NIKON Z 26mm f/2.8 on Z8 | FIRST LOOK | Real World Testing | Images and Video | Matt Irwin

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Hi all as a point of clarity all the scooter shots were captured with a 1 inch sensor action cam (pretty impressed how it is working in the dark). Sometime soon I hope to create a gimbal for the scooter / bike that can carry Z8 / Z6 etc. ENJOY !!!

[@djnonsense1]

Can you do a video on your scooter?

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

About what scooter it is ? 😀

[@adrianvarnedoe3833]

😂

[@djnonsense1]

@@MattIrwinPhotography do a review on it

[@amermeleitor]

I think if you want only video on a gimbal the Z30 could be the best choice, given the size and the availability of small, light and pancakes lenses. Try it!

[@kengeorge6965]

I know this is an OLD video, but I've been using the 26 f/2.8 on my Z50 for street photography. The Super-Light combo weighs in less than the Z8 body alone, or any Z6 body. 520 grams or less than 19 oz. total for both is crazy light. You won't even know it's over your shoulder, under your coat.

[@ronaldmoravec2692]

Had mine two weeks now. Worth it over the Nikon 28 2.8 Z lenses. I really do not care about pancake, but image quality. This has got it. Did some focus stacking and it worked great.

[@johnmajors1449]

Great review, confirmed my personal experiences. I find the Z 26/2.8 ideal for a light-weight travel/day kit paired with my Z 24-120/4 S on a Z7II. If you pop indoors in a museum, theme park ride, cathedral, etc. it is unobtrusive and doesn't alert docents where "pro" photography is not allowed. The results are great within limits of ISO and IBS. Focus is slightly slower than other S lenses, and there is minor noise that may be an issue for video in quiet environments. Pricey - but lives up to the price in overall performance, size, and build quality.

[@Photojouralist123]

This my main lens on the Z8!! love it , same focal length as my iPhone 14pro max

[@MichaelCortese1]

A Full Frame Zfc with this lens would be a dream come true. Leica who?

[@detectivejonesw]

Nikon rumours does predict an upcoming Zf...

[@richarddenise3886]

I was concerned that the lens was too inexpensive to be worthwhile. I purchased it. I think you proved, otherwise. Another extra-fine video! Much appreciated!!

[@ElectroTone]

Matt, your videos just keep getting better and better. 🥹

[@isar-wildlife]

That is how to do it. Excellent edit and music. Entertaining and informative video, Matt! Keep going

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks! Will do!

[@josephsworkshop75]

Supadupa little lens for a small camera. Great for casual photography in groups as well as travel. Really good for a gimbal mounted camera! Too many good lenses to choose from. Nice review. Some great shots. Well done Matt.

[@johnhjic2]

Hello Matt, love the way the Z8 just floats in the air...I have seen a number of image shot with the 26mm lense they are better that you would expect for the price. Keep well, keep save and find time for some fun. PS The 26mm although it a great lens its not one I am thinking of, But I do have the S 85mm f1.2 and YES it is an amazing bit of glass.

[@ronboe6325]

In college I loved shooting at night; you're pushing me to explore that again. Back then ASA400 with TriX was cutting edge - especially if you pushed it. Results were not even in the same country as what you just showed. Amazing progress.

[@steveboys5369]

Another great video Matt, the 26mm might get mistaken for a camera body cap😏

[@NikonDave]

Love the images and atmosphere of Melbourn at night. I haven't had a chance to shoot either just yet but I'm planning on remedying that this weekend.

[@nocturnus009]

I prefer these night shoots. As Kenny Loggins would say, “You never say hello until you’re in the red line overload, You'll never know what you can do. Until you get it up as high as you can go!”

[@dpie4859]

Idea: Could you test a Nikon z6II with this lens against IPhone 14 Pro in different conditions? Would be really interesting to see. Cheers from Zurich

[@jdelarosa89]

Great idea!

[@northofbrandon]

Great review. One thing I would like to see is IRL Power Zoom Range in 4k on a prime like this -- very cool to see for video shooters who want a super light setup.

[@Charlie_YS]

I use the 26mm lens for street photography, wonderful. It is very discreet, it goes very well with my Z7ii. I'll go for that Z8 it's amazing!! Great video Matt, thanks 🙌🙌

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers Charlie :)

[@derrickm9808]

Enjoy watching your videos, this one really makes me want to do some night street photography with my 40 f2 compact lens on my Z7 which is a compact body ,don't think I want to get the 26. Yes cities look so different at night which seems obvious but is more noticable to me when I see you shooting there . I am excited that I recently ordered and put a deposit on a Z8, SO looking forward to receiving that but don't know when, it apparently has great low light capability!

[@davidroberts6766]

I just really like your walkabout/scootabout videos… I use the 26mm alot….superlight street or family lens….my usual combo either Zfc/26 or Z6/26 depending if I feel wide or normal view fits the day’s events. ….Its a really fun lens. I may decide to get new 24mm f1.7 DX for ZFC, and use 26 with FF Zs

[@ArtandLes]

Great images. Today's cameras are so fun to use at night. I remember 10 years ago, most of the time I avoid low light photography 😅

[@Ttjam1]

That’s wild you can shoot ISO64 handheld. Hooray for stabilisation. These look very similar to the night photo shots I used to take but I always had to use a mini tripod and cable release! Man I miss Melbourne - haven’t been in six years but my night shot of Flinders Street Station taken with my Fuji X100S in 2018 is one of my faves. I remember I took it while walking back home (I was on a working holiday there) from the Australian Open with my brother and I was really annoying him making him wait while resting my camera on a postbox trying to take twenty second exposures. Anyway I’m going back there to see family this Christmas and am about to buy a used Nikon Z6 so just deciding which lenses to buy. I’m definitely getting the 50 1.8 but it needs a complement.

[@vitalilisau6181]

Matt, thank you for the nice photos and video. Here is my contribution to the film fund!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Vitali, I cannot thank you enough for your contribution. This is a great day. Thank you so much 😊 Cheers Matt

[@KrzysztofBurak]

please test it on apsc! Z50 or Zfc!

[@pizzologsanto4171]

Very nice presentation . . Thank You !

[@ihknilsen]

How much of that ability is the lens and how much is the camera? Would you get the same performance on a Z6II?

[@randallbrander8157]

I love my 26m. Fantastic and sharp. Cheers!

[@AcidicDelusion]

Compared to the 35 1.8…does the smaller size negate the extra stops ?

[@fredericcappe6817]

Great lens, action video, everything is there. The remake of Bullitt car chase! I Matt is an artist!! Thanks. Fred from Paris.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks Fred, hope to get back to Paris sometime soon.

[@timryan894]

I"m waiting for Nikon to make some PC-Z lenses. 24-26mm is about the right focal length. Currently I have to use a shift adapter from Laowa (Nikon F to Z) to get that functionality. I could use the F-PC lenses, but the Laowa one works great and I can adapt a variety of F primes for architectural work.

[@merkin22]

Yeah!, a Matt-makes-pictures-and-talks-about-it video -- my favourite content! I think I'm officially old now, was thinking just this week how heavy the Z9 was, as I was walking about, with just the 35 2.8 on the front (usually it's the 50 1.2 behemoth for street photography) and now after this video how appealing this waif of a lens is sounding :) Cheers!

[@csc-photo]

Great info Matt thanks 🙏🏻 I think i’ll add this little guy to my wish list and keep an eye on the price, it would be nice have such a compact 2.8 for an ultra light carry option.

[@jpdj2715]

That looks really good, at f/2.8. Saying that, the voice of a Chief Female Officer (CFO) now in my brain starts asking "why?" "Why did you need that expensive f/1.2?"

[@vinyalonde]

Is the camera supported on a gimbal during the scooter shots? As always, a really interesting video. Thank you for posting this.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Hi Vinyalonde, the scooter shots were all shot on an action cam not on the Z8. Hoping to create a scooter gimbal setup for Z8/z6 at some point :)

[@hishamosman4341]

Stick this with any Z body and wallah..no need for Q3...😊😊😊

[@photographydiscourse1185]

Nice look at the 26mm lens Matt - man that is a small lens! Not sure if it works for my use cases but it seems like it would be fun to use - so maybe that is enough? :) -PD

[@ryanvacation7319]

Nikon has some of the smallest full frame lenses rivaling m43 and aps-c lenses. How are they able to make them so tiny? Is it because of how the Z mount was designed?

[@arpinkus]

Nice video. Does the lens focusing make too much noise for videos?

[@stevehayward1854]

It's a pity I'm retired now, the Z8 would be fabulous, I suppose I will have to make do with my brick of a D850

[@danielzb]

the lens flair and choma smearing is pretty bad when looking at the street lights. But I guess acceptable at this price point. But overall the colors and sharpness overall is pretty good. What ISO were you using during the intro?

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

The shots from the scooter are not the z8. They are an action cam. 😀

[@danielzb]

@@MattIrwinPhotography ohhh lol. That explains it. Anyway awesome shots regardless

[@NetvoTV]

Can you talk about if these classic dedicated dials camera like Fuji, Leica M and Nikon Zf are as fun to shoot with as people said it PASM camera are fun too? I not a spec and bokeh chaser and I just want to have practical yet fun to shoot setup, I planned to get Sony A7RV for the unique 4 ways screen but now I will get Nikon Zf instead for the classic dedicated dials experience, is it worth it? I thought to get a manual focus Voigtlander 50mm f1.0, Nikon own 14-30mm f4 and 70-180mm f2.8 but I also going to get a Panasonic HC-X1500 25-600mm camcorder too, should I drop the tele lens for the camcorder even tho I want to shoot some compression photos and also maybe get a small M43 Lumix GX9 with an ultrawide lens to replace the ultrawide lens so I don't need to change lenses at all?

[@melbournepixs]

I start at Flinders street station night photography just about every night.

[@tielmaster7879]

Did anyone besides Ricci get their hands on the 24mm 1.7?

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

I'll see what I can do 😉

[@tielmaster7879]

@@MattIrwinPhotography 🙌

[@JoeGiz64]

Hey Matt, price aside…Z8 or Q3 for street and travel?

[@FramesTM]

What a joyful episode this was Matt! Clearly you are just enjoying yourself out there… it is incredible to see your city.. it’s so beautiful and stunning! The 26mm just brought out so much about life in Melbourne. Great episode I loved it!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thank you sir. 😀

[@mikkosuhonenphotography]

Maybe I should have paid a little more and get the 26mm but I ordered 28mm SE for my Z 5 and it arrives during next week.

[@marcusbraun8889]

Great little lens. For my z30 i will rather get the new 24mm1.7 Dx, but this 26mm is definitely on my list. Will be a great addition to my compact high-quality cycling setup (z7, 14-20, 70-300 AFP in handlebar bag) as it snugs effortless in a corner somewhere in the bag, much as a spare battery. Really cool would be a z3 (z30 with FF sensor) with this 26mm lens! Imagine, z5/z6 sensor in something tiny like a z30! Sweet!

[@dpie4859]

Stability built in?

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

No VR, either electronic or IBIS bodies permitting :)

[@smkunder1]

When you say heif raw, does that have to be with JPEG? I am not seeing heif raw all by itself

[@GG-zv9ku]

good video but music is too loud compared to the speech. so I have to constantly turn the volume up and down

[@jpdj2715]

One comment, Matt. C1 seems to need quite a bit of time to render your raw shots. Is C1 that slow or is it the hardware?

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

@9:02 the Z8 looks so Tiny

[@stephanedubarry8624]

We do not know how this lens preforms during the Day, we do not really know the causes of vlur in corners. Too bad. Not à réal full test unfortunatly

[@Funktrainer]

Why is everything Nikon so epic? Just a bunch of software corrected lenses like that what almost all manufacturers are doing right now? Nikon has the biggest margin because of lowering the production costs the most of all brands. Not wort it in my opinion. Nikon lost their heritage during the last ten years.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Hi Funk, personally I would not get too caught up in a word. In this case, I meant it is epically small. How much Nikon S glass have you used? Some pretty great pieces in there. Take care. Cheers Matt.

[@Funktrainer]

@@MattIrwinPhotography Whenever I look at those Nikon milestones like the F2, F5, beautiful yet massive Ai glass it is kind of sad to see the progression of build quality from a manufacturer that proudly stated "Made in Japan" on its products.

[@Funktrainer]

If you pick up current Leica or Hasselblad products you can still feel the quality nowadays with Nikon these times are over, forever. Although Nikon charges not much less money for their stuff.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Not sure where you heading, but these lenses perform. iPhone made in China amongst perhaps two thirds of the worlds electronics. A factory is a precision tool, which can be recreated anywhere with QC. New materials are being employed to make products lighter and more durable. Some composites are more forgiving than metal. With carbon fibre nano tubes being included within some models. If we are to be scientific, we don’t know yet how well these modern lenses will last. Let’s chat in 14 years, 20 years after the launch of Z, then we will have real data to look at. No failed lenses for me so far.

[@Funktrainer]

@@MattIrwinPhotography Don‘t call them failed but after investing in lenses and cameras for over two decades I like to go on with stuff that at least feels like it could last twenty to thirty years minimum. Nikon doesn‘t provide that feel for me anymore. I‘m not interested in cheap, sticky rubber on a 6k body that will fall off after ten years like on the D4 for example. The F5s held up pretty well in comparison, Leicas don‘t even have any rubber parts.

[@skvltdmedia]

Why not, make enough $ from being a pro and self-fund? C'mon guy.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Self fund what?