The Best, Sharpest Lenses for the Nikon Z7, Z7 II, and Z9

Spencer Cox

To make the most of Nikon’s high-resolution 45.7-megapixel sensors, it’s best to use suitable lenses. Otherwise, you might as well save some money and get a Z6 or Z6 II instead. I’ll go through my top recommendations for both Z and F-mount lenses below.

Keep in mind that my only criterion while rating these lenses was whether the sharpness of the lens could make the most of Nikon’s 45-megapixel sensor. Although I’ll mention a few other considerations throughout this article, such as lens weight and practicality, my ratings of “recommended,” “acceptable,” etc., are based on resolution alone. I made that decision in part because it’s a variable I can easily compare, given our extensive sharpness tests on Photography Life. Further, by giving you a list of all the lenses which out-resolve the sensor of the Z7 / Z7 II / Z9, you’ll have a good starting point when thinking about the other important considerations like weight, price, bokeh, focal length, and so on.

You can also check out our Nikon FTZ lens compatibility article if you want to make sure that your non-native lenses are compatible with the Z7, Z7 II, and Z9 in the first place.

NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S @ 210mm, ISO 64, 1/500, f/6.3

Recommended Z-Series Lenses for the Nikon Z7, Z7 II, and Z9 That Out-Resolve the 45 Megapixel Sensor

Let’s start with the Z-series lenses that work best on the Nikon 45-megapixel cameras. All else equal, I’m a fan of using native rather than adapted lenses whenever possible, especially considering that the Z lenses so far have been almost universally excellent.

First, I’ll list all the current Nikon Z lenses alongside my recommendations, with longer explanations afterward. Again, these recommendations are based solely in terms of resolving power and whether it’s capable of out-resolving Nikon’s 45-megapixel sensor.

I know, I know. That’s a lot of highly recommended lenses. Kind of cheapens the category. But if you want to blame someone, blame Nikon – all of the “highly recommended” lenses out-resolve the 45-megapixel sensor, after all. This makes them best-in-class, either comparable to or better than any other lens on the market with similar focal length/aperture combinations, including Nikon’s F-mount glass.

First, let’s talk about the f/2.8 zoom trio. All three of these lenses are spectacular on the Nikon Z7, Z7 II, and Z9, with the best performance we have ever seen in zooms at these focal lengths. For example, here are our Imatest measurements from the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 at 14mm:

To put these numbers into context, take a look at Nikon’s F-mount version of the 14-24mm f/2.8, long considered one of the sharpest wide-angle zooms:

Between the two, the Z lens is far and away the sharper lens, no matter where you look in the frame or what aperture you use (aside from f/16, where almost all decent lenses look similar). In fact, the Nikon Z 14-24mm’s corners at f/2.8 are sharper than the F-mount lens’s corners ever get at 14mm. The differences only become more pronounced in favor of the Z lens at longer focal lengths. So, for Nikon Z7, Nikon Z7 II, and Nikon Z9 shooters who want a good wide-angle zoom, the Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S has my highest recommendation.

The story is similar with the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8, which handily beats any other 24-70mm lens available for Nikon cameras. Even the excellent F-mount 24-70mm f/2.8E isn’t at the same level – nor are the vast majority of prime lenses on the market. Here is the Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S’s graph at 24mm:

That is simply a remarkable performance, and it remains one of the sharpest lenses on the market throughout the zoom range (though it is sharpest at the wider focal lengths). This level of sharpness borders on being unnecessary for lower resolution cameras, but on the 45-megapixel Z7 / Z7 II / Z9, it’s a very welcome sight. You can read our review of the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S for more info and charts at other focal lengths.

As for the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8, just take a look at this graph:

It even beats the 24-70mm f/2.8 S! Take a look at those central sharpness numbers; the highest resolution, amazingly, is wide open at f/2.8. The same is true at 200mm, which only has a slight drop in performance:

Those are some of the best numbers we have ever seen on a zoom – clearly up to the task of Nikon’s 45 megapixel sensor. It even beats the already excellent F-mount version in every way. In fact, no matter how many megapixels Nikon puts in its future cameras, I have a feeling the Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S is going to be sharp enough…

NIKON Z7 II + NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S @ 70mm, ISO 64, 1/6, f/8.0; Copyright Nasim Mansurov

That’s enough about the f/2.8 trio. Our reviews of the 14-24mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 Z lenses are coming soon, and in the meantime, you can check out Nasim’s article on the Nikon Z trinity for the full sharpness graphs.

What about the other lenses I’ve ranked as “highly recommended”? They’re all primes, and they each set top standards in their own way. Let me go through them quickly in order of focal length.

Here are the Imatest charts for the Nikon Z prime lenses that we have tested so far, so that you can see how their sharpness compares to one another:

In every case, the Nikon Z f/1.8 prime lens is sharper than its F-mount equivalent, and most of them aren’t even close. You can see those full comparisons in each of our Z-series lens reviews that I linked to a moment ago.

NIKON Z7 + NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S @ 24mm, ISO 64, 5 seconds, f/11.0; Copyright Nasim Mansurov

That does it for the “highly recommended” Z-series lenses. But what about the lenses that are merely “recommended” – the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S, 24-70mm f/4 S, 24-120mm f/4 S, 28mm f/2.8, and 40mm f/2?

Let me start by saying that these are still excellent lenses, including for a high-resolution sensor like the Nikon Z7, Nikon Z7 II, and Nikon Z9. They come very close to out-resolving the 45 megapixel sensor, to the point that it’s hard to notice a difference much of the time.

However, even though these lenses are very good in their own right, they don’t have the same sky-high resolving power as the “highly recommended” lenses. They’re still very good on the 45 megapixel sensor, but if you want to squeeze the maximum detail out of your lenses, they are just a tier below some of Nikon’s other glass. For instance, take a look at the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S’s performance at 14mm, which is its weakest focal length:

The corners are never great, even when stopping down. While the rest of the zoom range is definitely better – the 14-30mm f/4 peaks at about 20mm – it’s still behind the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S regardless of focal length. Overall, the 14-30mm f/4 S is more comparable to Nikon’s F-mount 14-24mm f/2.8 in sharpness; the F-mount lens is a bit ahead at 14mm, but the Z-mount lens otherwise wins out.

As for the Z 24-70mm f/4 S, you may be surprised to hear that it’s sharper on balance than the fantastic (and $2100) F-mount Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E – a remarkable result for a kit zoom. But it’s not in the same league as the Z-series 24-70mm f/2.8 S or the Z-series primes. Particularly at 24mm and 70mm, it’s a bit weak in the corners, and even stopping down to f/5.6 or f/8 doesn’t put it quite where I’d want for a high-resolution sensor like the Z7, Z7 II, and Z9. Here’s the 24mm performance, for instance:

As for the 28mm f/2.8 and 40mm f/2 primes, it’s a similar story. They’re still sharp lenses, but they fall behind even zooms like the Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, let alone primes like the 35mm f/1.8 S. Here’s the 40mm f/2’s graph, for example:

It’s good – and a bit better than the 24-70mm f/4 S – but it’s not as good as the “highly recommended” lenses from earlier. Still, just because these lenses fall short of some other Nikon Z glass doesn’t mean they’re bad by any stretch. It’s more a statement on how good the other Z lenses are.

For my own photography with the Nikon Z7, I’ve been very happy with the 14-30mm f/4 and 24-70mm f/4. I mainly shoot landscapes where I’m stopped down to f/8, f/11, or f/16, at which point the effects of diffraction mean even Nikon’s best lenses don’t have as much of a sharpness advantage. Given their lightweight design while still being quite sharp, both the 14-30mm and 24-70mm f/4 are good fits for my style of photography. The same could be said of the 28mm f/2.8 and 40mm f/2.

NIKON Z7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14mm, ISO 64, 6/10, f/16.0

What about the “acceptable” lenses? They’re solid lenses in their own right, and the 24-200mm is especially interesting considering that it is the sharpest superzoom we have ever tested (review here). However, they are not as sharp as the other lenses I’ve discussed so far. For instance, here’s the 24-50mm f/4-6.3 at its widest focal length:

And here’s the 24-200mm f/4-6.3:

These are far from the worst charts we’ve seen while testing lenses, but they won’t drop any jaws. For a 24 megapixel camera, I’d have no issue using either of these lenses, but they certainly don’t out-resolve the Nikon Z7 / Z7 II / Z9 at any focal length or aperture. That’s especially true considering that these lenses have a maximum aperture of f/6.3 upon zooming in a bit, which is already running into visible diffraction on a 45 megapixel sensor.

Still, if you’re planning to shoot at narrower apertures like f/11 and f/16 for something like landscape photography, these lenses are in line with the other Z lenses. There’s absolutely nothing that prevents you from getting beautiful, wall-sized prints with either the 24-50mm or 24-200mm, but they’re not at the level of the other Z lenses so far in terms of resolving power. So, they don’t get my strongest recommendation if you’re using one of Nikon’s 45-megapixel cameras.

NIKON Z 5 + NIKKOR Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3 @ 36mm, ISO 200, 1/15, f/8.0; Copyright Nasim Mansurov

The only Nikon Z lenses I categorized as “not recommended” for the Z7 / Z7 II / Z9 are the DX lenses, which don’t cover the entire FX sensor of these cameras. The result is that the camera automatically crops all your photos by about 1.5× when using these lenses, significantly limiting your image quality. These lenses are made for Nikon’s DX mirrorless cameras like the Z50, not full-frame cameras like the Z7 II. If Nikon ever releases a true dud of a full-frame Z lens, I’ll give it the “not recommended” rating, too, but so far, there isn’t a lens like that.

Lastly, we have not had a chance to test all of Nikon’s Z-series lenses in the lab yet. Our recommendations above are based on lab tests, so there are some lenses that don’t appear in the lists above yet. I will try to add them as soon as possible.

Highly Recommended F-Mount Lenses for the Nikon Z7, Z7 II, and Z9

There are hundreds of F-mount lenses available, including tons of third-party options. To save space, I’ll only list the ones here which I highly recommend for the Nikon Z7 / Z7 II / Z9, which are capable of out-resolving the 45-megapixel sensor. That’s a high bar. For example, earlier, the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 and 24-70mm f/4 earned my “recommended” rather than “highly recommended” rating. Since those two lenses have comparable sharpness to the Nikon F-mount 14-24mm f/2.8 and 24-70mm f/2.8E lenses, by extension, the 14-24mm f/2.8G and 24-70mm f/2.8E don’t appear on the list below, even though they were best-in-class lenses when first announced.

So, if your favorite F-mount lens isn’t “highly recommended” by this strict definition, don’t despair. Even the three F-mount lenses I personally use on my Z7 (the 20mm f/1.8, 70-200mm f/4, and 105mm f/2.8 Macro) don’t meet the “highly recommended” criteria, and that doesn’t make them bad lenses. Instead, the lenses below are simply the ones which can out-resolve 45 megapixels:

NIKON Z7 + Sigma 50mm f/1.4 A @ 50mm, ISO 64, 1/80, f/1.4

Naturally, many lenses that didn’t make the list above are still great choices for Nikon Z7, Nikon Z7 II, and Nikon Z9 users. For example, it’s popular to adapt the Nikon AF-P 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E VR or 70-200mm f/4G telephoto zooms to the Z-series cameras, given Nikon’s current lack of lightweight Z telephoto lenses. The same is true of any of Nikon’s macro lenses, which are all very sharp, even if not quite at the level of the newest Z-series glass.

Also, note that there are a few lenses which we have not yet tested for sharpness (or, at least not on a high-resolution, 45-megapixel camera) that may be just as good as the highly recommended lenses above. That’s especially true with many of the Sigma Art prime lenses. Based on the performance of Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 A, it is likely that other Sigma Art lenses like the 28mm f/1.4, 40mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, and 135mm f/1.8 would make this list if we had a chance to test them. The same applies to some of Zeiss’s newer lenses, most of which we have not yet tested at Photography Life.

In a couple rare cases, I had to make a close judgement call whether a lens ended up on the list or not. If you’re wondering about any particular lens, feel free to ask away in the comments. Considering that almost everything above is based on our lab tests rather than my subjective impressions, I should be able to answer any questions you have about why a particular lens did/didn’t make the list. Of course, I may have overlooked some lenses by accident – if so, I’ll add them above.

Conclusion

As much as I like camera lenses, I’d rather talk about the creative side of photography any day. But I also want photographers to make informed decisions when they’re buying camera gear, so as not to waste money or need to return any equipment. Hopefully this bird’s-eye view comparison helps make that a bit easier.

In the case of the Nikon Z7, Nikon Z7 II, and Nikon Z9, chances are good that you chose it instead of the Nikon Z6 or Z6 II because you were trying to capture as much detail as possible. The highly recommended lenses on this list will let you do that – and so will the regular “recommended” lenses, to a lesser degree.

As always, let me know in the comments if you have any thoughts about this list. And keep in mind that plenty of great lenses aren’t listed above as “highly recommended” simply because the sharpness bar was so high. Heck, I currently use five lenses on my Nikon Z7, and every single one of them falls under “recommended” rather than “highly recommended.” Sometimes, the best lens isn’t the sharpest, but instead the one which enables you to capture a photo that other lenses do not.

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