Photo Credit: Nikon
When released in August 2018, Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 owners had only 3 lenses to choose from. Now, with the release of the Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S, they have a ninth lens as an option.
Where Does it Fit?
It flocks together with the Z 24-70mm F2.8 S in the Z-series zoom lens category, designed for the Z-series full-frame mirrorless cameras.
Although being the ninth lens in the series, it is but the second native zoom lens that has a fast F2.8 F-stop and the first that has optical image stabilization.
Design
The design looks fairly similar to the old-timer AF-S 70-200mm F2.8 regarding dimensions and weight, coming in at 1.4kg (3.2lbs)
It consists of 21 elements in 18 groups and 6 extra low-dispersion elements. Don’t forget about the one fluorite and two aspherical elements.
A peculiar finding is the difference in the diameter of the front filter. On the 70-200mm, the diameter is 77mm, while the diameter on the 24-70mm is 82mm. This will surely be costly if you need to buy the same filter twice, but in different sizes.
Control Ring
The lens has three rings. A manual focus ring, a zoom ring and the control ring that is customizable with options such as changing the ISO, exposure compensation, white balance and quiet aperture – which is excellent when you want an iris transition during a video recording.
Focus and Zoom
Internal zoom and focus makes this a superb lens for outdoor photography, especially when the weather isn’t playing along. With no outside moving parts, the lens is entirely sealed.
VR
A built-in Vibration Reduction (VR) system allows for 5 stops of correction which is the highest rating Nikon has ever designed. The VR is sadly enabled and disabled on the body and not on the lens itself. VR can be set to work in conjunction with the Z 6 and Z 7’s in-body image stabilization.
Aperture
Bokeh can create marvellous effects in some scenarios and with a 9-blade aperture, the bokeh should look stunning.
Short-Wavelength Refractive (SR)
Being one of the first to feature an SR element, this lens must perform. The SR element is a lens element made of specialized-dispersion glass that consists of qualities that refract light with shorter wavelengths than blue light, to a great extent.
Fn Buttons
Two Fn (function) buttons can be found on the side of the lens and are customizable with the same options that are available for the on-camera Fn buttons.
Focus Length
To get the bokeh as blurred as possible, you want to zoom as far as possible. The focus length on this lens helps out. It will be able to focus at 1m with 200mm zoom and 0.5m at 70mm.
Display
There is a small digital OLED display on top of the lens that can show the focus position or aperture by pressing the “DISP” button.
Pricing and Availability
With all these features and lens technology, a hefty price tag is to be expected.
You will pay $2,599.99 and it will be available in February. No pricing is available for South Africa yet, but it will be around R37,410.74, excluding import and other taxes.
Closing
This is a great release for Nikon Z-series photographers, giving them the ability to shoot at longer ranges with the first long zoom lens in the Z-series.
*- Exchange rate from Investing.com as on 14 January 2020 at 20:17
