{"id":12086,"date":"2024-02-05T22:00:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T03:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=12086"},"modified":"2024-09-07T13:34:31","modified_gmt":"2024-09-07T18:34:31","slug":"review-nikon-nikkor-z-70-180mm-f-2-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-nikon-nikkor-z-70-180mm-f-2-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Nikon Nikkor Z 70-180mm f\/2.8"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today I’m reviewing Nikon’s relatively new fast telephoto zoom lens for their Z system: the Nikkor Z 70-180mm f\/2.8. This is an interesting release, as Nikon already has an f\/2.8 telephoto zoom in the 70-200mm f\/2.8 S, which was released in 2020. Now the 70-180mm comes out with a less expensive build, a slightly shorter telephoto end, and no image stabilization, but with the same fast f\/2.8 constant aperture. On the positive side, the lens is almost half the weight, significantly smaller and costs less than half what the S-line lens costs. Those who follow the industry may notice the specs of this lens are extremely similar to a different lens that’s been on the market for a couple of years. Let’s take a deeper look at the ‘budget’ fast Nikon telezoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Nikkor Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 on the Nikon Z8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Deja Vu?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Those who have paid attention to the photography industry may look at this focal range and aperture and say, “Hey, didn’t Tamron release the same lens for E-mount?” And one look at the block diagrams for the two lenses (below) will tell you that the answer is yes: Like the 17-28mm and 28-75mm before it, the Nikon 70-180mm f\/2.8 is a Tamron design that has been repackaged as a Nikon lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The block diagrams of the E-mount Tamron 70-180mm f\/2.8 (top) and the Nikkor Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 (bottom)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I think it’s actually a neat strategy move from Nikon, as it appears they are using this lens to give a different option to customers in lieu of an f\/4 version of the 70-200mm. My guess is that Tamron wanted to bring their 70-180mm to the Z mount, but Nikon didn’t want to totally canabalize their own sales. As such, with the reconstruction of the lens, Tamron makes money on each sale from the design and optics, while Nikon reaps profit from their cut on top. The Nikon version is $100 more expensive than the Tamron, so that may cover some of Nikon’s tooling for production and some profit for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction and Handling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the optical design and good portions of the mechanical design are the same between the Nikon and Tamron versions of this lens, Nikon did do some retooling when making their version. The exterior of the lens is of course clad in a Nikon-esque shell rather than the one from Tamron. As a former owner of the Tamron 70-180mm, I find this a nice upgrade. The lens is constructed with a matte black polycarbonate exterior on a metal mount, and everything feels tightly assembled. The plastic used here is the same as in other Nikon Z lenses, and it feels nicer than that on the Tamron. Despite the lack of S-Line branding, the 70-180mm is weathersealed against dust and moisture, with a mount gasket as well as foam sealing at all potential points of intrusion. In terms of cost-cutting compared to S lenses, the 70-180mm has painted rather than engraved markings, and it lacks the metal ring near the mount that the S line lenses all have. There is one small bit of metal on the exterior, though, and that’s the slim portion at the end of the zoom ring. Not sure why that is metal and the rest of the zoom ring is plastic, but it is indeed the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 is remarkably compact for an f\/2.8 telezoom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The broad rubberized zoom ring turns smoothly and with a nice damping, and the knurled plastic focus ring turns fluidly as well. Like the Tamron version, there are no control switches on the lens of any kind, so switching between manual and autofocus must be done in camera. The lens does have a zoom lock with a Nikon gold accent that shows when the lens is locked for storage. The zoom lock is on the opposite side of the lens from where it is on the Tamron version, and I like Nikon’s placement here. It’s very east to flick off with your thumb when bringing the lens up to shoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest benefit of the 70-180mm f\/2.8’s design is its compact and lightweight nature. The use of an extending zoom barrel for this lens lets it remain surprisingly small and light. In fact, while the Nikon version is just a couple millimeters longer than the E-mount Tamron due to the difference in mount registration, the Nikon 70-180mm f\/2.8 is actually a few grams lighter, coming in at a surprisingly svelte 795g, making this the lightest f\/2.8 telephoto zoom for full frame cameras on the market. Compared to the 70-200mm f\/2.8 S, the 70-180mm is 2.7 inches (69mm) shorter, 0.3 inches (5.5mm) narrower, and weighs 1.25 pounds (565g) less. As such, the lens handles beautifully on any Z mount body you’d care to mount it on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Nikon Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 extends when zooming<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One other nice improvement that the Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 has over its third-party brother is the ability to use Nikon’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, which turn the lens into a 98-252mm f\/4 or a 140-360mm f\/5.6 lens, respectively. I did not have the 2x converter available to test, but I did use the lens with the 1.4x teleconverter, and everything worked very well. I’ll detail teleconverter results in the image quality and autofocus sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lens comes with a petal shaped plastic lens hood, which snaps easily in place and is reversible for storage. It’s nice to see Nikon include a hood in a non S-line lens, something Canon could take notice of when selling their non-L series lenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The included lens hood is nothing special, but gets the job done<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Autofocus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In one change that may not be for the better, Nikon changed the autofocus motor in the lens. Instead of Tamron’s VXD III voice coil linear motor, Nikon has put a stepping motor that is used in most of the Z series lenses. Now, compared to a lot of other stepping motors, Nikon’s are very quick. The lens, especially in good light, is able to focus very swiftly and near silently, though it’s not quite as quick as the Tamron version when I used it on Sony, which was near instant. Still, I don’t think you’ll be missing shots because of the small reduction in focus speed, as there’s still plenty of speed on tap for shooting action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are no issues tracking action such as moving vehicles or people – Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 @ 180mm, f\/2.8, 1\/1000s, ISO 280<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Focus accuracy is excellent, and I saw no residual hints of the occasional odd distant front focusing I had in single shot mode on the Tamron version with my A7R IV. The lens, as a native optic, of course works seamlessly with all AF modes including eye detection for people and animals. In tracking fast moving objects, the lens is able to keep up and maintain a very high hit rate when shooting with my Z8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the 1.4x teleconverter attached, focus slows a little bit in dimmer light, but there’s minimal impact when shooting with the lens outdoors in good light. Focus remained fast and accurate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue: Image Quality<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Image Quality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the same optical design as the Tamron 70-180mm, which I reviewed in 2020, I was tempted to wholesale copy my results from that lens, but I can’t say for sure whether Nikon is using Tamron for actual production, or is using their own manufacturing for the optics. However, since I did see differences in how this lens and the Tamron performed with regards to flare, it’s possible Nikon is using their coatings on the glass. Also, in re-reading my earlier review, I don’t think I did the most thorough of job describing the sharpness profile. In addition to my observations shooting with the lens while out and about, I did do controlled tripod mounted tests to be able to discuss the fine details of the optical performance with a bit more nuance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharpness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I was always pleased with the sharpness from my Tamron 70-180mm, and the Nikon Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 is no different. The lens is generally a very sharp lens throughout the focal range, even wide open, though there are a few minor caveats to sprinkle in here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

70mm is the lens’s weakest focal length, but the optics still do a nice job here. Starting at f\/2.8, the lens shows good central sharpness that extends over about 80% of the frame before softening a little towards the corners. The extreme corners here are soft. Stop down to f\/4, and the center improves from good to excellent, while the edges improve as well, maintaining very good sharpness to the edges of the frame, save for the very extreme corners, which improve, but never get fully sharp. The lens stays at this level until diffraction sets in beyond f\/8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoom in a bit to around 105mm, and the lens improves, with very good sharpness at f\/2.8 over almost the whole frame, with just minor softening at the corners. Stopped down to f\/4 and beyond, the lens jumps to excellent sharpness from corner to corner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

135mm is the Nikon 70-180mm’s best focal length, where sharpness is excellent across nearly the whole frame wide open and tapers just very slightly to very good sharpness in the corners. At f\/4 and beyond, sharpness improves very slightly, becoming absolutely razor sharp from corner to corner at this focal length. The shot below was taken at 145mm at f\/2.8. Click on the image to view full size (you can zoom after the image loads)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Number 8 – Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 @ 145mm, f\/2.8, 1\/1000s, ISO 100<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

180mm also performs extremely well, with very good sharpness across the frame at f\/2.8, improving to excellent corner to corner sharpness at f\/4 and f\/5.6. Overall, I have no issues whatsoever about shooting this lens at f\/2.8 throughout the focal range. The lens performs very well wide open and while there is a small visible improvement at f\/4 if you’re pixel peeping, this is something you’ll only notice if you’re comparing shots side by side with the same subject matter, zoomed to 100%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you attach the rather good Nikon Z 1.4x Teleconverter, the lens turns into a 98-252mm f\/4 lens (though Nikon shows the long end as 250mm in EXIF data). As you’d expect, you do take a hit with regards to image sharpness with the teleconverter attached. The wider focal lengths don’t play as nicely with the TC as the longer ones do, but in the 200-250mm focal range, the lens shows some softness wide open, but when shooting beyond about 2 meters, even wide open, the lens produces perfectly usable results. Stop down to f\/5.6, and sharpness improves dramatically, becoming very good to good across the frame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dollar Closeup – Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm, f\/8, 1\/60s, ISO 400 – Maximum Magnification<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The lens has a very high near macro magnification level when shot at 70mm. Unlike the Tamron lens, the Nikon 70-180mm can focus to the closest focus distance using autofocus, while the Tamron required manual focus to get to its highest magnification. The 70mm ‘macro’ mode is a bit dreamy in the center wide open, with a fair bit of residual spherical aberration, and sharpness falls off dramatically to mush as you move away from the center. Stopping down to f\/5.6 or f\/8 brings the center up to good levels of sharpness, but the outer 50% of the frame is still very blurry here, as can be seen in the shot above. Anticipate shooting things at this focus distance only if you need detail centrally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Nikon 70-180mm f\/2.8 shows a slightly mixed performance when it comes to bokeh. Closer up and for most portrait applications, the lens renders backgrounds softly and without any major issues. There’s some distinct cat’s eye shape to specular highlights near the edges as well. At more moderate distances, things get a little bit busier, adding some texture to the background. It’s not terrible here, but it also isn’t as creamy as some other top tier telephoto zooms. Overall, a solid, if unspectacular performance in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bumblebee – Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 @ 180mm, f\/2.8, 1\/200s, ISO 100<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Color, Contrast and Chromatic Aberration<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Nikon Z 70-180mm f\/2.8 shows strong contrast throughout the focal and aperture range, and lovely rich color. Only when at that super-close focus at 70mm do you start to see some loss of contrast wide open, but that picks up when stopped down a little. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chromatic aberration is very well controlled, with only minimal lateral chromatic aberration, and similarly well controlled longitudinal CA. There can be some very mild green and magenta tinting before and after the plane of focus, but it’s very minimal and will only be seen in limited circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distortion, Flare and Vignetting<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Nikon has made the decision to bake distortion and vignetting corrections into their RAW files for quite a lot of their lenses, and the 70-180mm is one of them. As such, if you are shooting in Lightroom or any other RAW converter that directly reads embedded correction parameters, you will never see any distortion whatsoever with the lens. However, if you look at the files in a different RAW converter that allows disabling these corrections, you’ll see that the Nikon 70-180mm f\/2.8 shows a bit of barrel distortion at 70mm that changes to a rather pronounced pincushion distortion at the long end. This will end up having a minor affect on sharpness after correction. Below shows an image taken at 180mm, with the distortion uncorrected (top) and corrected (bottom)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Distortion – uncorrected (top) and corrected (bottom)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Nikon 70-180mm puts in a pretty good performance when it comes to control of flare. The lens shows only minor contrast loss from the sun in the frame, and the ghosts that are present are very faint, so they don’t affect the image too much. Veiling flare is also not much of an issue. You won’t be shooting into the sun that often with a telephoto lens, but if you choose to use it for backlit portraits or other similar applications, you won’t have any problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vignetting is also pretty well controlled, with some darkening at the edges at f\/2.8 that improves quickly upon stopping down. Of course, as noted earlier, vignetting correction is taken care of with an imbedded profile, so most users won’t really see any. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, the Nikon 70-180mm f\/2.8 performs very similarly to its Tamron-clad brother, as one might expect. It’s still an incredible value and shows strong optical performance in a very compact package. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue: Conclusion and Image Samples<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pros<\/h4>\n\n\n\n