Nikon NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 Reviews
I love this little lens!
By Timothy
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-20
The small form-factor of this lens makes it a great option for making my Z7 a pocket camera. The lens is quick-focusing and sharp. My only complaint is that I can't put a UV filter on it for protection without the included bayonet-mount adapter, and then the lens cap is useless. Overall I'm really happy with the purchase.
Excellent image quality; minor design quirks
By Eric
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-19
Image quality is excellent by my own subjective measures on both DX and FX Z cameras. Small size and weight makes carrying it around a pleasure, and a fun, novel experience. Note that the small lens hood, with a protective filter attached, plus the unusual lens cap with covers the entirety of the front of the lens, not just the filter diameter, makes the lens extend a bit farther from the camera than is shown in most photos of the lens intended to emphasize its small size. But that's negligible - it's still small.
The unusual lens cap, which appears highly-engineered and looks good, is a slip-on type, with a very thin felt-like material lining the inner circumference to enable it to smoothly slide over the lens ring. The problem is that the fit is not very tight, and it is very easy to inadvertently knock the cap off. I've resorted to using a standard 52mm Nikon lens cap to place on the filter, as I believe that is much more likely to stay on the lens.
One more unusual aspect of the lens is that the lens elements and their casing audibly move during focusing. You can hear this. It's not noisier than the old AF-D lenses or other Nikon AF lenses where there is physical movement of the lens elements and their casing (rather than all of the movement of the lens elements occurring entirely inside the lens barrel), but I suppose the sound may turn up on video where the audio portion is relatively soft. Not a big deal to me, but it's certainly not nearly silent as other Z lenses tend to be.
Overall, I like the lens - it's great to have a small, light, relatively wide, fast f2.8 option that costs almost nothing (in terms of weight and size) to carry along everywhere.
Hope this helps.
Oh, did I
Been Waiting For This
By BOB
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-17
This is what I've been waiting for, a wide, small, light, full-frame travel lens, a little extra no problem. I prefer wider focal lengths, but this will do. I bought a Z5 to try this lens out. Quality seems there, it's like a mini D750. I take mainly travel photos and pro work when I have to.
A capable lens, but I'm on the fence
By Casey
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-13
I was excited about this as a throw-in-your-bag-and-take-anywhere lens but after playing with it for a week I'm considering exchanging it for the larger but cheaper 28mm f/2.8.
The image quality is what you'd expect from a Nikon Z lens, but auto focus struggles a bit in low light and with fast moving subjects, and the focus motor is surprisingly loud. That said, neither issue would stop me from keeping it.
My primary motivation for buying this was to have a really small setup that I can always have on me, but on a Z6 it's still not small-small - it's a full frame camera, it's never going to fit in a pocket. And I'm realizing that if I can only have one focal length, a normal angle of view suits me better than wide angle. I have the 40mm f/2 and it's great and only twice the size of this one, so also very carry-able.
I think the deciding factor for folks who are considering this lens will be their use case. I'm considering returning it because if I want a cheap, small, wide prime the 28mm may serve my purposes equally well at a lower price.
Some photos for reference: dog photos - distant background blur at f/2.8; musician & cherry blossoms - close background blur at f/2.8 & f/3.5, respectively; building - sharpness at f/8
Excellent lens AND amazingly compact
By Karl
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-09
Warning! You will overlook this lens on your desk - thinking it is a lens cap - and spend many minutes hunting for it. Yes, it is that compact & yes, this happened to me (see picture provided). I throw myself on the mercy of the court.
Image Quality - This 26mm f2.8 lens is extremely sharp edge to edge with wonderful image quality. It is noticeably sharper than the Z 28mm f2.8.
Autofocus - Fast autofocus and
Video - Minimal focus breathing changing focus when using video. This is now my preferred video lens.
X30, Xfc and X50 users - Good news for APC-S cameras, the tiny width makes it ideal street lens and the 26mm full frame focal length becomes a street friendly 49mm effective focal length on these smaller cameras. When mounted on my Z30, the enter package seems as small and light as what I had with the Fujifilm X100S.
Coolness - The slip on lens cap is very cool and much more convenient than a snap on. Again, this design choice is very similar to the Fujifilm X100s
Not perfect - Some definite compromises with the pancake design but nothing preventing this lens from being both a keeper and a highly valued prime:
- external focusing extends the lens slightly beyond the lens body. If you put on the lens cap on when the lens is extended, then when you turn back on you receive a Error: Press shutter release... Pressing the shutter release resets lens and all is good but this is unnerving.
Good news: the very minimal 'hood' supplied in the box eliminates this problem. Keep this hood on full time and no issues.
- Focus motor noise - If you ever used any of Nikon's original AF lens then you have an idea of what this sounds like. It's noticeable to the photographer and camera's internal mics but does not carry very far. So if you plan on using for video - and you really should - then use an external mic. I found my compact shotgun mic even mounted on the camera body pretty much eliminates this issue
Overall, I am extremely pleased I purchased this lens. Its quality performance and 'handiness' is truly outstanding.
I have provided some pictures of it and 2 quick shots taken so you can see quality.
Good lens with a few strikes against it
By Daniel
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-20
Overall a good lens, not great (but that's what I was expecting for the specs and the price). The stabilization seems a bit less effective than other Z-mount lenses with video, but it's not terrible. The things I don't like about the lens that surprised me: (1) the included Nikon HB-N111 Lens Hood isn't able to be locked into place. The lens hood is a must for me as I always use a UV filter to protect my lenses, and this one constantly comes loose and sometimes falls off when I retrieve it from a camera bag or even when I remove the lens cap, which leads to (2) the lens cap doesn't click into place like the other Z-mount lens caps, and it too is always falling off. I'm sure Nikon was space-saving with this decision, but I'd gladly give a bit more space away to not be constantly losing my lens cap. I used the lens on a one-week spring break trip and I can't count how many times both of these loose apparatuses caused me concern. In the end, though, I still think the lens is worth it for the size and for the quality of images and videos it produces. For the price point and size, it is well worth it in spite of its limitations.
Great lens in a small size
By Vincent
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-19
The Nikon 26mm pancake lens packs a big punch for such a small lens. This lens has great sharpness from edge to edge and offers very good bokeh at 2.8. The small size and light weight makes for a great walk around lens on a full frame Z body.
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