Nikon puts the ‘super’ into superzoom

The Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR wins out

Some of the latest lenses for mirrorless full-frame cameras that we’ve seen over the last three years have been significantly better than the older DSLR-based siblings. Superzooms are no exception, the Nikon Z 24-200mm, Canon RF 24-240mm and Tamron 28-200mm all delivering excellent image quality and all-round performance, albeit with quite a lot of help from in-camera corrections. Either way, they’re superb and enormously versatile lenses for Nikon Z, Canon EOS R and Sony Alpha E-mount cameras respectively. The Nikon Z DX 18-140mm, Fujifilm 18-135mm and Panasonic 14-140mm lenses for crop-sensor cameras aren’t quite as impressive in terms of outright image quality. On the plus side, however, they’re nicely compact and lightweight, making them particularly appealing for travel and walkabout lenses. Again, they’re the best choices for Nikon Z DX, Fujifilm X and Micro Four Thirds cameras.

Back in DSLR territory, two superzooms on the market stand out. The Sigma 18-300mm Contemporary makes the best job of shoehorning a very generous zoom range into a fairly compact construction, and delivers very pleasing image quality. The bigger and heavier Tamron 18-400mm is also a good option, if you really feel the need for supersized telephoto reach.