A New Generation High-Performance Pro Zoom!

Often called the bread and butter lens of the professionals, the 24-70 mm f/2.8 zoom is also popular with serious amateurs.

- ​​​​​​​Ashok Kandimalla

Hence, it is not surprising that Nikon chose this as their first high-speed zoom using the new Z mount. As with all the lenses introduced with this mount so far, it belongs to the premium ‘S Series’. It will be a part of the so-called ‘holy trinity’ of f/2.8 zoom lenses, with the other two having focal lengths of 14-24 mm and 70200 mm, respectively. The latter two will be introduced in due course. Let’s find out how this lens performs.

Design and Build Quality

This is a moderately large lens using the same solid ‘hybrid’ construction like the other S lenses. The bottom part of the lens uses a metal barrel while rest of the shell is of polycarbonate. There are three rings — the first for manual focussing, the second for zooming (with focal lengths marked) and the last ring is customisable. A unique feature is the multipurpose organic EL display panel on the lens, a first for Nikon. There are two buttons, one called ‘Disp’ and the other ‘L-Fn’ (Lens Function). The usual switch for AF/MF selection is also present. There are seals all over to make the lens totally dust and moisture proof.

Key Features