Z50ii - which len(s) do you have/will you get?

calcal · Friday at 10:54 PM

I am seriously considering getting the Z50ii as a lightweight walk around and especially travel kit - though not specifically for wildlife. There are not many Nikon Z DX lens options at this time. Quite a few 3rd party lenses but not many autofocus options.

It certainly makes sense to get at least one of the 'kit' lens options and the 16-50 seems to be well regarded, super light and small, and only $150 USD when purchased with the camera.

The 50-250 also good price if puchased with the camera with or without the 16-50. The 18-140 is more expensive but currently can get $200 USD off if bundled with the camera purchase with or without the other kit lenses. The 18-140 looks to be a great small lightweight option for a one lens travel kit and a bit smaller and lighter than the 50-250.

All are variable aperture and get to to f6.3 pretty quickly, the trade-off for keeping them small and light. I have full frame Z lenses for my Z7 and Z8 such as 14-30 f4 and 50mm 1.8 for faster options but somewhat defeating the size and weight for travel advantage - the main reason for considering this camera.

I'd love to hear from folks who have experience with these lenses or are considering lenses for cropped sensor Z cameras.

abc123brian · Saturday at 9:06 AM

I don't have any experience with the Z50 camera or lenses but have owned many of the Fujis as a small, lightweight travel kit. My experience is that the lenses tend to be more important than the body in size/weight. I moved from DSLR to Fuji so the size difference was more drastic. Where things get to be frustrating (when comparing to mirrorless) is at first it feels like you accomplished your goal of smaller and lighter but after some time you start to see that it’s still bigger than what you wanted and you’re not saving as much weight or size, mostly size to get the benefits. Perhaps something like a X100vi would make more sense so you could actually put the camera in a jacket pocket or on a neck strap and not really notice it. Or would a smaller set of lenses for your Z7ii size camera get you to about the same place; something like the 24-70mm f/4, 28mm, 40mm aren’t bad, but the 24-50mm and 26mm are quite small and lightweight. This setup will fit in a similar size camera bag as the Z50ii.

Lenses like the 18-140 (I had Fujis 18-135) give one lens for convenience and I like them for that, but the size/weight make you aware you’re carrying a camera with you. They can be a good option for the convenience, but again, something like the 24-200 for the Z7ii would get you near the same experience.

Personally, I went with the Zf. It is bigger and heavier than the Z50ii kit but it doesn’t feel significant enough to matter much since either way you’re still carrying a camera. If I were to buy a Z50ii for travel, it would be the two lens kit and a couple batteries. I’d get the smallest bag they would fit in and that would be my travel kit. If I didn’t need the telephoto, I’d leave it behind and take just the Z50ii with the 16-50 without the camera bag.

calcal · Saturday at 9:14 AM

abc123brian said:
I don't have any experience with the Z50 camera or lenses but have owned many of the Fujis as a small, lightweight travel kit. My experience is that the lenses tend to be more important than the body in size/weight. I moved from DSLR to Fuji so the size difference was more drastic. Where things get to be frustrating (when comparing to mirrorless) is at first it feels like you accomplished your goal of smaller and lighter but after some time you start to see that it’s still bigger than what you wanted and you’re not saving as much weight or size, mostly size to get the benefits. Perhaps something like a X100vi would make more sense so you could actually put the camera in a jacket pocket or on a neck strap and not really notice it. Or would a smaller set of lenses for your Z7ii size camera get you to about the same place; something like the 24-70mm f/4, 28mm, 40mm aren’t bad, but the 24-50mm and 26mm are quite small and lightweight. This setup will fit in a similar size camera bag as the Z50ii.

Lenses like the 18-140 (I had Fujis 18-135) give one lens for convenience and I like them for that, but the size/weight make you aware you’re carrying a camera with you. They can be a good option for the convenience, but again, something like the 24-200 for the Z7ii would get you near the same experience.

Personally, I went with the Zf. It is bigger and heavier than the Z50ii kit but it doesn’t feel significant enough to matter much since either way you’re still carrying a camera. If I were to buy a Z50ii for travel, it would be the two lens kit and a couple batteries. I’d get the smallest bag they would fit in and that would be my travel kit. If I didn’t need the telephoto, I’d leave it behind and take just the Z50ii with the 16-50 without the camera bag.

Thank you for your thoughtful response

Eric Yellowstone · Saturday at 9:46 AM

I bought the Z50ii kit with the 16-50 and 50-250 lenses. (this isn't my primary camera) Except for making sure the 16-50 worked, I've used the 50-250 lens for most of my photography.

MartyD · Saturday at 2:29 PM

I have a Z9 and a Z6iii and a number of Z mount lenses. I purchased the Z50ii one lens kit thinking the 16-50 would be great combination to make a light weight casual use camera. I haven't had time to shoot it much yet but I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs with all of my lenses.

ElenaH · Sunday at 5:39 AM

I have Z30 with 16-50 and 50-250 lenses and used it really a LOT. But mostly with 16-50 because it was not easy to use a camera without EVF with 50-250. But now Z50 II came out and I bought it with 18-140. The upgrade made sense for me because now I can use my 50-250 more often

Interestingly the first Z50 II cameras were sold here only as kits. So, I decided to test 18-140.
And after some testing I loved 18-140 because it covers a "common zoom range" and it is also a kind of macro lens what is also perfect! So, you can shoot macros as well with it. So, it is sharper than 16-50, has decent VR but you need to shoot burst for better results if you use a slower shutter speed. I used minimum 1/15 and was able to bring some sharp pictures. When there is enough light it is just excellent. But also 16-50 is great!! 18-140 gives more versatility but 16-50 is lighter and smaller. As I said, I took a lot of pictures with Z30+16-50, I took that camera everywhere with me, even at work ;-) because I am working on 32nd floor and could take pictures of different weather. I took also a lot of videos and time lapses. I love 16-50. I would say I rather buy 16-50 than 18-140. I have 18-140 because it was in a kit and I don't regret to have it. But if I don't have anything I would buy 16-50 and 50-250.
50-250 is also very sharp lens but I didn't use it too much, unfortunately. Now, with Z50 II I will use it!
I also have 24/1.7 (excellent!) and 56/1.4 from Sigma. With sigma I was able to shoot gorgeous portraits! It was even hardly to believe that they were made with Z30

I also have professional equipment but I was traveling and took only hand luggage with Z30. I was amazed with results. If you want I can post some pictures made of those lenses.

DougC · Sunday at 9:29 AM

The two kit lenses are probably the best bang for the buck IMHO. Small, lightweight and amazingly good IQ. For me, a real no brainer for general purpose travel combo.

calcal · Sunday at 3:38 PM

Eric Yellowstone said:
I bought the Z50ii kit with the 16-50 and 50-250 lenses. (this isn't my primary camera) Except for making sure the 16-50 worked, I've used the 50-250 lens for most of my photography.

MartyD said:
I have a Z9 and a Z6iii and a number of Z mount lenses. I purchased the Z50ii one lens kit thinking the 16-50 would be great combination to make a light weight casual use camera. I haven't had time to shoot it much yet but I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs with all of my lenses.

Enjoy it!

ElenaH said:
I have Z30 with 16-50 and 50-250 lenses and used it really a LOT. But mostly with 16-50 because it was not easy to use a camera without EVF with 50-250. But now Z50 II came out and I bought it with 18-140. The upgrade made sense for me because now I can use my 50-250 more often
Interestingly the first Z50 II cameras were sold here only as kits. So, I decided to test 18-140.
And after some testing I loved 18-140 because it covers a "common zoom range" and it is also a kind of macro lens what is also perfect! So, you can shoot macros as well with it. So, it is sharper than 16-50, has decent VR but you need to shoot burst for better results if you use a slower shutter speed. I used minimum 1/15 and was able to bring some sharp pictures. When there is enough light it is just excellent. But also 16-50 is great!! 18-140 gives more versatility but 16-50 is lighter and smaller. As I said, I took a lot of pictures with Z30+16-50, I took that camera everywhere with me, even at work ;-) because I am working on 32nd floor and could take pictures of different weather. I took also a lot of videos and time lapses. I love 16-50. I would say I rather buy 16-50 than 18-140. I have 18-140 because it was in a kit and I don't regret to have it. But if I don't have anything I would buy 16-50 and 50-250.
50-250 is also very sharp lens but I didn't use it too much, unfortunately. Now, with Z50 II I will use it!
I also have 24/1.7 (excellent!) and 56/1.4 from Sigma. With sigma I was able to shoot gorgeous portraits! It was even hardly to believe that they were made with Z30 I also have professional equipment but I was traveling and took only hand luggage with Z30. I was amazed with results. If you want I can post some pictures made of those lenses.

This is fantastic help, thank you! However you might be helping my shopping cart grow bigger!! I would love to see pictures if you have the time to post.

fcotterill · Sunday at 11:44 PM

I'm also planning to add a Z50 II to have a "always-carry" light camera kit to take almost everywhere, including in car and long hikes. This is opportunistic landscapes, macros as well as unexpected wildlife sightings. I only need 2 DX lens at most, otherwise FX. These include 40 f2 and 400 f4.5S etc. I also can adapt a 500 PF and 300 PF. (Recent ThomH comments confirm the Z50 II autofocus is as reliable as anticipated, being the Z9 AF technology.)

Nikon Z50 II Launched

Quick simple report: I used the Z52, as I know call it, for 15 minutes or so with my 180-600 at Conowingo Dam yesterday. I started 2 hours earlier with my Z8 and the Z52 felt like a toy when I switched. I can't give a technical test answer but for the few eagles and turkeys I saw it tracked 2...

bcgforums.com

I will probably buy the 18-150 Z50 II kit, based on reviews, confirmed by owners including @ElenaH

The widest end of UWide is the big gap in Nikon DX coverage. The 205g 12-24 DX power zoom is an option, or adapt a used 230g 10-2O AFP DX (some years ago I used this with the D500). Yet another versatile travel kit can combine a DX UWide zoom with the 725g 28-400 Nikkor, although it's f8 at 400mm.

The Rational Z DX Lens Kits | Thom Hogan

Some rational DX lens kits for the Z-mount cameras

www.zsystemuser.com

Ado Wolf · Monday at 12:36 PM

I have been using the Z50 since it came out for all genre of photography: travel, wildlife, family photos.

For travel, I have two options:
- 18–140 when I want to travel light (it covers most scenarios, with great close-up capabilities)
- 16 –50 and 50–250 when I expect some wildlife scenes.
In both cases I sometimes take the 28mm F2 .8 for lowlight situations/portrait photos.
I recently purchased the 12–28 mm, that I only take when photographing narrow scenes or making selfies.

For wildlife, I use the following options:
- 300 mm PF adapted on the FTZ
- 70-300mm also adapted, when I plan to take some landscape as well

For every day / walk around and family photos, I usually go for the 40 F2 (light and compact and offers great quality).

For macro, I use the 50 MC, however the lack of vibration control / IBIS is a bit annoying when shooting a low light.

calcal · Monday at 1:09 PM

Thank you for sharing your lens options. I will take a look at the 40 F2 next time I make it into B&H...maybe even later this week.

ElenaH · Monday at 5:55 PM

There are some examples of 16-50, 50-250 and 18-140, mostly shoot with Z30.