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.
Rich
February 19, 2022 1:40 am
Love those samples! This is a very comprehensive and accurate review of this lens – so well done! This lens is so excellent for street photography, travel, hiking and kayaking. The latter being the main reason why I bought it…..no changing lenses out on the water and I have a wide range of focal lengths is ridiculously helpful. For travel, so many of my images were f8-11 anyway and I don’t see much of a difference at those apertures vs my (now sold) 24-70 f4. There’s a lot of love towards the 24-120 f4S and I don’t think the 24-200 has received enough love. Personally, the 120-200mm gain is more beneficial to me than the difference in sharpness or aperture. If I want more perfection or a faster lens, neither of these lenses are ideal anyway, so the 24-200 does a better job of serving the niche purpose that I view it as. Thanks again for a great review!
You’re very welcome, Rich! I’m glad you liked the review and sample photos :)
Aruna
January 21, 2022 8:43 am
I have been using the 24-200 for more than a year with my Z6. I really like it and makes my travel kit simple. I used to own the D750 with 24-120 and always wanted a little bit more reach ( I used to own the D800 with 24-70 f/2.8 too). Looks like the new 24-120 f/4 is a tad bit sharper compared to this, but I think I am happy with this focal range. I even bought the Z 18-140 for my Z50, which makes a really light weight backpacking kit for me. Thanks Spencer!
Scott Segler
December 1, 2021 2:48 pm
Another well done and informative review, Spencer. Thank you. Regarding Lightroom lens adjustments, there is a check box on the lens grouping where you can turn off all lens adjustments. There is also a slider for lens distortion specifically, so you can turn it down or off if you want those corners just like in the NEF file. I often turn off lens distortion adjustments in Lightroom unless it’s really needed (like straight lines on a building). Again, thank you for a great review.
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.
Love those samples! This is a very comprehensive and accurate review of this lens – so well done! This lens is so excellent for street photography, travel, hiking and kayaking. The latter being the main reason why I bought it…..no changing lenses out on the water and I have a wide range of focal lengths is ridiculously helpful. For travel, so many of my images were f8-11 anyway and I don’t see much of a difference at those apertures vs my (now sold) 24-70 f4. There’s a lot of love towards the 24-120 f4S and I don’t think the 24-200 has received enough love. Personally, the 120-200mm gain is more beneficial to me than the difference in sharpness or aperture. If I want more perfection or a faster lens, neither of these lenses are ideal anyway, so the 24-200 does a better job of serving the niche purpose that I view it as. Thanks again for a great review!
You’re very welcome, Rich! I’m glad you liked the review and sample photos :)
I have been using the 24-200 for more than a year with my Z6. I really like it and makes my travel kit simple. I used to own the D750 with 24-120 and always wanted a little bit more reach ( I used to own the D800 with 24-70 f/2.8 too). Looks like the new 24-120 f/4 is a tad bit sharper compared to this, but I think I am happy with this focal range. I even bought the Z 18-140 for my Z50, which makes a really light weight backpacking kit for me. Thanks Spencer!
Another well done and informative review, Spencer. Thank you. Regarding Lightroom lens adjustments, there is a check box on the lens grouping where you can turn off all lens adjustments. There is also a slider for lens distortion specifically, so you can turn it down or off if you want those corners just like in the NEF file. I often turn off lens distortion adjustments in Lightroom unless it’s really needed (like straight lines on a building). Again, thank you for a great review.