Best z Nikon lens

[Shutterbug71]

Hello, I have used a Nikon z 24mm - 120mm S lens for night photography. I like to photograph city’s that are glowing under bright lights. The 24mm. 120mm seems to do a reasonable job. I don’t own the 50mm or 40mm lens and heard that they are very good under low light. What are your thoughts on the best lens to use. Larry

 

[JP Onstwedder]

I own that same zoom as well as the 24-70/2.8 and the 50/1.8. Hardly ever use the prime as it’s too long for city scenes and too short for candid street portraits . Predictably the faster zoom is better for subject isolation, but for everything else in nighttime cityscapes there isn’t much difference and the flexibility of the 24-120 is very nice to have. As always it depends on what subjects you like to shoot!

 

[JAJohnson]

The “best” lens to use in any situation is often subjective. Your skill level and technique are also a factor.

I assume you’re shooting cityscapes. If so, the lens you have is a good one. You might consider the 24-70 f/2.8. Shot wide open, it’s wider aperture allows greater light gathering than your current lens, which will allow for shooting with lower ISO.

Prime lenses are another good option to consider, but you’ll lose the compositional flexibility of a zoom.

I’m sure others will chime in with their thoughts. Hope mine are helpful.

 

[PhilG]

The “best” lens to use in any situation is often subjective. Your skill level and technique are also a factor.

I assume you’re shooting cityscapes. If so, the lens you have is a good one. You might consider the 24-70 f/2.8. Shot wide open, it’s wider aperture allows greater light gathering than your current lens, which will allow for shooting with lower ISO.

Prime lenses are another good option to consider, but you’ll lose the compositional flexibility of a zoom.

I’m sure others will chime in with their thoughts. Hope mine are helpful.

The Z 24-70 2.8 has a rendering quality I never saw in their previous generation of lenses and it's also very sharp. If your photographs are in that focal range, I second JA Johnson's recommendation.

 

[wotan1]

I agree that the "best" lens is subjective. It also depends on what you are shooting.

When you refer to the 24-120mm it suggests you are shooting with a decent quality zoom lens that is capable of handling a wide range from wide angle to long portrait. The compactness, flexibility and decent quality optics make it best for those purposes. It is also reasonably priced.

When showing in that general range there are other lenses that have greater capability albeit at greater cost. the f2.8 lenses (14-24, 24-70mm BS 70-200MM have a well-deserved reputation for image quality and sharpness. those lenses also give a wider aperture which means shallower depth of field.

If there is one lens that is my personal favorite in this general range it is the 135mm f1.8 Plena. I like that lens because it has a really shallow depth of field and really excellent. background rendering. It allows for really creative imaging possibilities. But it is expensive.

In the end the best lens is the one you prefer to use. That is completely up to you.

 

[Nimi]

I highly recommend trying the AF-S 24mm f1.4G ED or its sibling 28mm f/1.4E ED. Nothing like them yet on Z mount.

 

[jcgamble]

Nikkor Z 20mm f1.8 S is a beast for landscape.

 

[Shutterbug71]

The “best” lens to use in any situation is often subjective. Your skill level and technique are also a factor.

I assume you’re shooting cityscapes. If so, the lens you have is a good one. You might consider the 24-70 f/2.8. Shot wide open, it’s wider aperture allows greater light gathering than your current lens, which will allow for shooting with lower ISO.

Prime lenses are another good option to consider, but you’ll lose the compositional flexibility of a zoom.

I’m sure others will chime in with their thoughts. Hope mine are helpful.

Yes, was interested in night cityscapes, thank you for the reply. I will look at the 24 - 70 f/2.8 lens

 

[Lee R]

Hello, I have used a Nikon z 24mm - 120mm S lens for night photography. I like to photograph city’s that are glowing under bright lights. The 24mm. 120mm seems to do a reasonable job. I don’t own the 50mm or 40mm lens and heard that they are very good under low light. What are your thoughts on the best lens to use. Larry

Best is super subjective.

I shoot mostly primes so I'm not a fan of larger heavier zoom lenses, I'd prefer to just know I'm shooting a 24/35/50 whatever and set my mind to those shots and go out. I think the primes have a better "look" as well compared to zooms. I like the focus of using a prime only and not having any other zoom option, it stops me from being lazy and just "zooming" and thinking more carefully about where I put myself and what type of shot I'm after, which for me ends in better results.

For night I really like the 35 and 50 1.8 S, the 20 1.8 is a great wide angle too (I still use the 20 1.8G though). I like the 26mm 2.8, 28 2.8 and 40 F2 for how super light they are as well and image quality from any of them is excellent.

The 50 1.8S is a razor of a lens.

One Zoom I do use is the 14-30S but mostly only at 14 or 30 as I treat it sort of like two primes when I use it. The 2.8 is heavier and larger than I would like to carry but it's a fine lens.

 

[Shutterbug71]

Best is super subjective.

I shoot mostly primes so I'm not a fan of larger heavier zoom lenses, I'd prefer to just know I'm shooting a 24/35/50 whatever and set my mind to those shots and go out. I think the primes have a better "look" as well compared to zooms. I like the focus of using a prime only and not having any other zoom option, it stops me from being lazy and just "zooming" and thinking more carefully about where I put myself and what type of shot I'm after, which for me ends in better results.

For night I really like the 35 and 50 1.8 S, the 20 1.8 is a great wide angle too (I still use the 20 1.8G though). I like the 26mm 2.8, 28 2.8 and 40 F2 for how super light they are as well and image quality from any of them is excellent.

The 50 1.8S is a razor of a lens.

Hello, the only thing I don’t like about zoom lenses is weight. The lenses you mentioned seems like very good lenses. I am leaning on the 50mm lens. The 40mm as well.

 

[Lee R]

Hello, the only thing I don’t like about zoom lenses is weight. The lenses you mentioned seems like very good lenses. I am leaning on the 50mm lens. The 40mm as well.

I'm very happy with my 50 1.8S and the 40 F2. 40 F2 is a lot of bang for the buck and it renders very different from the 50 1.8S. Don't worry whatsoever about the plastic construction, it's a feather light lens so that's a benefit and the glass inside is great, autofocus is fast too.

I'm just a fan of picking a lens for an evening and thinking in "50mm" or whichever the mood strikes and that's the only lens I'll take out for the evening.

If you like manual lenses the Voightlander 50mm 1.0 looks really nice. I shoot a 50mm 1.2 AI-S on the FTZ often on my Zf and at 1.2 it's a dreamy misty soft look which then stops down into decent sharpness at F2 and up. I just love the older AI-S lenses for the mechanical feel and rendering.

 

[TurtleCat]

I'm assuming you're handheld and not using a tripod. In that case, I'd suggest figuring out your best field of view and then pick the lens that gives you roughly that field of view if you want a lighter lens. There really is not a bad option out there unless it doesn't give you what you want.

 

[ElenaH]

I think, if you are photographing city nightscapes than you need to have lens with perfect sun-stars (the stars of lights on a low aperture)
So, you need to have a look at lenses with even not rounded but straight aperture blades, like for example, Voigtländer lenses. They often have 10 or 12 blades and produce excellent sunstars even by low apertures.
I can confirm that becasue I have 40/1.2 from Voigtländer and it has nice sun-stars already by f1.4.
The other brilliat quality of Voigtländer lenses is their colour-reporducing. They bring increadible colours! The blue-hour will be just amazing with Voigtländer lenses.
Here is a bit old article about lenses for sunstars: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/best-lenses-for-sunstars/
But you can google as well.

You can also have a look/seach at flickr for photos or groups for particular lenses. I often look at flickr photos if I think about purchasing some glass and not sure about what to buy.
You can also think about mist-fliter for foggy look or red-enhancer (anto ligt-pollution filter) for creative results.

 

[Nimi]

I think, if you are photographing city nightscapes than you need to have lens with perfect sun-stars (the stars of lights on a low aperture)
So, you need to have a look at lenses with even not rounded but straight aperture blades, like for example, Voigtländer lenses. They often have 10 or 12 blades and produce excellent sunstars even by low apertures.
I can confirm that becasue I have 40/1.2 from Voigtländer and it has nice sun-stars already by f1.4.
The other brilliat quality of Voigtländer lenses is their colour-reporducing. They bring increadible colours! The blue-hour will be just amazing with Voigtländer lenses.
Here is a bit old article about lenses for sunstars: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/best-lenses-for-sunstars/
But you can google as well.

You can also have a look/seach at flickr for photos or groups for particular lenses. I often look at flickr photos if I think about purchasing some glass and not sure about what to buy.
You can also think about mist-fliter for foggy look or red-enhancer (anto ligt-pollution filter) for creative results.

Another vote for Voigtlander. Just getting into the system with the 15/4.5. Sharp, high contrast, dreamy rendering.

 

[Charles Loy]

I use the Nikkor Z 20mm f1.8 S and 24mm Z f1.8 S for your tasks. Bonus these are amazing in very low light, actually turn darkness into daylight

 

[Shutterbug71]

Want to thank everyone who replied to the question I asked. I will research on what you had posted.

 

[ssheipel]

The 50 1.2 is a superb lens. Heavy as, well, a whole lot of glass. Zero flexibility zoom, beyond moving one's feet. On the other end -- too long for what you're looking for? -- is the Plena 135 1.8. (Also 'heavy' of course ). I've used both at night in the city; both are low light masters and both have sublime bokeh and focus transition zones. The third thing the two lenses have in common (after their weight and their ability to shoot in the dark) is they're both expensive Good luck with your choice.

 

[Larry S.]

I'm very happy with my 50 1.8S and the 40 F2. 40 F2 is a lot of bang for the buck and it renders very different from the 50 1.8S. Don't worry whatsoever about the plastic construction, it's a feather light lens so that's a benefit and the glass inside is great, autofocus is fast too.

I'm just a fan of picking a lens for an evening and thinking in "50mm" or whichever the mood strikes and that's the only lens I'll take out for the evening.

If you like manual lenses the Voightlander 50mm 1.0 looks really nice. I shoot a 50mm 1.2 AI-S on the FTZ often on my Zf and at 1.2 it's a dreamy misty soft look which then stops down into decent sharpness at F2 and up. I just love the older AI-S lenses for the mechanical feel and rendering.

The Voigtlander 50mm f/1 is amazing…. Manual focusing is not everyone’s cup of tea but the results are worth it…

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[wotan1]

This is a great post it allows us to share information about our favorite lenses. Mostly we fall in love with lenses that allow us to explore our creative instincts and produce spectacular results.

My three favorite lenses are:

Z 800mm f6.3 pf

Z 135mm f1.8 Plena

Z 14-24mm f2.8


Why I love those lenses:

800mm: Ideal bird lens for me. Very sharp great backgrounds and autofocus works really welll. My favorite birding lens.

135mm Plena: Freakishly sharp (some reviewers describe it as the sharpest lens they ever tested) with beautiful shallow depth of field and gorgeous bokeh. A masterful lens that lends itself to all sorts of creative and strikingi images.

14-24mm f2.8: Interesting super wide focal length range great for artistic perspective; super sharp detailed images.

Why not to love these lenses:

Expensive.

 

[mathjak107]

my wife and i redid all our lenses and cameras . each lens has a purpose .

i have a z8 with: all z lenses

24-70 f4

70-200mm f2.8

105mm macro

600pf f6.3

28-400mm for one lens when lighting is good


however we both have a nikon zf for smaller lenses

i use a 26mm f2 pancake and a 50mm f1.4


my wife uses the 14-30mm f4 on it , a 35mm f1.8 and a 40mm f2.

which we take depends on what we are shooting and where we are going .

tomorrow i think we will go to the hudson yards in manhattan for the day .

i will take the zf and 26mm and 50mm f1.4

she will use the zf and 14-30mm and 35mm f1.8

nice and light .


its great having all this flexibility , but costly. ha ha

 

[Don_Logan]

The 35/1.4 might be a good option as well(?) Their non-S stuff is damn good.

 

[Lee R]

The 35/1.4 might be a good option as well(?) Their non-S stuff is damn good.

The 1.4's are also very good. They're designed for a blend of vintage glass characteristics if that's what you're after.

Nikon's inexpensive lenses all have good optics. The 28/40 plastics are great lenses for the price and they're on sale for $225 all the time. Those and/or the 26 2.8 are kind of must haves for me because of how light they are while still having optics that deliver. I'll probably never own the 1.2's simply because they're larger and heavier than I ever want to carry around, they are very nice lenses though.

A good description showing comparison images of the 35 1.8s and 1.4 in this article.

Nikon Z 35mm f1.4 vs Nikon Z 35mm f1.8 S - Sample Images | Alik Griffin

I’ve been shooting a bit with the 35mm f1.4 lately and am already in love with the lens. It’s not perfect; it’s not an S lens, which in this case means it’s missing the ED elements…

alikgriffin.com

 

[Calson]

I check the frequency of using different zoom focal lengths to decide what to buy to augment the zoom. If with a 24-120mm most of my images are at 120mm then a 70-200mm or a 100-400mm may be advantageous. If the images cluster at 24mm then something like a 14-30mm may be a good addition. It depends on the photographer and what they choose to photograph.

 

[Activert]

Yes, was interested in night cityscapes, thank you for the reply. I will look at the 24 - 70 f/2.8 lens

I have the 24-70 f/2.8 and I love it. It is always in my bag where ever I go. I don't shoot nighttime cityscape, but I shoot wildlife in their habitat, just before and during the blue hour. The sharpness of this lens is amazing. Plus it is very versatile lens since it is not only a zoom, but very good quality zoom. You can shoot with it portrait and night events etc...I agree with @ wotan1 , the 135 Plena, is amazing and it is the next lens on my list. A gift for myself on Christmas???. But I don't know if the focal 135 suit your kind of photography, I know for my style it will be good addition to my favourite lenses

 

[jhallettbc]

The Voigtlander 50mm f/1 is amazing…. Manual focusing is not everyone’s cup of tea but the results are worth it…
View attachment 101534

I was going to mention this lens! I bought it several months ago and it is the most amazing lens I've ever owned. Taking portraits of people at f1 gives fantastic results. As for night photography you can use it under any conditions and have relatively low ISO. I started out with AF lens in the '90's and had never used a manual lens until now. There is something very satisfying about focusing on a very fine piece of machinery. There are some tricks to focus quickly if you are trying for people shots in the street--use peak focusing and have the focus magnification option set to 50% to insure sharp eyes.