Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S Review

Introduction

This hands-on review covers everything you need to know about the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, a high-end midrange zoom that Nikon announced in early 2019 for their mirrorless Z System. As the first professional-grade zoom lens ever made for the Z Mount, the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S had quite a bit of pressure on it, especially considering how well the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S “kit lens” already performed.

Midrange zooms with an f/2.8 maximum aperture have been staples for professional photographers for decades. In fact, this lens marks the third 24-70mm f/2.8 that Nikon has made; they began with the AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G in 2007, and later the AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E VR in 2015, both for the F-mount. But there was also an earlier Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8 D made in 1999, not to mention the original Nikon AF 35-70mm f/2.8D from 1985!

It’s not just the greater range of focal lengths that has improved with the newer generations – their optical quality and features continue to improve as well. The Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S has a complex optical design with 17 elements in 15 groups, four of which are aspherical and two of which employ extra-low dispersion glass. The short flange distance and large diameter of the Nikon Z mount also allow Nikon’s optical engineers much more flexibility to design mirrorless lenses compared to DSLR lenses. Given how close the rear element of the Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is to the mount, it seems that every millimeter of available space was used when designing this lens.

That said, the previous generations of this lens were hardly slouches. The prior-generation Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E VR actually employed four aspherical and two ED glass elements as well, and its optical design was arguably even more complex with 20 elements in 16 groups. Not to mention the high number of alternative midrange zooms currently made for the Nikon Z system: apart from the 24-70mm f/4 S mentioned a moment ago, there’s also the Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8, the Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S, and even third-party options like the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8.

Given this steep competition – as well as the high price of $2400 for the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S – does it make sense to go all-in on this lens? We’ll answer that question and more in today’s hands-on review. Over the course of several years, our team has tested the lens extensively both in the field and in the lab to bring you the most comprehensive review of the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S that you’ll find online.

Build Quality

Although the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is lighter than the previous-generation F Mount lens, it is designed with maximum performance and build quality in mind rather than minimizing weight. At 805 grams (1.77 pounds), it’s on the light side for a pro-grade 24-70mm f/2.8, but still heavy enough that you won’t be throwing it in your jacket pocket on a whim.

Thanks to its tough shell comprised of a mixture of hard plastic and metal, this lens can withstand quite a bit of abuse in the field. It has excellent weather sealing to protect against dust and moisture, plus a fluorine-coated front element to help repel dust and water droplets. As you can see from Nikon’s diagram of the lens, there are extensive rubber gaskets throughout the design to help with weather-proofing:

We’ve used the lens in some truly punishing weather conditions, from sub-freezing mountains of Colorado to windy deserts with dust in the air, as well as a week of almost constant rain in the Faroe Islands. The lens survived it all without any issues, even after being subjected to extreme humidity that would damage a lot of lenses. Nikon doesn’t mess around with their professional f/2.8 zooms, and the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is no exception.

The one downside to the lens’s build quality is that it’s an externally-zooming lens rather than an internally-zooming lens. The front barrel extends more than an inch as you zoom from 24mm to 70mm. On some lenses, external zoom mechanisms can pose a problem, with moisture and dust more likely to enter the lens via the external barrel. But given the extensive high-quality seals on the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, it is not a concern on this particular lens.

Handling

When it comes to handling, despite its relatively big size, the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S handles extremely well. It balances nicely on hands, even with the barrel fully extended, and does not become too front-heavy. The zoom ring is easy to rotate and is very smooth, with a consistent amount of resistance as you zoom across the full range from 24mm to 70mm.

Nikon has offered an extensive set of handling-related controls on the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S. Apart from the usual zoom ring and focus ring, there is a customizable control ring, a custom function button, and an illuminated display to show you things like the lens’s focusing distance.

The focus and control rings can both be customized to perform different functions, as seen below:

Perhaps even more useful is the L-Fn button, which can be customized to perform specific functions such as previewing depth of field or locking focus. Basically, any function that you can assign to your camera’s usual Fn1/Fn2/etc. buttons, you can assign to this L-Fn button as well. You can think of it as extending your camera’s function buttons by one.

The built-in OLED information panel is quite neat, because it can toggle different types of information when you press the DISP button, such as a moving focus scale, focal length or lens aperture. If you would rather not emit any light from the lens, however, you can turn off the information panel completely.

Due to the relatively large size of the front element, the lens features an 82mm filter thread, which is not uncommon in today’s high-performance 24-70mm f/2.8 lenses. Mounting and dismounting filters is quite easy, although polarizing filters can be painful to rotate with the lens hood attached.

Speaking of which, the included petal-shaped hood is easy to mount, and it has a useful locking mechanism to prevent it from accidentally detaching. It adds a moderate amount of length to the lens when mounted, but it can be very useful in preventing stray light from hitting the front of the lens (and it also helped a lot when shooting in the rain). When storing or transporting the lens, you can reverse the hood so that it won’t take up much additional space.

Overall, the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S handles extremely well and has superb build quality, as expected for a professional-grade lens.

Specifications Comparison

24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lenses are popular workhorse lenses for many professional photographers. Unfortunately, designing such a lens while maintaining high levels of performance across the whole focal range is no easy task. Because of this, most 24-70mm f/2.8 lenses we have tested in the past either showed optical compromises, or performed reasonably well at the expense of huge size and weight. Take a look at the below chart that compares the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S against a variety of other 24-70mm f/2.8 lenses on the market today:

You can see from this comparison that the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is roughly in the middle of the pack in terms of size, but it’s one of the lightest choices here – it’s actually tied for second lightest. And as you’ll see from the next page of this review, Nikon managed this while also keeping the optical performance of the lens very high.

A full list of specifications for the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S can be found at our lens database page here.

The next page of this review covers the optical characteristics of the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, including focusing performance and sharpness tests in the lab. Click the menu below to go to “Optical Performance”: