I DO understand the need to save weight; but for me, things depend on what one prefers to bring out in a photograph. My hiking Bryce Canyon, Mt. Rainier, and areas of Sedona this year certainly aligned with my own preferences (having sold both my well-used D850’s, which I loved), to get a Z8 with an FTZ-II mount adapter. That way I could use the same batteries and the same cards as I had before. To that, I added its MB-N12 power battery pack vertical grip attachment; and around the whole thing I have a Really Right Stuff L-Plate Set (BMBN12-L) which I was already using on the D850.
I use a great Lowepro All-Weather sling pack that has superb weight distribution and carry (for landscape and possible flower / wildlife encounters) 3 lenses: the 20mm Z f/1.8 s; the F-mount 24-70mm f/2.8; and the 70-200mm f/2.8 (VR) [having replaced the original tripod-foot], plus a TC-14E III on the 70-200mm, that I keep mounted on it most of the time.
I cover a lot of ranges since I shoot in-camera FX, DX and 16:19 framings: With this set-up, I can do super-wide super-crisp shots corner to corner with the Z 20mm, effective 24-105mm with the first zoom, and up to 420mm with the 70-200mm if I use DX in-camera with the TC-14. My filters stay the same for all 3 lenses (they all take 77mm); they’re all weather-sealed. And more critical, the f/2.8 in both zooms allow me to use a 1.4x [yes, I need a different one for the 24-70mm, but I tend to forego that…if anything, I might carry an extension tube for special close-up effects)…
I keep a small hip-carry pack for anything else I may need and the sling pack allows me to access spare batteries, lens caps, cleaners, keys, wallet, water bottle, food, a MIOPS trigger (for those dramatic lightning storm shots), etc…and it has room left-over even for a 105mm macro lens if need-be.
I typically handhold my landscape and wildlife shots, but if I need anything else, I use an iFootage Cobra C180F-P monopod (with the pedal), carry a spare pedal base (folded-up in the sling pack) for any quick low shots as well, and mounted on top of the monopod a 3Pod ES-H4 small ball-head that allows me to swivel either the base of the monopod or the top, independently of each other. FYI, the monopod in its non-extended position (collapsed) does support comfortably the Z8 + Power pack + 1.4x + 70-200mm in its pedal-locked upright position, so no worries about its weight-bearing capabilities ! That’s important (and great) when awaiting the right moment.
For me, an additional advantage to the weight of the set-up is that on blustery and windy days, which a lot of these hikes and elevations encounter in their canyon environments, or during gathering storms, the equipment stays steady, even in one’s own hands. That cannot be said of the lighter-weight systems I’ve also used in the past.
As far as allowing for interesting compositions in varying light, I can cover low light situations, into-the-sun shots, isolate wonderful details of the various formations, shoot around obstructions (and other people), and time after time prefer my photographs of specific attributes of a formation to the wide-angle “postcard shot” photographs of a pure wide-angle (unless terrific foreground or cloud-formations are present).
And I’ve captured great photos of wildflowers, lizards, wildlife, both perched and flying birds (including hummingbirds)…and people, too with that combination. While it may sound like a lot of equipment to carry around, that trio of lenses (and the 1.4x adapter) allows me to shoot for extended periods of time, no matter what I may encounter, and no matter the weather and lighting conditions…including being able to do great video work with the zooms.
Not everyone has similar photographic needs or desires, of course, but it is what has been the most rewarding for me, with a resultant collection of superb sharp and emotionally-evocative photos to date.
Robert John
March 30, 2025 10:19 am
Just to say that a nice complementary lens for this might be the Viltrox 20/f2.8. Small, light, decently sharp. I use the 24-200 with my multi-purpose 100-400 (landscape, wildlife, semi-macro) and I reckon the Viltrox will tuck into my bag nicely. I was wondering about saving weight with a 24-70/f4, but as you point out – there is no point! Likewise the Tamron 50-400 – just 200g weight-saving. Stick to Nikon. My 2 Nikon zooms each cover a lot of bases.
Lee H
March 10, 2025 3:44 pm
Hi Spencer, I have a Z8 and am looking for a lens for hiking. About a 1/3 of my shots are from 120mm-200mm. Would you still recommend the 24-200mm instead of the 24-120mm for a high resolution body?
Stefan Humblet
July 15, 2024 4:00 pm
Thx Spencer – great review again. Would you recommend the Nikon Z 24-200mm lens with a Nikon Z f body?
Paul Forna-Kreutzer
December 7, 2023 9:10 am
Hi Spencer! After reading multiple reviews about the 24-200 Z lens I decided to purchase one for my new Z8. As I still had my old D850 with its F 24-120mm f/4 lens, I did a sharpness test, similar to the one presented by you in the review. To my surprise, The 24-200 Z is considerably less sharp both in the middle and the corners compared to the old F lens over a wide range of focal lengths and apertures (I can even provide example photos for this). Do you or anyone have any idea why this may be? Is it possible I got a bad copy of the lens? If so, how could I go about to test this?
Sure thing! Yeah, that result doesn’t match our tests. It’s definitely possible that you got a bad copy – and complex zooms are especially prone to sample variation.
If your lens is a bad copy, you will almost always see decentering. Here’s the process I recommend to test whether decentering is present: photographylife.com/good-…py-of-lens
Amy Oppenheimer
November 8, 2023 8:18 am
I’ve had the 23/200 for quite awhile and am no longer using it for big landscapes. The sharpness of the mountains in the background or anything else far away has been awful. May be operator error but after ruining a bunch of photos in Iceland, this is no longer used much except for city type shooting, where it is very good. The Z8 sensor is large enough to allow tight crops with the 24/120 which is an amazing lens.
If it’s specifically sharpness at infinity that’s the problem for you, and the lens is good at other distances, I would wonder about the possibility of atmospheric distortion or even a depth of field issue as the cause. Don’t get me wrong, the 24-120mm f/4 is a sharper lens, but “awful” at long distances is not how I would describe the 24-200mm at all.
James Tang
November 5, 2023 8:32 am
Spencer, after using the lens this year, are you still happy with the results? Still trying to make the decision to aquire one!
La poca nitidezza,distorsione,aberrazione,vignettatura:bagliore di frònte al sole in che formato di stampa (24×30,30×40,50×70) si possono notare,o solo sul cellulare o computer?nello Z 24/200 e lo stesso per lo z 24/120 nikon ?
jerboa
December 8, 2022 1:43 pm
I’ve had the lens since you tested it and I love it :)
Yes, it could be sharper, yes it could be brighter, but it still delivers what it promises. It can also take a lot, I (unfortunately) fell on the lens, nothing wobbles, it got a lot of sea water, everything fits. it has been bumped properly, holds, fits and the sharpness on the Z6 is good. With corrections in DXO, the results are really good even in the 135-200 range.
steve
July 3, 2022 2:35 am
The fact it drops to f/6.3 at 85mm is what is putting me off, that’s very slow, very soon.
Perhaps get a used f-mount 85/f1.8 (£300 or so) to pop in the corner of your bag. Hopefully that gives a nice balance of the versatile and the specialist without too much weight.
I DO understand the need to save weight; but for me, things depend on what one prefers to bring out in a photograph. My hiking Bryce Canyon, Mt. Rainier, and areas of Sedona this year certainly aligned with my own preferences (having sold both my well-used D850’s, which I loved), to get a Z8 with an FTZ-II mount adapter. That way I could use the same batteries and the same cards as I had before. To that, I added its MB-N12 power battery pack vertical grip attachment; and around the whole thing I have a Really Right Stuff L-Plate Set (BMBN12-L) which I was already using on the D850.
I use a great Lowepro All-Weather sling pack that has superb weight distribution and carry (for landscape and possible flower / wildlife encounters) 3 lenses: the 20mm Z f/1.8 s; the F-mount 24-70mm f/2.8; and the 70-200mm f/2.8 (VR) [having replaced the original tripod-foot], plus a TC-14E III on the 70-200mm, that I keep mounted on it most of the time.
I cover a lot of ranges since I shoot in-camera FX, DX and 16:19 framings: With this set-up, I can do super-wide super-crisp shots corner to corner with the Z 20mm, effective 24-105mm with the first zoom, and up to 420mm with the 70-200mm if I use DX in-camera with the TC-14.
My filters stay the same for all 3 lenses (they all take 77mm); they’re all weather-sealed. And more critical, the f/2.8 in both zooms allow me to use a 1.4x [yes, I need a different one for the 24-70mm, but I tend to forego that…if anything, I might carry an extension tube for special close-up effects)…
I keep a small hip-carry pack for anything else I may need and the sling pack allows me to access spare batteries, lens caps, cleaners, keys, wallet, water bottle, food, a MIOPS trigger (for those dramatic lightning storm shots), etc…and it has room left-over even for a 105mm macro lens if need-be.
I typically handhold my landscape and wildlife shots, but if I need anything else, I use an iFootage Cobra C180F-P monopod (with the pedal), carry a spare pedal base (folded-up in the sling pack) for any quick low shots as well, and mounted on top of the monopod a 3Pod ES-H4 small ball-head that allows me to swivel either the base of the monopod or the top, independently of each other. FYI, the monopod in its non-extended position (collapsed) does support comfortably the Z8 + Power pack + 1.4x + 70-200mm in its pedal-locked upright position, so no worries about its weight-bearing capabilities ! That’s important (and great) when awaiting the right moment.
For me, an additional advantage to the weight of the set-up is that on blustery and windy days, which a lot of these hikes and elevations encounter in their canyon environments, or during gathering storms, the equipment stays steady, even in one’s own hands. That cannot be said of the lighter-weight systems I’ve also used in the past.
As far as allowing for interesting compositions in varying light, I can cover low light situations, into-the-sun shots, isolate wonderful details of the various formations, shoot around obstructions (and other people), and time after time prefer my photographs of specific attributes of a formation to the wide-angle “postcard shot” photographs of a pure wide-angle (unless terrific foreground or cloud-formations are present).
And I’ve captured great photos of wildflowers, lizards, wildlife, both perched and flying birds (including hummingbirds)…and people, too with that combination. While it may sound like a lot of equipment to carry around, that trio of lenses (and the 1.4x adapter) allows me to shoot for extended periods of time, no matter what I may encounter, and no matter the weather and lighting conditions…including being able to do great video work with the zooms.
Not everyone has similar photographic needs or desires, of course, but it is what has been the most rewarding for me, with a resultant collection of superb sharp and emotionally-evocative photos to date.
Just to say that a nice complementary lens for this might be the Viltrox 20/f2.8. Small, light, decently sharp.
I use the 24-200 with my multi-purpose 100-400 (landscape, wildlife, semi-macro) and I reckon the Viltrox will tuck into my bag nicely.
I was wondering about saving weight with a 24-70/f4, but as you point out – there is no point!
Likewise the Tamron 50-400 – just 200g weight-saving. Stick to Nikon.
My 2 Nikon zooms each cover a lot of bases.
Hi Spencer, I have a Z8 and am looking for a lens for hiking. About a 1/3 of my shots are from 120mm-200mm. Would you still recommend the 24-200mm instead of the 24-120mm for a high resolution body?
Thx Spencer – great review again.
Would you recommend the Nikon Z 24-200mm lens with a Nikon Z f body?
Hi Spencer!
After reading multiple reviews about the 24-200 Z lens I decided to purchase one for my new Z8. As I still had my old D850 with its F 24-120mm f/4 lens, I did a sharpness test, similar to the one presented by you in the review. To my surprise, The 24-200 Z is considerably less sharp both in the middle and the corners compared to the old F lens over a wide range of focal lengths and apertures (I can even provide example photos for this). Do you or anyone have any idea why this may be? Is it possible I got a bad copy of the lens? If so, how could I go about to test this?
Sure thing! Yeah, that result doesn’t match our tests. It’s definitely possible that you got a bad copy – and complex zooms are especially prone to sample variation.
If your lens is a bad copy, you will almost always see decentering. Here’s the process I recommend to test whether decentering is present: photographylife.com/good-…py-of-lens
I’ve had the 23/200 for quite awhile and am no longer using it for big landscapes. The sharpness of the mountains in the background or anything else far away has been awful. May be operator error but after ruining a bunch of photos in Iceland, this is no longer used much except for city type shooting, where it is very good. The Z8 sensor is large enough to allow tight crops with the 24/120 which is an amazing lens.
If it’s specifically sharpness at infinity that’s the problem for you, and the lens is good at other distances, I would wonder about the possibility of atmospheric distortion or even a depth of field issue as the cause. Don’t get me wrong, the 24-120mm f/4 is a sharper lens, but “awful” at long distances is not how I would describe the 24-200mm at all.
Spencer, after using the lens this year, are you still happy with the results? Still trying to make the decision to aquire one!
Yes, at narrow apertures for landscape photography, I have no complaints! It’s not a lens for everyone, but I like it.
I just sold my Z 24-70 F4 S for a new 24-200 Z lens. For walk-around during the vacation. I also have a 24-120 F4 S. So the 24-70 wasn’t a necessity.
La poca nitidezza,distorsione,aberrazione,vignettatura:bagliore di frònte al sole in che formato di stampa (24×30,30×40,50×70) si possono notare,o solo sul cellulare o computer?nello Z 24/200 e lo stesso per lo z 24/120 nikon ?
I’ve had the lens since you tested it and I love it :)
Yes, it could be sharper, yes it could be brighter, but it still delivers what it promises.
It can also take a lot, I (unfortunately) fell on the lens, nothing wobbles, it got a lot of sea water, everything fits. it has been bumped properly, holds, fits and the sharpness on the Z6 is good. With corrections in DXO, the results are really good even in the 135-200 range.
The fact it drops to f/6.3 at 85mm is what is putting me off, that’s very slow, very soon.
Perhaps get a used f-mount 85/f1.8 (£300 or so) to pop in the corner of your bag. Hopefully that gives a nice balance of the versatile and the specialist without too much weight.