The Nikkor Z 14-24 f/2.8 S Lens
Nikon Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S lens
Nikon has a reputation for making some of the best ultra wide angle lenses available and the F-mount AF-S 14-24 f/2.8G is still considered to be one of the best wide angle zooms ever made - not bad considering the design of the lens is now 14 years old. Nikon released the Nikkor Z 14-30 f/4 S lens in early 2019, Nikon’s first ultra-wide angle lens for its mirrorless camera systems. This lens was joined by the higher specification Z 14-24 f/2.8S lens in November 2020. Is the new lens better than its predecessors?
The Nikkor Z 14-24 f/2.8S (centre) is almost the same size as its F-mount equivalent, the AF-S 14-24 f/2.8G (right) but is significantly lighter than the F-mount lens.
For comparison, the Nikkor Z 14-30 f/4 S lens (left) looks tiny in comparison when in its retracted locked position.
Build and Ergonomics:
The Z 14-24 f/2.8 S follows Nikon’s new style - a simple black body with white text colour scheme with only the silver Nikkor S label to identify it as a high spec lens. Nikon has lost the gold accents and plethora of switches normally found on its high end F-mount lenses. The simple modern design of the new Z-mount lenses hides the complexity of the optical designs that make these S lenses some of the best performing and superior built lenses Nikon has ever made.
Unlike the Z 14-30 f/4 S, the Z 14-24 f/2.8 S lens is equipped with an OLED panel, lens function (L-fn) button and third control ring. The lens is larger than the Z 14-30 f/4 S and is a similar size to the older F-mount lens but is much lighter, the F-mount lens weighs 1000g whereas the Z-mount weighs in at 650g. The f/4 lens is much lighter still at 490g.
Both Z mount lenses do away with the bulbous protruding front element to allow the use of screw-in filters, 82mm for the f/4 and 112mm for the f/2.8. The F-mount lens didn’t accept any screw-in filters and relied upon third parties to develop methods of clamping holders to the integrated (unremovable) petal hood.
As with the Nikkor Z 14-30 f/4 S lens, the f/2.8 lens is a mixture of polycarbonate and metal construction but it has a much higher quality feel than its smaller companion.
The lens has three rubberised ribbed rings. Starting at the front of the lens there is the manual focus ring, then the zoom ring and closest to the body there is a customisable control ring. All three turn smoothly with no indication of sticking or binding. The control ring function can be customised in the camera body (Custom Settings > f.Controls > f2 Custom controls assignment). By default the control ring offers aperture control, but can be customised to change exposure compensation, ISO setting or be disabled.
Manual focus ring at the front, larger zoom ring middle) and narrower control ring closest to camera (between zoom scale and lens designation). Note the A/M switch on the left side of the lens barrel.
Unlike the f/4 lenses (14-30 and 24-70), this lens does not feature the retractible design for compactness. This means that out of the box the lens looks significantly larger than the Z 14-30 f/4. Once the f/4 lens is unlocked and zoomed to 14mm though, the extending barrel makes the two lenses almost the same length. The Z 14-24 f/2.8 S does not have an extending barrel but the front element does move in and out within the body of the lens, similar to the older F-mount version.
Once extended and zoomed to 14mm, the f/4 (right) and f/2.8 (left) lenses are almost the same size.
The lens is fitted with an Electroluminescent (EL) display panel and two push buttons, DISP and L-Fn. The display panel is similar to the top panel of the Z6 and Z7 cameras and shows Nikkor when the camera is first switched on, then can be used to display the zoom focal length, aperture or focus distance. The display turns off automatically after a short while but can be turned back on by pressing the DISP button. This button is also used to cycle through the information options that can be shown on the screen. When displaying focus distance the EL panel also provides depth of field ranges, something that can be easily missed unless you look down on the lens since the view from behind the camera is slightly obscured by the cut-out around the panel. I tend not to use the EL display much once its novelty had worn off, but this would be useful for low light and nighttime photography so you don’t need a torch to check on zoom or focus distance scales. The display may also be useful for those wishing to use hyperlocal distance to maximise image sharpness - the photographer using the f/4 lens has no way of knowing where the lens is focussed.
The L-Fn function button can be assigned using the camera menu. I’m not sure whether this is a “per lens” function assignment or a “per camera” basis as I set up the L-Fn options on my Z 70-200 f/2.8 S lens to initiate subject tracking and when I mounted this lens it was already set to subject tracking mode. Something to consider as the ultra wide angle lens is not something I would normally use subject tracking with. Its simple to change from the camera menu however so not a problem for me.
Nikkor Z 14-24 f/2.8 S lens showing main control features
The lens is fully waterproofed and weather sealed and the front element is also coated with a fluorine coat to repel moisture, grease and dirt, making it easier to keep the lens clean.
Two different sized lens hoods are provided that bayonet onto the front of the lens body. The standard HB-96 hood is used to shade the lens while the larger diameter HB-97 also provides a filter thread. This takes 112mm screw-in filters. This filter size, although larger than those of most lenses, is an amazing feat as it is the first screw-in filter for any f/2.8 ultra-wide angle lens at 14mm on a full frame camera. The lens hoods have a fairly cheap plasticky feeling but they attach securely and lock into place, requiring a button press to disengage them. This means that they are unlikely to fall off under general usage. The HB-97 comes with a large lens cap so it can be left on the lens, with filters in position and the lens cap used to protect the combination. This is a much better design than that of the F-mount lens that has a simple push on cap that always fell off in my camera bag, exposing the large front element.
There have been some discussions on the internet regarding the poor quality of the HB-97 lens hood and the possibility of light leakage from behind the hood when used with ND filters and NISI has released a revised version with extra light sealing. This was something I was concerned with as I wanted to get more and more into long exposure time photography. I haven’t done any scientific testing but conducted a quick experiment.
I placed the camera on a sunlit window sill facing into a fairly dim room so that the scene taken was pretty dark. The camera was arranged so that the sunlight was shining on the top of the 14-24mm lens from behind the camera with the lens hood bathed in bright sunshine from above and behind, including the notch where the internet claims said the hood was particularly vulnerable to light leakage. Attaching the filter and taking a 30 seconds exposure I expected to see bright areas corresponding to light leakage, but was surprised to find a perfectly exposed photograph with no evidence of any overexposed areas of areas lacking contrast. In my case, these claims appear not to be an issue.
The HB-97 hood also mounts on the 24-70 f/2.8, 70 - 200 f/2.8 and 14-30 f/4 lenses so can be used to mount the 112mm filters on these lenses as a quick fit filter holder system. I use this hood with Kase Wolverine Magnetic Circular filters as they can be quickly installed and removed once the adapter has been screwed into the hood.
Vibration Reduction:
The lens does not have any in-built vibration reduction, instead relying on the In Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS) of the Z series cameras. The IBIS offers full 5 axis (pitch, roll, yaw, horizontal and vertical) image stabilisation with this lens and is claimed to provide up to 5 stops of correction. Image stabilisation on a wide angle lens is not as essential as on telephotos and the IBIS has been shown to be effective and reliable.
VR on a wide angle lens is not straight forward and the large viewing angle means that the corners would need to move further than the centre, obviously not possible with sensor shift technology so there is a potential for corners and edges of the frame to maintain a degree of motion blur. The centre sharpness from the IBIS is impressive though.
Focus:
The lens autofocuses almost instantaneously and accurately and is silent. In most cases the lens just appears to be perfectly in focus and unless you quickly move from near to far objects it is difficult to see it trying to focus - it is that quick. Previously I have used F-mount lenses and there is a tendency for them to chatter when adjusting focus in AF-C mode, not ideal for video shooters as the microphone would pick up this noise. This lens does not have the same issue.
I have not performed extensive testing of the lens but the autofocus performance on a Lens Align test chart shows very accurate and reproducible results. The lens focus was spot on and repeatability was very good.
The lens can be switched into manual focus using the switch on the side of the lens barrel or via the menu system in the camera. Manual focus of the lens uses a “fly-by-wire” focussing ring that is speed sensitive, so the faster you turn the lens ring the more it moves focus.
The lens also has a manual override for autofocus, so for example, you can turn the focus ring while in autofocus mode with the shutter half pressed (or the AF-ON button pressed) to fine tune the focus, including using the rangefinder and focus peaking options in the viewfinder.
Image Quality:
The image quality from this lens is outstanding at all focal lengths. Wide open at f/2.8 the lens is very sharp across the whole frame, although slightly softer at the corners at 14mm. Zooming to 16mm and above increases the corner sharpness significantly. Stopping down to f/5.6 or f/8 also increases the sharpness across the full image. At f/16 the images start to lose some crispness due to the effects of diffraction. The lens performance is significantly sharper than the F-mount AF-S 14-24 f/2.8G that I used with my D850.
The lens shows no signs of vignetting or distortion due to the built in lens correction profile applied in the camera and carried across into programs such as Adobe Lightroom Classic. If you use other software that doesn’t support these built in profiles then there is some barrel distortion at the wide end and pin cushion distortion at the higher end of the zoom range. Using the Nikon built in profiles however corrects out all distortion so most photographers will never see the effects.
The lens appears to be extremely well protected against flare when shooting into the sun, with no flare spots noticeable on my images. The corresponding F-mount lenses have extremely bulbous front elements that are very prone to flare, but that is not the case here, even at 14mm.
Nikkor Z 14-24 f/2.8 S at 24mm on Nikon Z6 at f/4, 1/320th second at ISO 200 unedited exported from Lightroom
Clear blue sky shows minimal vignetting at 14mm
Nikkor Z 14-24 f/2.8 S at 14mm on Nikon Z6 at f/4, 1/320th second at ISO 200 unedited exported from Lightroom.
Taken from same location as previous image
No evidence of flare shooting with the sun just out of left frame at 14mm
Nikkor Z 14-24 f/2.8 S at 14mm on Nikon Z6 at f/4, 1/640th second at ISO 200 unedited exported from Lightroom
The Technical Bits:
Mount Type: Nikon Z Mount
Focal Length Range: 14-24mm
Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22
Aperture Blades: 9 (rounded)
Filter Size: 112mm using HB-97 lens hood
Lens Elements: 16
Lens Groups: 11
Special Elements: 3 Aspherical, 4 ED glass
Fluorine Coating: Yes
Nano Crystal Coating: Yes
ARNEO Coating: Yes
Super Integrated Coating: Yes
Electronic Diaphragm: Yes
Focus Motor: AF-P Stepper Motor (STM)
Internal Focusing: Yes
Internal Zooming: Yes
Minimum Focus Distance: 28 cm (11 inches)
Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:7.7, or 0.13x Magnification
Weather/Dust Sealing: Yes
Mount Material: Metal
Dimensions (Diameter by Length): 88.5 x 124 mm (3.5 x 5 inches)
Weight: 650 g (1.4 ib)
Angle of View: 114° (at 14mm) to 84° (at 24mm)
Optical construction of the three ultra wide angle lenses show the complexity of designing an ultra wide viewing angle in such a compact lens body. Note the large bulbous front element of the F-mount lens (right)
Conclusion:
The Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S is one of the best lenses in Nikon’s entire lineup. Its performance, especially sharpness, is exceptional across the whole image frame, with only minor reduction of sharpness at the corners at its widest zoom. It’s small size and low weight perfectly suit the Nikon Z6/7 cameras and makes for a very practical travel setup. It is expensive – but no more than equivalent lenses from other manufacturers, but it’s performance more than justifies it. Although the lens doesn’t natively take screw-in filters, it’s supplied HB-97 lens hood does, which means there are plenty of compact, affordable filters and holders compatible with this lens.
It is difficult to think of anything that Nikon could have done to improve this lens. Maybe they could have added in lens optical VR for slightly better image stabilisation performance but this would increase the weight and the IBIS performs very well anyway.
Pros:
Best-in-class optical performance in almost every regard, especially sharpness and flare
Light weight for the design; significantly lighter than every other full-frame, ultra-wide f/2.8 lens on the market
Excellent autofocus with good low-light focusing capabilities
Excellent build quality
Capable of taking screw-in and square filters despite the extreme focal length and aperture thanks to the included HB-97 lens hood
Advanced weather sealing
Nikon’s most advanced lens features like dual control rings, a function button, and an EL display
Cons:
Focus-by-wire design can be frustrating for manual focus
Sometimes distracting bokeh if you happen to have an out-of-focus background
If you’re happy with the 14-24mm focal length and need an f/2.8 maximum aperture, the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 is the lens to get. It’s one of the best lenses on the entire camera market today – not just wide lenses or zooms. Astrophotographers, architectural or low light photographers in particular may want the larger aperture log the f/2.8 ens but for landscape and general photography where the lens is generally stopped down and here the smaller f/4 lens may be more suitable.