I’ve consistently been annoyed by the non-removable lens profiles in Lightroom when using Nikon Z cameras. But with some of the newer Z cameras and certain lenses, the issue (mostly) no longer applies. Here’s what I know at the moment.
The short version of the story is that with the Nikon Z6 II and Nikon Z7 II specifically, the distortion profiles can now be turned on and off for at least the following lenses:
- Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S
- Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
- Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S
- Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S
- Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S
Whereas with at least the following lenses, it still applies, no matter what camera you’re using:
- Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3
- Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3
- Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4
- Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4
I no longer have most of the other Nikon Z lenses and can’t confirm which category everything falls under (crowdsourced tests would be appreciated!) but the general idea is this. With the f/2.8 zooms as well as most or possibly all Nikon Z prime lenses, you can now turn off the distortion profiles in Lightroom – but only if you’re using the Z6 II or Z7 II. With other Nikon Z cameras, the distortion profiles are still automatically applied, no matter what lens you use.
So, that’s how the distortion profiles work now. But something of further interest – not totally new information but something that I don’t see mentioned that often – is that Lightroom is taking a strange approach to the vignetting correction with Nikon Z lenses.
Rather than the built-in lens profile automatically applying a certain amount of vignetting correction, Lightroom actually reads how much in-camera vignetting correction you selected. Puzzlingly, it takes your in-camera selection as the un-erring truth and applies it to your photos, without allowing you to change this value within the Lens Corrections tab.
Of course, the Effects tab further down in Lightroom has its own vignetting tool, but it tends to work better for adding vignetting rather than precisely removing it. So, my recommendation for Nikon Z shooters is to keep the vignetting correction in-camera turned to High, even if you’re shooting .NEF files. That signals Lightroom to apply full vignetting corrections as part of the built-in lens profile. If the effect ends up looking too strong (a definite possibility), you can add back your desired level of vignetting in the Effects panel.
The vignetting weirdness is true regardless of the Nikon Z camera you’re using, as best as I can tell. Some documentation from Adobe or Nikon on how this works would be nice.
Uncorrected vignetting on the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4, shot in raw with in-camera vignetting turned off
I understand why Lightroom would have some built-in corrections that are automatically applied to certain Nikon lenses, especially a lens like the 14-30mm f/4 that has almost fisheye levels of distortion. But the whole decision about non-removable profiles isn’t something I can get behind. Why not just apply these corrections automatically (including vignetting – not tied to the level selected in camera) and then allow us to turn them off if we want? At this point, I don’t know if it’s Adobe or Nikon who is at fault, but the situation has gotten very strange.
We’ll be updating our Nikon Z lens reviews over the coming days to reflect the different behavior with the Nikon Z6 II and Z7 II. Meanwhile, if you happen to have a Z6 II / Z7 II and any of the lenses I haven’t been able to test, I’d appreciate some info in the comments section so I can add to the lists at the start of the article!
Having worked on the Nikon Z 7 profile issue with white balance (magenta cast) with Adobe, I can provide a bit of clarity. Adobe decided that the newer model cameras will allow the corrections to be turned off and on. The older models won’t. I’m not sure if newer lenses will allow corrections to be turned off and on on older cameras, but they should on newer cameras. As far as I know they are trying to apply the settings based on your in-camera selections. The problem with that is that it doesn’t actually work right with all lenses, especially adapted lenses. When it comes to stitching for panos, it is messed up. Sometimes Adobe won’t apply the correct lens… Read more »
At the point when you open the product, a great deal of tools appears on the left half of the screen.
Your blog is very intresting. Thanks for sharing.
Barocrack
Spencer, thanks for your report, I stumbled on it while desperately searching for an answer to Adobe Lightroom’s (CC Classic) mysterious approach to assigning lens profiles to my NIKON Z 7. Turns out finally that Lightroom automagically applies an “integrated lens profile” to all my Z-lenses. Unfortunately, I cannot check whether this is working correctly – but it looks OK. For all my pictures shot with the Z 7 and a Non-Z-lens Lightroom also claims that an “integrated profile” has been applied – but it does not show which one – and I cannot see any correction made in the image displayed. If I manually chose the correct lens profile and apply it to the image a drastic change takes… Read more »
I have been having lots of issues with distortion with 24-70 F4 on my Z7 and my LR classic 10.3 does not even show a profile for this lens … but there is a box I check to NOT remove Chromatic aberration and NOT enable profile corrections… but I want to ! WHY would Adobe after all this time ignore the mirrorless kit lens?
Hi Spencer, I also have trouble with the color profile AND lens corrections. I use my Z7 and I have to apply -20 for the color tint to get the color neutral. When I use my Z6II I have no corrections at all to get a neutral color. Lens corrections are really messed up that I won’t use my Z7 and Z6II camera as a dual camera setup, I have too many tweaks/corrections that needs to be done. I am glad I am not the only one here who has this issue!
Yes, that can happen with the Z6 and Z7. The F-mount integration is much smoother by comparison.
I have 6 of the Z lenses you have mentioned, and I shoot professionally with a Z7 & Z7ii. The corrections work so beautifully that I don’t understand why it’s a problem. Everything is doing what it’s supposed to. I have no visible distortion even with the 14-30 f:4 at 14mm on architecture (when leveled), and I have no discernible vignetting to speak of. I’m curious why one would want to disable some of the engineered corrections.
Stacking for noise reduction would be one problem. Adobe does not apply corrections consistently between frames and you get a screendoor / moire affect to your astrophotography images if you can’t disable lens corrections until after stacking.
Hi Spencer, Could it be an Adobe Camera Raw issue? Just installed version 13.3 Found some NEF samples made with a Z7 with DPReview. Opened these files in Photoshop. Indeed when settings in the RAW opening screen are set to Default or Auto the lens profile settings cannot be altered (Make Model and Profile all set to Built In). But when I choose Setup Custom – Nikon I cannot find a profile for the Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 nor for any other Z lens. When I open the Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 files in DxO Photolab 4 all the options like Distortion are available. One example shows terrible Purple Fringe in the corners which is not corrected. Could be a… Read more »
I use the Tamron 15-30 with my Nikon z6, and even though during Lightroom import into the Library I selected my Tamron 15-30 lens, all my photos are set with that “built in Lens” setting, so it is doing the same thing with lenses other than Nikon lenses on the Z6
As an information : conversion to DNG + exiftool manipulation works. But of course it’s far from being ideal in a “newer version than LR6” workflow.
I need to search the internet because it’s been quite some time but there is a thread on an adobe forum somewhere that I participated in that some Adobe engineer adds information about why they chose to lock overrided out as opposed to other editing software like ON1 etc. In that thread they announce that they only intend to support the functionality in newer cameras going forward so they did not intend to go back and adjust the z6 and z7 which is quite infuriating to me.