Nikkor Z 50mm f1.8 S Lens VS Nikkor Z 24-70mm f2 8 S Lens Sharpness Comparison

While this is not a 100% fair comparison, I have decided to compare the sharpness and color rendering of the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens at 50 mm focal length to the widely used and highly recommended Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S lens. Which one wins?

[@gregcorker2193]

I have wondered about this very question. Appreciate your review of this issue. Other reviewers of the Z 24-70mm f2.8 have repeatedly praised the len’s exceptional quality, sometimes stating they believed it compared to prime lenses. In this video you have illustrated this in a reasonably empirical manner. I initially bought the Z6 with the 24-70mm f4. I got the 50mm f1.8 a short time later; primarily because starting out I felt I needed to have one general purpose prime lens. Later I bought the 24-70mm f2.8. At this point, the primary value of the 50mm f1.8 to me is, it forces me to work harder to get a photo I like. I have to be more intentional with the fixed focal length. The other boon is that the f1.8 maximum appeture is very good in low light.

[@TouchLifeStudio]

I really like both of these lenses. 24-70 2.8 lives on my camera most of the time as it is very versatile. For low light conditions I opt for the f1.8 lens. Plus it is lighter, which I find handy.

[@photographicamateur]

Very useful comparison! Thanks for enriching my decision process

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Glad I was able to help

[@Vahagraphy]

Im guilty of these type comparisons myself and I love them. Very educational and well done Touch. Your talking a $2k+ lens to a lens that can be bought for a few hundred dollars and its keeping up and a bit sharper at 50mm. amazing. really is. I just did a similar comparison , i filmed it last week when I was in my hotel room up north cali, haven't edited it yet, but I compare the 50 1.8 to a 24-70 G lens haha and video clips too. lol Great video man. keep it up.

[@TouchLifeStudio]

I find that both of these lenses have applications in my style of shoots. I love the 50 and it is light. 24-70 is on my Z6II most of the time. I watched your Z9 hands on pre-review, your are Rocking and Rolling. Awesome. Looks like our fro-knows-photo friend just got his production Z9 version. So it is coming…

[@omu_omuomu]

I was just thinking to purchase 24-70 F2.8 S lens. Thanks for your comparison. It pushed me going forward.

[@tor2919]

What’s most evident to me is that the prime has better contrast. I think that’s quite easily seen even through KZbin. Sharpness is close.

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Good observation. I usually adjust contrast in Lightroom to my taste.

[@deanjelcic9299]

I had 24-70 2.8 and sold it to get a Z7II and a 50 1.8.... Z7II paired with 50 1.8 is just stunning. If you are an artist you know what I mean... For me the zoom lens just didn"t have that magic in the photos that I like. Its a great lens dont get me wrong, but the 50mm just gives me that thing that was missing. But nevertheless I would and will get it back one day just because its so great at all focal lenghts and so sharp all the way... But it lacks in bokeh which for me matters. So the coclusion would be 50mm 1.8 for those artistic kinda look to the images and 24-70 for everything else 😂 Seriously in sharpness there is no difference, maybe 50 is even better 😅, the only difference is in bokeh and in focal lenght. You have to decide what matteres most to you. Cheers 😁

[@gamingwithstand6886]

For weddings and other jobs I like zooms. I hate swapping lens when I'm working unless its a portrait shoot and its a slow pace shoot.

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Agree. For weddings it is nice to shoot with zooms.

[@eliaspap8708]

Unfortunately I prefer to keep both zoom and primes in my bag especially for pro gigs and weddings, the reason is different segments of the day require a different approach. For the wedding preps and Location portraits this is usually a slower pace and especially the prep they are indoors low light which i much prefer to use the primes the 28 & 50mm f1.4 & occasionally the 85mm for the head shots and bride and groom together but when it comes to the ceremony i found its a lot less stressful using the zoom, everything happens so fast you hardly have enough time to change cameras let alone changing lenses, i use 2 bodies for the Ceremony one with the 24-70 the other a 135 or 85 depending how large the space is. Too much gear is never a problem and gives you heaps of options and also redundancy.

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Yes, I’m totally with you on zooms and primes. I like primes for portraits (indoors and outdoors) but for ceremonies and fast moving events zooms are fantastic. Thanks for sharing your approach.

[@julietraczyk4057]

Hello thank you for the great video!! I purchased both lenses as a hobbyist photographer and wondering now if I should have just bought the 24-70 f2.8 and save some money! Do you think having both makes sense? Would you buy the 50m f1.8 if you already had the 24-70? Thanks a lot!

[@TouchLifeStudio]

That would be a personal decision. I have always had 50 mm 1.8 regardless of other lenses. The Z-mount 50mm 1.8 S lens is a great lens and in my open ion worth while keeping it even as hobbyist as it helps in low light, creativity and shallower depth of field. Hope this helps.

[@julietraczyk4057]

I see!! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, this is so insightful ! I love your channel and have subscribed, looking forward to more content!

[@anilaboutme]

Helpful comparison. The 50 performed better in my opinion. I think I'll go with the 24-120 S and further invest in primes. I already own the 50 and 85 mm S and they are amazing. I'll ckeck out the 35 and 24 next.

[@apstudios01]

I'm curious if the out of focus area is the only real real reason to go 50mm 1.8 or does the 24-70 2.8 look the same. Nice comparison and you might have saved people a few bucks by just getting the 24-70 2.8

[@TouchLifeStudio]

The 50 mm f1.8 gives you a bit more blur and allows more light. The 24-70 2.8 just super versatile and and tack sharp.

[@miljo2146]

Differences in focal length is probably because the zoom has a more pronounced distorsion and nikon automatically corrects for it. Pretty much all standard zooms have higher levels of distorsion.

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Makes sense

[@user-yq3po1wi2g]

Hello.Can you tell me if there is a difference in geometry and image quality with Nikon Z35 1.8? Is it possible to use it as an alternative to 24 and 35 mm 1.8? Can you share files for comparison and analysis? Thanks!

[@TouchLifeStudio]

I don’t use 35mm 1.8 lens. While it is a good lens, image quality of the 24-70 2.8 is spectacular, but pricey.

[@Testprinz]

It's clear that the 50mm can trump here with the faster aperture. I also have the 24-70mm 2.8 and am very happy. However, as with all zoom lenses, I would never work with the shortest and longest ends for quality reasons. For me it's a 28, 35, 50 to 60mm lens.

[@sew_gal7340]

To me there is a slight difference with the 50 mm being a smidge sharper. But not enough to justify a purchase

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Yeah, both lenses performed very well at 50 mm

[@jamesmlodynia8757]

Talk about comparing an apple to a grapefruit, you have a 600 dollar 50mm lens going against a 24-70mm f2.8 that goes for just over 2,000 dollars. I have several different camera with a 24-70 mm and a 5omm prime lens or there equivalent because they both are useful for different purposes and styles of photography.

[@maortheyoungcameraguy175]

It’s only one step Aperture down. And you get most your prime need 24 28 35 50 70 all around … If you have A budget of 2000$ + You should probably go for the 1.2 . Great video!

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Thanks. The 24-70 mm is truly a gem. I'm yet to try the 1.2 version of 50mm.

[@maortheyoungcameraguy175]

@@TouchLifeStudio I hope Nikon will send you one for review 🙏

[@naomishindou7197]

can I replace the Nikon 50mm with a 24-70mm? Or is that different?

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Hi Naomi, 24-70 mm offers one more versatility. While I love the 50 mm f1.8 (sharp and light), 24-70 offers more in photos and video department. Hope this helps.

[@naomishindou7197]

@@TouchLifeStudio Thank you :D

[@jamesjin8839]

This test is not really able to tell the difference between these two. Firstly you test chart is just not challneging enough for these two lens. At the point of comparison which is 6 months ago I believe you're comparing these two on a 24mp Z6 II with an AA filter. That is a bottleneck to make the sharper lens less sharp. I'd also question that shooting test charts at any ISO higher than 100 because the moment you leave ISO 100 some of the image will just be less sharp. Ideally to test a lens I'd put them on a Z7 II at ISO 64. Setup tripod, 5 sec delay shutter and silent photography(no shutter motion). Tilt the camera until distant cityscapes fill up the diagonal corners and take shots for each aperture interested and for all 4 corners then compare. That way not only you're gonna see how the lenses perform, you can also identify if there is any decenter issue, or understand better how each lens perform under different aperture thus influencing the parameters when you're working at a real scene. It is the SOP I do for any new lens these days to determine whether they would stay in my cabinet.

[@jeffrey3498]

This says a lot about the tremendous quality of the zoom lens. We all know the 50/1.8 is a great lens.

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Yelp

[@jeffrey3498]

Those two lenses were the first two Z lenses I bought. First the 50, then the zoom. I passed on 24-70/ 4. 📷😎👍

[@TouchLifeStudio]

@@jeffrey3498 yes me too. I needed 2.8 for low light. 24-70 2.8 is a go to lens.

[@johnleftwich650]

Not sure what the point is of comparing these two lenses. Additionally shooting pictures of focus targets does not tell one anything about the lens. You need to be evaluating real world images.

[@comment_below]

no color comparison? that's why I cam here lol -sharpness too .... a lot of people say that zoom renders color amazingly

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Yes, the 24-70 2.8 is nearly as great as prime S lenses (35 1.8, 50 1.8 and 85 1.8) just in one lens.

[@comment_below]

@@TouchLifeStudio if u had to choose one or the other (3 of those primes vs the zoom) which would u pick? most pro look? i would swear the 2.8 zook looks more pro but lacking bokeh .... wish they just had a 1.8 zoom for like 300 bucks more

[@TouchLifeStudio]

@@comment_below the 50 1.8 is more versatile for primes but 85 1.8 my personal favorite when it comes to framing, compression and bokah. Hope this helps.

[@Lon1an]

You should have compared bokeh shots.

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Yes, fair point. Thank you for your feedback.

[@hingng9772]

thankyou

[@TouchLifeStudio]

Welcome

[@edphi]

Why is the ISO on 50mm set lower?

[@TouchLifeStudio]

To adjust / compensate for larger light gathering at f1.8. Hope it makes sense.

[@chadadventure]

Distracted by the music.