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50mm

Updates:
09/02/2021: Hands-on Review & Gallery Images added

Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Nikkor Hands-on Review

Not quite as good as the Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, but the Z MC 50mm f/2.8 is no slouch

by Jeremy Gray | Posted 09/02/2021

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/7.1, 1/50s, ISO 1400. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

In June, Nikon went from having no native macro* lenses for its mirrorless Z system to having two excellent options. We've already looked at the Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Nikkor, and it's an excellent lens. Now it's time to turn our attention to the smaller, more affordable macro lens, the Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Nikkor. (* "micro" in Nikon's terminology due to the lack of enlarging optics in its lenses designed for macro photography)

The 50mm lens has some advantages and disadvantages compared to its larger, longer sibling. The 50mm prime is smaller and lighter, which is nice. However, the 50mm lens lacks some of the features of the 105mm macro lens, including S-Line designation, so the 50mm f/2.8 is $350 cheaper. While you give up higher-end optics, you don't give up much in terms of overall image quality, as we'll see during this review.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/7.1, 1/400s, ISO 100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Some usability differences may matter more. The 50mm lens has a shorter working distance to achieve 1:1 macro photography, which can prove challenging when shooting. The lens also has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 instead of f/4.5 like the 105mm lens when at 1:1 focus distances. Further, the 50mm lens is not internally focusing, unlike the 105mm macro lens.

Ultimately, both new Z MC lenses are very good, and there are strong cases to be made for each of them. Let's take a closer look at the Z MC 50mm f/2.8 lens to see how it performs during real-world testing.

Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Nikkor Key Features and Specifications

• 1:1 macro lens, native for Nikkor Z mount
• Minimum focus distance is 16cm (6.3")
• Maximum aperture is f/2.8, although at 1:1, the max aperture is f/5.6
• 10 elements in 7 groups
• Includes an ED element and an aspherical element
• Weather-sealed
• Weighs 630g (1.4 lbs.)
• 66mm (2.6") long with a maximum diameter of 74.5mm (2.9”)
• Not internally focusing, so the lens extends during focusing
• 46mm filter thread
• Compatible with ES-2 Film Digitizing Set
• $650 MSRP

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4.5, 1/1000s, ISO 140. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Lens design and handling

The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 lens is nicely built and has a good design, although having gone hands-on with the Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S lens simultaneously, you can feel the difference in build quality. The 50mm doesn't feel cheap or bad, but it doesn't feel as robust or as pro-oriented as the 105mm lens, which makes sense given that the 105mm lens is an S-Line lens.

The Nikon MC 50mm f/2.8 is a sleek, compact lens.

The 50mm lens has an advantage over the 105mm in overall size and weight. The MC 50mm f/2.8 is a compact and lightweight lens, especially when not in use. It's only 66mm (2.6") long and has a maximum diameter of 74.5mm (2.9"). However, the lens is a bit longer in use as it features an extending barrel as you focus closer. When you're at the 1:1 macro distance, the lens extends by around a third of its original length. It doesn't impact balance in any noticeable way, however. The lens only weighs 630 grams (1.4 lbs), which is quite light.

The lens includes three macro distance markings with focus distances, although there's no depth of field scale on the lens, and it lacks the nice OLED information display found on the Z 105mm f/2.8 VR S lens.

The lens includes a wide focus ring with a ridged, grippy covering. The ring doubles as a control ring, so you can adjust other settings when using AF, like ISO and exposure compensation. The ring feels pretty good in use, although the focus scale on the barrel is somewhat rudimentary, especially compared to the OLED display on the 105mm macro lens. The 50mm lens has markings for 1:1, 1:1.4 and 1:2 distances with corresponding distance markings in feet and meters. The overall manual focusing experience isn't bad. It just isn't as refined as the focusing experience with the 105mm macro lens.

Other than the three markings and the focus ring, the lens also includes a pair of switches on its left side. You can switch between autofocus and manual with one switch, while the other switches between full autofocus range and a much narrower 0.3-0.16m for faster autofocus when shooting macro photography.

The lens includes a very small lens hood. Given the lens's very short working distance, a larger lens hood wouldn't have worked.

In case you're wondering, the lens does include weather sealing. It's sealed at five points throughout its construction, including at the lens mount. The front lens element includes fluorine coating, too.

The lens is built well overall. It is compact and lightweight and feels good to use. I wish it had better focus scale markings, but that's a minor complaint.

Image quality: Sharp in many situations with great control of aberrations

The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 includes 10 elements across 7 groups. Among these 10 lens elements, there is a single ED element and also an aspherical lens element. The lens doesn't include the fancy Nano Crystal Coating or ARNEO coating like the MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S lens, but that doesn't mean that image quality is poor.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4.5, 1/1000s, ISO 1100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

All the crops seen below are 100 percent crops from raw image files converted in Adobe Camera Raw using default settings and built-in lens correction profiles enabled. I have selected specific images to show, but you can download the full-size raw files for each test scene and aperture in the Gallery.

Close focus scene

The following images are all shot at the lens's minimum focus distance, meaning they are 1:1 macro shots. While a macro lens is often used for macro photography, shooting at 1:1 can be somewhat unusual. The depth of field is razor-thin, and the working distance can be limiting.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/5.6, 1/8s, ISO 100. Sharpness test scene, 1:1 distance, full image. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

At f/5.6, the fastest aperture available at 1:1 focus distances, image quality is good, although not quite as impressive as when shooting wide open at a long focus distance. There's just a bit less punch than there is at f/8.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/5.6, 1/8s, ISO 100. 100% crop at 1:1. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

By stopping down to f/8, you get noticeably improved sharpness, detail and contrast. Image quality at f/8 for macro shooting is excellent. It's similarly good at f/11 and only slightly softer at f/16.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/8, 1/4s, ISO 100. 100% crop at 1:1. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

 

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/11, 1/2s, ISO 100. 100% crop at 1:1. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

 

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/16, 1s, ISO 100. 100% crop at 1:1. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Standard test scene

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/2.8, 1/2500s, ISO 100. Sharpness test scene, standard distance, full image. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 lens produces impressive image quality when shooting wide open in my standard test scene. Even at f/2.8, the lens is sharp, especially in the center of the frame. That said, corner performance isn't bad either, although there's a noticeable vignette (darkening) in the extreme corners.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/2.8, 1/2500s, ISO 100. 100% center crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/2.8, 1/2500s, ISO 100. 100% top left corner crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

By stopping down to f/4, there's a very slight increase in sharpness. You can see a bit finer detail, especially in the bricks on the building, but the difference is only visible when zoomed far in and looking closely. If you weren't looking for a difference in sharpness, you'd be unlikely to find one. That changes slightly when looking at the corner performance, although primarily because the vignette is reduced by stopping down.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4, 1/1250s, ISO 100. 100% center crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4, 1/1250s, ISO 100. 100% top left corner crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

You can further reduce the vignette and improve corner performance by stopping down to f/5.6. However, there's no perceptible difference throughout the rest of the image area.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4, 1/640s, ISO 100. 100% center crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4, 1/640s, ISO 100. 100% top left corner crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Performance remains strong at f/8. At f/11, diffraction becomes lightly noticeable. At f/16 and especially at f/22, image quality is poor. I'd avoid stopping down to f/16 unless you're shooting at very close focus distances and avoid f/22 (and beyond if you're focusing closely) altogether.

Image quality summary

The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 lens is very sharp when shooting wide open in normal shooting situations. The lens has some vignette, but that's easy to correct during post-processing. The lens exhibits strong control of aberrations and fringing while simultaneously delivering highly detailed images with rich contrast and good color.

When considering macro photography, which is a primary feature, performance when wide open isn't quite as impressive. However, it's still good. The lens is sharp at f/5.6 when shooting at 1:1 magnification. It's tough to shoot wide-open macro photography, and it requires a high degree of precision. By giving yourself a bit more leeway and stopping down to f/8 or f/11, you also get even better detail. At f/8 and f/11, the lens is excellent. It's satisfying being able to resolve details that are impossible to see with the naked eye.

Overall, the lens has great performance. The image quality ranges from very good to excellent across the board.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/5.6, 1/500s, ISO 100. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Autofocus performance

Autofocus performance with the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 lens is pretty good. It's not incredibly fast when the focus is far from the subject, and it can occasionally hunt, but it's quite good overall. That said, the lens focuses fairly quickly – and accurately – across its full focusing range in most situations.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4, 1/1000s, ISO 2800. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

The minimum focus distance is a mere 16cm (6.3"), which means that when shooting a 1:1 macro image, your subject is only about a couple of inches from the front of the lens. That's a very short working distance. While the lens performs well, the short working distance can be problematic.

In the Field: The short working distance can be problematic

In the field, the Z MC 50mm f/2.8 lens performs well in most cases. While the image quality and overall sharpness are good, I want to discuss bokeh a bit. The bokeh is sometimes quite nice, but if there are out-of-focus highlights, the bokeh balls can be a bit unappealing to my eye. While you can get very close to your subject at 50mm, which helps create better bokeh and more subject separation, the lens also stops down as you focus closer, canceling out the impact a bit. Ultimately, the result is bokeh that can sometimes be a bit busy, especially compared to the bokeh at macro distances with the longer 105mm f/2.8 MC lens, which not only has the bokeh-generating advantage of being a longer focal length, but it also has wider apertures as you focus closer.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4.5, 1/1000s, ISO 100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

However, in other situations, the bokeh can be very pleasing and smooth. It depends on the situation.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4.5, 1/640s, ISO 560. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

I've touched on the short working distance of the Z MC 50mm f/2.8 already, but it's worth discussing again in this section. When using the lens for macro photography, the working distance issue can be tricky. When photographing bees, for example, you need to get very close, which can scare the insect away or bump the flower they're on and create problematic subject movement. The short working distance can also lead to issues with shadows, which is frustrating.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/8, 1/640s, ISO 100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/8, 1/640s, ISO 100. 100% crop. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

The lens's compact size makes it a great walkaround lens, too. The 50mm focal length is also versatile for a wide range of subjects. You can use the lens for macro photography, of course, but it's also well-suited to general photography, landscapes and portraiture. I think that it's more general-purpose than the 105mm macro lens, although that longer lens is better for macro photography and portraiture.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4.8, 1/1250s, ISO 220. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4.8, 1/1250s, ISO 220. 100% crop. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Hands-on Review Summary

A very good all-around macro lens, but is it worth getting instead of the 105mm?

What I like most about the lens:

• Weather-sealed
• Very sharp in most situations, even when shooting wide open
• Great control over chromatic aberrations and color fringing
• Compact and lightweight
• Solid value
• Autofocus is quiet and accurate

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/4, 1/1250s, ISO 220. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

What I dislike about the lens:

• Maximum aperture is f/5.6 at 1:1 macro distances
• Autofocus can hunt at times
• Build quality isn't quite as robust as the 105mm macro lens
• Lackluster focus scale
• Very short working distance can cause issues
• Some ugly bokeh in certain situations
• Can't use the Z teleconverter

The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 lens is a great addition to the Z lineup. For macro enthusiasts, it's good to have an option besides the large, somewhat heavy Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S. While the larger, more expensive macro lens delivers better overall performance, the 50mm macro lens is no slouch. It's a sharp lens with good autofocus in most situations. The 50mm lens is compact, lightweight and has good build quality, too.

Shot on Nikon Z7 II, f/8, 1/640s, ISO 220. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

It's not obvious which lens is best for every photo scenario, but if you don't care exclusively about macro photography and want to save some money – and weight in your camera bag – Nikon's new Z MC 50mm f/2.8 is a good option. It's not a perfect lens, and it does come with some compromises compared to the $1,000 Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S lens, but the $650 Z MC 50mm f/2.8 is a good choice.

 

• • •

 

Nikon NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Overview

(From Nikon lens literature) The NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8 is a small and lightweight micro lens designed for spontaneous street snapshots and capturing small details with stunning clarity. The lens sports a 1:1 reproduction ratio, and an extremely compact and lightweight design of merely 9.2 oz, making it a portable and comfortable option to carry around for all-day shooting.

With a natural 50mm focal length, the NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8 takes advantage of ambient light to deliver beautiful images with a wider field of view, which is ideal for photographing up-close scenes of food, flowers or everyday snapshots. The 0.53 ft (0.16m) minimum focusing distance enables users to get closer to the action and amplify the separation between the subject, background, and foreground. Meanwhile, the NIKKOR Z MC 50mm’s large f/2.8 aperture affords gorgeous bokeh, fast shutter speeds and superior flexibility for shooting handheld, especially when paired with full-frame Nikon Z series cameras that feature IBIS. Equipped with stepping motors (STM) and a focus limiter switch, the NIKKOR Z MC 50mm delivers fast and reliable autofocus when shooting photos or videos in the field, such as capturing butterflies or the petals of a flower blowing in the wind.

The NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8 sports a modern design with a variety of intuitive controls, including a lens barrel that integrates helpful visual indicators for focus distance and reproduction ratio. The lens also features a focus limiter switch to limit the AF search range for effortless capture, while the control ring can be assigned to a variety of functions. The lens is augmented with a fluorine coated front element to resist dirt and smudges, as well as a dust and drip resistant build for rugged reliability, making it an ideal travel lens to take everywhere.

urthermore, the NIKKOR Z MC 50mm is compatible with the ES-2 film digitizing adapter set, which can be screwed onto the front of the lens for digitizing 35mm film, expanding the creativity possibilities of the lens.

Price and Availability

The NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8 will be available in late June 2021 for a suggested retail price (SRP) $649.95.

*SRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.
Specifications, equipment and release dates are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer.