Who Should Buy It?

In the past, a 14-24mm f/2.8 lens was seen as a highly exotic, specialty ultra-wide lens that you only bought if you really needed the 14mm focal length. Otherwise, it was smarter to buy something a little less wide, such as a 16-35mm or 17-35mm.

Now, with Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless Z mount, they’ve decided that 14mm is the new standard for their ultra-wide zooms. Whether you want a constant f/2.8 aperture, or you’re okay with an f/4 aperture, 14mm is what their wide-angle full-frame zooms offer.

(Maybe they’ll make another f/2.8 wide-angle zoom someday, but, since it’s not on the official roadmap yet, we can assume it will be years before we see something like a Nikkor Z 17-35mm f/2.8 S, if ever.)

The question today is, do you need f/2.8, or are you okay with f/4? This will depend on what type of photography you do, of course, and you know what? Quite honestly, a lot of photographers might be perfectly happy with the very respectable Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S, which we have reviewed here.

So, without any further ado, let’s talk about the different types of photography/photographers who should consider getting  Nikon’s new flagship wide-angle zoom.

Landscape Photography

First and foremost, landscape photographers love ultra-wide focal lengths. A focal length such as 14mm allows you to create truly dramatic, dynamic compositions, or capture sweeping vistas from a mountain top, or work in cramped environments such as slot canyons.

Plus, of course, landscape photographers prefer lenses that are extremely rugged–weather-sealed, made of metal, and generally ready for all conditions, no matter how horrible. (If you’re crazy enough to set your alarm for 4 AM and go out in sub-freezing temperatures, or a rain/dust storm, then your camera gear better be up to the task, too!)

Honestly, this new Nikon 14-24 2.8 Z is one of the best ultra-wide lenses for landscape photography that I have ever reviewed. It’s basically perfect for the job.

But, here’s the thing: maybe you photograph all your landscapes at f/11, and have little need for f/2.8? If so, then one of the beautiful things about Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless system is that they put almost the same effort into their more affordable, lightweight Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S. I can see a lot of landscape photographers being totally happy with it, too!

[Related: Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S Review: The Best Wide-Angle Landscape Photography Lens?]

Is the Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S slightly better, even at f/8-11? Yes, for about $1K more, you definitely get better image quality, but it’s mostly just seen when you look in the very edges/corners of your images. Otherwise, the 14-30mm f/4 Z is honestly just as good, and for some, it’s a better, more downright practical choice with a lot better overall value.

Time-Lapse Photography

Whether you’re into landscapes, nightscapes, or literally anything else, you might be interested in making a time-lapse video! A lot of time-lapse photography looks awesome with a wide-angle lens, and it is often very important to be able to work in conditions that are changing from very bright to very dark.

For this reason, having f/2.8 at your disposal, plus the well-suited zoom range from 14-24mm, will make this an excellent time-lapse photography lens.

[RELATED: Nikon Z6 II Review – A Great Camera, Perfected?]

Nightscape & Astrophotography

These days, many landscape photographers also want to see stars or even the Milky Way above their beautiful scene, just as much as they want an epic sunrise or sunset!

Therefore, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 once again becomes the highly desirable, holy grail of a lens. (Compared to an f/4 alternative.)

All in all, in this regard, Nikon has produced another champion ultra-wide zoom for those who want impressive results at every aperture from f/2.8 to f/8+. If you’re looking for a balance of incredible image quality, a fast aperture, and relative portability, this is the absolute best lens on the market.

Real Estate Photography

Real-estate photographers live at the focal range of 14-24mm for interior shots, and they also care deeply about having straight lines, well, not look all wobbly at the edges of the frame. As such, the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S is another workhorse of a professionally capable lens.

However, once again, if you’re doing all of your work at f/11 or even f/16 to capture all the details of an interior real estate image, then you must ask yourself, how much do you need f/2.8? The Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S is, again, an impressive alternative. Both lenses require you to use their profile corrections, if you’d like to “keep straight lines straight”, but with the profiles left on in-camera, and with both lenses set to f/11, you’ll be hard-pressed to notice a difference. However, with the low ISO noise and impressive dynamic range of all of Nikon’s full-frame Z-mount camera bodies, there really aren’t many drawbacks to using the $1,296 Nikon 14-30mm instead.

By the way, for those of you who think it’s a good idea to photograph real-estate interiors hand-held, (it is NOT!) …yes, the in-body stabilization on all of Nikon’s FX mirrorless bodies works excellent, and delivers perfectly sharp results (often, but not every time) at 14mm and as slow as 1/5 or 1/4 sec. Just in case you were wondering.

Candid & Street Photography

If you’re any type of photojournalist or are just capturing candid images of everyday life, then you’ll probably find yourself hand-holding in low light very often. Having the constant f/2.8 will really help, because even though Nikon’s in-body stabilization is one of the most effective of any full-frame mirrorless systems, there is no substitute for sheer speed when it comes to freezing action in low light.

Action Sports Photography

Speaking of freezing action, the Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 is a worthy update to Nikon’s original workhorse ultra-wide lens, the 14-24mm f/2.8 G that was announced with Nikon’s first full-frame action-sports lens that really changed the game for action sports photographers, the Nikon D3. (2007!)

If you work in low light capturing “extreme” action, or anything where you need as fast a shutter speed as possible, then the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S is the new standard for working professionals.

Wedding & Portrait Photography

One genre of photography where you might literally ALWAYS be in low light when you reach for your ultra-wide lens is, of course, wedding photography. Whether it’s a dimly lit church or a wedding reception dance floor, you need two things: As much “speed” as possible, plus, of course, reliable autofocus.

In both cases, Nikon has created an impressive system of gear overall, and when you combine a lens like the Z-mount 14-24mm f/2.8 and one of the latest Nikon bodies like the Z6 II, (review here) or Z7 II (review here), or even the Nikon Z5, (review here!) …you’ll be very impressed by the autofocus performance.

The 14-24mm f/2.8 is, in fact, a little better at tracking moving subjects in low light compared to the f/4 aperture Z-mount lenses, and if you’ve configured the AF system correctly, it will hardly ever let you down in terms of low-light reliability.

If you’re not photographing weddings, but are doing portraits exclusively, then you might find yourself in more well-controlled lighting conditions, making f/2.8 less necessary. Also, at such ultra-wide focal lengths, you are a lot less likely to be concerned with achieving shallow depth; you’re more likely to be reaching for this type of lens because you want a large group of people to all be in focus. (As opposed to a Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, (review here) in which case you might be using the f/2.8 aperture to really blur a background nicely.)

Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Review | Pros & Cons

The spoiler for this section of the review is this: The lens is almost perfect. Something you ought to expect, of course, for the price tag, but it still needs to be clearly stated.

It’s really hard to complain when Nikon made a lens that not only delivers better image quality than the competition, but also does it in a more lightweight package, and with more functionality & customizations, too.

No other full-frame 14mm f/2.8 lens has a system that allows both front and rear filters. No other full-frame mirrorless wide-angle lens offers a digital focus distance and hyperfocal scale. Really, the only question you have to ask yourself is, can you justify spending ~$2,400 for this f/2.8 lens, or are you okay with the ~$1,300 f/4 Nikkor sibling that is almost as sharp, and significantly more portable?

Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S | Image Quality

Sharpness

The sharpness samples will speak for themselves. On a 24-megapixel full-frame camera, this will be the sharpest wide-angle lens you’ve ever used. Even on a 45-megapixel Nikon Z7 II or Z7, you’ll be hard-pressed to see any difference in the level of fine detail.

For an example of how sharp this lens is at 14mm, f/2.8, in the extreme image corner, on a 45-megapixel sensor, see the Coma/Astigmatism test below!

Bokeh

For those select few photographers who are concerned about shallow depth and bokeh at ultra-wide focal lengths, (okay, there are probably plenty of photographers who care about bokeh on a 14-24mm lens!) …there is more good news: Nikon’s wider, shorter Z-mount optics are all capable of beautifully smooth background blur, especially at their wide-open apertures.

Colors & Contrast

There is something stunningly colorful about Nikon’s latest Nikkor flagship lenses. Of course, their latest camera sensors likely also play a big role in that, as well as Adobe’s processing defaults, but, what can I say… colors and contrast from the images coming from this lens are absolutely gorgeous.

Honestly, I am finding that I actually edit my photos less, because they come out of the camera looking more clear and vibrant than ever. Although, again, it’s not just this one lens that is producing such results, pretty much all Nikkor Z-mount optics are producing stunning results in terms of color accuracy, saturation, and the overall beautiful contrast of images.

Vignetting & Distortion

There is not much distortion or vignetting to speak of, and if you leave the in-camera correction profiles turned on, they will carry over to your raw processing, (Adobe Lightroom, as well as Capture One, and probably most others) …so you’ll never even notice it.

Having said that, if you turn the distortion correction OFF in Lightroom, you will notice that although there is just a basic “straightening of lines” being done in the main area of the image, it is actually surprisingly simple–it’s not the common “wobbly mustache” type distortion, like almost all ~14mm lenses have.)

You will lose about 2-4% of the extreme corners and left/right edges when turning the correction on, but that’s about it. Sharpness seems unaffected by this correction, by the way.

Vignetting is almost invisible when turning the correction off and on in Lightroom, but that may be because Nikon is still “baking in” more under the hood. Again, just leave the in-camera correction turned on, and you’ll barely notice any vignetting even at 14mm f/2.8!

NOTE: I must also mention something that applies to virtually all mirrorless lenses  I have reviewed in recent years: If you over-edit your images to extreme levels, namely with Sharpening, Clarity, and Texture, then you will see very distracting patterns in smooth-surfaced subjects. To remedy this, either turn off the lens profile correction, or edit your photos a little less “extra crispy”!

Sunstars & Flare

As with all of Nikon’s modern flagship lenses, in most shooting conditions you will see very little flare dots, if any, even if you put extremely bright lights in the image frame. Even that warm haze is a little hard to come by, when you want it, because the lens’ glass is just so beautifully clear and crisp.

Sunstars are quite good by f/8; they have well-defined points, but they are not pin-points like some lenses with optimized aperture diaphragms. (This lens’ aperture is optimized for a balance of good bokeh and good sunstars, I’d wager.) Therefore, I must give the same advice as usual: If you’re obsessed with sunstars, get an old manual focus lens without rounded aperture blades. (Just don’t expect the same level of overal sharpness, flare aversion, etc.)

Color Fringing, Aberration, Coma & Astigmatism

Here’s what makes this new lens really exciting: Nikon did not “skimp” on this lens by just making it sharp, or have low distortion since those are the usual things that most photographers care about. This lens is a perfect tool for nightscape or astro-landscape photography, and so Nikon made sure that all coma, astigmatism, and other aberrations are virtually zero or minimal.

Among competition where “nearly perfect” is the new status quo, Nikon delivered a lens that is either on par with, or better than, the excellent competitors.

Macro & Close-Up Photography

Although the actual magnification (reproduction ratio) is not very impressive on the spec sheet, getting up-close with an ultra-wide lens is still a lot of fun! Thankfully, this lens stays very sharp when focused close-up.

Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Review | Pros: Design & Durability

Rugged Durability

Nikon’s flagship lenses have almost always been very rugged and durable, made of metal, weather-sealed, etc. Still, once in a while I encounter a minor engineering flaw here or there, and that was the case with the original Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 G: though it was mostly metal, if you bumped the rear barrel hard enough on anything solid, you could ding/deform the barrel enough that it would grind against the zoom ring, which (aluminum on aluminum is never good) would rapidly lead to the zoom ring jamming completely, which was a costly repair.

I mention this because, I want everyone to know that even the best companies who are renowned for making rock-solid quality products, (and even lenses with metal barrels) don’t always get it right. Sometimes, there’s a minor design or durability flaw that can really be a hindrance to someone who is especially brutal towards their gear.

Innovative Design

With that said, the Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 seems to be brilliantly designed, both in terms of durability, and overall ergonomics. Not only is it a svelte 1.4 lbs, and balances very well in the hand, but the physical durability seems relatively “indestructible”.

As one bonus that I really appreciate, the front element of this particular 14-24mm is very different from all other ultra-wide zooms: it doesn’t protrude out in a bulbous way, begging to be scratched if you’re reckless. It’s almost perfectly flat, and that is how you are able to mount 112mm threaded filters when using the larger of the two available hoods.

Yes, the hood system that accepts filters is a bit unwieldy, but the whole point of this innovative design is that, if you don’t need filters, you can literally leave that whole option off your lens!

Features, Functions, & Customization

The Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S is definitely one of the most unique ultra-wide zooms I have ever reviewed. The first thing you notice when you inbox the lens is, without a doubt, the visual appearance of the design of the front of the lens. As I mentioned, that nearly flat front element makes the lens look very unique, and is what allows the use of filters.

2 Hoods Are Better Than 1?

Actually, there are two different hoods included. The larger hood is absolutely enormous, but that’s because you use it to add filters to the lens. Indeed, they must be 112mm, which means your selection will be limited, and they will be quite pricey. (Don’t worry, this 14-24mm also accepts rear gel filters, too, for those who only wish to do ultra-long exposures using a simple ND filter!)

The smaller hood, though, is much more practical and is a perfect add-on for photographers who don’t need filters. Lastly, without any hoods attached, there is still a little bit of hood-style protection on the frontmost barrel of the lens itself, so even if you drop the lens without any hoods on, you might be okay.

Next, when first mounting the lens onto your camera body, you’ll undoubtedly notice that there is an LCD display on the lens itself! I still miss the old days of physical distance markings and mechanically coupled focus rings, but this exclusive Nikon feature is quite useful.

Especially if you hit the “DISP” button and cycle through its options until you get to my favorite: the hyperfocal distance feature. Again, no other lens maker has a feature like this!

Last but not least, yes, you can customize that ring to do other things besides control your aperture; my favorite things to do, depending on the shooting needs, are to set it to either control EV compensation or ISO. You can also customize the L-Fn button, of course, to do a handful of functions.

By the way, Nikon has more lenses than both Canon and Sony that possess both a customizable dial/ring and Fn button. Canon’s RF lenses have “command rings” but almost completely omitted Fn buttons, and Sony’s G/GM lenses that do have both a Fn button and a control ring have limited the ring to aperture control only.

Autofocus Performance

Good, reliable autofocus is a result of both the lens and the camera body, of course. In that regard, it seems that Nikon’s Z-mount lenses are capable of great speed and precision, and are virtually silent. Nikon’s Z-mount camera bodies are also stepping up their autofocus performance with each new generation and each major firmware update, especially when it comes to AF tracking reliability. With an f/2.8 aperture, and significantly less glass to “push” when focusing, plus modern focus motors, your experience will be significantly improved with this lens compared to DSLRs.

That’s the bottom line, really. In other words, these Nikkor lenses are going to be ready for whatever high-end action-sports flagship (Nikon Z9!) is coming next, there is no doubt about that!

Manual Focus Performance & Focus Breathing

I don’t always use the on-board LCD display that shows focus distance and/or hyperfocal markings, however, it is pretty useful in some situations. More importantly, the electronically controlled manual focus ring itself is capable of high precision, even for challenging things like focusing on stars at infinity for nightscapes.

Also, I should note that there is very little focus breathing, which of course applies to both autofocus and manual focus.

Value

One of the reasons I’ve preferred Nikon for more than 15 years now is that they always deliver value. Whether I’m saving up for a flagship camera/lens, or I’m on a tight budget, Nikon always delivers a well-rounded assortment of value options.

Value Compared to Others

By comparison, the other top two full-frame mirrorless systems, Sony and Canon, also have excellent “exotic” ultra-wide lenses. However, their systems as a whole don’t always offer the same well-rounded value.

In other words, if you have more than $2K to spend, then sure, Nikon’s flagship lens is a fantastic investment. But what if you’re looking for a more well-rounded system? Instead of a Nikon Z6 II (~$2K) and this Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S (~$2.4K) you could get a Nikon Z5 (~$1.3K) and the Z 14-30mm f/4 (~$1.3K), …and save $1,800!

That is to say, this particular Nikkor Z optic may cost a pretty penny, but the Nikon Z full-frame system as a whole provides one of the best values around.

Also, for the record, this Nikon 14-24mm is currently more affordable (at $2,196, with a $200 instant savings) than both its direct name-brand competitors; the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS is $2,299, and the Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM is $2,898. (Review coming soon!)

Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Review | Compared To The Competition

If you’re looking for native, Z-mount full-frame lenses, then you won’t have to look far. There are only two Nikkor zoom lenses, and one prime, that are wider than 24mm. There is a relatively limited selection of third-party options, all prime lenses, and they’re all manual focus.

Thus, there really is no comparison. If you’re shopping for an ultra-wide zoom with autofocus, then don’t waste your time reading about manual focus primes. Just get this Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S! Or the Z 14-30mm f/4 S, if it’s a better fit for you. End of discussion. Okay, maybe get the Nikkor Z 20mm f/1.8 S, ($950) if you’d rather have a faster aperture and a more portable package.

Is Autofocus a Must?

With that said, many landscapes and nightscape photographers may not need autofocus. Others might not even care about being able to zoom in from ~14mm. If this is you, then here are some additional thoughts:

There are some relatively affordable alternatives from third parties like Venus/Laowa, Samyang/Rokinon, Nisi, and TTArtisan. Laowa’s 15mm f/2 is now available for the Z-mount, and so is Rokino’s oldest 14mm design, the UMC 14mm f/2.8.

The Bottom Line on Competitors

Honestly? None of them are nearly as good as the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S. They’re all decent, for their price and/or portability, but they still don’t come close to matching the overall “total package” you get with the Nikkor.

If you really want a half-decent competitor, then F-mount (DSLR) ultra-wide zooms are the next-best solution, for now. Nikon’s legendary 14-24mm f/2.8 G is still a champ, of course. Also, there are two good third-party competitors: the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 HSM Art, and the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC G2. Both are decently sharp; unfortunately, though, both are utterly massive and will be totally front-heavy on the FTZ adapter. You’ll want to put your tripod foot on the FTZ adapter to reduce stress on the camera body’s mount!

Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Review | Conclusion

I can sum up this review with an overall statement about Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless system. It has arrived, better than ever, and it’s highly competitive with other name brands and third-party lens options. (Should they ever become options!)

If you appreciated the D850 and Nikon’s “holy trinity” of f/2.8 zooms, you’ll love the new full-frame mirrorless trinity. They’re all incredible. Because of how much lighter and smaller it is compared to everything else, The Z 14-24mm is my new favorite wide-angle lens. For that reason, I highly recommend this lens.

[RELATED: Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S Review – The Future of Pro Mirrorless Zooms has Arrived]

[RELATED: Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S Review – The Most-Anticipated Lens of 2020?]

Check Pricing & Availability

The Nikon Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S is available for $2,396.95 at these retailers:

B&H | Adorama | Amazon

Indeed, Nikon must have decided to make the best 50mm lens they possibly could, and they pretty much accomplished that goal. (Well, aside from the Noct Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S) By sparing no expense whatsoever in terms of optics, Nikon has produced one of the most incredible lenses I’ve ever tested.

This should come as no surprise, though, because you know what? The Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S was already one of the best 50mm primes I’ve ever reviewed. In fact, it was hands-down the best standard f/1.8 prime I’ve ever tested, and better than most f/1.4 ~50mm primes, too. Therefore, SPOILER ALERT: If you don’t need f/1.2, then you already have one of the absolute best 50mm lenses on the market available to you, and in a truly portable, lightweight package in comparison to any flagship-grade f/1.2 or f/1.4 prime.

Thus, the crux of this review will be exactly what you might think: Do you need f/1.2? Do you need extreme low-light performance, super-shallow depth of field, and buttery soft bokeh? If so, then this could be your dream lens.

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S Specifications

• FOCAL LENGHT & ANGLE OF VIEW: 50mm (47°)
• LENS MOUNT(S): Nikon Z (full-frame mirrorless, DX APS-C mirrorless)
• APERTURE & RANGE: f/1.2 – f/16, 9-blade, rounded, electromagnetic control
• STABILIZATION: No (All Z6 and Z7-series have sensor stabilization)
• AUTOFOCUS: Twin STM motors w/ multi-focusing system
• MANUAL FOCUS: Electronically controlled, full-time manual override
• OPTICAL CONSTRUCTION: 17 elements in 15 groups, 3 aspherical, 2 extra-low dispersion elements, ARNEO, Super Integrated, and Nano Crystal Coatings
• MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTION: Metal, weather-sealed
• MAGNIFICATION & FOCUS DISTANCE: 0.15x (1.5′ / 45 cm)
• FILTER THREADS & HOOD: 82mm, click-locking hood
• SIZE: 3.5 x 5.9″ (89.5 x 150 mm)
• WEIGHT: 2.4 lb (1090 g)
• PRICE: $2,096
  (B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

[Related Reading: Nikon Z7 II Review | The Best Landscape Photography Camera, Again]

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S Review | Who Should Buy It?

Almost every type of photography can benefit from having a 50mm prime, but which photographers are going to find it worthwhile to invest in a flagship prime such as this? Well, words and phrases like “light gathering” and “speed” and “bokeh” come to mind, of course.

Wedding Photography

If you like to shoot everything from candid moments to formal portraits with a 50mm, and you often shoot in extremely low light, then this could be a great lens for you. But, are you willing to carry it around for 8-12+ hours a day? Maybe, if you’re used to carrying around a hefty 24-70mm f/2.8 but would rather have a prime. Alternately, though, if the whole reason you reach for a prime is to escape the added weight and stress on your wrists when it’s hour 10 or 11 of work and the wedding reception dance floor just got started, …you’ll probably want to opt for the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S instead; it’s more than a stop slower, technically speaking, but it’s still one of the best 50mm primes I’ve ever tested.

Do you really need ultra-shallow depth for wedding photography, though? Honestly, not really, not if you just put a little effort into understanding depth, and framing your shots carefully. See below for an example of how well the 50mm f/1.8 handles a wedding:

Honestly? For many professional wedding photographers who aren’t shooting in extremely dark conditions, or who aren’t totally obsessed with the look of their bokeh, I have to admit that the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 is a very practical choice, a workhorse that doesn’t break the bank, or your wrist!

I can only recommend a 1kg 50mm prime lens to be carried around for 8-12+ hours (once or thrice every week!) …if you really, really love the focal length, and are in need of some serious speed/shallow depth.

Portrait, Fashion & Editorial Photography

If you’re doing portraits instead of event journalism, then you might not care as much about low-light shooting or “speed”, but you may very well care about the look of your lenses’ bokeh, and the ability to just “kill” a background in more difficult on-location conditions, too.

Either way, the Nikkor Z 50 1.2 is a dream portrait lens in that regard.

Even if you spend some of your time at f/2.8 or f/4, you’ll still appreciate the incredible sharpness, and the smooth look of the bokeh, although once again I have to admit, the f/1.8 is really a flagship-grade lens if you spend ALL of your time “a little stopped down”.

Candid & Street Photography

This is the exact opposite of a “walk-around” lens, to be quite honest. Unless you are trying to do your candid/street photography by moonlight or candlelight, you’ll probably want to stick to a more practical 50mm solution, like the f/1.8, or even a more modestly sized/priced f/1.4 or f/1.8 DSLR lens, actually.

Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2, S Nikon Z7 II – f/1.2Having said that, it sure is a delight to use when you are, in fact, shooting by candlelight!

Landscape & Nature Photography

Landscape photographers traditionally spend all their time with their aperture stopped down, however, a lot of creative styles lately on social media do exhibit a greater propensity towards nature, landscape, and general outdoor scenes captured with shallow depth used as a creative tool for subject emphasis.

Honestly, though? Most of the “lifestyle” or “travel” or “van life” outdoor/landscape photographers who are interested in shallow depth are also usually interested in a decent level of portability, too. So, unless you’re a famous Youtube Landscape photographer who actually loves carrying around heavy, giant pieces of kit, you’ll probably want to stick to lighter, smaller 50mm options. Or, of course, just get a zoom that covers 50mm; literally every one of Nikon’s four other (more practical) lenses that hit 50mm are approximately just as sharp when you’re shooting at f/8 or f/11!

Nightscape & Astrophotography

Of course, once you take your landscape photography hobby and start trying to do it at 2 AM by starlight or moonlight, then everything changes, and usually, you can never get enough speed. You’re probably even drooling over the Noct Nikkor 58mm f/0.95, and wishing it didn’t cost four times more than this “relatively affordable” (by comparison) 50mm f/1.2.

If this is you, if you find yourself working with starlight and moonlight very often, and could always use better light-gathering capabilities, better coma/astigmatism etc. performance, …then you’ll love this lens.

It does have some faint, faint coma/stigmatism when shooting faster than ~f/2, (we’ll look at that soon) but honestly, this is one of the best 50mm primes you can buy for Astro-landscape photography and wide-field deep-sky astrophotography. The only other lens in this range that does slightly better in the extreme corners (that is also a behemoth, and decently pricey) is the Sigma 40mm f/1.4 Art, which you’ll have to use via the FTZ adapter.

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S Review | Pros & Cons

I don’t need to sum up the pros and cons with bullet points in this review, because the verdict is quite simpe: It’s a nearly perfect lens, but it’s very big, heavy, and expensive. Images are gorgeous, and totally worth the investment, as you would expect.

Image Quality

Sharpness

Sharpness is incredible, even wide-open at f/1.2. Nikon has achieved a combination that we’ve rarely seen before from Nikkor lenses:  pin-sharp, high-contrast in-focus details, of course, but ALSO, with a transition to out-of-focus blur that is so beautiful, I can only describe it as having your subject disappear gradually into a magical foggy mist. (And this is coming from me, someone who has historically refused to care much about bokeh!)

Stopped down, of course, the lens is just incredibly sharp, and we will have to go to the extreme corners to see much of a difference at all. Even there, by f/2.2 the lens’s extreme corners are incredibly detailed.

All in all, sharpness for the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S can be summed up in this way: Even wide-open at f/1.2, there is a beautiful level of detail, just with a softness to the overall look, which is exactly what you’d want for things like portraits or other types of work where a “gentle rendition” of fine detail is aesthetically pleasing. Then, stopping down just a tiny bit, you get that shockingly high level of biting, crisp detail, too.

Bokeh

WARNING: Lots and lots and lots of f/1.2 photos ahead! If you have an allergy to buttery, creamy bokeh, proceed with caution…

Of course, I also tried to test the Nikon Z 50 1.2 in the worst possible conditions, in terms of bokeh, and honestly, I’m still impressed at how this lens handles the “nasty” things like harsh, cluttered textures. Background blur is still beautifully soft, and foreground blur is just pure butter as always…

Bokeh “dots” (see the last two images above) from any spectral highlights do tend to get a little lemon-shaped off-center, however, to be quite honest that is a pleasing aesthetic to me that I don’t mind as much; they give your image a natural gravitation towards a central subject, which allows for creative emphasis in most scenes. Some photographers will wish for perfectly round bokeh dots even in the corners of their images, but I feel that look is a little too clinical and lacks (yes, I’m going to use THAT word) “character”.

Simply put, if you buy this lens, you’d better use it at f/1.2 at least some of the time, if not very, very often. The ISO 64 base of the Nikon Z7-series will help you do that even in more brightly lit sunny conditions, and of course in soft light, you’re in for a real treat!

[Related Reading: Nikon Z6 II Review | A Great Camera, Perfected?]

Colors & Contrast

Whether you’re shooting wide-open or stopped-down, the clarity of color and contrast from this lens is truly amazing. Even at high-contrast edges, (see the 100% crop of the moon above, captured at f/1.2) you will see surprisingly crisp clarity in every single shot.

Vignetting & Distortion

When shooting at f/1.2, if in-camera vignetting correction is turned off, it will require an approximate Amount of +85 (and =0 Midpoint) to manually correct the vignetting. I don’t know how many stops that is, but it might be somewhere around 1.3 or 1.6 stops. That’s not bad for an f/1.2 lens!

Honestly, the look of the vignetting is quite pleasing, and you’ll appreciate it for most types of work unless your goal is sheer light transmission.

Of course, if you’re comparing this f/1.2 prime against other f/1.4 or f/1.8 primes, or even an f/2.8 zoom, then your overall light transmission will be phenomenal by comparison, when stopping down from f/1.2.

Distortion is virtually nonexistent; just leave the in-camera correction on all the time, unless you do advanced stacking and averaging of deep-sky astrophotography images, in which case it (and possibly the in-camera vignetting correction) can create odd banding patterns, so I recommend leaving all in-camera corrections off for that type of work.

Sunstars & Flare

This lens has virtually no flare dots, thanks to Nikon pulling out all the stops in terms of optical element design and coatings. It really is uncanny how clear and flare-free the images are in most situations. of course, if you want that warm haze in your sunny golden hour portraits, you can get that too, you just have to place something extremely bright (like the sun) very close to the image frame.

In terms of sunstars, they actually start appearing by f/2.8! That is due to how many stops down you are from f/1.2, of course. by f/8 they are quite pronounced and sharp, however, they are still not as “pokey”, and are more “flower petal” looking, compared to the older manual focus Nikkors without rounded aperture blades.

Color Fringing, Aberration, Coma & Astigmatism

For nightscape photography, you are in for a real treat, even wide-open at f/1.2. There is almost zero color fringing, and if you miss focus ever-so-slightly and do get some, you can easily remove it in Lightroom.

Even in the harshest high-contrast edge situations, (see the 100% crop above) you still will barely notice any chromatic aberration or color fringing, even wide-open at f/1.2. And again, most of it is effortlessly removed in Lightroom.

Macro & Close-Up Photography

The maximum reproduction/magnification for the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S is actually the same as its f/1.8 sibling, but the ultra-shallow depth of f/1.2 (or the incredible sharpness achieved by f/2) will be a delight to those who enjoy capturing medium-close-up photos of anything that can benefit from the creativity of shallow depth.

Design & Durability

As I have already said before, this lens is enormous and heavy. You knew that before you even started reading this review, of course, but I have to mention it again. Nikon spared no expense with this lens, and that means it is so front-heavy that you’ll need to treat it almost like a 70-200 and support its weight with your left hand.

Having said that, if you’re willing to hoist the lens, you will be rewarded. Not just with gorgeous images, but also with a rugged, durable flagship lens that will stand the test of time. It is clearly meant to take a beating and still work perfectly.

Autofocus Performance

When I first held the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S, one thought popped into my mind: This thing has so much glass in it, there’s no way it will autofocus very fast. Pushing that much glass back and forth will be a sluggish endeavor, and for any sort of moving subjects, I will find the lens sorely lacking.

I was totally wrong! It’s not the most lightning-fast lens ever, of course, but, wow is it still quick! Not only do the twin AF motors push the multi-group focusing optics in and out of focus very swiftly, but also, (more importantly!) the precision is truly impressive, especially considering the shallow depth that you experience when actually shooting wide open at f/1.2.

Manual Focus Performance

The manual focus ring on this lens is downright enormous and consumes a significant portion of the lens barrel. Honestly? I would rather have had a bit more grip-able surface on the lens that I can use to safely mount/unmount the lens, or support it with my left hand while shooting!

Having said that, manual focusing is very smooth and precise, so I have no complaints there, aside from one obscure thing that only bothers me as an Astro-landscape photographer. Which is, I still dislike how most mirrorless lenses and their all-electronic controls, don’t seem to “remember” their exact focus position whenever you turn the camera off. I’m used to DSLR lenses where I can set the focus manually, and have it physically stay put at that position.

Having said that, the digital focus distance scale, which includes a hyperfocal scale when you cycle through the options on the “Disp” button, is a unique, useful feature that helps me feel like I’m still using a high-end professional system, whereas most other mirrorless lenses have an extremely minimal physical design.

Value

There are two ways to look at the value of this particular lens. You could compare it against other name-brand 50mm f/1.2 lenses, or you could compare it against any 50mm prime, without f/1.2 being an absolute necessity. We’ll get more in-depth with our comparisons next, but for now, it is safe to say that the value of the Nikkor Z 50 1.2 is all about what you need from your lens.

Simply put, if you’re okay with an f/1.4 or an f/1.8 aperture, then spending $2K on a normal prime lens is absolutely not a good value. There are many options in the f/1.4 and f/1.8 range, and pretty much all of them are well under $1K.

Or, if you do have ~$2K to spend, but don’t need f/1.2, you might as well buy the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, and get an ultra-sharp f/2.8 zoom that covers the entire normal range!

What if you absolutely would like to have f/1.2, though? Whatever the reason, there just aren’t many options out there, (even if you’re willing to use an adapted DSLR lens) and they’re all quite expensive.

Canon’s RF 50mm f/1.2 L is ~$2,300, and Sony’s brand-new FE 50mm f/1.2 GM is $2,000. We haven’t reviewed the Sony yet, however, based on scrutiny of many sample images, I think I can safely assess these three lenses this easily: They are all incredible. The Nikon, with its over-built optics, may very well come out on top of the pack, but the bottom line is that they’re all about $2K, and they’re all worth investing in if this is your dream lens.

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S Review | Compared To The Competition

Native to the Nikon Z mount, there are just two other lenses you could choose. The relatively modest-looking Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S, ($596, B&H) and the poster child for exotic glass, Nikon’s new “nocturnal” lens, the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct. ($7,999, B&H)

Needless to say, both of these lenses are very different from the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S, in price, size, and aperture. Here’s the surprise, though: something they do NOT differ too greatly in is, their overall performance!

Yes, that’s right, the $0.6K, $2.1K, and $8K ~50mm lenses all offer image quality that is about the same; if you spend most of your time at f/2.8 or smaller, you won’t see much of a difference. That’s how serious Nikon is about making good quality lenses for the Z mount, I guess!

Put another way, if you shoot at f/2.8 or f/4 or smaller apertures, then the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S is so incredibly good, it is flagship-grade enough that you need only spend $600 for your ultimate 50mm prime for Nikon full-frame mirrorless.

So, what if you’re obsessed with f/1.2 (autofocus) primes, though, and would even consider a different camera system if a better 50mm f/1.2 were available? Just for fun, let’s consider Canon and Sony’s options…

Canon’s RF 50mm f/1.2 L is ~$2,300, and Sony’s brand-new FE 50mm f/1.2 GM is ~$2,000. Again, we haven’t reviewed the Sony yet, however, based on scrutiny of many sample images, here is my initial summation: In the central part of the image, they’re all nearly perfect. The Nikon and Sony might be a tiny bit better than the Canon in terms of avoiding color fringing when shooting at f/1.2, but all of the lenses have truly excellent sharpness and minimal artifacts which can be easily corrected using Lightroom’s chromatic aberration, etc. tools.

The difference will likely be at the edges and corners of your images. This is where the size and heft of the Nikkor will likely allow it to pull ahead of the competitors, but only by a small margin, probably, and only if you’re trying to resolve 40-60+ megapixels as opposed to 20-24.

Last but not least, you could consider Nikon F-mount lenses on the FTZ adapter, but honestly, virtually all DSLR lenses just don’t measure up to what Nikon’s native Z-mount offers. Maybe you have a favorite lens with lots of “character”, like the Nikkor 58mm f/1.4 AF-S G, but other than that, you should probably just get either this f/1.2 prime, or the affordable f/1.8 S-line alternative.

There are, in fact, a few f/1.2 and even faster ~50mm lenses that you can somehow find a way to mount on a Nikon Z-series body. Unfortunately, all of them (besides the Sony and Canon) are not even going to come close to the performance of the Nikkor. I would only recommend them as “toy” lenses that you buy on a whim because you’re curious about what ultra-shallow-depth looks like, but won’t be using the lens very often.

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S Review | Conclusion

When Nikon decided on the mount specifications for their full-frame mirrorless system, with the shortest flange distance and widest mount diameter available, they clearly had lenses like this in mind. Nikon optical engineers have probably been working on this lens since the day the mount specs were finalized!

The hard work paid off, and this is indeed the most impressive 50mm prime I’ve ever reviewed. (No, I haven’t reviewed the Noct yet!) Is it right for me? Unfortunately, I’m actually going to wait and see if a Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.2 S, or maybe even a Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S, eventually arrive(s). I would probably rather have 35mm be the focal length where I carry around such an impressively hefty lens and go with the 50mm f/1.8 Z/S for that focal length instead.

For each photographer who prefers 35mm, though, there are three or four who prefer 50mm, of course. If this is the focal length you absolutely love, if you need as much speed and/or shallow depth as possible, then this lens is the new king of the hill.

Check Pricing & Availability

The Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S is available for $2,096 from all of the usual retailers.

(B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

With the Nikon Z7 II, although much is the same, the feeling is very different. This second-generation camera fixed all of the major issues I had with its predecessor, and I’m ready to call it a nearly perfect camera!

Highlights include incredible image quality and camera build quality, excellent autofocus, great shooting speed, dual card slots, and decent (or great) video specs.

In this review, I’ll get into the details of how the Z7 II is an absolute winner, other ways in which the Z7 II is an excellent or respectable choice, and possibly if I really scrutinize it, things that may yet be improved.

Nikon Z7 II Specifications

• SENSOR: Full-frame 45-megapixel CMOS sensor, Bayer filter pattern, no AA filter
• LENS MOUNT: Nikon full-frame mirrorless Z-mount
• STILL IMAGES: 45 megapixels, (8256 x 5504) 14-bit/12-bit, uncompressed, lossless, compressed .NEF (Plus “Small RAW” modes)
• VIDEO (Internal): 4K30p, (FX mode) H.264 4:2:0 8-Bit, 4K 60p (DX mode)
• VIDEO (External): 4K30p (FX mode) 4:2:2 10-Bit
• ISO: 64-2560 native, (Expanded: ISO 32-102400) Dual-gain @ ISO 320
• AUTOFOCUS: 493-point hybrid AF system, 90% horizontal frame coverage, EV -4 to EV 19
• SHOOTING SPEED (FPS): 10 FPS (electronic & mechanical)
• SHUTTER SPEEDS: 900 sec to 1/8000 sec, bulb, time, 1/200 sec flash sync speed (mechanical only)
• STABILIZATION: Yes, 5-axis, 5 EV sensor-based stabilization
• VIEWFINDER: 3.69M dot EVF, 100% coverage, 0.8x magnification
• LCD: 3.2″, 2.1M dot TFT LCD touch screen
• CONNECTIVITY: USB-PD (3.2 5 GBit/s) mini HDMI, 802.11ac wifi,  Bluetooth
• STORAGE: Dual card slots: XQD, CFexpress type B, SD UHS-II
• BATTERY: EN-EL15c li-ion battery, USB-PD direct charging & power (external charger included)
• BODY CONSTRUCTION: Full magnesium alloy, fully weather-sealed
• SIZE: 134 x 101 x 70 mm (5.28 x 3.98 x 2.76 in.)
• WEIGHT: 705 g (1.55 lb / 24.87 oz)
• PRICE: $2,996 (body only) $3,096 (w/ FTZ adapter) $3,596 (w/ Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S)
  (B&H | Adorama | Amazon)
  

Nikon Z7 II Review | Who Should Buy It?

The Nikon Z7 II is one of the best all-around full-frame mirrorless cameras on the market today, whether you’re a photographer, or you’re a photo+video type creator. It really is an excellent choice for almost every type of photography!

That is, of course, as long as you understand that the Z7 II is a big sibling camera to the Nikon Z6 II, which is similar in virtually every way besides the megapixel count. In other words, if you don’t absolutely need 45 megapixels, (or the native ISO 64) …then you might be better off saving yourself about a thousand dollars, and just getting the little sibling Z6 II.

[Related: Nikon Z6 II Review: A Great Camera, Perfected?]

Having said that, 24 megapixels is just about the minimum for full-frame cameras, it seems, and 45 is now the range of “just right” for a lot of types of photography these days, from paid pros to hobbyists. So, if you have about $3K to spend, here are the things you could consider the Nikon Z7 II for.

Wedding & Event Photography

Nikon DSLRs were my equipment of choice for 15+ years as a wedding photographer; I relied on them for innumerable reasons from their consistently class-leading image quality, to the flagship features in relatively affordable cameras such as dual card slots and professional autofocus.

With the Nikon Z7 II, the improved autofocus and the addition of an SD card slot to compliment the XQD card slot make for a tempting offer for wedding photographers. Oh, and the face/eye detection is pretty impressive, too!

Having said that, 45 megapixels is a lot to take to a long wedding. You can try setting the Z7 II in its 12-bit compressed NEF raw file mode, and get nearly double the memory card capacity you usually would when shooting raw, however, if you regularly shoot many thousands of photos at weddings that last 12-14+ hours, then maybe the Nikon Z6 II is a more perfect choice for your high-volume wedding photography business.

Portrait, Fashion, & Commercial Photography

If you can use a Nikon Z7 II to photograph smaller weddings, then you can consider the Z7 II to be a perfect camera for all types of portrait photography. From the ample resolution to the gorgeous image quality, the Z7II delivers the goods just like the original Z7 did. Personally, although the image quality is, indeed, virtually identical to the Z7, I have to recommend the “mark 2” because of the dual card slots for paid work, and because of the improvements to the autofocus.

In other words, could we get by with the Z7? Yes. Would we opt for a Z7 II, if we were coming from a D850, or even if we already had a Z7? If we’re getting paid to do portraits, then yes, absolutely.

Action Sports & Wildlife Photography

Believe it or not, but the Z7 II is a pretty fast camera. In addition to offering a very respectable 10 FPS (both electronic shutter, and mechanical!) and a 50-shot buffer, (that you can roughly double by shooting in 12-bit compressed NEF, by the way) …the animal face/eye detection function of the autofocus is very good, and the overall subject tracking feature is improved, too.

All in all, while this isn’t Nikon’s high-speed flagship sports & wildlife camera, which is apparently going to also be a high-megapixel beast due out sometime in the next year. However, just as the Nikon D850 makes an incredible sports & wildlife camera for about $3K despite the sheer firepower of the $6.5K Nikon D6, I think the Nikon Z7 II is a great choice for wildlife photography.

Landscape Photography

Hands down, the Nikon Z7 II is my winner for the best landscape photography camera on the market. We’ll get into comparing the Nikon against Canon’s EO R5 and Sony’s A7R IV a little later, but, for now, I’ll just fire off the reasons why the Z7 II, and in some ways Nikon’s Z-mount in general, is/are so great for landscapes:

• Class-leading rugged build quality & weather sealing
• Class-leading dynamic range at unprecedented base ISO of 64
• An array of lightweight lenses (14-30mm f/4, 24-200mm) perfect for more adventurous/traveling landscape photographers
• Flawlessly sharp flagship lenses (14-24mm f/2.8, etc)

Now, you might be thinking, “aren’t all of these things also found on the original Z7?” …and you’d be correct, well, not entirely. The Z7 and Z7 II share a physical body in terms of ruggedness, and they share a sensor, too. If you’re looking for the best overall value in landscape photography cameras, the original Z7 is it.

Still, personally, as someone who does landscape photography by backpacking off into the wilderness and shooting time-lapse and video for days on end, I greatly appreciate the “infinite” power solution provided by a USB-C battery pack.

Also, initial testing is showing that whatever faint, rare banding pattern was present on the Z7 sensor, is not present on the Z7 II. So anyone who does a lot of shooting landscapes with the sun actually in the frame creating flare patterns will appreciate that!

8K Time-Lapse Photography

The Nikon Z7 II might not offer 8K video, however, with the 45-megapixel sensor you can capture 8K-size still images, which means you can create 8K time-lapse videos! This was a feature that was highly touted on the Nikon Z7, as well as the Nikon D850, of course, because they all share the same number of megapixels, and essentially the same sensor.

The big advantage of the Z7 II, though, is this: now, you can not only use a dedicated battery pack that allows you to double your already ample battery life, (more than enough for almost any all-day or all-night time-lapse, no doubt!) …but, also, you can plug a USB-PD battery pack directly into the Z7 II, for extended power that can last as long as you could possibly want! (Also, a 20,000 mAh Anker USB-PD battery goes for as little as $49, whereas additional Nikon EN-EL15c batteries will set you back $72, although we always recommend having at least two, of course.)

Nightscape & Astrophotography

Even more likely to be needed to power a camera all day and/or all night, of course, are the nightscape or astro-landscape photographers out there. With both a new vertical battery grip available for the Z7 II and the ability to charge and even power the camera directly via USB-PD, the Z7 II gets my vote as the better choice for those outdoor photographers who do all-day time-lapses on a regular basis.

Nikon Z7 II Review | Pros & Cons

PROS:

• Best low-ISO image quality around with native ISO 64
• More dynamic range than Lightroom even knows what to do with!
• Autofocus performance competitive with similarly priced alternatives
• Extremely rugged, fully weather-sealed build quality
• Comfortable, intuitive ergonomics
• Ample button/control customization

CONS:

• Minor ergonomic quirks unchanged from Z7

Image Quality

When it comes to image quality, Nikon has been at the front of the pack, either leading or keeping pace with the absolute best sensors on the market. The Z7 sensor was so good two years ago, (heck, the D850 sensor was so good, almost 4 years ago!) …that the Z7 II sensor is still one of the best on the market, even compared to the brand-new, latest-generation technology from the likes of Sony, Canon and even Panasonic.

Even at ISO 400, the dynamic range coming from the Z7 II sensor is free of shadow banding, despite pushing both the Shadows and Blacks sliders to +100! (See above)

Also, the colors. WOW. I don’t know what it is that Nikon and Adobe have worked together to create, but, Nikon’s colors, even when shooting raw .NEF files, are just gorgeously colorful and vibrant. In the above image, I applied no adjustments besides changing the Adobe Profile to “Landscape”.  (Even without this change, the images are beautifully vibrant and clear!)

By the way, in case you didn’t notice, those vibrant, clear colors are coming from an ISO 1600 image. Usually, color saturation really starts to degrade once you get towards higher ISOs, but with the Z7 II files, you can expect gorgeous colors well up to the 5-digit ISOs!

Autofocus Performance

We could try and perform all sorts of controlled lab tests to compare which camera has the most reliable autofocus, but in my experience reviewing all of the latest cameras and in comparing them against innumerable other cameras going back 10+ years, here is what I have to say about Nikon’s latest autofocus system: It works so incredibly well that if you’re missing shots, it is probably your fault, not the camera’s. Let’s let the results speak for themselves…

It is both accurate and consistent. It can track subjects in low light and even pitch-dark conditions, and even at ultra-fast apertures. As you can tell in this review, we had a lot of fun nailing focus wide-open on Nikon’s new 50mm S-line f/1.2 prime!

Yes, Sony is still slightly ahead of the pack in terms of dynamic subject tracking. However, if you really care about autofocus for subjects like erratic-action sports, then Sony’s best cameras are well over $4K and even over $6K, not just under $3K like the Z7 II is.

Overall Performance

At 10 FPS for both the electronic and mechanical shutter, the Nikon Z7 II will qualify as a “speed demon” for most types of photography, and at least “pretty fast” for the really high-speed subjects.

Beyond the simple measurement of shooting speed, other aspects of speed and responsiveness are excellent, too. The buffer is not jaw-dropping, however, if you shoot in 12-bit compressed .NEF, as I mentioned, you can approximately double its size.

Things like shutter lag, EVF lag, and blackout time are all very impressive, making the camera feel snappy and responsive. Lastly, speaking of “responsive”, unlike some other cameras that always take an extra second to do functions during image playback like magnifying to 100%, or when changing settings like ISO, …the Nikon Z7 II delivers a highly professional, responsive experience overall.

Design, Ergonomics, Customization

I had a couple of minor quirks about the original Z7 that I wasn’t a very big fan of, and as the two bodies are outwardly identical, the button layout has not changed with the Z7 II. It’s not a very big deal, though; for each button that I complain about on Nikon, I have two or three frustrations with the buttons and controls on other brands of cameras. In other words, I may have some annoyances, but I still prefer Nikon’s ergonomics and overall design/control layout, period.

• The Drive Mode button is down in the lower-right corner of the back of the camera, and it should be in the upper-left. (Or, this should be a customizable option.)
• The Menu and Play buttons could be swapped to match the more common (and for most, more practical) arrangement that other mirrorless cameras have.
• The AF point control joystick does not have the option to function in exactly the same way as the Nikon D850, allowing for multiple AF activation options.
• All customizable buttons could offer more functions such as magnifying, rating,

Durability

Like its predecessor, Nikon built the Z7 II to be a professional, rock-solid workhorse. And yes, the Z7 II earns that many descriptive words regarding its durability, because it is, in fact, made to be a “beefy” camera.

Value

Simply put, the Nikon Z7 II is the most affordable camera in its class, despite being one of the best. If you value resolution and are looking for a camera that offers 8K or greater, (stills; not necessarily video) …then the Nikon Z7 II is clearly the best value.

The only other option that we might consider are the slightly older generation cameras, such as the Nikon Z7 which is now on sale for just under $2,500, and the Sony A7R III, which is now $2,798. (NOTE: At present, the Sony A7R III is on sale for just $2,298! This might not be the case at the time you’re reading this review, unfortunately.)

Nikon Z7 II Review | Compared To The Competition

Now that there are many more high-megapixel full-frame mirrorless cameras on the market, there is some diverse competition! The Canon EOS R5, the Sony A7R IV, and the Panasonic S1R all have high-megapixel full-frame sensors that are all some of the best we’ve ever seen.

Why should you choose the Nikon Z7 II instead of its competitors? In my opinion, the Z7 II stays true to what Nikon is known best for: competitive or even winning performance, in an unbeatable value package.

Canon’s EOS R5 is $3,899, and offers not just 45 megapixels, but also 8K RAW video. It might be worth it if you want those video specs, or any of the ultra-expensive RF L lenses. But honestly? Nikon’s Z-mount lenses are just as incredible, thanks to the completely unrestricted mount diameter and flange distance, plus, I think the Nikon Z system overall appeals to a broader crowd due to its value at all price points, not just the highest-end.

Panasonic’s S1R costs $3,697, and offers an impressive feature set with a few perks that might interest you. Namely, compared to the Nikon Z7 II, the S1R has the most ideal pixel-shift feature available; it creates actual raw photos of the high-res images in-camera, instead of requiring software in post-production like Sony and Olympus do, as far as I know. All in all, though, with the ergonomic quirks and other minor complaints I have about the Panasonic S1 lineup, I’d say that the Z7 II is once again a better choice for well-rounded and photography-oriented people out there.

Sony’s A7R IV is a megapixel beast and has the best autofocus in this class of cameras. However, the advantage in autofocus performance is a much slimmer margin these days with how good the Z7 II is, and to be quite honest, the 61-megapixel sensor makes the camera itself just not as well-rounded as the Z7 II, for a number of reasons. (I prefer Nikon’s abundance of raw file options that allow you to blast away at 10 FPS for a good long while, (and a buffer that clears quite fast, too. I also prefer the flexibility of the raw files and the base ISO of 64, as opposed to just sheer resolution. (If you do want those megapixels, though, the A7R IV is hard to beat.)

What if you are a Nikon shooter who already owns a Nikon Z7, though? It’s really quite simple: Yes, if you are pushing the envelope in terms of your autofocus reliability needs, or if you need the dual card slots, or if any of the other more specialized functions/options stand out to you, such as the availability of a fully-fledged vertical grip, or the direct USB-PD power and faster charging, plus of course the new video specs which are going to be improved even further via firmware.

What if you don’t own a Z7 “classic” yet, and are deciding which model to get? Well, you can find the Nikon Z7 on sale for $2,496, or for $3,096 with the impressive 24-70mm f/4. That’s a very attractive offer, indeed. Honestly? Again, not to sound like a broken record, but if you don’t specifically need the Z7 II’s dual card slots, direct USB-PD power, or improved autofocus, then the original Z7 is still such a good camera that I believe its rugged build quality and high-performing sensor will still stand the test of time. With a virtually identical sensor in an identical physical body, the Nikon Z7 could still be the perfect camera for you, despite its age, for many years to come.

 The original Z7 is still such a good camera that I believe its rugged build quality and high-performing sensor will still stand the test of time.

Personally? I definitely want what the Z7 II has to offer, and it’s absolutely worth the price. I shoot paid work as a photographer, and I shoot lots of video both for paid content creation, and as a hobbyist just making nature videos. I even create all-day and all-night time-lapse videos, so the direct USB power is a huge plus for me too!

Nikon Z7 II Review | Conclusion

I barely had any complaints about the original Nikon Z7, and Nikon addressed all of the biggest ones with the Z7 II. With a price tag just under $3K, this is simply the best camera around when it comes to high-resolution work such as landscapes or commercial/editorial work, especially if you’re interested in the slight advantage that ISO 64 can give you compared to a native base of ISO 100!

The competition is strong, and honestly, the playing field has leveled off quite a bit in the last two years, but that hasn’t stopped Nikon from proving once again that they are so good at what they do best, they make cameras that barely need to be “updated” to remain competitive with, or even on top of, the competition.

So, there you have it. The Nikon Z7 II is a competitive camera in every photographic genre, and a real winner as a rugged outdoor/landscape camera. Whatever type of photography you do, if you’re looking for a high-resolution flagship camera at a relatively affordable price, we highly recommend the Z7 II.

Check Pricing & Availability

The Nikon Z7 II is available now and will cost $2,996 for the body only, or $3,096 with the FTZ adapter, or $3,596 as a kit with the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens.

(B&H | Adorama | Amazon)

[Related Reading: Affordable Full-Frame Mirrorless Comparison | Sony A7C VS Nikon Z5 VS Panasonic S5]

Nikon Z9 Press Release

The Z 9 brings together Nikon’s groundbreaking technologies to deliver the best still and video performance in Nikon history, meeting the advanced needs of professionals in a wide range of genres. It utilizes a newly developed FX-format stacked CMOS sensor and new image-processing engine. In response to the growing needs of professionals, advanced enthusiasts and cinematographers, it includes support for 8K video recording as well as various other video specifications that fulfill diverse needs and workflows. The Z 9 embodies ultimate usability as a tool, offering users an unprecedented imaging experience from capture to workflow exceeding that of previous digital-SLR and mirrorless cameras.

Information regarding the release of this product will be announced at a later date.

[Related Reading: Nikon Z6 II Review | A Great Camera, Perfected?]

Nikon Z9 VS Sony A1 VS Canon…EOS R1X?

Of course, the question everybody is wondering is, how will this new Nikon camera compare against Sony’s new A1, and Canon’s inevitable high-speed flagship? We can only speculate at this point, however, one thing seems clear: With a stacked sensor that is capable of 8K, Nikon is very serious about staying competitive!

Also, compared to the two big DSLR flagships of yesteryear, Canon’s 1D-series lineup and Nikon’s D1-6 lineup, it is also clear that we will probably have THREE contenders in the $6K+ action sports flagship camera market, instead of two. This comes as a bit of a surprise at a time when the camera market itself is dwindling down to only the most serious professional photographers.

Honestly, though? For most photographers, cameras like Nikon’s Z6 and Z7 series, or the Sony A9 or A7R series, or Canon’s EOS R5 and R6, …are all going to offer more than enough speed, resolution, and overall flagship-grade performance and functionality. Just like the past decade-plus of Nikon and Canon cameras priced in the $6-8K range, these new “monsters” are going to be reserved for the truly high-end, demanding work.

Still, it is incredibly exciting to see Nikon entering this realm, considering that even going all the way back to the legendary Nikon D3, the flagship cameras have been truly impressive. At the very least, we expect the Nikon Z9 to be neck and neck. The only awkward moment now is, …should they have called it the Z1? Hmmmm…

For more information about current Nikon products, including the Nikon Z series camera line and NIKKOR Z lens lineup, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

From the press release (see below) the NX Studio application seems to merge the existing Capture ND-D and ViewNX-I applications into a single program, thus providing an easier and more robust user experience stating “NX STUDIO maintains the same user-friendly interface of previous Nikon software applications, while also improving upon operation by offering a functional yet simple consolidated menu design organized by workflow categories: browsing, processing/editing, and export/sharing. Additionally, Nikon has enhanced the overall response speed for each function to enable smoother processing of both still images and videos.” As for how accurate that statement is, well, we’ll just have to test it out and see! On that note, if you happen to test this app out before we do, let us know what you think in the comments below!

Read the Full Press Release Below:

Today, Nikon announced the release of NX STUDIO (Ver.1.0), a new all-in-one software which enables seamless viewing, processing and editing of still images and video captured with a Nikon digital camera. The new software is available to download for free beginning today.

With the new NX STUDIO computer software, users can enjoy the benefits of full-scale editing of still images, with a more intuitive operation and workflow. By integrating the functions of Nikon’s ViewNX-i* image viewing software and Capture NX-D* processing and editing software, NX STUDIO offers an intuitive yet highly functional single software solution.

The free NX STUDIO integrates a host of editing features to help users achieve their desired output, including picture controls, white balance settings, and exposure compensation for RAW data. Additionally, users can explore the benefits of color control points, which enables color adjustment to a specific area of a photo, as well as a retouch brush feature for advanced correction of an area.

NX STUDIO maintains the same user-friendly interface of previous Nikon software applications, while also improving upon operation by offering a functional yet simple consolidated menu design organized by workflow categories: browsing, processing/editing, and export/sharing. Additionally, Nikon has enhanced the overall response speed for each function to enable smoother processing of both still images and videos.

To further improve workflow and expand the possibilities of imaging expression, NX STUDIO supports the transfer of images to NIKON IMAGE SPACE, Nikon’s image sharing and storage service, and enables users to easily upload edited videos to YouTube.

KEY FEATURES:

• The viewing, processing, and editing of still images and video can be completed in one place, including JPG, TIFF and .NEF (RAW) files.
• Features a functional yet simple menu structure categorized by workflow
• Menu items and terminology match that of Nikon cameras, enabling easy-to-understand operation
• Features a variety of display options, such as filmstrip with both horizontal and vertical preview options, as well as a 2/4 screen comparison option, in addition to a simple and easy-to-read shooting information display
• Inherits XMP/IPTC information editing and preset management functions from “ViewNX-i”
• Incorporates detailed editing functions from Capture NX-D, including color control points that enable the adjustment of colors within a specified area, allowing for the precise editing of images
• Users can choose how adjustment information is saved, whether in a separate file using the sidecar file format or directly to the image itself
• Works with other software such as Nikon Transfer 2 and Camera Control Pro 2 for a smooth post-shooting workflow

NX STUDIO will continue to be updated with the release of future camera models to ensure continued support. To see system compatibility and download NX STUDIO for Windows* and Mac* at no-charge, please visit:https://www.nikonusa.com/nxstudio.

To download the free software, please visit:https://www.nikonusa.com/nxstudio.

Well if this rumor from a reputable poster Nokishita, is accurate, Nikon will soon release a new firmware update that should improve the Eye AF performance on both systems as well as the 4k UHD 60 fps support for the Z6ii!

[Related Reading: Nikon Z6 & Z7 Firmware Updates Add Blackmagic RAW & ISO/WB ProRes RAW Controls]

ニコンが2月18日にCP+のコンテンツ詳細を発表するらしい。2月25日にダウンロード開始される「Z6 II」「Z7 II」のファームウェアVer1.10の詳細も公表されるはず（主な更新は瞳AFの性能向上と「Z6 II」の4K UHD/60p対応）。#噂

— 軒下デジカメ情報局 (@nokishita_c) February 17, 2021

Translated the above post reads “It seems that Nikon will announce the details of CP + content on February 18th. Details of firmware Ver1.10 for “Z 6 II” and “Z 7 II”, which will be downloaded on February 25, should also be announced (main updates are improved pupil AF performance and 4K UHD / 60p support for “Z 6 II”. ).#噂”

This leak/tweet also hints that other updates will be included in this firmware release, which will obviously be a welcome addition, but the major point of focus is the autofocus and 4k60p updates based on the user feedback. These updates (if true) will be incredibly welcome for shooters and make the gen 2 updates a much more attractive offering. Especially if the autofocus is improved as much as we hope.  If you’re a Nikon shooter and you’ve made the leap to the z6ii or z7ii systems, please let us know what you think about the autofocus on them in the comments below.

Read the Official Press Release Below;

Nikon Inc. is pleased to announce that firmware Ver. 1.10 for the Z 7II and Z 6II full-frame (Nikon FX format) mirrorless cameras, will be released on February 25.

Firmware Ver. 1.10 will add support for 4K UHD/60p to Z 6II video recording options. Additionally, the performance of Eye-Detection AF on the Z 7II and Z 6II will increase with the update. The eyes of human subjects are detected even when the face of the subject is smaller in the frame than with Ver. 1.00, enabling smoother and more stable shooting.

It will also support RAW video output to Blackmagic Design external recorders for both the Z 7II and Z 6II, enabling recording in Blackmagic RAW format as well as ProRes RAW format.

Firmware Ver. 1.10 supports a variety of video-recording workflows, responding to the advanced video production needs of professionals.

Furthermore, for the ProRes RAW video recorded to the Ninja V external recorder manufactured by Atomos, compatibility with the ISO settings and color temperature controls added to Apple’s Final Cut Pro Version 10.4.9 and later is supported. This expands video editing options when using Final Cut Pro.

If you have already purchased the RAW video output upgrade for your camera, updating to firmware version 1.10 will add support for Blackmagic Design external video recorders automatically.

For more information on the latest Nikon products, including the new Z 7II and Z 6II mirrorless cameras, please visit www.nikonusa.com.