The Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S ($999.95) is another in the company's first wave of prime lenses for its full-frame mirrorless camera system. It's the widest-angle entry yet, and its optical performance is superb. If you're shopping for a wide prime for your Z camera, you won't be disappointed.

Built for Mirrorless

Nikon's full-frame mirrorless cameras can use SLR lenses via the FTZ adapter, without any drop in performance or image quality. But it adds some bulk to the system.

The Nikkor Z 24mm is a new optical design, built to take advantage of the short distance between lens mount and sensor you get with a mirrorless camera. It's typically sized for a full-frame prime—3.8 by 3.1 inches (HD) without the included hood. It weighs 15.9 ounces, supports 72mm filters, and ships with front and rear caps and a soft carrying pouch.

It's built as well as you'd expect give Nikon's excellent reputation. The barrel is a mix of metal and polycarbonate, with a knurled metal manual focus ring, as well as dust and splash protection. My only complaint is that there's no grease-repellent fluorine coat on the glass—though the lens has all of Nikon's latest anti-reflective and anti-glare protection.

There's a toggle switch on the side to change between manual and autofocus operation. Autofocus is quick and silent, and the lens exhibits almost no change in angle of view as focus is adjusted. Reducing this effect, focus breathing, makes it a more appealing choice for video.

The manual focus experience is pleasant, too. The focus ring turns smoothly, with a bit of helpful resistance. Photographers will probably like the non-linear response curve—a slow, careful turn is used for minute adjustments, while a quick turn causes the focus plane to move more rapidly. Videographers, who tend to prefer a linear response for perfectly repeatable focus pulls, may not.

The focus ring can also be used as a control ring for EV or aperture when the lens is set to autofocus. The function, controlled via the camera body, sadly doesn't work that well. I go into more detail in a recent look at the Z 85mm f/1.8 S, but to summarize, the function is just way too sensitive to be useful.

The lens focuses pretty close, as close as 9.8 inches from the image sensor, just a few inches away from the front glass. The wide angle of view means it's not really a macro lens—it is only able to project subjects onto the sensor at 1:6.7 life-size.

There's no stabilization in the lens, but the full-frame Z 6 and Z 7 cameras offer in-body stabilization, so longer handheld exposures and smooth handheld video are possible. The newer Z 50, which has a smaller APS-C format sensor, does omit the feature, however.

Excellent Results

I tested the Nikkor Z 24mm with the highest-resolution Z camera available, the 45MP Z 7, and software from Imatest.

At f/1.8 it scores quite well on a resolution test, landing in the very good range for the Z 7's sensor (3,700 lines), with strong clarity from center to edge. There's a slight improvement at f/2 and f/2.8 (3,800 lines), and resolution crosses into excellent territory at f/4 (4,100 lines) through f/11.

See How We Test Digital Cameras

There's a little bit of softening due to diffraction at f/16—light particles scattering as they pass through the very tiny iris—but I'd still feel comfortable stopping down all the way, whether it be for a long exposure, more depth of field, or a sunstar effect.

Distortion is well controlled, so there are no worries using the lens for architectural imaging. There's a bit of a vignette when working at f/1.8 or f/2, but it's easy enough to remove the effect using Raw processing tools. If you use Lightroom corrections are dialed in by default.

A Quality Wide Prime

If you're a Nikon Z owner in the market for a lens like the 24mm f/1.8 S, you're in for a treat. There is little, if anything, to complain about with this one. Images are crisp and free of ugly barrel distortion, quiet autofocus and minimal breathing add appeal to videographers, and you won't have to fiddle with an adapter as you will with alternative options.

You can save some money by going the adapter route. The best alternative options, the Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG HSM Art and Nikkor 24mm f/1.8G, are designed for Nikon's SLR system, but can be used with a Z camera via an adapter. They've also been on sale long enough to have circulated to the used market, and are solid options for bargain hunters. But neither is as svelte, or as sleek, as the Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S.

Best Lens Picks

• The Best Fujifilm Lenses for 2020
• The Best Leica M Lenses for 2020
• The Best Micro Four Thirds Lenses for 2020
• The Best Pentax SLR Lenses for 2020
• More Lens Reviews
• More from Nikon

Further Reading

• Tamron Details Affordable 70-180mm F2.8 Zoom Lens
• The Best Sony Mirrorless Lenses for 2020
• The Best Nikon Lenses for 2020
• The Best Canon Lenses for 2020
• Oops! $13K Camera Lens Sells for $95 Due to Prime Day Error