Nikon Z 40mm f2 Sample Images – Real-World Examples
The Nikon Z 40mm f/2 is probably the closest thing to a nifty fifty in Nikon’s current Z lens lineup. Here are some photos I’ve taken with it to go alongside my hands-on review.
Nikon has developed several small, light, and relatively inexpensive prime lenses for their mirrorless Z cameras. I’ve been shooting with several of them.
The one I’m focusing on here is the 40mm f/2. It’s probably the closest in the current Nikon Z range to a nifty fifty. It’s small, light, relatively fast, and relatively inexpensive.
For size comparison: on the left is the Nikon NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2. On the right is the Nikon NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S. Both are without lens hoods (the 40/2 doesn’t come with one; the 35/1.8 does).
There are three other 50mm primes, but they’re significantly larger (the f/1.2 (which is also much more expensive) and the f/1.8 (which isn’t really that much bigger)) or more of a macro lens than a “standard” lens (the 50mm f/2.8 MC).
I’ve previously posted reviews and sample images with several of these lenses:
I also have the 50mm f/2.8 MC, but I haven’t posted anything from that just yet.
But here I’m focusing on the 40mm f/2. I’ve posted a detailed hands-on review of it already. It’s a solid choice as a general walking-around lens, especially for street photography or travel photography. It’s not a surprise that it is one of the kit lens options for the Nikon Zf, a camera that seems purpose-built for that kind of photography.
The sample images below were shot on a Nikon Zf and a Nikon Z8. Those cameras both have basic corrections for issues like lens distortion and vignetting in-camera, and I’ve left those settings on their default ON positions.
Nikon Z 40mm sample photos
The purpose here is to include a variety of scenes under different conditions that might visually show some strengths and weaknesses of the lens and to give a general sense of the field of view it gives.
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Many of these were shot wide open, in part because that’s how I often shoot, and in part because if I’m using a fast lens, I want to take maximum advantage of that.
And, as you can see, I’ve been shooting a combination of color and black and white with it (the Nikon Zf is especially well suited to shooting black and white). I’ve also found it great for candid family shots, but I haven’t included those here.
You can click on each image for a full-size version for a closer look.
Taken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/6.3, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 1250. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/2500 sec, and at ISO 64. Nokesville, Virginia. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/4000 sec, and at ISO 100. No flaring or ghosting issues here despite being aimed directly at the sun (or just slightly off-center). Washington Monument, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 90. Lots of light sources here against a dark background that could very easily create flaring and ghosting, but it gets a clean bill of health on those things here. Grand Central Station, New York City. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/2000 sec, and at ISO 100. Union Station, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 450. The Wharf, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/320 sec, and at ISO 100. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 450. Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.8, shutter speed of 1/1600 sec, and at ISO 64. Lower Manhattan, New York City. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.8, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 1600. The 40mm perspective is close to the “normal” viewpoint of human eyes. There’s some flaring here around the street light at top right, but the car headlights are mostly clean. Georgetown, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/160 sec, and at ISO 100. Kennedy Center, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 720. The Wharf, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 320. The lens is both small enough to be discreet (in places that don’t exactly encourage large cameras) and fast enough to shoot many scenes handheld without a tripod. Kennedy Center, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.8, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 1600. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/640 sec, and at ISO 100. Washington Monument, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 640. It’s fast enough to be used in low light shooting, especially when combined with the low-light performance of the Nikon Z cameras (especially with the in-camera vibration reduction, high-ISO performance). The lens does not itself have its own vibration reduction. The Wharf, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 1400. Lots of fine detail here, especially up around the triangular roof shape. Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/2500 sec, and at ISO 100. While it’s not a wide-angle, you can still fit quite a wide view within the frame. Washington Monument, Washington DC.Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 320. The Wharf, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.2, shutter speed of 1/160 sec, and at ISO 100. The Wharf, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 450. Southwest Waterfront, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/125 sec, and at ISO 100. Maine Avenue Fish Market, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/8.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 720. I took this shot to test for lens distortion, but I don’t see any problem with barrel or pincushion distortion here. Some of that might come down to the camera’s lens correction processing. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 3200. Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/125 sec, and at ISO 100. Another shot to look at the bokeh with the lights. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/200 sec, and at ISO 100. The foreground bokeh (the lights on the right that are very close to the camera) are clearly lemon-shaped in this shot. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.8, shutter speed of 1/250 sec, and at ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/5.6, shutter speed of 1/80 sec, and at ISO 100. There are plenty of straight lines in this shot, showing the aspherical elements at work to prevent unwanted curves. Midtown, New York City. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe high-contrast grill in the skylight here is like catnip for chromatic aberration. But the in-camera algorithms doing a good job of catching anything there might be before you even download the image. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Z8 with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/500 sec, and at ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 125. I took this shot to see the bokeh of the lights in the background. In general, they’re quite round (rather than lemon-shaped or multi-sided). The Wharf, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelIt allows for nice, smooth background blurring. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 2200. The Wharf, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/50 sec, and at ISO 3600. Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelTaken with a Nikon Zf with a NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens at 40mm with an aperture of f/2.0, shutter speed of 1/640 sec, and at ISO 8000. With a minimum focusing distance of 11.4 inches / 29 cm, it’s not a macro, but you can still get decently close to pick out details of smaller things. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe f/2 maximum aperture, combined with the 40mm focal length, is plenty to be able to separate foreground from background when shooting wide open. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will Travel
Price & availability
This lens comes in two versions: the regular version, which is what I have, and a special edition that has more retro exterior styling but is otherwise optically the same.
Nikon has set the MSRP at $299. Which is something of a bargain for what you get. And you can often find them used for closer to $200.
I take photos for a living. Now based in Washington, D.C., I have spent the last 30+ years shooting across seven continents — from underwater environments to mountain peaks. My images and time-lapses have appeared in major newspapers, magazines, museums, professional sports stadiums, and even on massive architectural scrims covering world-famous buildings.
I started this site in 2009 to field-test gear, share problem-solving solutions, and share what I've learned in shooting around the world. I only review gear and services I have personally used. No armchair opinions — just real-world experience. Because, for me, the fun is in the making of the photo.
