Visible dust often falls on the lens barrel when I work outdoors, but this doesn’t find its way to the sensor. I did not expect macro capabilities in this lens before it was announced, and to have the ability to focus as close as 1. I used the Nikon Z 24-120mm f4 S (that I own) on a Nikon Z9 (a loan body) and Nikon Z6 II (my own) with a range of UV filters from H+Y, Hoya, Sigma, and the Irix Edge Vari ND 2-5 Filter.

Focus: There is a modest amount of focus breathing when you do a full close up to infinity focus pull, particularly at the telephoto end. The manual focus control is positioned right next to it, toward the front of the outer barrel, and supports both linear and nonlinear response with the option configurable in the camera menu.

Nikon says the Z 24-120mm f/4 S is sealed against dust and moisture, but even so, I’m always careful to wipe down the telescoping barrel when I use this lens in harsh conditions, before zooming back to 24mm. Nikon doesn't put any sort of optical stabilization into the lens, but all of its full-frame Z cameras offer stabilized sensors. Chromatic Aberration: Even though f/4 isn't a particularly fast aperture, I see clear longitudinal CA at f/4, which mostly goes away by f/5. I used it in a couple of rainstorms without issue, so the weather sealing clearly works – but there’s still some risk compared to an internal zoom or prime lens. I rarely swap out for my 105mm macro lens when the Nikon Z 24-120mm f4 S is on my camera unless I have a requirement to go ultra close.

Note that this lens also has a weather-resistant design to help protect it against dust and moisture. For you Americans, that's a bit less than 15" for close focusing, with a working distance of just over 6" (0. I've seen some other published examples that show some side-to-side issues, but my sample appears to be quite well controlled and thus well aligned.The 24-200mm VR isn’t a bad lens, as you can see in our review, but narrow-aperture superzooms aren’t for everyone.

It feels well balanced even when using it with a small sized camera body like the Nikon Z5 body that Nikon provided for us to test it with, as shown in the product photos, and would also be equally at home mounted on a larger Z6 or Z7 camera. Using the lens at its smallest apertures will hurt clarity—the optical diffraction effect scatters light as it passes through a very narrow iris. Excellent – The equipment should be close to being ‘Like New’ but there may be some small cosmetic blemishes that lower its grade.With a lightweight build, advanced optics, and a broad zoom range, the Nikon Z 24-120 Lens makes a superb walkaround travel lens. Whether this review has convinced you to get the 24-120mm f/4 S or pick something else, I hope at least that it helped you narrow things down. Despite an abundance of midrange zooms for Nikon Z, this is the best “default” choice that almost anyone would be happy with.