The Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8 S Lens
Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR S lens
The Nikon Z 70-200 f/2.8 VR S lens is part of Nikon’s S-Line of lenses meaning it is much more than a standard lens. This is one of the most advanced lenses ever made by Nikon and in order to improve upon the quality of the F-mount AF-S 70-200 f/2.8E FL VR Nikon have put every last drop of their latest tech into this lens. It has six extra low dispersion (ED) elements, two aspherical elements, one fluorite element and one special short wavelength refractive (SR) element in order to provide optimum image quality and minimise chromatic aberrations with this lens.
Additionally, specific elements have super integrated (SIC), nano crystal and ARNEO coatings to minimise reflections, ghosting and flare.
Nothing else in Nikon’s current F-mount or Z-mount ranges come anywhere close to having this level of technology.
There are many similarities between this lens and the Z 14-24 f/2.8 S / Z 24-70 f/2.8 S lenses so much of the information below will be familiar to readers of my previous reviews. This lens, along with the two previous f/2.8 zoom lenses now completes the New Nikon Trinity.
The Nikkor Trinity of professional quality f/2.8 zoom lenses, (l-r) Z 14-24 f/2.8 S, Z 24-70 f/2.8 S and Z 70-200 f/2.8 VR S offer outstanding performance
Build and Ergonomics:
The Z 70-200 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.
Like the Z 14-24 f/2.8 S and Z 24-70 f/4 S lenses, this lens is equipped with an electroluminescent (EL) panel, lens function (L-fn) button and third control ring. The lens is a similar size and weight to the older F-mount G lens, the F-mount lens weighs 1430g whereas the Z-mount weighs in at approximately 1440g. The F-mount lens does require the FTZ adapter to mount onto the Z series cameras which adds a further 133g and 30.5mm length bringing the F-mount lens/FTZ combo to 1563g weight and 236mm length (15mm longer than the Z-mount lens). These dimensions and weights are very similar, however, the FTZ adapter is a hollow tube that pushes the lens away from the camera sensor resulting in a front heavy setup. The Z-mount lens balances much better and causes less strain while hand holding.
Comparison of relative sizes of Nikon AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 E FL VR lens (left) with the new Z 70-200 f/2.8 VR S lens
The lens has three rubberised ribbed rings. Starting at the front of the lens there is a dummy knurled ring that is for aesthetics only and has no function, the zoom ring, then the manual focus 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. Note the the zoom and focus ring positions are reversed compared to the other Z-mount f/2.8 lenses that have their focus rings towards the front of the lens barrels.
Large zoom ring at top (nearest lens front), focus ring (centre) and narrower control ring closest to camera (next to lens designation). Note the A/M switch on the left side of the lens barrel.
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 L-Fn function button can be assigned using the camera menu. I set up the L-Fn options on my Z 70-200 f/2.8 S lens to initiate subject tracking.
Additionally, the lens has four L-Fn2 buttons arranged in 90 degree intervals around the barrel of the lens between the zoom and focus rings that can be programmed accordingly using the camera menu system. This is similar to the Nikon F-mount supertelephoto lens that have AF-ON or AF-RECALL functions at these positions. Unlike these F-mount lenses however there is much more customisation allowed with the Z-mount system.
Finally, there is a focus limiter switch that allows the lens to focus over its full range or between 5m and infinity.
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.
Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8 VR S lens showing positions of the various control switches and control rings
Vibration Reduction:
This lens has in-built vibration reduction that is used in partnership with the In Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS) of the Z series cameras. The combined VR/IBIS is stated to offer full 5 axis (pitch, roll, yaw, horizontal and vertical) image stabilisation with this lens and is claimed to provide up to 5.5 stops of correction. There is no VR ON/OFF or VR MODE switch on the side of the lens - this is controlled through the in camera menu system where it can be enabled or disabled, and its mode can be set to Normal or Sport.
While I haven’t tested the percentage of sharp images at different shutter speeds with and without VR, I can vouch for how effective the stabilisation is during normal conditions.
Focus:
The autofocus system in the Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S is blisteringly fast, 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.
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.
There is a focus limiter switch on the side of the lens that selects between full range or a restricted range between 5m and infinity. Where subjects are always going to be far enough away from the lens, selecting this limit speeds up the AF system even further and reduces the possibility of focus hunting. This is similar to the system on many of Nikon’s telephoto lenses.
Image Quality:
The Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S is optically superb. The lens features some of the most advanced technologies seen to date from Nikon. It has two aspherical and six extra-low dispersion (ED) elements along with a fluorite element and a special Short Wavelength Refractive (SR) element The Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S is coated with four different coating technologies – ARNEO (a brand new coating technology that can reduce reflections from incident light in a vertical direction), Nano Crystal Coat, Super Integrated Coating and Fluorine Coating. Images are extremely sharp from all focal lengths and apertures.
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 pincushion 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.
Lupin flower showing sharp flower head and nicely rendered out of focus background
Nikon Z6, Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S lens at 200mm. 1/2000th second at f/2.8, ISO 100
Florence Mine Pit Head Buildings showing edge to edge sharpness with no vignetting
Nikon Z6, Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S lens at 70mm. 1/80th second at f/8, ISO 100
Nikon Z6, Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S lens at 200mm. 1/200th second at f/8, ISO 1100
Filters
The lens has an 77mm filter thread for circular screw-in filters but it can also accept the HB-97 lens hood from the Z 14-24 f/2.8 S lens. This allows the use of 112mm screw-in filters, meaning owners of both lenses can share the larger filters to reduce costs. I use a combination of 77mm screw in filters and the HB-97 hood with Kase Wolverine Magnetic Circular filters on the Z 70-200 f/2.8 VR S.
The Technical Bits:
Mount Type: Nikon Z Mount
Focal Length Range: 70-200 mm
Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22
Aperture Blades: 9 (rounded)
Filter Size: 77mm
Lens Elements: 21
Lens Groups: 18
Special Elements: 2 Aspherical, 6 ED glass, 1 fluorite, 1 SR
Fluorine Coating: Yes
Nano Crystal Coating: Yes
Super Integrated Coating: Yes
ARNEO Coating: Yes
Electronic Diaphragm: Yes
Focus Motor: Dual AF-P Stepper Motors (STM)
Internal Focusing: Yes
Internal Zooming: Yes
Vibration Reduction: Yes
Minimum Focus Distance: 50 cm (1.6 ft) at 70mm, 100cm (3.2 ft) at 200mm
Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:5, or 0.2x Magnification at 200mm
Weather/Dust Sealing: Yes
Mount Material: Metal
Dimensions (Diameter by Length): 89 x 220 mm (3.5 x 8.7 inches)
Weight: 1440g (3.2ib) with tripod foot, 1360g (3.0lb) without tripod foot
Angle of View: 34° 20” (at 70mm) to 12° 20’ (at 200mm)
Conclusion:
Nikon has created an extremely impressive telephoto zoom lens with the Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S. Its performance, especially sharpness, is exceptional across the whole frame. It provides uncompromising performance at all focal lengths and apertures. Its consistent sharpness from the center of the frame all the way to the edges shows how superb this lens is. Compared to the previous F-mount lenses this new Z-mount optic is in a different league.
Pros:
Best-in-class optical performance, especially sharpness
Excellent autofocus with good low-light focusing capabilities
Excellent build quality
Advanced weather sealing
Nikon’s most advanced features including dedicated control ring, L-Fn and 4x L-Fn2 function buttons, and an EL display
Cons:
Heavy
Focus-by-wire design can be frustrating for manual focus.
