Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S Zoom Lens Sample Images

The 24-70mm focal length covers a sweet spot for an everyday walking around lens for full-frame cameras.

It’s a good, versatile zoom range, especially for something like travel photography. The wide-angle 24mm end gives you some dramatic perspectives without excessive distortion, and the 70mm end lets you bring it even closer to focus on details and is even useful for some general portraiture.

I’ve recently been shooting with the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S. It’s a standard lens for the new Nikon Z mirrorless cameras.

By launching a new Z mount system rather than trying to stick to direct compatibility with Nikon’s traditional F mount, it gave Nikon’s lens engineers the freedom to rethink the design. ¹ And one of the benefits that came out of that is that the lens is relatively small for a full-frame 24-70mm lens. It also allowed them to stick to high-quality optical design but also build in things like near-silent autofocus and faster data transfer between lens and camera body (which in turn helps with faster autofocus and aperture control when shooting).

With a maximum aperture of ƒ/4, it’s not the fastest lens around. Nikon’s staple 24-70mm lenses for DSLRs, for instance, open up to ƒ/2.8. But the Z7 and Z6’s low-light performances go some way to compensating for that.

So here’s a collection of photos I’ve taken recently with the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S zoom lens. All of these were shot on a Nikon Z7 body. I’ve also posted some practical examples of the zoom range separately. It’s a more limited collection than I usually prefer to post, but I hope to add more photos here as I get the chance to shoot more with it (particularly at different apertures).

These were shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom. I haven’t applied any post-processing corrections such as chromatic aberration, vignetting correction, or distortion correction. You can click on each image to open a full-size version for a closer look.

Sample Photos Taken With a Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S

Optical Correction Tools

I deliberately haven’t applied extensive corrections to these images. And the general rule of thumb in photography is that it’s better to get the shot right at the time of capture rather than trying to fix it after. That’s a great aspiration, but it’s not always possible to do if you’re bumping up against limitations or flaws in gear, conditions, or technique.

But it’s worth mentioning that there are some excellent tools available to help address common issues with lenses, such as distortion, chromatic aberration, and lens vignetting when editing the images. All-round image processing apps like Lightroom Classic and Capture One have solid tools built in already that often cater to specific lens profiles (or you can make your own).

Some more specialized tools can take it even further. DxO, in particular, sets the gold standard. Their software is built on the foundation of their incredibly deep archive of data from their extensive lab testing of the optical performance of lenses and cameras. But there are some other excellent specialized tools available. These are well worth a look (and have free trials):

• DxO Pure RAW (for a suite of automatic RAW file corrections enhancement)
• DxO ViewPoint (correcting for distortion and geometry)
• Topaz Labs Sharpen AI (in addition to standard unsharp tools, includes focus correction and shake reduction)
• On1 NoNoise (includes Tack Sharp AI, which applies sharpening)

Q&A About the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S Zoom Lens

What size lens filters does it take?

The Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S zoom lens has a lens diameter of 72mm. So it takes 72mm screw-in filters.

What lens hood does it take?

The lens hood for the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S zoom lens is model HB-85.

What is its minimum focusing distance?

It has a minimum focusing distance of 0.99 ft. (0.3m) from the focal plane. That applies at zoom positions.

What are its maximum and minimum apertures?

It has a maximum aperture of ƒ/4 and stops down to a minimum aperture of ƒ/22.

What is that smaller lens ring for?

You’ll notice two rotating rings on the lens. The broader one is for the zoom. The narrow one nearer the camera body is actually programmable. By default, it’s set to control manual focusing. But you can change that to aperture control or exposure compensation. I’ve put together a quick guide separately.

Price & Availability of the NIKON NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S Zoom Lens

Check the current price and availability at:

• B&H Photo
• Adorama
• Amazon

You can also rent them at LensProtoGo.

And while it’s still quite a new camera and there aren’t many on the used market, it’s still worth looking at KEH if you’re in the market for a used copy.

1. You can still use F mount lenses on Z mirrorless cameras, but it’s not direct. You’ll need a Nikon FTZ mount adapter.[↩]

Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-09-27 at 13:21. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.