NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S

The Z 24 - 120 f/4 is a great lens for general use and travel; I bought it as part of the Z8 kit. I appreciate the near-macro close focus of about 14", as well as the outstanding image quality, and the light weight, modest size, and extra reach of the lens compared with the Z 24 - 70 f/2.8. However, with the Z 24 - 120 on my Z5, which is converted for infrared, there is a significant hot spot at all apertures from f/5.6 to a severe hot spot at f/22. See the attached photo, which was shot at f/22. Instead of this lens for IR, the Z 24 - 70 f/4 is excellent for IR, with no significant hot spot.

I'd been using the 24-200, and just wanted something a tad faster. The 24-120 is all I expected and WAY more! It's as crisp and clear at 24mm as it is at 120mm (or "DX cropped" to 180)!

Nikkor glass is among the finest in the industry. the quality, clarity and color rendition are fantastic. the 24-120 ZS is no exception. I can use this lens to do very high screen images with my Z7-II. I can also be a thousand feet away and read the sponsors on the fair grounds buildings in Shenendoah County, Virginia USA. I can also freeze various billboards and road signs at seventy plus miles per hour so I can read them while my wife keeps her eye on the road. This lens is definitely worth the money.

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.