great review.....28 mm is my favourite focal length for street and landscape......50 years with Nikon, switched to Sony...going back to Nikon soon....thank you
This might be my first Z mount lens, along the whole F mount army :) Others are too expensive considering that I have everything covered in F mount versions. But this one will be affordable, doesn't need adapter, light, good IQ, seems like perfect choice for "pocket size" combination with my Z6.
@@IvanToman Well I tried the 18mm f8 lens cap lens by funleader. That made my Z50 almost pocket sized, but the minimum focus over 30" wasn't very useful. I'm REALLY looking forward to the 28SE. Just make sure you have vignette control on high with it. ;)
Very helpful review. It provides a good counter-balance to another reviewer, who cannot be named, who said: "This lens is for people who want a plastic lens that looks like one of Nikon's greatest manual-focus lenses. Personally I prefer practical over cute..." For me, its big selling points are its very light weight as a walkaround lens, its lack of focus breathing (especially for video), and the very practical 28mm focal length. In the past 40 years I've mostly used zooms, but before that I shot with manual primes and I found the 28mm to be ideal for street scenes, photojournalism and other such uses. I appreciated seeing your test shots, even though I'm not a pixel peeper. You've helped to convince me that this is a must-buy lens to go with my new Z6ii, which I bought in part because I'm getting too old to carry around heavy glass.
I’m diggin this lens as a lightweight 28 f/2.8 that is like my old 28mm f/2.8 ais that I love . I’m a 28mm freak also and have many Nikkor 28s and the Sigma Art 28mm f/1.4 . It’s one I use on my d850 and d810 all the time . I hope Nikon does something crazy and would develop a 28mm f/1.2 . That would be my dream 28 for the live music I shoot . I’ll use it for live music video also .
If you know you're getting a crop sensor you pretty much know there is a FoV image difference, it's all relative. Remember, consumer APS-C sensors have been around longer than FF sensors [or at least in affordable abundance] and lens focal numbers have ALWAYS been in reference or commonly relatable to the 35mm (or FF) frame area even when the market was littered with other sensor formats, i,e; FF, APS-C, MFT, 1inch, even MF.
@@aussie8114 Yet an experienced buyer knows these things and new buyers don't know the difference of what focal length numbers actually mean/produces. So are you going to complain about EVERY lens in existence for having mislead every non FF photographer in history? Again, focal length numbers are commonly related to what in a 35mm film (FF digital) field of view you would see in the view finder. Not having a FF sensor/film back means you have to do some math. It's always has been the case and a given. Instead of complaining to nikon for "misleading" camera buyers, maybe educate these buyers on how things are, you know, a little Photo 101 instruction on how cameras operate with specific lenses.
@@artsilva I’m not complaining my friend. I am simply pointing out something that could be misinterpreted by either the salesperson or the buyer of a camera that could appeal to a less than experienced photographer. I saw in the comment section of a video regarding the lens 2 seperate people misinterpreting the focal length as a wide instead of a standard. I am simply making an observation.
Fabulous, I like the 28mm focal length as well and having it alongside my 50/1.8S in my camera bag will be ideal for having less weight and size when I want to pack light with my Z6. I’d be interested in seeing how flare resistant this lens is when shooting into the sun and also the degree of edge coma when shooting at night.
I bought this lens (actually the 28mm non SE version) a couple of days ago and I'm amazed at the image quality it produces. This lens punches way above its price range! A no-brainer purchase if you ask me.
Thanks for the image samples and an AWESOME video review with the 28mm! I'm really looking forward to this lens. I didn't think the 28mm focal length was for me until I got a 28-75 2.8 zoom and most of the time, I was at 28mm!
Hey Everyone ! Here it the is the Nikon Z 28mm F2.8SE. Iv been really excited to show you this lens mainly because I can share my love for the 28mm Focal length. I think the picture quality of this lens is great I don't think it will be as good as the 1.8S primes but it certainly does well for its size and weight. Giving a good mix of quality size and weight. if you have any questions let me know ! Thank you so much for watching !
I pre ordered this within an hour or it was posted on Adorama’s site. When Nikon first introduced their full frame Z system, I’ve been waiting for a 28mm lens. For me, I only need two lenses to do everything… a 28mm prime and a 70-200. Those two lenses is all the kit I’d ever need to do anything… weddings, family, events. I used to have the Fujifilm X100F with the wide conversation adapter which made that camera a 28mm equivalent. This was a dream, a small 28mm camera. I feel like my Z 6ii and this lens will be small like the X100F. 28mm is just a do-everything focal length for me. AND this version is retro style. I’m so excited for this to come in.
I want to give myself a reason to buy this, I feel like id love it for walk around street stuff. I'm very surprised at how well it stood up with the 24-70. And ugh the aesthetic of the lens. So awesome.
nice videos information. i got a question. would it be safe for me to shoot at a snow mountain (not snowing, just snow environment) with this lens on my z9? will it harm the z9 sensor due to mositure or whatever it may arise? i too like 28 or 35mm range.
I'm super excited to get a hold of this lens once its more widely available for my Z5 for a lightweight travel + street setup. Excellent review. Keep it up. The 28mm on the Z7ii looks really sharp.
Wonderful, as expected. I have the Sigma 28mm 1.4 Art which is also terrific, and of course can do all those amazing f/1.4 things, but I think I would really enjoy having the Z lens for the size, convenience, video AF, and picture quality.
Looking forward to this 28mm 2.8 and the upcoming 40mm 2. Focal length aside, I far prefer the rendering of Nikon's 35mm 1.4G and 24mm 1.4G to the 28mm 1.4E.
I dont even own any Nikon cameras. I just love hearing your depth of knowledge in these lenses and camera.. blows my mind everytime... nice work Ricci. Oh, and your editing is sick af
I have a 3200 and 4-5 older lenses. I am waiting to see what the a74 offers, but am having a hard time not buying the Z6ii! There's real good deals out there now with the ftz adapter and 28-70 lens. If the new update has real time tracking - its gonna be harder to wait!
Can all Nikkor lenses have the fantastic, iconic styling of the Z 28mm SE...please! It just says 'Nikon' with all it's great heritage of magnificent Nikkor manual and early AF lenses.
You deserve 10 times as many subscribers! Exactly the video I was looking for. Do you think the “Regular’ Z version, to come out eventually, will have the same amount of glass in it? Will it simply be a packaging and construction difference? Thanks again.
I really hope Nikon releases a telephoto prime soon, or the 200-500 Z version. This 28mm and the ZFc is gonna be a niece product for sure, meanwhile there are 0 superteles if you wanna go mirrorless.
I personally love the retro look of this lens and the fact that is compact and light.. a must have for me.. thanks for the great review.. really enjoy your vids✌️
This lens reminds me so much of the late 1970s version called the AI-S E lens. Cheaper versions of the higher-quality 28mm lenses that Nikon had at that time, but still excellent. At that time I used a Minolta SRT-202 (was my mom's but she let me "borrow it"). We had the 50mm 1.7 Minolta-Rokker lens and a 28mm Minolta-Rokker, and I loved the later's focal length.
Great review and comparison. I cannot wait until the 40mm f/2 comes out. If it has comparable quality to this lens, it'll be a definite winner. Love the idea of an affordable, compact alternative to the 35mm and 50mm f/1.8.
For $300 the 28 2.8 might just be another lens I'd recommend to Z shooters to have in their bag if they plan do any landscape or street photography, or even just as a compliement to a 50mm. I'm for sure going to get one (although after thinking about the Z fc, am going to pass on that camera for now, but I think Nikon is perhaps headed in a good direction with it and hopefully it sells well for them). I do like the idea of a 28mm FF lens, because on a crop body, the lens has a 42mm equivalent perspective which is probably closer to normal human vision I'd say than a 50mm (someone had told me 45mm is approximately what the average human eye perceives or can consiously focus on and so I think the 28mm on a crop sensor body is perfect, so it's like a dual-purpose lens). 28mm on a FF body is also very useful for landscapes and street photography IMO, and it's small size is nice too.
I ordered the kit w 16-50mm because I loved the look and it will be my second camera (first is Z6ii) for lightweight city walks, and the fact that I think my daughter will take the Zfc back to college at some point (She has my old F3 right now). Really liked your review so I ordered given that it will work well on both cameras and can't beat the price given your review. Thanks!
This lens looks like a very good alternative! I had Nikkor Nikon MF 28mm F2.8 Ai, great lens + bunch of other primes! Now I'm debating with myself should I get this one (I'm prime lens shooter, but got tired of constantly changing lenses every time I travel) or wait for 18-140 for my Z50!? 🤔
Looking very nice on both formats. Really hoping Nikon comes out with an anodized black FX version of the Zf (to match the S line), with the Z7 sensor (for cropping on compact primes, not worried about video), and a 40/2 SE.
4:25 vs. GREATEST LENS EVER AF-S 50mm f/1.8 :-D 19 cm close focusing distance is great. Seems really quite sharp (not surprising for a Z-mount lens) and the bokeh wasn't bad. I'd love to have this on a Zfc! It would just be excellent for street photography. Great video as always, Ricci!
plastic is subject to extra wear when you switch lenses a lot... plastic deforms more quickly in heat and doesn't return to its original shape when cool... so, it's not as durable in frequent use and in hot locations... not good for a lens mount
Ricci the Nikon ZFC was a great concept. But the idea of using a z50 was a backwards choice. I know you know that. I hope no matter how the camera sells they still put out a full frame version with an all new sensor. I would pay $2000 dollars and above for a camera like that. I would like a 30 mega pixel plus sensor but would settle for an all new 24 mega pixel sensor.
I disagree with you …Not everyone can spend $2,000 dollars on a camera just because APS-C suits you doesn’t mean it suits everyone else…. If Nikon had launched a FX version for $2,000 there would be lots of people complaining it’s too expensive and they want a cheaper body …. You can not please everyon
@@RicciTalks full frame or APSC isn’t actually my issue at all. I would take either one at 1000 or 2000 American dollars. It’s the fact that it’s an older camera insides with NON semi- top specs in a new body launched the later part of 2021. But that’s just the opinion of one man, certainly they have too account for more than me when making decisions.
I've always preferred 28mm, 50mm, and 105mm over the more common 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm prime trio. This SE version is a beautiful lens. Can't wait to see the full video with the production version of the lens. Thanks for the sneak peek.
Is this lens a good choice to use it on Z50 (DX) for taking photos of kids? I need a quicker lens with better autofocus than 16-50 or 18-140. Thank you.
Hey, thx for the video! But plastic mount, really Nikon? In my eyes a no-go, it looks like a serious prime lens but its a plastic toy… this has nothing to do with the Nikon products many years ago.!
You've been quiet for a while, are you learning what a Z9 can do, so you can tell us about it? My hope for the Z9 is that they crack the auto focus, so that it will trickle down to the other Z cameras. I finally bought a Z6ii/24-70/FTZ kit, very happy with it...
I plan on getting one for my Z6II, I like the special edition version. I think it will look good on the camera and make it a bit different than my other Z mount lenses. But with the supply chain issues, probably wont be a year till they are readily available.
Problem is the only way to get this lens is to buy a Z fc with it. So that's what I have done so I can use it with my Z7II, I will sell the unused Zfc body
youre the only reviewer that actually figured out how to set aperture mode on tht lens than to nitpick like others do "i only wished the lens has aperture ring on this lens" , im sold because of your review haha ,also if u hate the size of the nikon ftz adapter. try zhongyi lens turbo adapter for z mounts, it gives a few inches back to mimic a full frame without any loss of details in image quality, and it looks better with the previous F mount lens. cheers from Malaysia 😊
Nerdy comment on a side effect of reduced flange distance and focus breathing correction. The minimum focus distance of this 28mm 2.8 is 1cm shorter (!) than that of the famous 28mm 2.8 ai-s, but the magnification is only 1:5 compared to the 1:3.9 magnification for the ai-s. Where's the trick? Well, flange distance is 3cm smaller for the z lens, so minimum working distance is actually 2cm smaller for the old ai-s lens (!): the ai-s lens can focus on objects that are 2cm closer to the front element. Moreover, the ai-s also has crc, so on the one hand it is optimized for closeups, but on the other hand its floating elements make the system prone to focus breathing.
The 14-30F4S and 24-70F4S are great on the Z50. So are the 70-300E and 10-20 AFP with the FTZ. A few 1.8 DX primes would be nice for sure, and a Z 16-80VR DX as well.
Hi Ric, As you I am fond of 28mm. I discovered it quite lately using before a lot of zooms but what a nice thing to walk through the town with only one short and light 28mm. The only cons Nikon should have avoid is the plastic mount… Why making this lens looking like the unforgettable AI line (which were full of metal )… and putting a plastic mount ??? Ok it won’t change the optical quality (which seems high)… but why why why :(. That said it won t prevent me to buy it :)
How would this lens compare to 24 and 35 S lens?😁 Im thinking about this lens instead of 24 and 35..i mean money I save will get me (eventually when in stock) 105 macro Z lens.
Paying $300 for a lens of any size with a plastic mount is absurdity. The 50 1.8g was far less expensive, was light weight, and still included a metal mount.
Missed (in the first time I watched this) your comparison to the 24-70. I'm glad to see that the 28 SE stands up pretty well against the 24-70, enough that I think I may get this lens as a compact walkaround lens...
Seems fine, but it is really annoying how cheap it looks without a gasket and with plastic mount. Wonder if they will add a lens hood and prober back cover. In 5 years they will sell nice glass in shitpaper tube :)
To many corners cut with the build. drip resistant means nothing, plastic mount without weather seal just sour the respectable image. A cheap kit lens being passed as something much more.
Not everyone can afford $500+ lenses It is a sealed lens at the front it only lacks a seal at the back …. It’s not trying to be passed as anything more than it is an f2.8 prime lens that puts weight size and price point first whilst still giving good image quality
@@RicciTalks Sealed at the front and not at the back means it isn't sealed at all so the drip resistant marketing is misleading for it's sealing effectiveness at best. I happen to think that this lens is being pushed as it being of a higher standard than it actually warrants with a lot of marketing twaddle putting a gloss onto a very ordinary kit lens.
Thank you for your thoughts and the infos. Personally I don‘t like plastic mounts. When I‘m out in the streets for streetphotograghy, I want a complete weathersealed camera-lens combination that can handle heavy rain. Will the non-SE version also have a plastic mount without weathersealing?
hey ricci: nice you do retro lenses reviews. i have the manual 28mm f2 Ai. the distortion is much worse than of the manual 28mm f2.8 Ai. what do you think? oh you talk about z-mount... 😜 i overlooked this - the retrodesign ist realy confusing 👍 job well done nikon!
I agree, my first wide angle lens was a 28mm f 2.5 Minolta RC lens back in the 70's and today I have a 28mm F1.8 Nikon F mount lens. You stay what you're used to. Thanks, great video
Optically it looks amazing (as all Z lenses do). Personally though, I can't invest in plastic lens mounts with no mount seal (just a technical pet-peeve of mine). I'm sure it'll be a great lens for many folks, priced well and an easy carry. In all fairness too, even if this were a 28 1.8, I'd still opt for the 24 1.8 (I love 24).
At €250 on sale, it's not an investment. It's a tool to take great pictures. Silent focus is great for video. Sadly the new 26mm metal mount is a noisy lens. Makes me like this 28mm f2.8 even more.
You can see a clearer more defined edge around the lettering on the colour chart at f4 with the f mount 28mm. Not a huge difference but still worth having I think. The image has more “snap” to it.
Great video, as always. Do you know if the non SE version will have weather sealing around the mount (given it is intended for the full frame cameras)?
