Nikon Z8 Best Lenses: The Nikon Z8 camera features almost the same specifications that we have seen in the Nikon Z9 but at a very reasonable price tag. To get the maximum output from the Nikon Z8’s 45-megapixel stacked sensor, you have to buy the best lenses available with the highest resolving power.
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1. Nikon Z 24-70mm f2.8
The best lens for the Nikon Z8 camera is the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 S. Since we are getting one of the industry’s best sensors in our hands, it’s highly recommended to match up the lens too. The first recommendation is the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 S. This lens features a constant f/2.8 aperture and delivers amazingly sharp output throughout the focal range with creamy bokeh, one of the most sharp and versatile lenses present to date, this lens will cover your 99% requirements.
The biggest reason behind recommending this lens is that you can shoot almost anything with it – starting from wide-angle landscapes to longer focal-length portraits. This is one of the most versatile and sharpest lenses Nikon has ever made for full-frame cameras.
Not only optically, but the lens’s autofocus performance is also top-notch. The lens uses 2 AF drive units synchronized to deliver extremely fast and accurate AF results – even when you are using your camera at 120 frames per second or when you are using it at 20 frames per second. This lens is bound to give perfect results when paired with Z9 or Z8
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2. Nikon 70-200mm f2.8s
The Nikon 70-200mm f2.8s lens produces incredibly sharp pictures and extracts the maximum amount of detail in your images. It is one of the best lenses to pair up with your Nikon Z8 camera. Practically no color fringing or chromatic aberration is visible in this lens. The lens is distortion-free and lens vignetting is also very minimal and can be easily corrected in post-processing.
The build quality of this lens is superb and made up of a metal body covered with rubberized material. It is extensively weather-sealed and able to deliver quality equal to its price tag.
The LCD display screen of the lens is not that much usable since we don’t have the habit of looking at the lens LCD. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I personally find the display not that much usable for me. Overall, the lens is worth every penny.
Finally, let’s talk about autofocusing performance. When paired up with a Nikon Z8 or Nikon Z9 camera which uses deep learning algorithms, the lens’s autofocusing system will improve with time. At the same time, the Z8 is capable of doing 120 AF calculations per second and supports burst speed up to 120 frames, and your lens is fully capable of synchronizing the AF performance even when shooting at max burst speed.
The image stabilization of this lens is highly reliable and you can shoot amazing pics handheld without any noticeable blur even at very slow shutter speeds when shooting at 200mm.
Although the price of this lens is approximately $2600, I have to say this lens is very reasonably priced
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3. Nikon z50 mm f 1.8s
Why we say the 50 mm f 1.8s is the best portrait lens Nikon ever made, the reason behind is very simple. The lens f1.8 aperture can give you a focal plane of only 10 degrees from 10 feet away so you have an amazing ability in your hand to shoot beautiful background blur in any situation.
F1.8 completely eliminates the requirement of additional light, and if you are a natural light shooter you will be blown away by the quality you will have from this lens. And do note that this lens is very sharp even at a wide open aperture.
If you are a professional portrait shooter or love to capture candid shots in natural light this is the best lens your money can buy and we highly recommend you to get the 50 mm f 1.8 lens for your Nikon Z8 camera.
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4. Nikon 24-70mm F4
Now if you are running out of budget after getting your Nikon Z8 camera and wish to have a perfect all-around lens, then undoubtedly the 24-70mm f/4 lens is the best choice.
24 to 70 F4 lens is also very sharp, but you will miss the deep creamy bokeh (background blur) of the Z 24-70mm 2.8. But, keep in mind this price, you are getting optical images stabilization to which pairs of Nikon z8 6 stops of IBIS
This lens is perfect for shooting landscapes as well as streets, this is the best budget kit lens for your Nikon z8 camera
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5. Nikon Z20mm f1.8s
The best and the most sharpness prime lens I have used to date, It has incredible sharpness with no distortion across the field of view. I highly recommend this Nikon glass for anyone needing this focal length for landscape or astrophotography work. AT f/1.8 it is very sharp at center. Sharpness drops just a little at the corners. Stopping it down to f/2.8 improve center sharpness. At f/4 it has perfect sharpness corner to corner. It’s much easier to balance on-camera flash with dim available light with a large aperture lens because shutter speeds don’t have to be so long. I was at 1/40 @ f1.8 @ ISO 4000 most of the night. So, for low-light ultrawide photography and video, if ur budget doesn’t allow u to have nikon 14-24mm F2.8, instead of getting 14-30mm F4 get the 20mm F1.8.
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6. Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S
The 14 to 24 mm f/2.8 lens is the best lens for landscape and architecture photography, as well as for advanced cinematographers.
The 14 to 24 mm lens in Nikon is a part of a holy trinity lens which includes the 24 to 70 mm f/2.8 and the 70 to 200 mm f/2.8. The rest of the two lenses we have already discussed, now let’s talk about the 14 to 24 mm f/2.8.
This lens is the sharpest lens at this focal length in Nikon’s lineup, and one of the best ultra-wide zoom lenses present in the market. The image quality of this lens is super impressive even at 14 mm wide and covers approximately 115 degrees of view.
If you don’t need that f/2.8 aperture at this wide range, and many professionals never use such a shallow depth of field while shooting landscapes and architecture, then the best investment will be the 14 to 30 mm f/4 lens. It will save you $1000, and at the same time, you can use standard 82 mm filters with this lens which are easily available, unlike the 14 to 24 mm f/2.8 which requires 112 mm filters.
So if your budget allows and you want to have an ultra-wide zoom lens, then you should go with this. The only issue that I have faced with this lens is in finding its proper filters since it has a very large thread of 112 mm.
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7. Nikon Z 100 to 400 mm f/4.5 to 5.6
The Nikon Z 100 to 400 mm f/4.5 to 5.6 lens is the best lens for sports and wildlife photography under budget.
This is one of the best zoom lenses Nikon has ever made for Z Mount cameras. Despite having a variable aperture, the lens performs extremely well throughout its entire focal length. The sharpness of this lens is noticeable, and I highly recommend you to use this lens with Nikon Z cameras with a 45 MP sensor due to its high resolving capability.
The 100 to 400 mm lens is relatively compact compared to the lenses that we have in the DSLR era. At the same time, it’s lightweight, weighing just over 3 lbs or 1400 grams, and you can easily handhold this lens while shooting wildlife or sports. The VR (Vibration Reduction) of this lens synchronizes with your camera’s in-built sensor-shift image stabilization to provide you greater stability.
The lenses that you should avoid
- NIKON 28-75MM F2.8 RXD One lens that you should avoid is the Tamron rebranded 28 to 75 mm f/2.8 lens with the Nikon camera since it’s the first generation of lenses that Tamron is still making for Nikon Z mount cameras. The first generation of lenses doesn’t have as much resolving power as the G2 has right now. So if they release the second generation of their 28 to 75 mm f/2.8 lens, then it’s okay, but right now, the first generation of the 28 to 75 mm f/2.8 is not that good for resolving higher resolution sensors like the Nikon Z8.
- NIKON 17-28MM F2.8 RXD The next lens you should add is the Tamron rebranded 17-28 mm f/2.8 lens. Again, this lens is perfect for lower resolution cameras like the Nikon Z6 Mark II, but when we talk about cameras like the Nikon Z7 Mark II, Nikon Z8, or even Nikon Z9, these cameras have a 45 MP high-resolution sensor and need high-grade optics to resolve it properly. For that reason, I am not recommending the Tamron 17-28 mm lens for the Nikon Z8 camera.The best alternative is the Nikon 14 to 24 mm f/2.8, or if your budget doesn’t allow it, then you should go with the 14 to 30 mm f/4.
- 14-24MM F2.8 – Finally, the third lens that you should avoid is for cost-related reasons. As we have mentioned above, the 14 to 24 mm f/2.8 lens is costly and the best alternative to it with higher resolving capability is the 14 to 30 mm f/4. So if your budget allows and you feel that you need a max aperture ultra-wide zoom lens, then it’s okay to buy the 14 to 24 mm. Otherwise, we highly recommend that for a Nikon camera you must go with the 14 to 30 mm f/4 lens and save yourself a thousand dollars.
Why no 105mm f2.8 macro?