The winner is… Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S

Nikon’s f/1.8 Z-mount lens sees off the faster competition

For our money, with all things considered, the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S is simply the best standard prime on the market. With high-end handling characteristics, winning overall performance and spectacular image quality in terms of both sharpness and bokeh, it’s a fabulous lens. If you don’t feel the need for autofocus, the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.05 lens delivers great ultra-wide-aperture performance and intuitive handling. For such a fast lens, it’s amazingly compact and unbeatable value for money. The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 has a relatively slow aperture rating, but comes into its own for extreme close-ups, with full 1.0x macro magnification.

In the DSLR camp, the Sigma and Zeiss lenses win out for image quality and high-grade construction. They’re both quite big and weighty, but are epic lenses that put Nikon’s 50mm f/1.4 firmly in the shade, although the Zeiss lacks autofocus.

The Tamron 45mm lens is another attractive proposition, losing out slightly on maximum aperture width, but gaining optical image stabilization. Matching the f/1.8 aperture rating of the Tamron, the relatively small and lightweight Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8 F-mount lens is a good budget option that works a treat with any of Nikon’s DX or FX format DSLRS.