Nikon NIKKOR Z 40mm f / 2 Review
Introduction
The “NIKKOR Z 40mm f / 2” released on October 1st, is a compact, lightweight, full-frame single-focus lens with an easy-to-use standard angle of view with a focal length of 40mm. This time, I will send you a review with a snap of the city with this lens and Nikon Z 6II combination.
Nikon Camera lens NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 For
Beautiful depiction without distortion to all four corners
First, its depiction performance is of concern, but it produced an incredibly clear and beautiful image from the price. It is a good impression that I draw well without creating color turbidity, especially even in a scene where there is a big difference between light and dark. The four corners are completely drawn even with the aperture open, so it’s fun to think about what to put in the composition and how to do it.
The lens configuration is 6 elements in 4 groups, and 2 aspherical lenses are used. Thanks to this aspherical lens, this lens suppresses distortion and spherical aberration, allowing you to enjoy natural and easy-to-see images. Snaps in the city often have vertical and horizontal lines in the composition. I also have a strong desire to enjoy them, so I’m happy that there is little unnecessary distortion.
Natural bokeh that makes shooting with the aperture open
You can enjoy natural and soft bokeh with a lens configuration of F2 aperture value and 9 aperture blades. When shooting snaps, I often use an aperture value of around F5.6. Still, with this lens, the aperture value of F2 is comfortable. And the gradation of the blur is very natural, so shoot with the aperture open. Really I enjoyed it.
I think that the bokeh that doesn’t look intentionally helps with the focal length. But it makes me feel the good performance of the lens. I liked the sharpness of the in-focus area and the clean drawing of the surrounding area. If the resolution performance of the lens is low. The picture of such a building will be sleepy, but the under part is drawn beautifully so that you do not have to worry about it.
This photo uses the creative picture control toy. By increasing the saturation, the color of the wood grain on the floor is emphasized. The surrounding metallic vertical and horizontal lines also have a warm color, so the overall photo is rich and deep—the mode. I want to tighten the dark areas sharply. When used in such photographs, it gives a profound feeling, so it is a creative picture control that I occasionally use in snapshots.
Compact size with good maneuverability
One of the features of this lens is that it is quite compact, with a total length of about 45.5 mm and a weight of about 170 g. Until now, most Z-mount single focus lenses have been long, but with this thinness, they can be easily taken in and out of the bag even when attached to the camera.
In addition, the dust-proof and drip-proof design prevents dust, rain, and splashes from entering. You can shoot regardless of the weather or shooting conditions. The non-collapse type, which does not require a feeding operation, is also a nice point to not miss a photo opportunity.
Here, I used the creative picture control “Somber.” I like fluffy photographs in portraits, but when I shoot with this lens, I want to draw clear images with high contrast, and I’m addicted to “Somber,” which enhances saturation and lightens dark areas.
Quick and quiet AF performance with STM
His lens uses STM (stepping motor), which makes focusing quieter and faster. Partly because of its quickness, I often use manual focus lenses these days, so I enjoy shooting with autofocus more rhythmically.
For this Nikon Z 6II shooting, I used both the viewfinder and the LCD screen to focus. When shooting at a low angle where it is difficult to look through the viewfinder. When you do not want to exaggerate the camera’s presence in the city, touch the LCD screen to specify the focus point and shoot with the shutter button. Doing.
In addition, the effect of adopting STM is to reduce the driving sound for focusing. Which is annoying when shooting movies. While turning the camera, I was worried about the driving sound. I touched the LCD screen to specify the AF point and changed the focus, but this lens was quite quiet. In addition, since the control ring can be clickless, it is possible to shoot movies without the sound of the aperture operation or the driving sound of the ring operation.
Many of the lenses that have been developed recently are also considered for movie shooting, and I strongly feel that shooting movies with mirrorless cameras has become commonplace.
Compact size reduced aperture and lens drive noise and suppression of angle of view fluctuations (focus breathing) that occur when moving the focus back and forth to prevent unnatural changes in the angle of view. Lenses that support the three points of what you are doing are lenses often used for movie shooting.
Simple design that doesn’t look strange
One of the things I like about this lens is its simple design that doesn’t look strange. Lenses that do not insist on color or shape are perfect for snapping in the city.
In addition to the “M / A” function that allows you to switch to MF by operating the control ring during AF from the camera side, the control ring has four items: “aperture value,” “exposure compensation,” and “ISO sensitivity.” You can assign and use one of them. If you assign a function to operate quickly, you will be more resistant to photo opportunities. At the same time, you will be able to take measures against operation noise when shooting movies.
The most recommended lens for the first single focus lens
It has stunning performance enough for shooting, such as beautiful depiction, simplicity of design, design considering movie shooting. Still, I wanted only one point to be attached with a small lens hood. I thought. In addition to reducing flare and ghosts. If you use it frequently as a snapshooter, you can quickly put it. In and out of the bag without attaching a lens cap if you have a lens hood attached. You can maximize the time to release the shutter. Since the distance from the tip of the lens to the lens surface is short. It also has the meaning of protecting the lens.
You can find a 52mm lens hood and purchase it separately. But it is quite difficult to find a hood that matches the lens design. So I would like to include it, but in the sense that you can enjoy customizing it, it is round. It may be fun to select and wear a lens hood that you like, whether square or square.
This time it was a snap review, but it is a lens that seems to have a wide range of activities such as portraits. With DX-format cameras and table photos that take advantage of the shortest shooting distance of 0.29 m. This is the most recommended lens for those who have graduated from the kit lens and are considering a single focus lens as the second lens.
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