Compact manual 18mm lens for Nikon Z

[Jürgen Pfeiffer]

At a price of 70 euros, I couldn't resist. The 7Artisans 18mm f5.6 is a really compact manual focus lens with a fixed aperture of 5.6. It is a full-format lens, the minimum focus distance is 30cm.
I haven't had much time to try it out yet, but initial tests already show the following: the Nikkor Z 14-30mm is significantly better, especially in the edge area, but also costs a lot more...
Two other comparison candidates were the 15mm 3.5 AIS and the 20mm 2.8 AIS. The 15mm was always the unattainable dream lens of my youth, but unfortunately it has aged just like me... And the 20mm AIS doesn't necessarily beat the 18mm 7Artisans either.
So, maybe a nice alternative for the wide-angle range, an inexpensive lens that fits in your jacket pocket.

[Birna Rørslett]

I'm not very surprised. Older wide-angle designs were optimised for film (no digital cameras back then...) and can struggle with the digital sensor in particular towards the periphery.The  20/21.8 AiS does pretty well on my Df, the 15/3.5 not so much. The latter did quite well on my D40X and D5300, however.

Is the 18/5.6 fix-focus as well as fixed aperture?

[Jürgen Pfeiffer]

Anyway, the 15mm makes an excellent paperweight.
The 18mm 7Artisans has a pretty smooth operating focus ring going from 0,3 to infinity, no markings between, about 90 degrees throw.

[MEPER]

How does the Voigtländer 15mm lens perform?
It is more expensive off course......and not quite as compact.
https://www.voigtlaender.de/z-mount/15mm-14-5-super-wide-heliar/?lang=en

[Birna Rørslett]

I would expect the Voigtänder 15mm to be better than the other candidates.

Laowa and Viltrox offer alternatives as well, however most are not small items.