The First Super-Speed Z Mount Lens from Nikon!
The fastest Z-series lens from Nikon
Nikon offered high-speed lenses right from the 1950s, starting with the legendary and very rare 50 mm f/1.1 made for range inder cameras. Later, many normal lenses with focal lengths ranging from 50 mm to 58 mm appeared with f/1.2 aperture, with some, now commanding very high prices in the collector’s market. These were all manual focus lenses designed for the Nikon SLRs. However, no autofocussing normal lens with f/1.2 was introduced by Nikon. Hence, many photographers were expecting a new high performance normal f/1.2 lens after the Z mount was announced. This is the answer from Nikon.
Design & Build Quality
This is a very large and heavy lens. In fact, it is the largest 50 mm fullframe lens that we ever received for a review! It uses the same solid ‘hybrid’ construction as the other S lenses. There are two rings. The irst is very broad and is for manual focussing. The second, called the ‘control ring’ is fully customisable. At the top, there is a ‘faux ring’ that the manual calls a ‘rubber grip’ and that is exactly its purpose!
As with a few other Z lenses, there is a multipurpose organic EL display panel on the lens. There are two buttons, one called ‘Disp’ and the other ‘L-Fn’ (Lens Function). The usual switch for AF/ MF selection is also present. There are seals all over to make the lens dust and moisture-proof.
Key Features
This is a complex lens with no less than 17 elements in 15 groups (including 2 ED elements and 3 aspherical elements).
The well-known Nikon’s Nano Crystal and ARNEO coatings are also present. The focussing is internal.
The Vibration Reduction (VR) feature has been omitted as the Z camera bodies have IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation). The control ring can be customised to set either aperture or exposure compensation. Using the ‘Disp’ button, you can display, distance (in feet or metres), DOF, focal length, or aperture. The ‘L-Fn’ button can be programmed to perform any one of the 21 different functions, examples being metering mode selection, playback, zoom, bracketing burst, etc.
Ergonomics
The lens was tested on Nikon Z6 II and Z7 full-frame bodies. The heavy lens, plus the lighter body combination
moves the balance (centre of gravity) towards the middle of the lens. The bulk of the weight will be supported by the left hand. You can cradle the lens in your left hand comfortably and the combination is easy to hold.
Both the rings have a ribbing on the surface to give a good grip and are very smooth to turn but we wish there was a little more damping. This is because, you could inadvertently slightly move the two rings (while cradling), changing the focus or some other parameter (depending on how you have customised the control ring). The AF/
MF switch can be operated comfortably, plus, you have the usual instant MF override. A raised index mark has been provided for easy lens mounting.
Performance
The optical performance was extraordinary as you can expect from a lens with such a size, weight and price. The centre sharpness was outstanding even wide open, and the edge sharpness was excellent. This is an extraordinary performance, considering the extremely high speed of the lens. The sharpness increases across the frame as you stop down. The peak sharpness for both centre and edges is around f/3.5. However, the lens is plenty sharp even wide open, and can be used wide open without any reservations.
The overall contrast was excellent. The lens showed extremely low distortion and also aberrations were well corrected. The AF was silent and swift (due to dual stepper motors) with no hunting. The colours were vibrant and were consistent with the other Nikon Z lenses. The lare control was very good. Nikon claims that the focus breathing is minimal. This is an important factor for movie makers.
Special mention needs to be made regarding the rendering (‘bokeh’) of the out of focus areas. These are very smooth and gradual, due to the optical design and the 9-bladed diaphragm. This, plus the excellent micro-contrast, causes the main subject to ‘pop’ giving the picture a 3D look.
The usual caveat. Please remember that what we have written here is after the automatic corrections are done by the raw converter, using the lens supplied pro iles, and in practise, this is what you will also see.
Value for Money
This lens is priced at Rs.1,79,995/(MRP). Lenses in this class are not cheap and this price is comparable to similar offerings by competitors.
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