Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S Review

The Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is one of many midrange zooms available for the Z system, ranging from cheap glass like the Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3 to third-party lenses like the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8. Below, I’ll show you my sharpness measurements from a variety of lenses from 24mm to 70mm to help you make up your mind – and to put the sharpness results from the previous page into some useful context.

24mm (and 28mm)

As you can see, the 24-70mm f/2.8 S is the sharpest of all the zoom lenses here. Only one lens is sharper, and that’s the Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S prime – not a surprise, since high-end prime lenses are almost always a cut above zooms. Here’s how I would rank the sharpness of these lenses at 24mm (and 28mm in one case):

1. Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S
2. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
3. Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
4. Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8
5. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S
6. Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E VR
7. Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
8. Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G
9. Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3
10. Nikon AF-S 24-120mm f/4G VR

35mm

It’s the same story here. The Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is the sharpest of all the zooms, and it’s only beaten by the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S. At 35mm, I would rank the lenses as follows:

1. Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S
2. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
3. Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8
4. Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
5. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S
6. Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E VR
7. Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
8. Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8
9. Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G
10. Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3
11. Nikon AF-S 24-120mm f/4G VR

That said, there’s a bit of unavoidable subjectivity to these rankings. For example, the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 is sharp enough at 35mm that the “winner” between it and the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S will depend upon the aperture and the area of the frame that you’re considering.

50mm

While the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S gets a little bit weaker at 50mm, so do most of these lenses. Here’s how I would rank them this time:

1. Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S
2. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
3. Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8
4. Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
5. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S
6. Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G
7. Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E VR
8. Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
9. Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3
10. Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8
11. Nikon AF-S 24-120mm f/4G VR

As before, there’s some subjectivity in ranking them like this, but the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S still averages out to be the strongest of the zooms.

My choice to include the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S is practically cheating, since that lens is one of the sharpest primes of all time. But for context, I wanted to show you the high bar for 5.0/5 star sharpness performance these days, and how the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S comes close to achieving it despite being a zoom.

70mm (and 75mm)

As shown on the previous page of this review, 70mm is the weakest focal length of the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S. Even so, it still looks stronger than most of the other lenses here. Among the midrange zooms, only the Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S is a little sharper at 70mm, and even that is subjective – the corners are actually a bit better on the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S. (That said, the sharpest corners among the midrange zooms are actually found on the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8.)

Since there is no 70mm Nikon Z prime lens at the moment, I took the liberty to include the sharpest 70mm lens that I know of in this comparison: the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S. Despite being a zoom, that lens acts as a reference lens throughout much of its focal length range, and, unsurprisingly, it takes the top spot here.

Your personal order may vary a bit, but here’s how I would rank them at 70mm:

1. Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S
2. Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
3. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
4. Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8
5. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S
6. Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G
7. Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8
8. Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
9. Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E VR
10. Nikon AF-S 24-120mm f/4G VR

Conclusion

Maybe Nikon will surpass it one day, but for now, the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is the sharpest midrange zoom available for the Nikon Z system. At most focal lengths, the only way to beat it is to get a best-in-class prime lens like the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S. The weaker performance at 70mm is the only negative of the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, and even then, no other midrange zoom for the Z System is significantly better.

That said, if you take the overall sharpness into account, I would still rank Nikon’s other two pro-level f/2.8 zooms as a bit sharper: the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S and the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S. Those two lenses have a little more consistency, and they actually reach higher maximum sharpness levels than what we see on the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S. All of these lenses are pro-tier, of course, but it does leave Nikon with a tiny window to one day release an even sharper 24-70mm f/2.8 lens – possibly adding VR and/or extending the focal length range a bit.

If you want a more detailed head-to-head comparison, you may want to check out the following articles, which dive deeper into these numbers but also cover more than just sharpness:

• Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S versus Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S
• Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S versus Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8
• Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S versus Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S

You can also read our full reviews of all these lenses and compare the results directly against those of the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S:

• Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S
• Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S
• Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S
• Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8
• Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S
• Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
• Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3
• Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E VR
• Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G
• Nikon AF-S 24-120mm f/4G VR
• Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8

I hope this gives you a good sense of how the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S stacks up to the various alternatives that are available. It’s among the best of all these lenses – in fact, I firmly believe it to be the best midrange zoom that Nikon has ever made.

The next page of this review sums up everything and explains the pros and cons of the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S. So, click the menu below to go to “Verdict”: