Nikon Z 40mm f/2 Vs 35mm 1.8 S / 50mm 1.8 S / Viltrox 35mm 1.8 | Matt Irwin 

The 40mm is only the 3rd bit of camera gear I’ve ever bought new, and my first pre-order. I can’t wait to have it in my hands!

The 40mm f2 is looking great. I think this will be my first lens when i move from dslr to mirrorless. That viltrox has some lovely character though. A very over looked property in the current world of seeking lens perfection.

It's amazing how Nikon can make such a small and affordable lens so good 😊

Interesting review Matt. Would be interested to see how the 40m compares to the kit 16-50 on the z50 (at 40m) . I expect z50 owners will be wondering whether the 40m prime is worth getting in addition to the kit zoom. I use a z50 when going lightweight for hiking and might consider the 40m if image quality was sufficiently better to justify. Already have the 50m S lens but use that on a z6 when weight less on an issue.

Was able to pick the 40mm f2 up for $270 USD on black Friday here in the States. I've built out my Z5 kit now to the Viltrox 24mm f1.8, the Nikon 40mm f2, and the Viltrox 85mm f1.8. Fantastic image quality all around, super light for street and travel, and like you said 75-90% of the S class performance at a real cost savings. Cheers Matt

Very nice comparison, Matt. Bokeh balls away from the center of the image not being round anymore is normal, in terms of optics and geometry. Take a circular object on your table and look straight from above at it, then walk away to progressively looking at the object from the side and you'll see that it actually looks elliptical now. You have to include some weird geometry in a lens to get round bokeh balls across the image for this reason, it will not be easy, likely introduces all sorts of distortion that are hard to correct again. Yes, that 50/1.8S is incredibly sharp and the 85/1.8S is even sharper.

Looks like Nikon have smashed it out of the park with the 40mm F2... it's only £249 in the UK - if you can find one ;-) Great comparison video, Matt - thank you !

Interesting comparison. Definitely shows for me that I will need to change my 50mm 1.8 G for the Z soon. Have been using the 105MC, 14-24mm f2.8, 24-70 f4 and the images from the Z series are just amazing. You mentioned the In body Image stabilisation. I’ve been pulling off shots at 1/4 and have just been blown away with sharpness that was maintained. Thanks for the video. I really do enjoy your content

You spared no effort and compared the lenses really well. Thank you very much for that

There's nothing like side by side comparisons to help one assess the differences in lenses. Great job!

The Nikon 50 is just a crisp lens. I like the size and focal length of the 40, especially as a walk around lens, but the photographs with that 50 just have a look. Thanks for comparing these four and keeping the emphasis on the results.

Hi Matt, got a surprise call from our local camera shop today - they had a Z 40mm f2 for me! I think it's a little gem - your review is spot on, it behaves exactly as you've described. Happy surprises for me: very little distortion, great colour rendition, nice looking unobtrusive bokeh and sharp (enough). I like the inside-out design, it's fun to see the aperture blades working and it takes my old 52mm filters. I must be one of the first customers to get my greasy paws on one in New Zealand - recommended 'good for most things' lens.

I just finished up the video and I say WOW . Love how this lens renders. And the 50 f/1.8 too of course. But damn ! Diggin the 40 and rendering or that “look” of an image . It’s so so nice . And the old rule of thumb of doubling the shutter speed has changed some with these high resolution sensors. The Z50 is basically a 45mp ff equivalent for pixel pitch. I’ve found with my d850 and d500 a little more that double the focal length does the trick most of the time . The longer the focal length the more critical it seems but maybe I’m wrong there .

I love the way you knew your reports for somebody who's retired and simply has been doing photography for 54 years I love the way you look at it from Finance point I'm retired I was a professional photographer 17 years and I did another job on top of that it's my hobby I enjoyed it I enjoyed the turn all this time it's nice to see somebody's speak honestly about unless expensive lens that would do everything I had want and not cost me a fortune in the the US before mmf2 is $100 less panda viltrox and you would be a great walk around lens I also have a ton of 52 mmmm filters from my old stuff that I can use thank you for your honesty

My 40mm Z arrived today. It, the 28mm SE, and my 24-200 will be a great basic travel package.

Everything I wanted in a test of these lenses, much appreciated!

Great video Matt. I’m moving into the Z world and this helps. Plus I just plain like your point of view and loved the cityscapes. Thanks

I really struggled trying to keep track of which lens you were referring to. Since the results were so good, in the end it did not matter much. Nice city. I personally think Toronto dropped the ball a lot in years past, missing the opportunity to look similarly beautiful.

I am an NPS member and am sold on pre-order. Mine will be at my local camera store for me to pick up in the next couple of business days. The ability to pre-order as an NPS member is great! Can't wait to use this lens.

Hello Mat, Great little road-test. Nice to see your getting out a bit. I have my first photo trip in two year down to Kent, UK only 250 miles away but still looking forwards to getting out and see new locations. Keep well, keep safe and have fun.

Thank you Matt, this is a great video, I love how your lens testing videos combine excellent comparisons of lens in real world situations with fantastic your cityscape photography. I really like your style of photography and the quality of your videos.

Very interesting. I have a 40mm f2 on order and think I will use it to replace my 35mm f1.8 S. Of course the S is better optically, but I don't really use it enough.

My 40mm is on pre-order. Would love to see a similar video on the Nikkor 28mm f2.8.

Awesome comparison, I was intrigued by some of these...I do have the Z 50mm 1.8 (on a Z6II) and it is a beautiful lens.

Nice test Matt! Beautiful photos, I love your cityscapes. Stay safe Matt and greetings from Sweden.

Great video Matt. So glad I already hove the Z50 f1.8 S. I think the S stands for "STUNNING" as it really is!!!

Excellent comparison thanks. My 40 mm will be delivered tomorrow but coming with a typhoon so will have to wait a bit longer to give it a proper try out. Great to have such a beautiful comparison video despite the trying times in Melbourne. cheers..

Unbelievable how masked outside alone videos aged and how normal and virtuous it felt at the time

For prints upto 36 inches in think all of these lenses are MORE THEN SUFFICIENT. 40mm f2 is GREAT in my opinion.

Excellent comparison. Thank you Matt. I just purchased a Z6 as an everyday carry to have fun shooting at everything and anything. Kinda like a school project...here is a camera and lens... show me what you can do creatively. However, finding the lens was easier said than done with so many great lens options, especially native Nikon Z lenses. I'm now deciding between the 40mm f/2 and the 50mm 1.8 S. The 40mm is cheaper, and has more "character", with a classical rendition due to its lower element count and less corrections. However, the 50mm 1.8s is all the rave now and considered one of Nikons best lenses (or one of the best primes for they money regardless of brand), however it is bigger and heavier. Which one would you say had better microcontrast or tonal contrast between the 40mm and 50mm for that "3D pop"? Which was more fun to shoot? Thanks,

A lovely comparison. Stay well, growing to that magic 100k subscriber milestone soon!

Great comparison analysis. Thanks again for sharing both your thoughts, great photography and process

Thank for continuing to produce this excellent content under these trying times. Stay strong and carry on, Sir.

Great video as always! Thank you! If I get the 40mm f2 lens, will I still need the 15-50mm f4.5-6.3 that came with the Nikon Z50?

amazing you replace Lenses on Tripod in middle of street and your Z 7 Sensor is clean !!! i replace in side and need to clean my Sensor

Great review. Very nice lens for the price. It was also nice to see the third party Viltrox lens included in the comparison.

Another great review Matt, love your work. Keep an eye out coming up to christmas for bargains, I managed to pickup the 40mm f2 from Teds Cameras last week for $360. Loving it and hasn't been off my Z7ii since.

Very good review Matt! Thanks, I really like this real-world tests that you do in situations that you would actually shoot them in. And you also mention composition aspects, not just technical details. I think that's good, that's something we should always think of in photography and that is sometimes just ignored when the focus is too much on the technical side. Regarding pixel peeping, yes, I fully can relate to what you are saying, but I mean it's okay for this purpose and it is contrasted with other views of the image. So, it's all in the right perspective. To determine if a lens is good you do have to get a bit closer, to determine if the image is fantastic, you have to look at it as a whole. You do both, so that's totally fine. I really also liked these nice transitions and the composition in the video with the mobile footage. Very nicely done. Just one thing, in the 40mm images of the sea that you showed later I was a bit irritated with the purple fringing and it didn't feel as if it was going away as much using the defringing. Of course, these are very very harsh conditions, but the overall color rendition somehow looked like there was still quite a purple blotch, e.g. 25:07 on the left lower corner. Not sure, you didn't mention it too much, maybe I am seeing too much or the compression in the video was kind of strange. Anyway, my takeaway is that, A) the S lenses are absolutely fantastic and B) the non-S lenses are totally acceptable and for my purposes just enough. I do hope some more affordable lenses would be released in the future for the Z mount.

Thank you Matt for the great comparison!

Nice images and interesting comparison, thanks Matt!

Keep them coming Matt!

Very good comparisons, hoping that you will do comparisons with portraits in the the future as well!

In some cases cameras had different shutter values, sometimes as big as 1,6x times. That could be the reason for lights blooming/ghosting/fringing more or less. Not just optics. Should be done on manual, not on aperture priority if we are pixel peeping... Anyway thanks for big comparison, shots are really beatifull.

It’s good to see Nikon making good lenses for under $300 for the consumer market. Canon did a good job with its M50 and lens ecosystem to go with a sub $1,000 camera. Fujifilm’s also missed the target with its pricey lenses. Sony and Olympus likewise lacking quality lenses for those not wanting to pay hefty prices for good lenses. I hope Nikon continues to make good, affordable lenses for us consumers who don’t have much cash to spend on lenses. Yeh, the 24-200 works great, but costed me almost $900. So, unfortunately won’t be buying any new lenses for a while.

You would expect the 40 to lag at night as it has low element count glass. It's strength is rendering and tonality like some pre-G Nikkor primes.

And now I'm think I will go with Nikon 40mm f2 becasue is smaller and lighter and sharper then viltrox 35mm .. thanks for this review

Great video sir. Makes me sad though that I won't get to visit yet again this year from the states. Really miss the great city of Melbourne at Christmas time.

Exceptional work Matt. Good job brotha!! Rock n Roll 🤘🏻🤘🏻

Thank you for that great review ! - Today in october 23, I think I should look for a combo 50mm S plus a Z7II. This camera/lens would deliver outstanding quality

Way way back in the day both you and I had spoken about hopes for this 40mil and 28. They both are every bit of what I’d expected. Wanted that’s a slight difference for me. I wanted the 28mm an f/2 . Also I was hoping for a slightly better build quality. But I’m fine with that especially for the prices Nikon has given them and they are weather sealed for that price .

Very good comparison Matt!

Its tricky with IBIS and tripod use. Sometimes I forget the IBIS on while on tripod - rendering the pictures blurry, or sometimes I forget turning the IBIS back on when coming off the tripod - rendering the pictures blurry. Wish there was some kind of tripod auto detect in the camera. You'd think that the gyro should be able to understand when its moving or not, and setting the IBIS accordingly.

Great waterfront pictures! (The scene looks a lot like St. Paul Minnesota on the Mississippi River.)

Hey Matt, great video and nice to see the small40 out in the wild. 'there might be some camera shake' do you turn off sensor stab while shooting on tripod? I have found my results better when turning it off if you are going to pixel peep at 1:1 and beyond.

I just tested a few pics myself and will do again tomorrow. But I can see big difference in sharpness and bokeh and a bit in the colors. I hope I didn't get a bad batch.

i wonder how good this 40mm F2 is compared to the viltrox's APS-C lenses i know there isn't as close range as with the full frame ( the closest is a 33mm if i'm not mistaken ) but they are F1.4 against 1.8 for the full frame and F2 for the nikkor.

Pulled the trigger on the 40mm instead of the Viltrox 35. Picking it up later and testing on my z6!

Greetings from Malaysia. Dear Matt, I hope you are well and good, not affected by the recent quake in Melbourne. Looking at battle of the primes, I would rather get the 40mm instead of the 35mm. For such a tiny lens, it is equally good as the rest

Thanks Matt this was helpful. Could you do a comparison with 40mm and the 50mm MC I’m on the fence between the two.

Well i'm here early, just on my break from editing todays session haha. Was just talking about the 40mm with the wife while shooting too, let's see!

Hi Matt, Nice video, keep up the good work. I just brought Nikon Zfc with 16-50mm because of your reviews & recommendation. I need your recommendation again as I have Nikon 18-140 VR and Nikon 50mm f1.8 G lens. I only click portraits and family or travel pictures. Please recommend which Z mount I should go for Nikon 35mm,40mm f2 or Viltrox 35 or 50mm ? Or Just buy FTZ adapter? Please help, thanks

good stuff Matt. Stay safe

Love your voice and video man. Glad I am working in a camera store and I got the last one. Love it by far. Do you think it will good for wedding photography?

Hey buddy, could you identify which lens you're referring to a bit more. As they switch it gets to a point where it's not clear, just for the future I guess...

How the 40mm compare with the 50mm 1.8 G (f mount)?

I have no doubt about the optical quality, but what are ur thoughts on the plastic mount. I am an adventure/ sports photographer and my equipment gets used hard, with quick lens changes sometimes it is difficult to be gentle with them.. I am worries it may not be able to handle such use.. I would really be interested in knowing ur perspective

This seems more like a comparison of several really good lenses - so what does a more expensive lens bring to the table? Is that difference worth it to you? It would a bit unfair, being only an f/4, but the "kit" lens is an S lens and I suspect would have ranked near the top. Only suffering the inability to open up any faster (and for landscapes, one could make a strong argument f/4 is more than enough most days for landscape shots).

Moving from film I got a D70 (6mp sensor) then a D300 (12mp) both no problem with my standard hand-held shutter speeds, but moving to D750 (24mp) things started to fall apart until I doubled my minimum hand-held shutter speed for a given focal length. This is another price to pay for high mp sensor bodies, unless there is some stabilisation.

I wish they had a 40mm S lens. I like that focal length so much more.

nice one, matt! that 40 pancake is amazing for its price :)

That 40mm is a fantastic deal. Not worth it if you have a 50mm or 35mm f1.8s, but still very good and way better choice than the Viltrox.

Lol, 1600%! Love this 40mm. Size, weight, image quality. What, you're getting 95% for half the $?

I like to point up one interesting photo at time video 21.02 which the road sign board of Nikon 40mm vs Viltrox 35mm. In term of sharpness just about the same but Nikon more abit of 3D effect as both photo at same angle can tell. I still considering Nikon 40mm once I get the new Nikon z6 iii body for general photography and videos.

Nice shots. It would be very interesting to see the 40mm in front of the new 24-50mm f4-6.3 kit lens.

Do you know anything about Z 6 II firmware updates?

I did some quick test with the 40mm lens is sharp corner to corner even at f/2 @ middle distance and far distance. but at close up the lens at the corner are not sharp but is guess close up all will be blur away in the corners 😅

40 vs Viltrox. Which image is which. Top is 40 or Viltrox. You said only "hear is better than over here". But which is which????

I would consider one if my 50 wasn't so bloody good and so close in focal length.

Nice video Matt 👍🏻

Great comparison, Matt. Proves to stick with the S lenses. Especially when using the Z 7 and demanding full performance. Cheers!

Conclusion? If we are not a « professional » making very big prints…. You do not need any of the « trinity » lens… we throw our money by the window🤨🤔???

Exellent Matt!

I actually really like the image of the red (staircase? Bridge?) That you took in transit. Absolute corker

the size privilege's meaning you must check against the 60 F/2.8 MC both are small Lenses

This is off topic, but do you have to wear a mask when you out and alone? ..... Good overview on the lenses by the way.

Is viltrox lense good

Hi, please do viltrox 23 mm 1.4 Z’ review.

In low light I just shoot off 10 or 20 frames and one is usually sharp.

Thanks Matt for the final pic it’s on the Z50 .I want to lighten my load even further and replace the FTZ and 50 mm 1.8 that I have with Z50. Looks like the 40mm will do the trick, I also wanted to take late night pictures at Brighton. guess I will have to go somewhere else now. Cheers

Good job. Is the mask-wearing outside something that is enforced in you country? I'm in the UK and it looks kind of strange.

Outstanding Mat 👌👌👌🙏🙏🙏

Matt 🙏

Hi, I've waited for such comparison. Thanks ! But why You always test them during night. Please, make a fair comparison between Nikkor Z 35mm and Z 40mm at daylight. After this material I know that Viltrox isn't really competitive for Nikkor lenses, but having 50mm S I wonder is it buing 35 mm S is worth it or not. Or may be 40mm will be enough. Unfortunatelly this material did not give me the clear answer. In point [13:00] 35mm just smashed 40mm, not only in a question of flare and fringing, but specialy in sharpness and beautiful colour rendition. It looks like a gulf in their performance. But I need far more samples 35 vs 40 - head to head. And Matt - at daylight ! Needn't be at noon, but at normal daylight condition : )

👏🏻❤️‍🔥

Good but I really want to see it in day time not night 🌃

50 years ago. Bokeh who?

I like that your mask has raccoons on it.

So small

Non-photography related, it's kinda sad that you have to wear masks outdoors, where there is little chance of transmission. These restrictions and mandates have no grounding in science.

Curfew lol