Shows you what I know. I don’t much care, and most of us do not, about corners. I do not take a lot of pictures of brick walls. I take the occasional photograph, and otherwise a whole bunch of excellent snap shots.
That’s the best approach to take in photography. A lot of people lose a lot of money chasing perfect corners that don’t even matter for their photos.
Our review standards have had to get much stricter as lenses have gotten better. Not long ago, people would have given an arm and a leg for a lens this good. So yeah, most other Nikon Z lenses test a little better in a strict lab, but does that matter? Not for the artistic quality of real-world photos.
Max
September 4, 2023 12:26 am
I boughtone recently from a shop for 158€. It was their demonstration unit and was in very good condition. For this price it fits very well with my 40mm f2 and 28mm f2.8 and my Z5. Very small and nice package.
I started the Z system with a z50 + 16-50 lens. I traded that combo eventually for a z6 and 24-70, and have since gone all in with the z system (z6 z6ii z7 and 13 z lenses + 2 TC). The one hole I always felt in my system was the z50 with pop-up flash and the 16-50 at family gatherings, holidays, and parties. The 24-50 + z6 + sb400 flash has filled that void for me, and the image quality is even better, plus I don’t have to deal with two image formats and a lens that only works well with 1 body. I also waited for one to show up as a reman at $100 off, and it’s well worth it.
Jud McCranie
January 20, 2022 12:32 am
This should not be your only lens! I got one yesterday, to join the three Z lenses I already have. If I’m going out with the idea of taking photos, I will NOT take this lens. If I’m going out for some other reason, and want to carry a camera, just in case, I will pop this on my Z5 and have a light and compact unit.
Kim
November 25, 2021 10:23 am
Not sure I agree about the comparisons to the compact primes, the compact primes will off course be super useful and have the edge on quality and speed, but this zoom is a flexible “family and travel” lens. Comparing the 28mm f/2.8 it will have a fov equal to 43mm f/4.5 in dx crop, thats not so far from the depth off field the zoom has at its long end while it still lets you keep full resolution. Then you can crop that to get a equal to 75mm in dx range, and if you try to match this with the 28, you get almost 3 x crop and a f8 field off view with very little resolution left and I cant believe a the quality difference to the prime outweighs this resolution loss. And off course the zooms 24mm is noticeable wider than 28mm, almost 1.4x . But off course – we probably end up with more than this lens… but it looks promising for a easy to travel lens, just as the 24-200 has some nice benefits.
Sebastian Fornpost
August 25, 2021 6:17 am
I use this lens together with the Z 50-250 on a Z50. The wide angle range is not important for me (ca. 36mm FX-equivalent at the wide end of this combo is enough, at least for me). This combo is really light and small and sometimes I fetch the 50mm/f2 mc additionally.
I’m using the Z 14-30 for all interior’s now, on a Z6II. The built in lens profile gives you a corrected perspective at camera.
Keaton Rose
August 11, 2021 5:38 pm
I found it interesting that the review was a bit less than enthusiastic about the lens, and yet the sample images throughout were by and large outstanding.
I got this lens to have a small and light setup for hiking and street attempts, and I plan to add the 28 and 40mm compacts when they’re available to have something of a compact system to use on occasions when I don’t want to lug bigger and heavier alternatives around. I can see going out and about or on a trip with just the 24-50 and, say, the 40 f/2.8 and getting what I need out of that setup. We’ll see.
In the meantime, the 24-50 has served me well for what I’ve wanted out of it. And for the many occasions when I think I’ll need more range or a faster lens, I can always grab my 24-70 or one of my Z primes.
Thank you for the kind words about the sample photos! No lens in today’s world is a complete junker (well, no Nikon-brand lens at least – but even the cheap Chinese lenses rarely are). This zoom would have been an optical miracle even 30 years ago! But as optical standards have risen, so has the strictness of our reviews.
So, relative to Nikon’s other Z lenses, this one may be a little weaker at the margins, but who really cares? You can take great photos with it and make huge prints with it, no problem. I’d still recommend it to anyone who thinks it has the right balance of focal lengths, maximum aperture, portability, and price.
Michael
July 25, 2021 9:52 pm
Is the Imatest score comparable across cameras?
This lens scored similarly to the 16-50 DX. Does that mean sharpness between a Z50 with its kit lens and a full frame Z with this lens will be equal? If so picture quality advantage goes to this lens over the DX lens because its FF.
What would be the better pick between a Z50 with 16-50 and a Z6 with the 24-50?
We test every Nikon Z lens, including DX, on the Nikon Z7 for Imatest. So, the central sharpness figures are comparable between the two. The 16-50mm’s “corner” numbers are measured in the same spot as the 24-50mm’s “midframe” numbers but are otherwise comparable.
The difference is that you don’t need to enlarge the image from a Z6 sensor as much for a given print size. Even though the two sensors have similar resolution, and the lenses may be comparably sharp, this difference in enlargement is enough to make the Z6 photos look a bit more detailed at a given print size. For maximum image quality, the better pick would be the Z6 with the 24-50mm, but not by much. (Plus there’s better high ISO performance and dynamic range.)
Mario
July 23, 2021 2:53 am
I think this lens‘ strength will come out when a lightweight telezoom will be available. Other than that, I found the 24-50 zoom range more usable than I had anticipated. I often take this lens if otherwise I would have taken only my phone. Maybe that’s a comparison that could be added to the list. Not because we don’t know how it would come out, but because it’s the way some might use this lens.
Shows you what I know. I don’t much care, and most of us do not, about corners. I do not take a lot of pictures of brick walls. I take the occasional photograph, and otherwise a whole bunch of excellent snap shots.
That’s the best approach to take in photography. A lot of people lose a lot of money chasing perfect corners that don’t even matter for their photos.
Our review standards have had to get much stricter as lenses have gotten better. Not long ago, people would have given an arm and a leg for a lens this good. So yeah, most other Nikon Z lenses test a little better in a strict lab, but does that matter? Not for the artistic quality of real-world photos.
I boughtone recently from a shop for 158€. It was their demonstration unit and was in very good condition. For this price it fits very well with my 40mm f2 and 28mm f2.8 and my Z5. Very small and nice package.
For that price, it’s a fantastic buy, nice find.
I started the Z system with a z50 + 16-50 lens. I traded that combo eventually for a z6 and 24-70, and have since gone all in with the z system (z6 z6ii z7 and 13 z lenses + 2 TC). The one hole I always felt in my system was the z50 with pop-up flash and the 16-50 at family gatherings, holidays, and parties. The 24-50 + z6 + sb400 flash has filled that void for me, and the image quality is even better, plus I don’t have to deal with two image formats and a lens that only works well with 1 body. I also waited for one to show up as a reman at $100 off, and it’s well worth it.
This should not be your only lens! I got one yesterday, to join the three Z lenses I already have. If I’m going out with the idea of taking photos, I will NOT take this lens. If I’m going out for some other reason, and want to carry a camera, just in case, I will pop this on my Z5 and have a light and compact unit.
Not sure I agree about the comparisons to the compact primes, the compact primes will off course be super useful and have the edge on quality and speed, but this zoom is a flexible “family and travel” lens. Comparing the 28mm f/2.8 it will have a fov equal to 43mm f/4.5 in dx crop, thats not so far from the depth off field the zoom has at its long end while it still lets you keep full resolution. Then you can crop that to get a equal to 75mm in dx range, and if you try to match this with the 28, you get almost 3 x crop and a f8 field off view with very little resolution left and I cant believe a the quality difference to the prime outweighs this resolution loss. And off course the zooms 24mm is noticeable wider than 28mm, almost 1.4x . But off course – we probably end up with more than this lens… but it looks promising for a easy to travel lens, just as the 24-200 has some nice benefits.
I use this lens together with the Z 50-250 on a Z50. The wide angle range is not important for me (ca. 36mm FX-equivalent at the wide end of this combo is enough, at least for me).
This combo is really light and small and sometimes I fetch the 50mm/f2 mc additionally.
50mm/f2.8, sorry
Why not use the 16-50 on the Z50?
I’m looking to get into real estate photography. Will this be a cheap solution until I get more paid jobs and can afford a better lens?
No, for real estate you should have a 16mm range lens for photographing the interiors.
I’m using the Z 14-30 for all interior’s now, on a Z6II. The built in lens profile gives you a corrected perspective at camera.
I found it interesting that the review was a bit less than enthusiastic about the lens, and yet the sample images throughout were by and large outstanding.
I got this lens to have a small and light setup for hiking and street attempts, and I plan to add the 28 and 40mm compacts when they’re available to have something of a compact system to use on occasions when I don’t want to lug bigger and heavier alternatives around. I can see going out and about or on a trip with just the 24-50 and, say, the 40 f/2.8 and getting what I need out of that setup. We’ll see.
In the meantime, the 24-50 has served me well for what I’ve wanted out of it. And for the many occasions when I think I’ll need more range or a faster lens, I can always grab my 24-70 or one of my Z primes.
Thank you for the kind words about the sample photos! No lens in today’s world is a complete junker (well, no Nikon-brand lens at least – but even the cheap Chinese lenses rarely are). This zoom would have been an optical miracle even 30 years ago! But as optical standards have risen, so has the strictness of our reviews.
So, relative to Nikon’s other Z lenses, this one may be a little weaker at the margins, but who really cares? You can take great photos with it and make huge prints with it, no problem. I’d still recommend it to anyone who thinks it has the right balance of focal lengths, maximum aperture, portability, and price.
Is the Imatest score comparable across cameras?
This lens scored similarly to the 16-50 DX. Does that mean sharpness between a Z50 with its kit lens and a full frame Z with this lens will be equal? If so picture quality advantage goes to this lens over the DX lens because its FF.
What would be the better pick between a Z50 with 16-50 and a Z6 with the 24-50?
We test every Nikon Z lens, including DX, on the Nikon Z7 for Imatest. So, the central sharpness figures are comparable between the two. The 16-50mm’s “corner” numbers are measured in the same spot as the 24-50mm’s “midframe” numbers but are otherwise comparable.
The difference is that you don’t need to enlarge the image from a Z6 sensor as much for a given print size. Even though the two sensors have similar resolution, and the lenses may be comparably sharp, this difference in enlargement is enough to make the Z6 photos look a bit more detailed at a given print size. For maximum image quality, the better pick would be the Z6 with the 24-50mm, but not by much. (Plus there’s better high ISO performance and dynamic range.)
I think this lens‘ strength will come out when a lightweight telezoom will be available.
Other than that, I found the 24-50 zoom range more usable than I had anticipated.
I often take this lens if otherwise I would have taken only my phone.
Maybe that’s a comparison that could be added to the list. Not because we don’t know how it would come out, but because it’s the way some might use this lens.
It would definitely pair well with a lightweight telephoto zoom. Hopefully Nikon makes one soon. I’m surprised they haven’t yet.