Nikkor Z MC 50mm f/2.8

This compact macro lens also makes a great standard prime

- Matthew Richards

£649/$649

This compact macro lens also makes a great standard prime

www.nikon.co.uk

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 (reviewed last issue), and a shade under two-thirds of the price.

With a 50mm focal length and f/2.8 aperture rating, it makes a convenient standard prime for general shooting. But, unlike many 50mm macro lenses down the years, this lens delivers full 1.0x macro magnification rather than just a 0.5x magnification factor, therefore reproducing small objects at life-size on the image sensor Pop the lens on a DX-format Nikon Z-series camera like the Z 50 or the new Z fc, and the 1.5x crop factor gives you an even larger ‘effective’ magnification factor.