Is this the best value Nikon Z-mount lens around? - a real world look at the Z 28mm f2.8 lens
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มิ.ย. 2024
- While the Z8 has put on a bit of weight compared to it's predecessors can that be countered with a lightweight, discreet, reasonably priced lens?
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What's you lightweight lens of choice?
Was the 24-70 2.8 S now swopping for the 24-120 f4 S >> Very sharp as well and light and I get to save a lot on Insurance premiums
I almost went for the 24-120 kit when I got my Z8 but the trade-in offer on my 24-70 f4 wasn't quite attractive enough sadly.
26 mm f/2.8 is sharper.
@@HHTV60 Most the reviews say, its sharper wide open in the center, but falls off towards edges, and at higher(smaller) apertures its comparable to the 28mm. But its double the price. What would I give for a pancake sub f/2 lens for the Z mount!!
This is quite timely. I've just come back from two weeks in Japan , for street/travel photography. I too took one of my Z6ii's along with the 40mm F2 and my gorgeous 24-70 2.8s. I use that zoom for all of my events and paid work - even for some weddings. However, once I got to Japan and realised how far I had to tramp around (after getting out of the train or subway stations), the big heavy zoom became a bit of a burden in the heat. I tried the 40mm and even though that is a fantastic lens, it is too long a focal length for how I shoot. My favourite focal is 24mm, but I didn't bring the Z24mm 1.8s, because that is quite a heavy lens too. I jumped into the nearest camera shop in Tokyo and bought the 28mm. I'm now home in Australia and I'm blown away by the images from this lovely little lens. I've always thought that the Nikon Zs lenses are beautifully sharp a, but the images are quite clinical, exacting and almost boring. I was looking for that special niche lens. I'd found it in the 40mm and now the 28mm has joined it. You won't really know how great this lens is until you start shooting people. The kind if shots you did of building and fences and bridges, don't really do this lens justice. I only ever shoot people, and this lens is awesome for the skin tones, softer smoother images than the S series, but also beautifully sharp and rendered. I'm really glad I now have this pair of plastic fantastic lenses in my kit. I'm going to India to photograph at Xmas/NY and am brainstorming which lenses to bring. I'll probably need the zoom for some longer stuff but I'm very sure the 28mm will be joining me.
Japan is such a great place but as you say there is quite a bit of distance to cover on foot and the Summer can be brutal from a heat perspective. I was carrying my D8xx and f-mount 24-70 f2.8 which was great for low light but loved my 50mm f1.8 also. At least you were in a good place to get hold of a 28mm. I've been really impressed with the lens so far and used it last week for some portrait work and tried it out quickly to see how it performed. I was impressed with the lack of distortion for such a wide lens and as you say it is renders really nicely. India's another great photo location and having the 28mm will likely be good for taking out when you only want a single camera/lens combination and possibly in low light and for discretion. The thing I like is that the lens is small enough to fit in a bag pocket so no burden👍
40mm f2 is my favorite small lens but I’m planning to get the 28mm f2.8 soon to “restrict myself” and practice that focal length as well. Just which Nikon made it in f2 for better night street photography and I hope they come out with other muffin lenses in f2 range.
Like you I would have liked f2 on the 28mm but I'm guessing it would have had an impact on the size and/or weight. When you're dealing with the laws of physics I guess we have to live with the trade-offs😉 I find it a great focal length though👍
I use the 40 F2 on my Z7 for travel .
A great lens. Nikon have done really well with almost all z lenses nailing it from an IQ perspective👍
Yes, I have the 24-120 f4 S which is amazing as a travel/general zoom, sharp and contrasty, very close focusing for "pseudo macro" shots but it is a little large on the Z6, especially for street. I may well pick up that 28mm for discreet shooting. I use the 50mm and 85mm 1.8 S lenses mostly, both superb at the price point, especially the 85.
The 28mm can even make a Z8 almost discrete and is great on my Z6! It's a great addition to a 24-70 or 24-120 and a pretty affordable one too👍
I prefer the 40mm f2 for outdoor, it's also a bit shorter than the 28.
I considered the 40 and liked the little extra with the f2 also but eventually the 28mm won out for me😉 Both great lenses👍
I like the classic rendering of the Nikkor Z 40/2 on my Zf.Definitely looking for this 28 as well.Just wondering if it renders as the 40 mm lens.Thanks!
I use a 40 or 35 f/2 manual for street photography. I'm planning to get this lense now
My favourite Zoom lens is the fantastic 24-120 f/4. But I also love the 40mm f/2. It's a nice combo with my Z8. I also own the z-mount f/1.8 prime lenses (35, 50 and 85mm) but don't use them that often. I grab the 40mm always at first. The 28mm SE type is also in my portfolio, didn't also use it that often. But after watching your video I will change that. 😉
And just to mention it, the 14-30 is also a fantastic lens and could maybe an alternative to the 28mm.
Like you I have a selection of the original S line lenses which are great lenses but so much comes down to use cases. I have the 14-30 which is great and not too big but where the 28mm really is working for me is in making the Z8 as discrete as it can be. The challenge is that with the Z lenses, I'm not sure that there are any duds in the line up😉
Thanks Adrian for this review.I have the 26 on my Z8 for street and the noising is not really bothering me!
Sorry to hear that, it was so disappointing as I really like a pancake lens.
Thanks for the update. I have in my camera bag, but I don't use it much. I still prefer my 50mm Z lens.
I tried by 50mm on a couple of one camera / one lens outings but just found in London I had to be back a bit and too many people getting in the way😉 I still have my 50mm 1.8 but the 28mm works a bit better for my street situations👍
I would say the 180-600 is the best Bang for your Buck
Agree, I happened to be at a Nikon even on the day it was announced and they had one to try and it was standout. It is a large beast but if you like/need the length then it's one to try assuming you can get your hands on one!
Le viltrox 28 mm 1.8 a l'air top aussi
I am selling my Z 24-70 f2.8 S and getting the 24 - 120 F4 >> Very sharp as well and 30 % of the Insurance Premiums
I have the 24-70 f4 as well as my f2.8 and it's a great travel lens. Nikon has really created some amazingly sharp lenses in the Z line up. If I know I'm not doing anything that needs the f2.8 then I can get the benefits of the f4. The 24-120 is also good and a shame that my Z7 didn't come with that as I could use the additional length sometimes👍
I hope you are doing well, Adrian. Here's a question,. (Introduction) On your IG and 500px, it seems the last "real" portraits you publish, are with a Z 7 camera shot in 2019. The P.S. to this comment lists shot details of these. I noticed that you have upgraded to a Nikon Z 8.
(My point) With my Z 7ii, I have eye-AF uncertainty at LV 6 - still or already (LV = EV @ ISO 100). The studio is brighter than dimly lit and the sitter has pale skin and blue eyes. The light is diffused and bottom-line the contrast is not very high, but not low to the naked eye. Eye-AF is the most important feature to me, but LV 6 is a huge amount more light than the bottom end of the camera's sensor operating range and its ability to measure light and focus.
(The question) Do you have a clue how the Z 8 fares in this respect? I checked in my continental EU country if I can rent one here, but not yet. Considering (functional) differences between the Z 9 and Z 8 in firmware I don't want to use a Z 9 as stand-in. The answer I am hoping for is that the Z 8 reliably does eye-AF down to LV ... or starts to become unreliable as of LV ...
P.S.
NIKON Z 7 with NIKKOR Z 24-70/4S at 33mm - Exposure f/4 & 1/40s @ ISO 180 =~= LV 8+
NIKON Z 7 with NIKKOR Z 50/1.8S (prime) - Exposure f/2.8 & 1/160s @ ISO 64 =~= LV 11
NIKON Z 7 with NIKKOR Z 24-70/4S at 46mm - Exposure f/4 & 1/50s @ ISO 640 =~= LV 7
NIKON Z 7 with NIKKOR Z 24-70/4S at 56mm - Exposure f/4 & 1/60s @ ISO 320 =~= LV 8+
NIKON Z 7 with NIKKOR Z 50/1.8S (prime) - Exposure f/1.8 & 1/800s @ ISO 64 =~= LV 12
(~9 May 2019:)
NIKON Z 7 with NIKKOR Z 24-70/4S at 70mm - Exposure f/4 & 1/80s @ ISO 80 =~= LV 11-
Hi JP, goo d to hear from you. Portraits aren't my main subject/genre, however, pre-covid I had more opportunities to develop. Most of the shots were more 'environmental' portraits where eye focus is less of a critical aspect. Since getting the Z8 I haven't done any portrait shoots so can't say for sure but I'm finding the focus (not surprisingly) quicker to lock on including eyes. Equally, I think how Nikon is using Firmware to position the Z8 vs Z9 is making the Z8 more portrait and Z9 more action focused. I can't promise, but happy to try and see what I can do to test but there are potentially many variables in modern cameras which might influence performance. Can you give me some insight into your style of portrait - is the person static or moving? What focal length and aperture do you usually shoot? Where are the eyes in the frame? What max ISO do you shoot at? Shame you can't get hold of a Z8 but happy to see if I can help👍 if I can find a willing model🤔
@@AF8Images - thank you Adrian, much appreciated. No pressure. Yes, I noticed that portraits are relatively under-represented and all "ambient" light and "environmental". But accept my compliments because they make for very nice images.
My portraits are indoors with strobes/speedlights, light-stands, modifiers, etc., and generally i-TTL (auto) flash exposed.
When I mount the flash controller, the viewfinder switches to electronic amplification mode, rather than showing an approximation of exposure (that's a menu/settings option).
As to ISO, I generally shoot at ISO 400 because the Z 7ii (and Z7, Z8, Z9) has two amplification levels in the sensor's circuits with the photodiodes (photosites) and consequently the noise level at 400 is comparable to the level at 100 ISO.
Actually higher ISO sneakily reduces the sensor's "contrast envelope" (the dynamic range available to 1 shot) based on the knowledge that subject contrast depends on light level and when we need higher ISO subject contrast must be less.
Anyhow, I keep ambient level in the studio at LV 6 because it keeps the sitter's pupils a bit dilated and that makes them look more attractive in the photo (too much dilation looks weird and the colour of the iris disappears).
At ISO 100, the light level relates to f/2.8 and 1/8 sec or at ISO 400 f/2.8 and 1/30 sec (the actual ambient measurement for the 105 macro is ISO 400 with f/3.2 and 1/25 sec - the MC lens indicates the real aperture value rather than the one that only applies at infinity focus: f/2.8 at infinity becomes f/3.2 at 1.5m or 5').
With flash I shoot at ISO 400, 1/200 sec and f/8 - we cannot say what LV/EV this corresponds to because the flash duration is shorter than 1/200 sec - but the flash exposure is not relevant to the issue. The ambient is what we use for eye-AF, or manual focus.
The sitter is really static and used to "photographer direction" (as opposed to "model/self direction"), so this makes the issue all the more annoying.
In the medical documentation use case, the single sitter's poses go from the head "en profile" to "en face" to "en profile" in 5 angles. Nothing magical or difficult. Part of the ambient light is side light from a large white reflector and when the sitter looks away from that, the face is in the shade of the head. But the issue presents itself all around.
The other day I looked into the new Z f and its specifications - it can autofocus down to LV -10 and that is a number of stops lower than the sensor's operating light range (AKA dynamic range). Between -10 and 6 are 16 stops and that translates to 2^16 = 65,536 times more light. (The human eye/brain sees light-levels on a base-10 log basis, rather than the base-2 log of digital and film.)
Being able to autofocus does not mean eye-AF, but there was no disclaimer and that leaves expectations open in the wild.
Again thanks for your response and attitude. I'll be happy to hear more from you, one way or the other.
Hi JP, I managed to do a quick test but I wasn't able to pick the situation too much. The shots were 1/20s f3.2 ISO400 (I noticed afterwards that I still had exposure compensation set to -1EV from an earlier shot) and did front on, 45 degrees and side on. It was indoors after dusk so had ambient lights on and no flash. I used AF Area mode with human subject recognition and the camera locked on to the eye ok in the various shots. Obviously, only a quick and rough test but hopefully helps. With increasing stock hopefully you can try one in store also.
@@AF8Images - Thank you sincerely, Adrian. Seems like the Z 8 has no problems at a light level where my camera has issues. That's a comforting thought.
dud you test Z 40 f/2?
I did and while I liked the fact that it was f2 the focal length was a bit too close to my 50mm and when I looked back through my catalogue I could see that I took more images at or around 24-28mm. Both lenses were optically very good so a personal shooting style preference probably
With some metal probably yes… but like this it really looks like a toy :(