Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S review

It’s another Nikon Z lens. Can you guess the rating? The Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S doesn't disappoint us...

5 Star Rating
Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S review
(Image: © Matthew Richards/Digital Camera World)

Digital Camera World Verdict

Nikon’s brace of Z-mount 24-70mm zoom lenses for its full-frame mirrorless cameras perform so well that you’d be forgiven for wondering why there’s a need for a 24mm prime as well. Naturally, any prime lens is good if you like composing shots with your feet, and totting up your count of Fitbit steps, but the Z 24mm is also faster than its zoom siblings, with an f/1.8 aperture rating. What’s more, it delivers drop-dead gorgeous image quality even when shooting wide-open.

Pros

  • +

    Spectacular image quality in all respects

  • +

    Fast, virtually silent autofocus system

  • +

    Customisable focus/control ring

Cons

  • -

    No focus distance scale

  • -

    Widest aperture is ‘only’ f/1.8

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The Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S has pretty modest-sounding specifications by today's standards, but there's nothing wrong with that. While some lens manufacturers have been bulking up their offerings and creating heavyweight f/1.4 optics and even faster glass, Nikon has stuck mostly to a more modest f/1.8 aperture rating for the prime lenses in its Z mount S-line stable. 

The Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 Noct is a notable exception but the rule of thumb is that, while the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm f/1.8 lenses certainly aren’t small, they’re nevertheless quite compact and lightweight. This makes them look and feel a perfect match for the Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 full-frame bodies. The 24mm also makes an ideal general purpose and street photography lens for the DX format Nikon Z 50, on which it has an ‘effective’ 36mm focal length. 

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.