Nikon offers super shooter
New f/2.8 S lens is magic to work with
NIKON’S Z6 and Z7 cameras produce some stunning results even with your “normal” lenses.
But when you add a flagship Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens to the equation, you end up with photos you want to put up on your wall.
We took a Z6 and the new lens camping and couldn’t believe the amount of light and detail it sucked out of the night sky, even without long exposure or a tripod.
Shooting handheld, with just a torchlight on a tree, I managed to grab a half-decent shot of a possum at a distance. With a tripod, the shot would have been a cracker.
Shots of the camp fire came up beautifully with the richest of colour, while the picture of our night-time camping scene, again sans tripod, sucked in an incredible amount of detail, colour and light.
Nikon’s full-frame Z series mirrorless cameras are designed for serious photographers – people shooting weddings, fashion, landscapes and the like.
The more affordable Z6 camera is particularly designed for video enthusiasts, while the 46MB Z7 is a serious alternative to Nikon’s D850.
The silent shooting mode is particularly useful, especially if you’re at an event such as a wedding where you want to be as unobtrusive as possible.
The 2.8 Nikkor lens produced some beautiful results shooting everything from bees sucking on the sap of a tree to a kookaburra at close range.
The bokeh effect is beautiful to behold and the lens has a very close range, meaning even taking photos of the dog, as she was coming up to me, worked more often than not.
Like the Z6 and Z7, the lens itself has a useful OLED display that allows you to see your aperture setting, even when you’re shooting in the dark.
We also put the lens to the test shooting some wakeboarding – into full sun – in the afternoon to test the focus power in a rapid-fire shooting scenario.
We came up with more than enough shots showing the silvery spray of water behind a silhouette of our thrillseekers.
The lens, which also has a dedicated focus ring and a customisable function button, has an aperture range of f/2.8 to f/22, making it a good allrounder. Recent reviews have rated it highly for contrast, resolution, focus speed and reliability. It’s also well sealed against the elements.
But it’s not without its drawbacks. It is quite a heavy lens – about 300g heavier than the f4.0 kit zoom.
And it’s also pretty expensive with a price tag around $3500. But if you’re into some serious photography – or want to be – its delivers exceptional quality.