NIKON Z 14-30MM F/4 S TAMRON 17-28MM F/2.8 DI III RXD

This retractable lens is ideal for handheld shooting with Full-Frame Nikon Z system cameras A constant f/2.8 aperture-rated lens that’s tailor-made for Sony mirrorless cameras

Unlike the first generations of Canon and Sony mirrorless full-frame cameras, Nikon built in-body stabilisation into its Z system cameras from the start. The same can’t be said for its DX (APS-C format) counterparts including the Z 30, Z 50 and Z fc. The Z 1430mm is designed primarily as a wide-angle zoom for FX (Full-Fame) bodies and, as with other Z-mount lenses, Nikon didn’t feel the need to add optical stabilization, instead relying on 5-axis, 5-stop IBIS to do the job.

Nikon’s Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S trinity zoom is a fabulous lens with bells and whistles, including an OLED display, customisable function button, tertiary control ring and more, but it’s about twice the price and considerably bigger and heavier, as well as taking oversized 112mm filters. The smaller, lightweight build of the Z 14-30mm makes it a better fit for handheld shooting. If you’re only carrying a single lens, the greater overall zoom range is also welcome. Stowage size is further reduced by the retractable design.

Although much less expensive than the Z 14-24mm, the Z 14-30mm is still an S-line lens, taking its place in the upper echelons of Nikon’s Z-mount lenses. As such, it has a robust, weather-sealed construction and delivers excellent all-round performance. The optical path includes aspherical elements and four ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements, along with both Nano Crystal Coat and Super Integrated Coating. An additional fluorine coating is applied to the front element.

The linear stepping motor-based autofocus system is fast for stills and smooth for video. As for image quality, levels of sharpness are stunning in the centre of the frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/4, throughout the entire zoom range. In real-world shooting, we found that sharpness held up well right to the extreme edges and corners of the frame. Colour fringing is negligible, while minor amounts of distortion at all focal lengths are facilitated by automatic in-camera correction, which can’t be switched off.

Where the Tamron wins in terms of speed, being a full f/stop faster than the other lenses on test, it loses in maximum viewing angle and overall zoom range. When used on Sony’s Full-Frame mirrorless cameras, it delivers a modest sweep of 103.6° to 75.3°, so you lose out at both ends of the zoom range.

The upside is that the f/2.8 aperture lets more light into the camera, enabling faster shutter speeds under low lighting conditions without the need to bump up your ISO settings. Along with the short minimum focus distance, stretching from 19cm to 26cm through the zoom range, the wider aperture enables a tight depth of field for close-ups.

Although suitably lightweight for handheld walkabout shooting, the construction feels sturdy and features multiple weather-seals, plus a fluorine coating on the front element. The optical path includes two LD (Low Dispersion) elements and an XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) element, along with Tamron’s highly-effective BBAR (Broad-Band AntiReflection)

coating to combat ghosting and flare. Autofocus is driven by an RXD (Rapid eXtra-silent Drive), basically a linear stepping motor by another name. As such, it’s typically fast for stills and smooth for video and is compatible with Fast Hybrid AF and Eye AF where featured in Sony cameras.

Like the Nikon, this lens doesn’t feature Optical Stabilization or ‘Vibration Compensation’ as Tamron calls it. That’s no problem with most Sony Full-Frame cameras, which have 4.5 to 5-stop IBIS effectiveness. However, it can be a problem for early adopters of the Alpha A7 series, as the firstgeneration cameras lacked IBIS.

Sharpness across the whole image frame is excellent, even wide-open at f/2.8, and the Tamron delivers minimal colour fringing even with in-camera correction disabled. Automatic correction can also be disabled, but this reveals minor barrel distortion at the short end of the zoom range and more noticeable pincushion towards the long end.

A/M SWITCH A PHYSICAL AUTO/MANUAL FOCUS SWITCH IS FEATURED, SO YOU DON’T NEED TO DELVE INTO CAMERA MENUS TO MAKE THE CHANGE. RETRACTABLE DESIGN THERE’S NO LOCKING SWITCH SO EXTENDING THE LENS FROM ITS RETRACTED STATE SIMPLY INVOLVES TWISTING THE ZOOM RING. CUSTOMISABLE FOCUS RING THE ELECTRONICALLY COUPLED MANUAL FOCUS CAN BE ASSIGNED DUTIES LIKE STEPLESS APERTURE CONTROL, OR THE ADJUSTMENT OF PARAMETERS SUCH AS ISO AND EXPOSURE COMPENSATION.

FILTER ATTACHMENT THREAD DESPITE ITS FASTER APERTURE, THE TAMRON HAS THE SMALLEST FILTER ATTACHMENT THREAD OF ANY LENS IN THE GROUP, AT 67MM. SIMPLE BY DESIGN THE TAMRON FEATURES NO SWITCHES OR BUTTONS. THERE’S JUST THE STANDARD PAIR OF CONTROL RINGS FOR ZOOM AND MANUAL FOCUS, THE LATTER BEING ELECTRONICALLY COUPLED TO THE RXD FOCUS SYSTEM. LIGHTWEIGHT CONSTRUCTION ALTHOUGH AMAZINGLY LIGHTWEIGHT FOR AN F/2.8 ZOOM AT JUST 420G, THE TAMRON IS WELL-BUILT WITH A ROBUST FEEL, METAL MOUNTING PLATE, MULTIPLE WEATHERSEALS AND A FLUORINECOATED FRONT ELEMENT.