NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S

I'm not sure if this is a review of the lens or Nikon service... the lens is excellent, but in the process of banging around Utah red rock country the zoom mechanism partially failed, restricting the range to @100-@30. I still shot with it, but on returning I used Nikon's repair service through their website. It was about as slick and quick as you can imagine, and I had the lens back in around a week, counting UPS ship time. Impressive. Even though I wish the lens hadn't failed, I have to give Nikon serious points for their service.

I own both Z6’s and most of the Z primes along with a couple of Z zooms.My complaint is: since I purchased this Z24-120 4 / S I haven’t used the other lenses very much. It had been a while since I took out my Z 85 mm 1.8 / S.It is a great lens, but (a couple of times) I found myself trying to adjust its focal length

I'm a magazine photographer, who shoots almost every type of subject. I most often gravitate to one of the Nikkor tilt-shift lenses, even on my Z9, because they allow for maximum creativity. Sometimes however, maximum flexibility is needed. The 24-120mm fills this flexibility requirement perfectly. On my D850s, when a zoom was called for, I used a 24-70mm f/2.8, but I often found the focal length range too limiting. The fix was to bring a 70-200mm as well. Great lenses, but the combination was often too heavy and required two bodies for maximum speed. The 24-120mm f/4 G lens was a great alternative, but a little slow and optically compromised. This Nikkor 24-120mm is a different story! It is light, fast handling, optically fabulous and on the Z9, a real "Goldilocks" lens. It just seems to do everything well. Thank you Nikon!

This is an amazing lens. I shoot many prime lenses, but this is virtually as good in most situation. This is the only lens needed for the vast majority of subjects I photograph. You cannot go wrong with this as the only lens you carry. If you carry this and the Z 14-30 S, you have pretty much all you need.

I have both 4.0 and 2.8. Needless to say but 2.8 is must have in any pros bag. I got the 4.0 with my first mirrorless camera, Z 7, and it was part of the kit. Unlike most Kit lens it is at the top of the food chain. So if you can't swing the extra $$$ for the 2.8 crank up the ISO the Nikon sensors can handle it. To a point that is why its 4*

In converting from F to Z-mount lenses I was looking to replace my 24-70 f/2.8G with one of four Z options: 24-70 f/4 S, 24-70 f/2.8 S, 24-120 f/4 S, and 24-200 f/4-6.3 VR.Comparison points were: 1) focal length range, 2) optical quality, 3) image quality (IQ), 4) build quality, 5) size, 6) weight, 7) handling and features, and 8) price. All four lenses render good images and any one of them would be nice to have. So in the end it came down to my personal choice for what to compromise. My final choice prioritized the better optics, IQ, and the faster constant aperture of the 24-120 over the reach and VR of the 24-200.The one thing I do not like about the 24-120 (and most Z zooms) is the trombone effect of the lens barrel extending while zooming. Just plain ugly! Regardless of the reasons for this design, the look harkens back to yesteryear when trombone lenses hallmarked cheap and crappy zooms. And though even the excellent 24-70 f/2.8 G extends to zoom, its extension is short enough to be hidden within the lens hood. It is interesting to me that not one official Nikon Z lens product photo shows a Nikkor zoom extended. Mayhaps Nikon, too, thinks extended lenses look dime-store and displeasing to the eye. Please note that my five star rating is for performance, not looks.That gripe aside, this 24-120 lens is a pleasure to use and it does produce beautiful, acute images. Mine is mounted on a Z 7II where it makes a splendid go-to, easy carry, and useful lens. It takes a lot of experimentation and hundreds, if not thousands, of images to learn how to employ a lens to its potential. For me that is a fun process and I still have a aways to go with this lens. But one thing I have learned is that at f/4, 120mm, and @ 1.5’ (minimum working distance = 1.2’) it can render a soft fade from a sharply focused subject to the background.Here are the lens settings for the accompanying photos. 1) Ginger in doorway 120mm f/4; 2) Sonia roses 95mm f/4; 3) Ginger backlit 120mm f/4; Yellow rose 120mm f/5.6; Ginger rolling in dryer-warm fresh sheets 120mm f/4.

I had the Z 24-70 f:4 S lens before this one, but the added focal length is worth the larger size for an everyday carry lens.

WOW! I shoot a lot of magazine events that involve food and sponsors. Right out of the box I'm so impressed with minimum focus distance and zoom range on this lens! I can't wait to shoot with it this weekend! Focus is fast, range is amazing, close focus is mind-blowing!

I love, love, love this lens. I started in photography back around 1976 in the analog film era. I’ve shot as an amateur and professionally and have done most types of photography including portraits, landscapes/scenics, wildlife, rock concerts, promotional, and aerials. The only things I haven’t done very much of is sports photography and no underwater photography. That lets you know where I’m coming from and the kind of photography I do. Currently I’m using Nikon digital cameras —— an old D800, a D850, and a Z7II. So this review is about using the “Z” 24-120mm f/4 S lens on the Z7II camera body.The “Z” 24-120mm f/4 S lens has become my all-around lens that I tend to use probably 80% of the time. The other “Z” lenses I currently own are the 14-30mm f/4 S and the 85mm f/1.8 S lenses. If I go out to shoot primarily landscapes, most of the shots will likely be taken with the 14-30mm lens. If I want shallow depth-of-field I’ll likely use the 85mm f/1.8 lens. For most everything else (except wildlife) I’ll likely use the 24-120mm f/4. For wildlife/animals I’d likely go with a 100-400mm lens or longer.If you’re debating whether to buy the 24-70mm f/4, or the 24-70mm f/2.8, the 24-120mm f/4, or the 24-200mm f/4-f/6.3 —— here’s my opinion. Of those four lenses, the 24-70mm f/2.8 is slightly sharper, but all the four lenses are very good. I’d say the 24-120mm comes in second. The 24-70mm f/4 comes in third, and the 24-200mm comes in fourth. The 24-120mm is plenty sharp (especially in the center) and falls off just a bit at the corners. Unless you are photographing flat objects like paintings or documents (in which case I’d suggest using one of the “Z” macro lenses), you will be very happy with the sharpness of the images from the 24-120mm lens.Regarding weight and size, the heaviest of the four lenses is the 24-70mm f/2.8, then the 24-120mm, then the 24-200mm, and finally the 24-70mm f/4. I think the extra 4.5 ounces of weight (of the 24-120mm f/4 compared to the 24-70mm f/4) is well worth the extra 50mm of extra reach at the telephoto end you gain with the 24-120mm. As for size, the 24-70mm f/4 is the shortest followed by the 24-200mm, then the 24-120mm, and finally the longest is the 24-70mm f/2.8. I don’t find the size or weight of the 24-120mm to be a problem at all.Now down to the dollars and cents ——- the 24-120mm is $100 more than the 24-70mm f/4 and it’s $200 more than the 24-200mm. If money is a big issue for you, then go with one of the two less expensive lenses. I think the extra $100 or $200 is well worth the advantages you get with the 24-120mm lens.I love the fact that the filter thread is 77mm since most of my filters are 77mm. I love the size and weight of the lens — no issue there for me. I love the quality of the images from the lens. Auto focus is fast. I love the build quality of the lens itself. I love having a bit of extra telephoto reach (compared to the two 24-70mm lenses). I love having the ability to close focus down to abut 1.15 feet at all focal lengths (lets me enter the near-macro world). That puts you roughly one foot from the front element to the subject. I love having the “control ring” and L-Fn button on the lens. In the old days I liked having the ability to change the f/stop of a lens via a ring on the lens barrel. With the 24-120mm I can assign that f/stop function to the control ring. The lens comes that way by default.I highly recommend you at least consider the 24-120mm f/4 S lens. It is a winner. If you do mainly telephoto work, then the 24-200mm might be the way to go for you, but I think (if you could afford it) you would do better going with a 100-400mm lens or longer for that purpose. If you only want the very best lens and don’t care about the extra expense or the extra weight or the larger size, then go with the 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I’m very happy with this 24-120mm f/4 S lens ——— it is wonderful.