Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 review

A compact new 1.0x macro lens for Nikon Z-mount mirrorless cameras, and it makes a great everyday standard prime!

Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8
(Image: © Future)

Digital Camera World Verdict

This 50mm f/2.8 standard prime is great for general shooting. It’s conveniently compact and lightweight, and a full f/stop faster than Nikon’s Z 24-70mm f/4 S zoom that’s supplied as a kit lens with full-frame Z-series bodies. Its main claim to fame, however, is that it delivers full 1.0x macro magnification at its shortest focus distance, enabling extreme close-ups. As usual for a macro lens of this focal length, the minimum focus distance might be closer than you like.

Pros

  • +

    Impressive image quality

  • +

    Compact, lightweight build

  • +

    Very precise manual focusing

Cons

  • -

    Only 2-inch working distance at 1.0x magnification

  • -

    No optical VR

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It’s been a long wait for an own-brand Nikon Z-mount macro lens and then, like buses, two come along at once. This one is less than half the physical length and weight of the more pro-grade Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, and a shade under two-thirds of the price. 

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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.