Searching for the best Nikon Z lenses for your new camera? Whether you're after a zoom lens, portrait-friendly prime or travel-friendly companion for your DX-format Nikon Z50, your list of options is steadily growing – and we've rounded all of the best options based our testing in this in-depth guide.
Nikon was a bit late to the full-frame mirrorless party, but it's got a firm foothold now thanks to the arrival of the Nikon Z6 II, Nikon Z7 II and the retro-flavored Nikon Zfc. Initially, the native lens options were a little lacking, but it's now been fleshed out thanks to new options like a pair of new macro options, which join a lengthy list of S-line primes.
Even if you already own a Nikon DSLR, there's good reason to upgrade to the new mirrorless system and invest in the best Nikon Z lenses. Compared to Nikon's historical range of F-mount 35mm and digital SLRs, the larger-diameter 55mm flange for Z-mount mirrorless cameras and its closer proximity of just 16mm to the image sensor means greater freedom in lens design. One resulting improvement is superior sharpness across the whole image frame, compared with anything we’ve seen from Nikon’s F-mount lenses.
We’ve been thoroughly impressed, not only with all of Nikon’s up-market S-line lenses for Z-series cameras, but also by the levels of image quality and all-round performance from the more budget-friendly range. Even the Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR is a standout lens, without the usual compromise in image quality that you’d normally associate with a ‘superzoom’ lens.
Most of the best Nikon Z lenses are designed for full-frame or FX cameras, though they also work on Nikon’s DX (APC-C) format bodies, where they have a 1.5x crop factor (or focal length multiplier). So far, there are only two lenses specifically designed for DX bodies including the Z 50 and Zfc, which are the Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR standard zoom and the Z DX 50-250mm f/4-5.6 VR telephoto zoom.
Back in the full-frame camp, the ‘trinity’ of Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S, Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S are all comprehensively fabulous. For prime lenses, Nikon has generally gone with a modest aperture rating of f/1.8, which enables a fairly compact and lightweight build. All in all there are plenty of treats in store for prospective buyers of the best Nikon Z lenses.
Best Nikon Z lenses in 2022:
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
For most of us, the thoroughly excellent Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S should be all the wide-angle zoom that we’ll ever need. It has a compact, lightweight and space-saving retractable design, an 82mm filter thread, and delivers superb image quality. This Z 14-24mm costs around twice the price but is it twice as good?
It really boils down to how much you want that extra f/stop of aperture, the larger lens making f/2.8 available throughout the zoom range. It also has handling extras shared with Nikon’s other ‘trinity’ zooms, including a multi-function OLED display that can show aperture, focus distance, depth of field and the exact focal length. There's also a handy customizable Lens Function button.
Image quality and all-round performance are spectacular and, unusually for such a ‘fast’ ultra-wide-angle lens, it comes with two hoods, the larger of which enables the fitment of oversized 112mm filters without the need for a specialist filter holder. Ultimately, it’s the best wide-angle zoom for Z-series cameras, but you can’t beat the Z 14-30mm for value.
Nikon currently makes three wide-angle Z-mount primes, all of which have an f/1.8 aperture rating. The 35mm lens is great for street photography and the 24mm gives a more generous viewing angle, but the 20mm has the obvious advantage of going even wider than a standard 24-70mm zoom.
The design is typical of Nikon’s Z-mount primes, with a large, well-damped focus ring that can be assigned to other functions when you’re in autofocus mode. A simple A/M switch enables easy switching between the two. Even so, it lacks the additional control ring that’s featured on Nikon’s most up-market Z-mount zoom lenses.
For such a wide-angle lens, sharpness is epic across the entire image frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/1.8. The ultra-low level of barrel distortion and negligible color fringing are also highly impressive, while the combination of both Nano Crystal Coat and Super Integrated Coating are highly effective at minimizing ghosting and flare. The ultra-wide viewing angle enables exaggerated perspective effects, especially in close-ups where you can take advantage of the very short 0.2m minimum focus distance.
As with the choice of Nikon Z wide-angle zooms, there’s fierce competition from other own-brand options. The Z 24-70mm F/4 S is a superb lens that delivers excellent image quality from a compact, lightweight, retractable construction. The newer Z 24-50mm F/4-6.3 is even smaller but is relatively lacking in zoom range and has a narrower aperture at the long end. For the ultimate in image quality and handling, though, there’s no beating this f/2.8 zoom.
Like the Nikon Z 14-24mm F/2.8 S, it boasts the same fast and constant aperture rating, and the same layout of multi-function OLED display, tertiary customizable control ring and customizable Lens Function button. Pro-grade build quality and handling characteristics are therefore identical, making you feel right at home when swapping between the two lenses.
Autofocus is super-fast, based on two separate drive motors, manual focus works with smooth precision, and the third control ring works brilliantly well for stepless aperture control when shooting movies. Image quality is absolutely fabulous. There’s no denying it’s a pricey lens, but it’s a real gem.
- Read our in-depth Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S review
Big isn’t always beautiful. The slimline form factor of the DX format Nikon Z50 mirrorless camera is one of its main attractions, making this standard zoom the perfect partner. With its cunning, retractable design, it almost qualifies as a pancake lens, with a retracted length of just 32mm.
The plastic mounting plate is arguably less durable than a metal mount, but helps to contribute to the lens’s incredibly light weight of just 135g. Other downsizing features are that the zoom range and aperture rating are both fairly modest, equating to 24-75mm in full-frame terms and shrinking to f/6.3 at the long end.
The little lens might feel a bit plasticky, and it lacks any weather-seals, but it certainly punches above its weight in terms of performance. Autofocus is fast and near-silent, optical VR (Vibration Reduction) gives a 4.5-stop advantage in beating camera-shake, and image quality is super-sharp.
The look and feel of Nikon’s f/1.8 prime lenses is entirely consistent across the range, so handling feels entirely natural when you’re swapping from one to another. Similarly, they’re all well-built and feature weather-seals. The 50mm gives a natural viewing perspective on any of Nikon’s full-frame Z-series bodies, while also working well as a portrait prime on the DX format Nikon Z50. The only drawback with the latter is that the lens doesn’t feature optical stabilization and the Z50 has no sensor-shift stabilization, so camera-shake can be a problem.
The optical design features two aspherical elements and two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements, which team up to deliver superbly sharp images with negligible distortion or colour fringing. Nano Crystal Coat and Super Integrated Coating combine to keep ghosting and flare to a minimum.
Some might miss the faster f/1.4 aperture rating of many 50mm primes for DSLRs, but this f/1.8 lens still delivers beautiful bokeh and only costs about a quarter of the price of Nikon’s top-notch Z 50mm f/1.2 S lens, which is also about 2.5 times heavier.
The most demanding portrait photographers often favor 85mm lenses with a super-fast f/1.4 or even f/1.2 aperture rating. This helps to give an ultra-tight depth of field as well as enabling pacey shutter speeds even under very low lighting, which helps to freeze any motion on the part of the subject.
The Z 50mm f/1.8 is two-thirds of an f/stop slower than an f/1.4 lens but it nevertheless delivers beautifully smooth and creamy bokeh, which is often the main goal when creating dreamy-looking portrait images. Moreover, it’s razor-sharp, so you can really bring out supreme levels of detail in the eyes.
It’s quite pricey for an 85mm f/1.8 lens but, whereas this aperture rating often signifies the ‘budget’ option in DSLR primes, the Z-mount lens is a high-quality item with a tough, weather-sealed construction and excellent handling. As we’re used to seeing in other Z-mount f/1.8 primes, the manual focus ring can be assigned to other functions when in autofocus mode, but there’s no additional control ring to enable this during autofocus. Ultimately, it’s a great lens for portraiture that delivers superb results.
Nikon recently launched two Z-mount ‘Micro’ lenses. The Z NC 50mm f/2.8 is a relatively simple, low-budget affair and, while it’s capable of excellent results, the working distance between the front of the lens for full macro magnification is uncomfortably close at just 5cm or 2 inches. The all grown-up 105mm is a much more sophisticated affair and the working distance is a more comfortable 15cm or 6 inches.
Like a number of other top-flight S-line lenses, it has a customizable Lens-function button and an OLED info display, which can cycle through various options. It also adds an optical stabilizer which works in tandem with the IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilizer) systems of Nikon’s full-frame Z-series cameras. While autofocus is highly effective, and very fast, manual focusing is often preferred for macro photography. The lens obliges with an electronically-coupled focus ring that operates with smooth precision and enables ultra-fine adjustments. Image quality is spectacular, with epic sharpness from the middle of the frame right out to the extreme edges and corners. It’s naturally a fair bit more expensive than the 50mm lens, but worth every cent.
