Nikon Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR lens review

Yes! An ultra wide lens on Nikon Z mount, especially for DX cameras, and with a bunch of features for video work.
Find it here (Amazon affiliate link - thanks for the support!):
geni.us/Nikon1228
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All pictures taken by me on a Nikon Z7 camera.
Equipment I use to make my videos (Amazon affiliate links):
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Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM: geni.us/CanonRF35mm18Macro
Marumi Fit and Slim CPL Filter: geni.us/MarumiFitSlim77
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Rode Smartlav+ Microphone: geni.us/RodeSmartLavalierPlus
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DJI Mini 2 Drone: geni.us/DJIMini2FlyMore
Music:
'Opportunity Walks', Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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[@sarchmaster5779]

This is pretty much my dream lens for city travel. Fairly "normal" field of view to ultra wide, in a small package with high image quality and low cost.

[@JennyDarukat]

This lens looks absolutely fantastic, and what a great focal range and feature set for a vlogging, single-lens walkaround & some interior photography too. The price, actually responsive powerzoom and seemingly constant exterior size on top of all that, I might even consider this for my full frame Z in all honesty despite the resolution compromise..

[@free-qe6wx]

I always look forward to your reviews, and this one does not disappoint. This is looking like a fantastic travel ultra wide to wide zoom, in a compact, light, and cheap offering. Its hard to be wowed with Z lenses these days, because virtually every Z lens released thus far is easily the best lens on the market in its formulation. The most surprising thing here is the low coma wide open and low focus breathing. Those are never a given regardless of how great the lens is otherwise.

[@Johnlancaster]

Hi Chris - really enjoy the reviews even when in not actually shopping for the product under discussion. Thanks for doing this 👍

[@striderwhiston9897]

Do hope they release a Z90 / a D500 mirrorless equiv

[@victorlim5077]

This lens reminds me of my DX 12-24mm lens for F mount. Had many good memories with it.

[@EricMustardman]

Another superb lens review by Christopher - thank you, you definitely have that perfect combination of light-hearted seriousness, expertise and a very English sense of humour. 👍 I'v had that Z DX 12-28 mm lens on my Z _fc_ for two weeks now and am as happy with it as a pig in -sh- mud - mind your manners, please. 😉 It's a brilliant little lens, takes great pictures and replaces the Sigma 10-20/3.5 on an FTZ adaptor. The loss of 2 mm at the wide end doesn't really bother me since the Sigma only starts taking decent quality pictures starting at 12-14 mm, depending on how much you stop down. The Z DX 12-28 mm offers a better quality right from the start and is wide open almost as good as stopped slightly down. And it measures and weighs only half of what the Sigma brings on the scales, so it's a perfect little travel lens.

[@petersuvara]

Wow ! Chris. You really come up with the goods, was just looking at picking this up for the Z30! :) Thanks.

[@ScottJWaldron]

Oh, that looks pretty nice! Great job on the video as always. I'd be tempted to go all Nikon if they'd release something with a video focus that's a step above the Z30.

[@maheshdeokar1220]

Hii Chris.. I've ordered Nikon z30 along with this lens for vlogging.... I hope I made a good decision 😊

[@striderwhiston9897]

great camera for vlogging, also takes amazing stills, but the lack of a viewfinder makes it a bit of a pain in that aspect

[@maheshdeokar1220]

@@striderwhiston9897 yes.. and even i have a habit of using viewfinder.. now let's see how it goes being without viewfinder.. 😅

[@paulyeung6608]

Z30 has oversampled 4K, fast-ish readout, built-in mic, and flip out screen. Honestly a sweet combo 👍

[@maheshdeokar1220]

@@paulyeung6608 thank you Paul.... 🙂

[@AMITKUMAR7.0]

​@@paulyeung6608what about heating? And record limit

[@dreikonig2785]

Thanks for the good review. Looks like a good match for my ZFC. 👍🏻

[@HR-wd6cw]

I still think they should have done a 10-24 version of this lens, but I understand this is more for vloggers in the end, but most people would still argue that 12mm on APSC isn't entirely ultra wide like 14mm on FF for example. It's an 18mm equivalent which is wide, but not ultra wide. Now if it was 10mm that would be ultra wide on a crop sensor camera, as most would probably consider 16mm or less to be "ultra" wide regardless of format. Hopefully Nikon will do a 10-24 non PZ lens at some point (or let Tamron do one) as when it comes to wide angle, every mm counts and can have a pretty significant impact on field of view (more so than at telephoto ranges). I mean this is certainly welcome since the next widest thing for the Z APSC cameras was the 16-50 kit lens, but that got more into the standard zoom range (24-75mm equivalent) so 12-28 is better than nothing, but wider would have been nice, as I don't think the overlap from 24 to 28 would have been a big deal, there is still plenty of overlap even if they did a 10-24. One thing though I noticed is that in the beginning it looked like you were using a FF Z camera with IBIS. if that was the case, I don't think the VR test is valid because when VR is switched on on a lens, it also activates IBIS in the camera (if it has this, and the Z FF bodies do), so more than likely the VR and IBIS were working together, possibly skewing the actual performance of just the VR. If you did try this on a FF body, maybe try on a body without IBIS (as you cannot separate IBIS and VR function to be one or the other on the FF Bodies).

[@paololarocca7684]

hello, it would be interesting to see how does it compare to the old af-p 10-20 dx f mount lens, which can also be an option via an adapter....

[@stephanweiskorn6760]

Excellent video 😊!

[@arunmohandas9127]

Am eagerly waiting for you to test the new 24mm 1.7 dx z lens..am planning to buy to pair it with my Nikon Z fc..but that purchasing decision might very well be made only after ur review..thanks for the good work u r doing

[@dreikonig2785]

I hope for a SE Version of the 24mm to match the ZFC.

[@chromaticvisuelle]

I heard and saw wonderful things of that 24 1.7

[@jpdj2715]

Nice review and lens. Neither did I hear you mention, nor did I see, chromatic aberration, by the way. I had seen the video around launch time, but not noticed or forgotten that you test shot it on a Z 7. That adds IBIS to the lens's VR, and more. It seems to me that Nikon did not try to adapt their firmware to the lower resolution DX mode as a way to get better latency or other features - but I can be mistaken. To the peeps asking for a high end DX camera, my standard answer is: the Z 7(ii) is smaller than a D500. Just use the Z 7(ii) like that and you might be positively surprised.

[@wakeywarrior]

I have a Z30 and this lens and reviewed both (but nowhere to your level). The lens quality of this lens is fantastic I think for the money. Z30 is the most underrated camera on the market (doesn’t get the coverage of the Sony cameras). I have the kit lens, the Viltrox 13mm and this. This is my travel lens now.

[@victorlim5077]

Do you miss the viewfinder? Thinking of getting a Z30 for travel. But worried about lack of viewfinder.

[@hl666]

How is it compared to kit 16-50 in 16-28 range? wondering if valuable to add one

[@wakeywarrior]

@@hl666 it’s sharper. It also is substantially wider than my Viltrox 13mm

[@wakeywarrior]

@@victorlim5077 I don’t, it has never really bothered me. The screen is also very good and goes very bright (good to put screen brightness adjustment on the i menu for easy access).

[@martzelvargaszabala3315]

​@@victorlim5077hi! I've been in your situation. Had a Nikon D3S, and thought it would be a nice to have a little camera, mostly for mountain hiking and running. The first weeks it was a shock, not to have a viewfinder, and I even considered selling it. But now I'm glad i didn't! Its a FANTASTIC camera. Incredible image quality for the money (equal to the great D500) and I can squeeze the little camera in a poquet. Best thing is that has lots of controls on the body, far better thought than the Sony's. Ergonomically is fantastic. I don't use the big cumberstone D3s any more ...:))

[@JonathanBarrow]

I want this zoom range so bad for e-mount. But make it a constant f-stop and I’ll buy it immediately

[@yukonchris]

Hey Chris, you must be running out of lenses to test for Canon, Nikon and Sony by now. I wish you'd borrow an OM-1 and start testing micro four-thirds lenses. I would love to see what you think of them. With probably close to 200 lenses in the system, that would keep you busy for a few more years. In any event, thanks for another interesting lens review.

[@t-money561]

the 12-24 DX was a great lens, but suffered from a tiny bit of uncorrectable mustache distortion... it was also subject to softness after a couple years use. hoping nikon has success with this one.

[@bhwrice]

The power zoom does telegraph this is for content creation, cool.

[@GungKrisna12]

A must have lens for Nikon Z30 users?

[@ebrahimfaiz8522]

It is right that Nikon is a photo based clever company which from time to time comes with great practical innovations like the power zoom feature in the reviewed lens. A photo guy like me, who carries his kamera bag 24/7 around the year in different seasons and locations, wishes for nothing but Nikon's 24-120mm f4.

[@sipgos]

A real price worthy machine the small Z camera. Cool lens for this type of photography. Only use Prime my self but this is really really cool

[@hl666]

How is it compared to kit 16-50 in 16-28 range? wondering if valuable to add one

[@GordoFriman]

Nikon is clearly investing on the video side, but I always have the feeling that they leave things incomplete. In the case of this lens, why invest on power zoom mechanism and not in the software? I won't be using a lens that hard-steps brightness up and down when zooming in and out while recording, I'm sure it works when zoom happens slowly, but given that the zoom speed is predefined, the camera should be able to compensate for that.

[@victorlim5077]

I think if they made it a constant aperture, the flickering would have been avoided. Other than that, only way is to set zoom speed to a slower speed for video.

[@GordoFriman]

@@victorlim5077 This is what i meant. The zoom speed is locked in the menu settings, they could have done it with software, as there is no chance for unexpected zooming speed.

[@victorlim5077]

@@GordoFriman What I read was you can set higher zoom speed for photo and slower zoom speed for video. Which should be the case? For photos, we want fast zoom. Video slower zoom.

[@GordoFriman]

@@victorlim5077 video might require creative zoom solutions, you cannot just limit yourself with a new tool. For photo power zoom is simply not worth the cost. But anyway. Maybe on firmware updates....

[@victorlim5077]

@@GordoFriman Hopefully. Or Nikon continues to improve Hi-Res zoom on Z8 or Z9 and put it into lower end bodies.

[@pjc3163]

Great review as usual, Z50 owners don't forget to upgrade to the latest firmware so your canera will recognise the 12-28mm & have the options for it.

[@patrick.771]

Why are the colors so nice? Are the photos edited or did you make some changes to Nikon color profiles or "Active D-Lightning"?

[@jorgeghigo8673]

hola cris , como estas? mi camara es una z6II fx , pese a que pierdo en el recorte puedo usar este lente dx sin perder funciones de uso, porque me interesa usar el zoom desde la camara para mayor comodidad. espero tu respuesta , gracias!

[@NetvoTV]

Can you also tell us the magnification ratio when mention about macro, it's better idea how big the object will be in the frame

[@EricMustardman]

@Christopher Frost: Can we expect a review of the new Z DX 24 mm/1.7 any time soon? I've had this tiny flyweight lens in my bag for almost a month now and I'm very happy with it.

[@chromaticvisuelle]

I heard and saw many good things about this one!!!

[@clementc7297]

I would love to see something similar from Fuji like a 14 to 27

[@johndao5870]

Nice video lens.

[@steventhomas231]

This would have been fantastic if it was a little wider. Having used the Olympus 9-18mm for some time i always found the wide end was never quite enough to get more dramatic shots in some situations.

[@Eikenhorst]

Yea, I agree this is not very wide at all. 18mm FF equivalent is nothing to write home about. On Full Frame they offer the 14-30mm for example, that gives a whole lot more exiting images. Not sure what this is for, the aperture is too low for vlogging as well.

[@DynamixWarePro]

I agree. I have two lenses, a Panasonic 9mm f/1.8 which I use on my GH5 and a Panasonic 14-28mm lens on my Panasonic S5II and have found the 14mm wide end on that lens really useful and honestly for some locations I couldn't really do without the 14-16mm wide angle range of the 14-28mm lens as I had shot with the 9mm lens in the same locations and found it just a tad not wide enough.

[@quangpham4372]

I think it’s designed to be more of a “video lens” than an ultra-wide photography lens. Vloggers tend to use 18-20mm (in full frame term) to hold the camera at arm’s length, then add cropping and/or stabilisation in post for the “vlogging look” that is popular these days. It just happens to be close to the ultra wide range of photography

[@maxhammick948]

Wider would be nice, but for the price it isn't bad - the wider mirrorless options are all far more expensive. The sony one is 60% more, and the fuji UWA zooms cost almost as much as the nikon FF UWA zooms! This is around the same price as canon's 11-22, but with a wider zoom range and the same FoV on the wide end (both 18mm eq.)

[@tillepprecht]

Would love something like this for the R7 😢

[@davidpearson3304]

People need to stop obsessing over the plastic mount on these small lenses. These lenses are so light and small it’s not an issue. The big zooms or primes are a different story, but not this. Stop living in the internet echo chamber on the plastic mount

[@aerialfilm1]

Amen!

[@lensman5762]

This is a brilliant performance for a Nikon lens that is clearly aimed at the budget end of the modern Nikon lenses. Far cry from the build quality of my old Nikon AFS F2.8 17 ~55

[@pmc7105]

Christopher, where is that church ceiling at 7:00? If I'm ever in the area I'd love to put it on my itinerary.

[@amermeleitor]

Is there any way to shoot APSC lenses in full frame mode with Nikon Z? In video mode? Or photo? I mean Sony allow me to do that and it's very useful, some APSC lenses have full frame coverage at least in some parts of the zoom range, and if there is vignette I can crop as I want to square ratio or another ratio I choose for better composition. Even in video it is useful for cropping for stabilization.

[@stjepanjina]

Z lens are amazing!

[@alexfournier9956]

GOOD FOR MY Z30 AND Z6 II

[@Marko_C4]

How would you rate this lens for interrior/real estate photography ?

[@pilotdog68]

For a 2-lens travel kit to the swiss alps, would you pair this lens with the 18-140? Or with the 50-250?

[@ShwarcArnold]

24-200 VR

[@DrewPera]

I'd gladly pay another couple hundred dollars for a bit wider aperture, but this is a nice lens. I'll probably get it for my Z fc.

[@ExploringCanadaInfo]

Great review for #nikon 👋🇨🇦

[@dantdo]

[ dumb question ] so when we put an aps-c lens (like this Nikon 12 - 28) on a full frame camera, the camera will automatically crop it. My question is, how much left after the crop? Like, the widest focal length is 12 mm ~ 18mm on full frame, so after the crop, it will still look like 18mm on full frame, or no?

[@veeaa]

Yes and you will have 10 megapixel images instead of 24.

[@chromaticvisuelle]

Brilliant lens!!!! Excellent image quality, great range, small, light, good price, no one mentioned it but its perfect for gimbal!!! No moving parts!

[@skyzi22]

Ca i usw this for the Nikon z FC? Any problemls?

[@pmc7105]

The 18mm equivalent at the widest end is a bit too bad, since it requires carrying another lens to get wider than that, at least for me. If it went down to 15mm it might be a single lens solution.

[@CristoforoBonissone]

👍👍👍

[@kevc.2958]

when nikon has a apsc body with ibis I'd get one.

[@rRamdinmawia]

😮

[@blaspayri]

1:15 the power zoom provokes a horrendous flickering and is not usable for video. Anyone finds this excellent?

[@wakeywarrior]

I’ve got the lens and I haven’t noticed it. See me zooming it.

[@blaspayri]

@@wakeywarrior at what point in your video do you zoom in or out?

[@wakeywarrior]

@@blaspayri various, including water tower and graveyard.

[@blaspayri]

@@wakeywarrior and at what point (what minutes:seconds) do those happen (water tower graveyard)?

[@wakeywarrior]

@@blaspayri dunno watch the video!

[@deejayiwan7]

Soooooo.... Its a kit lens actually

[@Magneira]

No hood? It's 2023 and nikon still does it

[@markchandler8050]

Why not review three different focal lengths instead just two? Makes no sense. Especially since I have the lens and want to know how the three focal lengths perform?

[@rinaldodelucca8073]

People keep asking for affordable, smaller, and lighter cameras capable of producing high quality images using affordable, smaller, and lighter lenses. Then they don't like the camera/lenses because they are made of "plastic", or for other reasons. We can't have all cameras and lenses built in the same way, it's just not realistic.

[@pratakk]

It is clearly obvious that Nikon only aims at hobbyists. For me: DX seems dead from Nikon. Compared to a D7500 with f1.8 Lenses the New Z-DX stuff is somehow really underwhelming. Id like to see a z70 with higher resolution stabilized bsi sensor and a f2.8 Standard zoom or better f1.8.

[@eagleeatsmonkey3621]

It is a criminal act in 2023 to cheat customer with a cheap plastic lens mount at this price … plastic worn out easily and is not easily recyclable and harm our environment with millions of worn plastic mount … a metal mount cost only $2 more during the manufacture process and we for sure will gladly pay a few bucks more for a metal mount … please don’t cheat and ruin mother earth

[@Arthur_My_Dear]

I guess the best way that you can respond to make your point to Nikon is by not buying the lens - that diminishes demand by 1. If 100,000+ people agree with you, you may make Nikon sit up and take notice As far as the quality of the lens goes all the major reputable reviewers, such as the one you’ve watched here, are really impressed with the image quality, lightness and low price of the lens. Where did you get the information that there is a $2 per lens reduction in manufacturing costs in making a plastic mount rather than a metal one? Since (if) a metal lens mount would result in their lens lasting much longer, increasing the popularity and prestige of the lens thus boosting trust in their products, I find it hard to believe that Nikon would turn down such an opportunity to achieve this just for the sake of such minor gains. It doesn’t make any sense. Nikon have been making and selling really excellent kit for a very long time now and I’m thinking they’ve got pretty good at it. Why would they do so something so dumb to save $2 per camera and damage their good reputation in the process? As far as the economics of producing this lens is concerned, I think this would be protected information known only inside the Nikon Corporation. The board, the finance and technical development departments, plus some senior managers would likely be the only people with have access to this sensitive information. With regard to your last point, the plastic mount as a percentage of the total plastic used in the lens is very small indeed. I don’t know how reducing this small amount of plastic per lens would make a major difference to the impact on the environment. There are much, much bigger and more dangerous threats to the environment than this. Also, producing a metal mount is not free of pollution. Iron ore has to be dug out of the ground, transported to be processed in an iron ore processing plant, transported again to a factory, then shipped out to Nikon production plants. I’ve probably left out some stages.There is a lot of carbon going into the air to make all that happen. After having written all this out I can only think that your comments must have been said ironically or you are employed or a fan boi of a rival camera brand. In that case you might think that I have wasted a lot of my time, but actually it was good to keep the old noodle ticking over by thinking all this through. Cheers

[@skyrunr]

SO CLEAR FROM YOUR COMMENTS. Nikon needs a new DX body. I don't care for the overpriced Zfc, and while I own the Z30, I miss the EVF too much. A 30mp BSI sensor, IBIS for third party lenses, Expeed7, and all the features from the Zfc/Z30 that aren't in the Z50 are all that is needed.

[@wristcheck350]

What are the missing features that are in z30 but not in z50? I'm thinking of getting one or the other. Thx.

[@jotjotzzz5357]

F3.5 though? At least make it f2.8. Sigh

[@quentinnewark2745]

Chris: any chance of switching off the muzak jazz you play in the background? Its horrible and adds nothing. (I say this after watching probably 200 of your reviews...)

[@adamstrachn]

I agree. I'd prefer modern metal in the background.

[@captainkirk3000]

now that you've pointed it out, I hate it too lol

[@CRaul87]

Jazz is the more cultured option 😅

[@duaneparker5070]

Well, I like it.

[@quentinnewark2745]

@@duaneparker5070 I love jazz. I'd like it if: 1. it wasn't muzak, and 2. varied video to video...

[@user-ur2nx1hi8w]

SONY 10-20 F4😂

[@klarion]

Oh, another plastic fantastic

[@StarsoftheStreets]

Plastic mount is a big no no! I'm very disappointed in Nikon.

[@chromaticvisuelle]

No one cares about that, its fine on a small and light lens. Also very good price. Chill.

[@StarsoftheStreets]

@@chromaticvisuelle Speak for yourself. Just because you're satisfied with junk, doesn't mean everyone else have to be.

[@chromaticvisuelle]

@@StarsoftheStreets lol junk, ok even more ridiculous. You must be such a nice guy lol

[@StarsoftheStreets]

@@chromaticvisuelle I am. But you sound like a simp..

[@ro30]

Nikon has been specializing in the production of all sorts of crap in recent years.

[@muttishelfer9122]

Eww power zoom and plastic mount👎

[@chromaticvisuelle]

No for you then. Others will enjoy it.