My Take On: the Nikon Z 20mm F 1.8 S

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NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/2, 1/1000 sec, ISO64)

I just realised that I wrote about lenses here a lot but never made real reviews.

I will not start to do that now either because I don’t have the tools to do that. I can’t measure resolution and I won’t shoot brick walls. I will write about my experience with those lenses in the real world. To give it some structure compared to my previous “reviews” I will cover the following points:

  • What it is: describes what the lens is and what it is good for
  • Mechanical quality and design
  • AF performance
  • Optical quality
  • My wish list: (in case Nikon would update the lens)

What it is: The Nikon Z 20mm F 1.8 S is a super wide angle with a bright aperture. 20mm sits right on the edge before things go crazy wide which means that this is a very versatile focal length. This lens can be used for landscapes and I guess it’s good for astro photography too because of its fast aperture. It’s a fantastic lens for architecture and interior photography because it is wide but not crazy wide and distortion is non existent. And for me it’s the perfect travel lens for tight places. I’m talking about cities in Asia or old towns in Europe. You can even use it to take portraits/group shots as long as you keep your subject in the middle of the frame.

In short: I think it is a very versatile and lens and a great addition to a standard zoom.

Mechanical quality and design: The mechanical quality is very good. There is nothing that rattles or moves unintentially but mostly because there is nothing that could rattle or move. There is no aperture ring or custom buttons. The lens is basically a long tube with a super wide focus ring that covers almost the whole lens. And that is a big issue because this is a focus by wire focus ring that turns freely in both directions. The problem: when you mount the lens you need to grip it on the front in order to securely attach it to your camera. This is a real design flaw of the lens and I don’t understand that this problem never came up during the development of the lens. It’s annoying to put it gently.

In general I think the lens is too big or better too long for what it is. It almost looks like a regular lens with an FTZ adapter built in. The lens hood is huge in diameter and while I understand the thinking behind a still hate it and since the lens plus hood would not fit in my Peak Design Daily Backpack  30l I put the lens hood in a drawer and shoot the lens without the hood.

AF-performance: this is short and sweet: AF performance is great. AF is silent and fast and there is no hunting even in poor light. Perfect!

Optical quality: this is short and sweet too: 10 out of 10. This is a fantastic lens when it comes to image quality. I also have the 14-24/2.8 and the 20/1.8 is even better. It’s already sharp in the centre wide open and stopped down to f2.8 it’s sharp in the corners too. But like with the 14-24/2.8 it’s not only about sharpness: Colours and contrast are great, images really pop. RAW files need very little post processing at all. Great!

My wish list: My biggest gripes with the lens are with its design. It is almost comical long for a 20mm lens. I also wished it would be smaller overall and lighter. I think I would prefer a 21mm F 2.8 or F3.5. I guess that such a lens could be significantly smaller and lighter. I would get that in a heart beat and if Nikon would also give it an aperture ring the lens would be perfect for the Nikon Zf too.

Summary: It’s optically perfect and focuses super fast but it is not a perfect lens. It could be a truly great lens if Nikon would rethink its design.