Is It Worth It

Nikon has released for Pre-Order their new 24mm f/1.8 lens designed for Z mount camera bodies. The question I receive most is it even worth updating if you already own a legacy f mount f/1.8 Nikkor lens or a 3rd party 24mm lens?

At a whopping $1,000.00 ($996.95) I have hesitation at dropping almost a grand on an f/1.8 lens because knowing Nikon will eventually release the Pro-Level Z mirrorless cameras and along with that will begin to appear faster lenses such as a 85mm f/1.4 S lens and a 24 f/1.4 S lens.  So the question begs: If I already own a legacy F mount 24mm f/1.8 lens should I purchase the newer S lens or wait for the faster f/1.4 and spend my money then.

Even Nikon makes a comparison to their legacy 24 f/1.8 (on sale for $679.95) with the new S lens and below is the readout of that comparison.

From my point of view the decision to purchase the new 24mm f/1.8 S boils down to the factors below assuming you already own a Z camera.

1. Do you already own a Legacy 24mm f/1.8 and an FTZ adapter? If so consider the next two considerations below.
2. Do you need weather sealing if so the 24mm S lens is superior to the legacy 24 f/1.8
3. Do you need near-silent operation with no focus breathing - if so the new S lens is superior for video work
4. Do you get annoyed swapping lenses using the FTZ adapter? if so the S lenses eliminate the hassle.
5. Finally, the S lens has superior stabilization on 5 Axis.

The one other consideration mentioned earlier is do you drop the money for this f/1.8 lens or wait until Nikon releases the faster f/1.4 version?  Since I do not own a 24mm f/1.8 I went ahead and pre-ordered mine mainly due to the fact I want to eliminate using the FTZ adapter as much as possible.