Nikon Z MC 50mm 2.8

The Nikkor Z MC 50mm f/2.8 is capable of delivering very good image quality. Images are sharp at f/2.8 and exceedingly so at f/5.6. Lateral CAs are negligible. However, axial CAs can be visible at large aperture settings. There is some vignetting and a tiny bit of image distortion but autocorrection handles most of this. The quality of the bokeh isn't perfect but pretty good in real life (unless your sample has an issue like ours). While the lens is optically fine, there are question marks about the build quality, though. Yes, it's not an S-class lens but there's a lot of plastic here, and the extending focusing system is a bit ... meh. Also keep in mind that a working distance of just 5cm at 1:1 has compromises in terms of lighting and shooting live critters if that's your thing. The Nikkor Z MC 50mm f/2.8 does the job but overall we'd rather suggest the Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S instead really.

The Nikon Nikkor Z MC 50mm f/2.8 is a very welcome Z series macro lens with outstanding performance and excellent handling.

The Nikon Z MC 50mm f2.8 is a well-featured, small and light macro lens which also doubles up as a standard lens for other photographic applications. It produces sharp images with very little field-curvature – although for best results it should be stopped down two stops which also gets rid of the strong coma. Using focus shift shooting with Nikon Z bodies takes a great deal of hassle out of focus stacking – an essential technique for impressive macro shots. And although working distances can be extremely short the overall capabilities of the Z MC 50mm f2.8 certainly earn it a recommendation.