The Nikon Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Lens is Nikon's newest wide and fast Trinity lenses. Trinity meaning a must-have for professionals and serious enthusiasts. NikonUSA is currently shipping the 14-24mm f/2.8 S lens this November. My initial impressions of this lens are exceptional with a few caveats.
My lens arrived on November 02 and following the unboxing I found it to be light but yet solid build - built/assembled in Taiwan. My serial number was 883 NikonUSA did a great job of shipping my lens on the day it was released. Thanks, Nikon - No Back Order.
In the Box: Ships with a cloth cover/bag that I never use, two lens hoods one you can use every day the other much larger is for the 112mm lens filter. I think 3rd party square filter manufactures will solve the puzzle and make it much easier to attach front filters than the F mount version.
Nikon is claiming this new lens plays well with "filters"? This is why Nikon includes 2 lens caps and 2 different hoods, One lens hood has been engineered to accept a 112mm circular lens filter which can then be fitted to the lens. Thus the filters do not screw onto the front of the lens barrel. Speaking of lens filters a 112mm lens filter will run about $180.00 and more depending on the filter type. Optionally the lens will accept gel-type filters on the rear of the lens.
Nikon's S series, 14-24mm employs Nikon’s superior weather-sealing and includes a digital lens info panel, custom control ring, and two shortcut buttons. Nikon also makes mention that the 14-24 is not fully sealed in some circumstances aka when using the lens with the filter attached.
The Nikon 14-24mm S lens leverages the Nikon Z mount to achieve a more compact design and help flatten the front lens element to achieve filter use. Knowing this, Nikon's longer heavier lenses will shrink when they are reborn as S lenses. Nikon's Z mount has opened new possibilities for optical design. and engineering, this is a next-generation lens in every way. and was well worth the wait.
Also of importance is the Nikon 14-24 as well as a few other S lenses now use the faster, quieter stepper motors making them more suitable for Video use.
There is a lot to be excited about this lens and exceeds the already super sharp legacy F mount 14-24, and that is amazing.
The optics are coated in three different coatings, SIC "Super Integrated Coating; Nikon's term for its multilayer coating of the optical elements in NIKKOR lenses. Nikon's Nano Crystal Coating; An anti-reflective coating developed by Nikon that virtually eliminates internal lens element reflections across a wide range of wavelengths. Nano Crystal Coat solves ghost effects caused by red light and effectively reduces ghost and flare caused by light entering the lens diagonally. Fluorine Coating: Is applied to the front and rear elements to repel dust and water. The New ARNEO Coating; An anti-reflective coating developed by Nikon and used in conjunction with Nano Crystal Coat to further reduce ghost and flare effects caused by incident light entering the lens vertically. This allows for the outstandingly clear capture of images even when a light source is located within the frame.
Another design element of the Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 S lens is IF - Internal Focus. Thus the elements move internally and the lens does not change size as you zoom or focus.
Four (4) ED Glass Elements, Three (3) Aspherical Elements in eleven (11) lens groups with sixteen (16) lens elements.
Now that I have my copy, I will update this review and post images.