Nikon Z 50mm 1.8 S

Editor's Choice – An outstanding 50mm lens for full frame Nikon Z mirrorless cameras.

The Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S impressed us on the Z7 FX camera already, so the expectations of how the lens would perform on the smaller DX sensor of the Z50 were quite high. The lens did not disappoint, though: it delivers extremely sharp images across the whole DX frame, combined with very pleasing background blur. The lens resolution is outstanding both because of the high level across the whole image frame straight from the maximum aperture, but also because of its uniformity across the tested aperture range (until diffraction kicks in and reduces the maximum possible resolution at smaller apertures). Background blur is very soft and smooth with evenly filled highlights without visible outlining. The latter is also partly because of the fairly low amount of bokeh fringing. In summary, the bokeh quality is outstanding for this lens class. CAs are very well controlled and no issue at all. Distortion is fairly low natively already and well handled by software correction, if applied. Vignetting is not very pronounced thanks to the smaller area of the DX sensor. Software correction can take care of it completely, it's surprising though that Nikon does not make full use of its own correction profile in-camera.

The Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 lens is the third lens available to buy for the new Nikon Z series camera range, following the 24-70mm f/4 kit zoom and the Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 that were available at launch. It features 12 elements in 9 groups, including 2 ED elements, 2 aspherical elements and elements with Nano Crystal Coating. It is a prime lens offering the classic 50mm focal length, which equates to around 75mm if you use the lens in the DX crop mode. An internal focusing mechanism is included, and like the Z 7 camera, it is weatherproof. Designated with the “S” moniker, it’s anticipated that another, more affordable series of lenses will be created for the Nikon Z range, with the S series lenses designed for ultimate sharpness and image quality.

The Nikon Z 50mm F1.8 S is a powerful standard lens for the Z system, offering outstanding sharpness and full-aperture performance. There are better 50mm lenses on the market for portraiture, but none that are sharper or so well-corrected for coma and longitudinal chromatic aberration when shot wide open.

The Nikon Z 50mm f1.8S is a very good standard prime lens for owners of Z-series mirrorless bodies: its optical performance is right up there with the much heavier and more expensive Zeiss 55mm f1.4 Otus including longitudinal color aberrations - which is no small feat. The size and weight of the Z Nikkor makes it a good match for the compact Z-series bodies it's designed for although it is not the smallest lens. The Z Nikkor also focuses fast and reliably and is sealed thoroughly. And finally the lens produces quite pleasing Bokeh that's not far behind the rendering of very good f1.4 lenses and to me, actually surpasses Nikon's own 50mm f1.4G. This overall performance justifies the price and deserves a Highly Recommended!