Our Recommendation
The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Macro is a versatile lens: lightweight, optically strong, and capable of very close focus. Apart from the inherent difficulty of shooting macro photos at 50mm, there aren’t any major flaws with this lens. The only question is whether the 50mm f/2.8 Macro actually suits your needs the best, or if you’d be better off with a different lens – or maybe two – instead. For example, I think that many photographers would prefer a 40mm f/2 or 50mm f/1.4 for everyday photography and a dedicated 100mm+ macro lens for high-magnification work. Even the cost of this two-lens kit may be similar given that the 50mm f/2.8 Macro is a little overpriced at $650.
Here’s how I’d sum up the pros and cons of the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8.
Pros:
- Lightweight and portable, with significant weather sealing
- Excellent distortion and chromatic aberration performance
- 1:1 magnification opens up a new world of subjects to photograph
- Great handling including an A-M switch and focus limiter
Cons:
- 50mm just doesn’t give enough working distance for a lot of macro photography
- External focus design isn’t as reassuring in bad weather
- $650 price feels high considering where other Nikon Z lenses are priced
There isn’t a lot to complain about with this lens, but it also doesn’t stand out too much. After all, there are a lot of 50mm or near-50mm lenses for the Nikon Z system. I think that some of the others have more compelling arguments behind them – brighter, lighter, better optically, less expensive, and so on.
That leaves one main reason to pick the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 instead: the close focus capability. It certainly was a lot of fun to use this lens to shoot close-up photos during my travels, and it was a great reminder that I should take macro photos more often. However, the 50mm focal length isn’t ideal for true macro photography given the short working distance of this lens. If you often shoot near 1:1 magnification, I think you should consider other lenses instead – especially the Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 Macro (which gets as low as $850 when on sale) or the Venus Optics 100mm f/2.8 2x Macro if you don’t mind manual focus, both of which are excellent optically. A longer macro lens like a 150mm, 180mm, or 200mm could be better still, but the options start to thin past 105mm.
To me, the best argument for the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 is that it’s small and light enough that you can leave it in your bag all the time. There are better 50mm lenses and better macro lenses, but there’s no other way to achieve both in such a compact package. You could pair this lens with something like the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 and the Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 and have a lightweight, do-it-all kit up to 300mm. Viewed in that context, this could certainly be the lens for you.
Still, the $650 price of the Nikon Z 50mm f/2.8 Macro seems high to me. It sits awkwardly between the $850 sale price of the Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 Macro and the $500 MSRP of the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4, and either of those lenses feels easier to justify. Even the Nikon Z 40mm f/2 is just as sharp, weighs less, captures more light, and costs $300 (or just $227 if on sale). Of course, the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 is still a reasonable purchase if you need its unique combination of portability and close focus. But given the price and various alternatives, I suspect that many photographers will choose other lenses instead.
Conclusion
The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Macro is available for $650 through any of our affiliates. We have seen it go on sale as low as $600 in the past:
- Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 at B&H – Check Current Price and Sales
- Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 at Adorama
- Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 at Amazon
- Used: Check prices on KEH
Thank you for buying your equipment through the links above, whether it’s this lens or anything else! When you do, Photography Life gets a small percentage of the sale without costing you anything extra. It goes a long way to help us test more equipment.
The next page of this review has some more sample photos from the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8, followed by reader comments on the final page. Use the Table of Contents below the star rating to jump to the section you want.
Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Macro
- Build Quality and Handling
- Size and Weight
- Sharpness Performance
- Other Image Quality
- Value
Photography Life Overall Rating
Table of Contents