A Nikon F1.8 Z lens trio: New galleries for the Z 20mm F1.8 S, Z 35mm F1.8 S and Z 85mm F1.8 S lenses
posted Friday, October 21, 2022 at 6:00 PM EST
Since the Nikon Z system launched with the Z6 and Z7 cameras alongside three Z lenses, Nikon has steadily increased its lineup of lenses. While we've reviewed most of them, a few had slipped through the cracks, including three F1.8 prime lenses, the Nikon Z 20mm F1.8 S, Nikon Z 35mm F1.8 S and Nikon Z 85mm F1.8 S.
We've gone hands-on with this trio of fast Z prime lenses and have sample galleries for each lens available now. You can jump straight to each gallery using the links below.
Among the real-world images, we've also got sharpness test shots for each lens. We recommend downloading the original raw files and opening them in your photo editor of choice to check out each lens's performance. While our full reviews are in the works, there's no doubt that the lenses continue Nikon's tradition of strong image quality. The lenses are sharp, even when shooting wide open. I'm especially pleased with the Z 20mm F1.8 S, as it's a great option for night sky photography.
Each lens shares overall styling, matching Nikon's other F1.8 S prime lenses. The two-tone black finish looks quite nice, and each lens has a wide focus ring. The manual focus experience is mostly good, although focus-by-wire lenses never deliver quite the same feel as older mechanically-linked focus rings. Each lens also includes weather-sealing, a nice touch for outdoor photographers.
All three lenses deliver swift, accurate, and quiet autofocus performance. None of the lenses focus especially closely, although the Z 20mm F1.8 S and Z 35mm F1.8 S offer 0.19x max magnification.
If you'd like the complete breakdown of each prime's specs, click the links below:
In total, the Nikon Z system includes five F1.8 S Series lenses. The trio I've tested, plus the Z 50mm F1.8 S I've used but not formally tested, have all impressed. F1.8 may not be as fast as F1.2 or F1.4, obviously, but it is still fast enough to deliver a shallow depth of field and great bokeh. Plus, F1.8 means that the lenses are reasonably compact, lightweight, and affordable.