Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8

FX Z-Mount Mirrorless

Sample Images   Introduction

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance   Compared

User's Guide   Recommendations

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Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S (Full-frame, 82mm filters, 28.3 oz./803g, 1.15'/0.38m close focus, $1,997, or about $1,750 used if you know How to Win at eBay). bigger. I got mine at Adorama. I'd also get mine at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.

 

December 2022   Nikon   Mirrorless   Mirrorless Lenses   All Nikon Lenses   Nikon Flash   All Reviews

Please help KenRockwell.com

Sample Images

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

(many more samples in the Performance section of the review)

These are all shot hand-held as BASIC ★ JPGs; no RAW files, NORMAL or FINE JPGs or tripods were used or needed.

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 sharpness

Clubhouse, California Desert, 22 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 30mm at f/8 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.7. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

 

2008 Ford Mustanf Shelby GT-C

2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-C, 30 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 70mm at f/11 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 64, as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 sharpness

Palm Cathedral, California Desert, 22 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 24mm wide-open at f/2.8 at 1/1,250 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.7. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

 

Adorama Pays Top Dollar for Used Gear

Amazon

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio

Crutchfield

I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below.

Introduction

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

New   Good   Bad   Missing

The Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is a bigger, heavier, faster version of last year's 24-70mm f/4 S for Nikon's new full-frame mirrorless cameras.

This new Z lens has an electronic diaphragm for quiet operation for shooting video.

This lens is so sharp it can create aliases on fabrics on my 45MP Z7, shot wide-open at f/2.8!

I got my Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 at Adorama. I'd also get mine at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

New

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Nikon's first lens with a tiny OLED panel that can show your choice of focus distance with depth-of-field, aperture or zoom setting:

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Distance w/depth-of-field bar. bigger.
Aperture. bigger.
Focal length. bigger.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Nikon's first lens with a third programmable control ring in addition to the zoom and focus rings — just like Canon did back in 2017.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Programmable L-Fn (Lens Function) button.

 

Good

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Super sharp at every setting, just like the 24-70mm f/4 S.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Dust and drip resistant with lots of weather sealing:

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S weather sealing

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 weather sealing. bigger.

 

Bad

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com $2,297 rather than $997 for the f/4 version.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Bigger, heavier, doesn't collapse and doesn't focus as close as the lightweight f/4 version.

 

Missing

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Tiny OLED panel lacks automatic brightness control (the OLED panels of the Z6 and Z7 cameras have automatic brightness control), so you won't be able to read the lens' OLED panel outdoors unless you manually increase its brightness. Once you increase the brightness so you can read it outdoors, it will be too bright indoors until you manually adjust it again. Worse, you have to press the DISP button for it to turn on and then it turns off 10 seconds later - it's not always on so it's more of an annoyance than a feature.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No VR switch for in-camera VR.

 

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8. bigger.

 

Format & Compatibility

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

I got my Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 at Adorama. I'd also get mine at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This is a full-frame lens which works only on Nikon's Z-series mirrorless cameras.

It does not so much as even mount on any other camera.

 

Specifications

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

I got my Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 at Adorama. I'd also get mine at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

Name

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Bottom, 24-70mm f/2.8. bigger.

Nikon calls this the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S:

    NIKKOR: Nikon's brand name for all their lenses.

    Z: For Nikon's mirrorless cameras.

    S: Subliminally suggests sexual satisfaction. The "S" designation has no other purpose than subliminal seduction; Nikon and electronics and automobile and every kind of marketer have been using letters like "S" and "X" in model numbers since the 1940s for this same reason. Nikon called their first 1946 rangefinder lens mount the "S" mount, then went whole-hog to the "F" SLR mount in 1959, used "S" again when they updated their AI lenses to AI-"S" in 1983, created AF-"S" SWM lenses in 1998 and here it is again.

    ∅82: 82mm filter thread.

 

Also has:

    E: Electronic diaphragm for silent operation.

    AF-P: Stepper (Pulse) autofocus motor: silent and ultra fast.

    D: Couples distance information to the 3D Matrix Meter.

    ED: Magic Extra-low Dispersion glass for reduced secondary chromatic aberration.

    IF: Internal focusing; nothing moves externally as focused.

    Aspherical: Specially curved glass elements for sharper pictures.

    Nano Crystal Coat (N): Magic anti-reflection coating that has a variable index of refraction that's far more effective against ghosts and internal reflections than traditional multicoating.

 

Optics

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Nikon 24-70/2.8 internal optical construction. Aspherical and ED elements.

17 elements in 15 groups.

2 ED extra-low dispersion elements. These help reduce secondary axial chromatic aberration.

4 aspherical elements.

Internal focusing.

Nikon Super Integrated multicoating (SIC).

Nano Crystal and/or ARNEO coatings on some surfaces.

Fluorine front and rear coatings to resist dirt and smudges.

"Pumper" zoom: the front section extends as zoomed to 70mm.

 

Coverage

FX and DX.

 

Diaphragm

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

24-70mm f/2.8 Z. bigger.

9 rounded blades.

Electronically actuated.

Stops down to f/22.

 

Angle of View

34.3º ~ 84º diagonal on FX.

(22.8º ~ 61º diagonal on DX.)

 

Autofocus

Internal focus.

No external movement as focused, so no air or dust is sucked in.

Silent stepper motor.

 

Focus Scale

An option on the OLED panel.

 

Infinity Focus Stop

No.

 

Depth of Field Scale

An option on the OLED panel.

 

Reproduction Ratio Scale

No.

 

Infrared Focus Index

No.

 

Close Focus

1.25 feet (0.38 meters).

 

Maximum Reproduction Ratio

1:4.5 (0.22×).

 

Image Stabilizer

Rated 5 stops improvement when used with the Nikon Z cameras. The lens itself has no internal stabilizers. Actually gives a good three to four stops in real-world use.

 

Caps

LC-82 82 mm snap-on front cap (Nikon part number 4132), included.

LF-N1 Z-mount rear cap, included.

 

Filters

82 mm × 0.75mm pitch standard filter thread.

 

Hood

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

HB-87 hood for 24-70mm f/2.8 Z. bigger.

Felt-lined HB-87 plastic bayonet hood, included.

Plastic locking pawl.

 

Case

CL-C2 slipcase included.

 

Size

3.50" maximum diameter × 4.96" extension from flange.

89.0 mm maximum diameter × 126.0 mm extension from flange.

 

Weight

28.325 oz. (803.0g) actual measured weight.

Rated 28.4 oz. (805 g).

 

Announced

11 PM, Wednesday, 13 February 2019, NYC time.

 

Promised for

Nikon says "Spring, 2019" and Amazon promised it for 30 April 2019.

 

Available Since

The first ones arrived on 22 April 2019.

 

Included

LC-82 82 mm snap-on front cap (Nikon part number 4132).

LF-N1 Z-mount rear cap.

HB-87 bayonet hood.

CL-C2 bag-style case.

 

Nikon's Model Number

20089.

 

Price, U. S. A.       specifications       top

December 2022

$2,097 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

About $1,750 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

May 2022

$1,997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

About $1,800 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

July 2021

$2,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

About $1,700 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

February ~ June 2019

$2,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Box, 24-70mm f/2.8. bigger.

 

Getting a Legal USA Version

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

I got my Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 at Adorama. I'd also get mine at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This section applies in the USA only.

In the USA, be sure your box has a "5 Years of Protection Included" sticker, and that most importantly you have this USA Warranty card inside your box:

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 USA Warranty Card

USA Warranty Card. bigger.

If you don't have this card, if the card doesn't say "4 YEARS USA EXTENDED SEVICE COVERAGE" or the serial number on the card doesn't match the one on your lens exactly, you got ripped off with a gray market version from another country. (The serial number on the box doesn't have to match, but if it doesn't it means you bought from a shady dealer who took lenses out of boxes and then resold them as new.) This is why I never buy anyplace other than from my personally approved sources. You just can't take the chance of buying elsewhere, especially at any retail store, because non-USA versions have no warranty in the USA, and you won't even be able to get firmware or service for it — even if you're willing to pay out-of-pocket for it when you need it!

Nikon USA enforces its trademarks strictly. It's unlikely, but possible that US customs won't let your lens back in the country if you bought a gray-market version in the USA, carried it overseas, and try to bring it back in. (If you take the chance of buying one overseas, be sure you have a receipt to prove you bought it overseas and be prepared to pay duty on it.)

If a gray market version saves you $700 it may be worth it, but for $200 or less I wouldn't risk having no warranty or support.

Always be sure to check yours while you can still return it, or just don't buy from unapproved sources or at retail so you'll be able to have your camera serviced and get free updated firmware as needed.

Get yours from the same places I do and you won't have a problem, but if you take the risk of getting yours elsewhere, be sure to check everything while you still can return it.

 

Performance

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

 

Overall   Autofocus   Manual Focus   Breathing   Bokeh

Distortion   Ergonomics   OLED   Exposure   Falloff

Filters   Flare & Ghosts   Lateral Color Fringes

Lens Corrections   Macro   Mechanics   Sharpness

Spherochromatism   Stabilization   Sunstars 

 

I got my Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 at Adorama. I'd also get mine at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

Overall

Performance          top

The 24-70 is a big, heavy lens that's as super-sharp as the 24-70/4. This big lens is a little tougher, a stop faster and has some more showy features than the f/4 version, but it's not sharper than the f/4 version.

 

Autofocus

Performance          top

Autofocus speed is moderate, however on my Z7, as with all other lenses on my Z7, in Auto-AF-Area select mode it will tend to ignore a close subject in the center of the frame right in front of the camera if the background is already somewhat in focus.

In other words, if you're focused at a distance, hold your hand a foot or two in front of the camera and you have to select a single-AF zone to get the Z7 to focus on the hand. Weird, but that's a Z7 problem with all lenses, not a problem with this great lens.

 

Manual Focus

performance          top

Just grab the focus ring at any time for instant manual-focus override.

Manual focus is entirely electronic; the manual focus ring isn't connected to anything other than a digital encoder.

If you have a problem with a camera not autofocusing on a close subject, just use the manual focus ring to get to about the right distance and then the AF system will lock in.

 

Focus Breathing

Performance          top

Focus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers that the image not breathe because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth.

The image from this 24-70/2.8 lens gets smaller as focused more closely.

 

Bokeh

Performance          top

Bokeh, the feel, character or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is excellent. Blur circles are neutral.

Here are photos from headshot distance wide-open:

 

At 24mm

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Bokeh

Davis 6250 weather station, 26 June 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

At 40mm

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Bokeh

Davis 6250 weather station, 26 June 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

At 70mm

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Bokeh

Davis 6250 weather station, 26 June 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at 70mm at f/2.8 and get as close as possible.

What's also remarkable is how free from spherochromatism are these shots; look at the DAVIS logo and it's pure black-and-white without the usual green-magenta smears seen with other lenses.

 

Distortion

Performance          top

The Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 has a lot of distortion, and it all goes away if you turn Distortion Correction ON in your camera (MENU > SHOOTING > Auto Distortion Control > ON.

In-camera correction corrects this lens' complex distortion completely, while if you forget to activate the in-camera-correction Photoshop's lens correction filter is all you need at the longer settings, but leaves some uncorrected waviness at the wide settings.

These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.

On full-frame at 10' (3m)

Correction factors with uncorrected images

Correction factors with correction ON in Z7
24mm
+4.50** ±0.00
28mm
+2.00* ±0.00
35mm
-1.40* ±0.00
50mm
-3.00 ±0.00
70mm
-4.00 ±0.00

© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

* Some waviness remains after this correction.

** Much waviness remains after this correction.

 

Ergonomics

Performance          top

 

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

24-70mm f/2.8 at 24mm. bigger.
24-70/2.8 at 70mm. bigger.

This is big lens that gets longer as zoomed to 70mm.

The front ring is a purely electronic manual focus ring. It responds slowly but precisely, with instant manual-focus override.

The big middle ring is the usual zoom ring.

The rear ring is programmable, at least on the Z6 and Z7, for either Aperture control or Exposure Compensation. It doesn't work well: the Z6 and Z7 ignore the Aperture setting ring in the S and P modes where the camera should instead shift the program or change the shutter speed. The ring responds too quickly when controlling Exposure Compensation, making it too difficult to make a precise setting.

There is but one AF/MF slide switch, but none to control in-camera stabilization.

The L-fn ("Lens Function") button is programmable to do many different things.

The OLED display is described next.

 

OLED Display

Performance          top

The tiny panel shows "NIKKOR" for a few seconds when you turn on the camera, and then defaults to show the distance in meters. How to change the brightness or to select feet.

If you are in M or A modes and have selected an aperture manually, the distance display will also show a bar for the depth-of-field which changes with the aperture, zoom setting and even focus distance:

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Splash display on power-ON. bigger.
Distance display. bigger.
Distance w/depth-of-field bar. bigger.
This is what you get for two seconds when you turn on the camera. You don't get anything when the camera wakes from sleep. Distance is the default display. You can change it to feet, but can't get both at the same time. You also get this depth-of-field indicator if you're in A or M modes. You won't get it in P or S modes.

Press the DISP button to change it to Focal Length or Aperture. Sadly a programming defect makes it show FAUTO instead of the aperture in S or P modes; it's not smart enough to mirror the camera's selection of aperture as the camera's top display can:

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 OLED panel

Focal length. bigger.
Aperture. bigger.
Aperture in P or S modes. bigger.
This reads with one decimal place in 0.5 mm from 24~35mm (26.0mm or 31.5mm for example), and in whole millimeters (47mm for example) from 35~70mm. This reads the manually set f/stop, but only in M or A exposure modes. The lens does not display the aperture in P or S modes; this is a meaningless display. Look at your camera's top OLED to get the answer instead.

That's the good news. The bad news is that there's no automatic brightness control (as the OLED panels of the Z6 and Z7 have), so you won't be able to read the lens' OLED panel outdoors unless you manually increase its brightness. Once you increase the brightness so you can read it outdoors, it probably will be too bright indoors until you manually adjust it again.

Don't worry, because you'll almost never see this panel light up anyway. You have to press the DISP button for it to turn on, and then it turns off 10 seconds later, or 10 seconds after you last did anything to turn it on like change a setting.

It's not always on so it's more of an nuisance than a feature. Old people will remember red LED digital watches from the 1970s that quickly were replaced with today's LCD digital watches because no one wanted to have to use their other hand to press a button just to read the time. (Apple Watches have solved that problem.)

The distance displays only show a sliding distance scale with no tick marks. There is no digital distance display as there is for focal length. You can't read 4.85 feet or 8.3 meters, for instance.

You can turn this display off if you prefer for night or covert use.

 

Exposure

Performance          top

Exposure is uniform across the range of apertures and zoom settings, with the usual behavior of f/2.8 being slightly darker due to falloff — even with Vignette Correction ON.

 

Falloff

Performance          top

Falloff on full frame is invisible as shot with the default Vignette Correction of NORMAL.

I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background; it will not look this bad in actual photos of real things:

 

Falloff on full-frame at infinity, Vignette Correction at default of NORMAL.

 
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
24mm
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff
40mm
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff
70mm
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Falloff

© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

Filters, use with

performance          top

There's no need for thin filters. I can stack two regular screw-in 82mm filters with no vignetting even at 24mm on full-frame.

Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.

Avoid polarizers at the wide end of the zoom range simply because the sky's natural polarization will appear as a dark band in the sky, not related to this lens but not a pretty effect either.

 

Flare & Ghosts

Performance          top

This 24-70mm is very free from flare and ghosting. See samples at Sunstars and Sharpness.

 

Lateral Color Fringes

Performance          top

There are no lateral color fringes as shot on Nikon cameras, which by default correct for any that may be there.

 

Lens Corrections

Performance          top

The Z6 and Z7 correct for any or all of distortion, diffraction and falloff, any of which you may turn ON or OFF.

The Z6 and Z7 always correct for lateral color fringes (chromatic aberration), this is part of Nikon's secret sauce and never appears in any menu.

 

Macro Performance

Performance          top

The 24-70 2.8 gets pretty close, and it's very sharp even at f/2.8.

This is excellent performance, and the much less expensive 24-70 f/4 gets even closer and is at least as sharp for a fraction of the price.

 

Wide-Open at f/2.8

Nikon Z 24-70 2.8 macro performance

Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 29 June 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Nikon Z 24-70 2.8 macro performance

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.

What looks like noise is actually the texture of the watch face.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a large 14 × 21″ (35 × 55 cm) at this same high magnification.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a huge 27½ × 41¼″ (70 × 105 cm) at this same high magnification.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a mammoth 55 × 82½″ (1.4 × 2.1 meters) at this same extremely high magnification!

 

At f/5.6

it gets even sharper at f/5.6, but of course the depth of field is still nonexistent at this distance with all lenses:

Nikon Z 24-70 2.8 macro performance

Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 29 June 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Nikon Z 24-70 2.8 macro performance

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.

What looks like noise is actually the texture of the watch face.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a large 14 × 21″ (35 × 55 cm) at this same high magnification.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a huge 27½ × 41¼″ (70 × 105 cm) at this same high magnification.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a mammoth 55 × 82½″ (1.4 × 2.1 meters) at this same extremely high magnification!

 

Mechanical Quality

Performance          top

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

24-70mm f/2.8 Z. bigger.

This 24-70/2.8 is a mostly plastic lens with some metal trim that's made in Japan. It's a consumer-build lens at a price that will make pros feel right at home.

 

Hood

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

HB-87 hood for 24-70mm f/2.8 Z. bigger.

Plastic bayonet, with a plastic locking pawl.

 

Front Bumper

None.

 

Filter Threads

Plastic.

 

Hood Bayonet Mount

Plastic.

 

Front Barrel

Plastic.

 

Focus Ring

Metal.

 

Barrel Exterior

All plastic except for rearmost metal section with the "24-70/2.8 S" engraving.

 

Zoom Ring

Rubber-covered plastic.

 

DISP and L-FN buttons

Rubber.

 

DISP Window

Clear plastic.

 

Programmable Rear Control Ring

Metal.

 

A/M Slide Switch

Plastic.

 

Identity

Molded as engraved and filled with gray paint around front of lens between front element and filter threads, also engraved and filled with paint on top of barrel.

 

Internals

Plastic and metal, with metal zoom cams.

 

Dust Gasket at Mount

Yes.

 

Mount

Chromed metal.

 

Markings

Mostly molded as engraved and filled with paint.

 

Serial Number

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Bottom, 24-70mm f/2.8. bigger.

Laser engraved on bottom of barrel.

 

Date Code

None found.

 

Noises When Shaken

Mild to moderate clunking.

 

Made in

Made in Japan.

 

Sharpness

Performance          top

2008 Ford Mustanf Shelby GT-C

2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-C, 30 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 70mm at f/11 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 64, as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

2008 Ford Mustanf Shelby GT-C

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a large 14 × 21″ (35 × 55 cm) at this same high magnification.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a huge 27½ × 41¼″ (70 × 105 cm) at this same high magnification.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a mammoth 55 × 82½″ (1.4 × 2.1 meters) at this same extremely high magnification!

Lens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that.

If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 or below because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 at ISO 1,600 at default sharpening in daylight of rapidly moving subjects at differing distances.

This 24-70 is super sharp, especially wide-open at f/2.8 where lenses are at their softest. Oddly it's better for real-world shooting than for shooting flat test charts in the corners at f/2.8. I suspect it has some field curvature which optimizes it for closer subjects in the corners; the corners are sharp at f/2.8 in this palm oasis but softer on flat charts:

 

Wide-Open at f/2.8

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 sharpness

Seven Palms Oasis, California Desert, 22 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 27mm at f/2.8 at 1/800 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.7. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

 

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 sharpness

Palm Cathedral, California Desert, 22 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 24mm wide-open at f/2.8 at 1/1,250 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.7. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

 

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 sharpness

Trek Émonda SLR 8 H2 58cm (Made in USA!), California Desert, 22 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 70mm wide-open at f/2.8 at 1/1,600 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.7. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

 

At f/5.6

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 sharpness

Seven Palms Oasis, California Desert, 22 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 27mm at f/5.6 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.7. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

 

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 sharpness

Trek Émonda SLR 8 H2 58cm (Made in USA!), California Desert, 22 June 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at 70mm at f/5.6 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.7. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

 

Nikon's MTF data agrees that it's super sharp:

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

MTF at 24mm at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm. bigger.

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

MTF at 70mm at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm. bigger.

 

Spherochromatism

Performance          top

Spherochromatism, also called "color bokeh" by laymen, is an advanced form of chromatic aberration in a different dimension than lateral color. It can cause colored fringes on out-of-focus highlights, usually seen as green fringes on backgrounds and magenta fringes on foregrounds. Spherochromatism is common in fast lenses of moderate focal length when shooting contrasty items at full aperture. It goes away as stopped down.

This lens has nearly no spherochromatism, making it a great choice for shooting movies where the backgrounds are supposed to be soft.

Also see the samples up at Bokeh, which are remarkably free from color smears on the DAVIS logo of the weather station.

Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 Spherochromatism

Mondaine A132.30348.11SBB at close-focus distance at 70mm at f/2.8, 29 June 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 Spherochromatism

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a large 14 × 21″ (35 × 55 cm) at this same high magnification.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a huge 27½ × 41¼″ (70 × 105 cm) at this same high magnification.

If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a mammoth 55 × 82½″ (1.4 × 2.1 meters) at this same extremely high magnification!

 

Image Stabilization

Performance          top

This lens has no Optical Image Stabilization (OIS, IS or VR (Vibration Reduction)), but it is designed to work with the built-in stabilization of Nikon's cameras.

In real-world use I get 3- to 4-stops of improvement, which is excellent!

"Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness I get when I'm shooting hand-held while standing with no support. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp while others will be in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. This rates what percentage of shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp all the frames are:

 

At 24mm

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
2s
1s
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
24mm VR ON
0
20
50
100
83
100
100
100
100
24mm VR OFF
0
0
0
0
17
20
67
100
100

That's a 4-stop real-world improvement at 24mm.

 

At 70mm

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
2s
1s
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
70mm VR ON
0
0
5
33
100
83
100
100
100
70mm VR OFF

0

0
0
0
0
0
33
67
100

That's a 3-stop real-world improvement at 70mm.

 

Sunstars

Performance          top

With 9 rounded blades, sunstars on brilliant points of light are nearly nonexistent except at the smallest apertures.

Ignore the crazy rainbow effects at f/22; these are sensor artifacts, not lens defects.

Click any to enlarge:

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Sunstars

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Sunstars

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Sunstars

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 Sunstars

Click any to enlarge.

 

Compared

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

 

I got my Nikon 24-70/2.8 Z at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

 

See also All Nikon Z Midrange Zooms Compared.

 

Versus the Z 24-70mm f/4 S

The Z 24-70mm f/4 S has the same or even better optical performance than this f/2.8, the f/4 focuses closer, weighs less, is smaller and collapses for travel, and it costs less than half as much as this f/2.8 version. This f/2.8 version is built a little tougher and adds a new control ring, an L-fn button and an OLED display, but not any optical quality over the f/4.

Neither has VR; the camera takes care of that.

This f/2.8 lens is for people who often shoot at f/2.8, for people who really want the little OLED display, L-Fn button or extra function ring, or for people who need a more durable, weather-sealed lens that can soak up a more physical abuse than the f/4, or people who deserve only the very best of everything. Otherwise the Z 24-70mm f/4 S takes the same great pictures and is a tad sharper wide-open in the corners in the lab.

 

Comparative MTFs at 24mm at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

24-70mm f/2.8 at f/2.8. bigger.

 

Comparative MTFs at 70mm at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Z 24-70mm f/2.8 at f/2.8. bigger.

 

Versus other lenses on the FTZ Adapter

This Z-system dedicated lens is both sharper and focuses better on Nikon's Z cameras than an older SLR lens on the FTZ Adapter.

This Z lens weighs less and is sharper than any F-mount lens like the 24-70mm f/2.8E VR FX or 24-70mm f/2.8G FX. I have MTF curves at those links.

 

User's Guide

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

I got my Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 at Adorama. I'd also get mine at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S

Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8. bigger.

 

OLED Panel

Hold DISP a few seconds until it blinks to set. Tap DISP again to adjust either distance units (feet/meters) or brightness. Turn the rear control ring to adjust either setting.

Hold DISP a few seconds again to return to normal operation.

To turn off the OLED, set its brightness level to OFF.

 

L-fn button

The function of the L-fn button is programmed in your camera at MENU > CUSTOM SETTING MENU (pencil icon) > f2 Custom control assignment > click three down to find L-fn button at bottom > select your function > OK.

 

Program the rear control ring

Program the rear control ring in your camera at MENU > CUSTOM SETTING MENU (pencil icon) > f2 Custom control assignment > click right > click three down to find "Lens control ring" at bottom > OK > select your function (aperture or exposure compensation or nothing) > OK.

Sadly at its default setting of Aperture it's ignored in S or P exposure modes, and in Exposure Compensation it responds too quickly to allow proper settings.

 

Recommendations

Top   Sample Images   Intro

Format & Compatibility   Specs

USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide  

Recommendations

I got my Nikon Z 24-70/2.8 at Adorama. I'd also get mine at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This is the standard pro zoom for Nikon's Z System. The Z 24-70mm f/4 S takes the same pictures, but isn't as tough or as fast for low light, lacks some of the glitzy features and costs less than half as much. This f/2.8 lens is for people who have earned and deserve the very best of everything.

I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap. I only use a cap when I throw this in my bag, otherwise I leave a clear protective filter on my lens at all times so I'm ready to shoot instantly.

The very best protective filter is the 82mm Hoya multicoated HD3 UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.

For less money, the B+W 82mm 010 is an excellent filter, as is the multicoated version and the basic multicoated Hoya filter and the Hoya Alpha filter, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best.

Any of these filters protects as well and gives ultrasharp images, but since filters last a lifetime, you may as well get the best since the Hoya HD3 is tougher and stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt.

This junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, store demo or used lens. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

Thanks for helping me help you!

Ken Rockwell.

 

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