Nikon Z 14-30mm 4.0 S

Announced back in January 2019, the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S is an ultra wide-angle lens specifically designed for the Nikon Z series of full-frame mirrorless cameras. This lens is the first to be announced in 2019, following on from the three made available in 2018 - a 24-70mm f/4, 50mm f/1.8 and 35mm f/1.8. If Nikon follows through on its lens road-map plan, we should see several more S series lenses announced over the next year. The Nikon 14-30mm lens features a compact design with a flat front element, with the lens allowing the use of 82mm filters without the need for a filter holder. Other features include a constant f/4 aperture, weather sealing, anti-reflective nano crystal coating, a silent multi-focusing system and a retractable lens mechanism.

The Nikon Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S is an outstanding ultra-wide to near-standard zoom for Nikon Z users.

The Nikon Z 14-30mm f4.0 S is a compact ultra-wide angle zoom designed for Nikon’s full-frame Z-series mirrorless cameras. Like the standard f4.0 Z zoom, the Z 14-30mm f4.0 S employs a retracting mechanism to reduce its size when not in use and also features weather-sealing. There’s a customizable control ring, the focusing is quick and quiet, while both focus breathing and focus shift when zooming are minimized. Nikon also claims it’s the first ultra-wide zoom for full-frame bodies with a sufficiently flat front element to accommodate 82mm filters. I tested two copies of the lens and found its resolving power close to my reference in this class, the Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 VC. But there are some weaknesses: The FX-corner at the short-end is a bit soft and the DX-corner at the long-end suffers from reduced acuity at high contrast edges. The latter may be a problem with the two copies of the lens I tested, both of which showed varying degrees of decentering. Until Nikon gets a grip on these sample variations the observed weaknesses prevent the lens from getting the top rating. But the Z 14-30mm f4.0 S certainly deserves a Recommended!