NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Lens Talk => Topic started by: David H. Hartman on April 28, 2026, 02:20:52
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Lens advice for a Nikon Z8 please...
In the basket at B&H I have a NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S Lens but I'm getting cold feet. Mostly I don't like the construction, the dual telescoping barrel when zoomed. According to photographylife.com it's an excellent lens in many ways but they say the bokeh is a bit busy and note the way it extends when zoomed makes it vulnerable to bumps.
I've got a AF-D 35-70mm f/2.8 that has a decentering problem such that it needs to be stopped down to f/5.6~f/6.3 for good results. I don't need that issue again. Rather than have that lens repaired I bought a AF-D 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 which I've been quite happy with but it doesn't AF on the Z8.
What I should have done is bought the Nikon Z 8 kitted with a Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S but I didn't. The cost when kitted with a Z8 would have been about $600.00 USD. New from B&H it's something like $1,096.00. At keh.com this lens sells used for around $500.00. According to photographylife.com this lens isn't quite as good as the 24-120/4.0 S but it's still a very nice lens.
Another lens on my list is the Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Macro. I already have the older AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR which I consider a pretty good lens with a few optical faults that make it less desirable to other 105mm Micro-Nikkors that I own. It offers VR which is good but it's a honker. I also find its resale estimated by keh.com is pretty low. I'm considering buying the Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Macro.
Do any of you read photographlife.com's reviews? Are they reliable?
Are there any mid-range zooms in the $1,000.00 range I've missed? Probably so.
If you will please help a fool spend his money.
Thanks!
Dave
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I owned a Z 24-70/4 S for a week. At the time I had only a Z6II. The images were excellent, but I couldn't get used to the idea of a "normal" range lens that opened only to f/4. A bit later I acquired the Z 24-70/2.8 S (Mk 1). It's imaging is fully comparable to modern good primes, but it's heavy and awkward for [focus-by-wire]manual focusing. It has allowed me to learn that I'd like a nice 40mm prime lens.
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See for yourself, not too bad imho!
Z7, 24-120 Z at 56mm f/4