Nikon Z Full-Frame Ultrawides Compared

Z9 Z8 Z7 II Z6 II Zf Z7 Z6 Z5 Z fc Z50 Z30

Z System Z Lenses All Nikon Lenses Flash


14-24mm f/2.8	14-30mm f/4	17-28mm f/2.8	20mm f/1.8

This 100% all-content, junk-free webpage's biggest source of support is when you use any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you get it elsewhere. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, dropped, incomplete, gray-market, store demo or used lens — and all of my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new lens. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new lens before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

December 2022 Better Pictures Nikon Mirrorless Mirrorless Lenses All Nikon Lenses Nikon Flash All Reviews

How to Use Ultrawide Lenses

Sony vs. Nikon vs. Canon Full-Frame

Roughly to scale:
	14-24mm f/2.8	14-30mm f/4	17-28mm f/2.8	20mm f/1.8
Intro	16 September 2020	09 January 2019	20 September 2022	23 August 2018
Maximum Aperture	f/2.8	f/4	f/2.8	f/1.8
Filter diameter	112mm	82mm	67mm	72mm
Length	4.9" 124 mm	3.4" 85 mm	4.0" 101 mm	4.3" 108 mm
Extra Control Rings	1	1	1	1
OLED Display	Yes	no	no	no
Programmable Button	Yes	no	no	no
AF/MF Switch	Yes	Yes	no	Yes
Close Focus	0.9' 0.28 m	0.9' 0.28 m	0.6' 0.19 m	0.66' 0.2 m
Maximum Macro Ratio	0.13×	0.16×	0.19×	0.3×
VR	no	no	no	no
Sharpness	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Distortion	Invisible*	Invisible*	Invisible*	Minor*
Quality	Thailand	Thailand	China	China
	14-24mm f/2.8	14-30mm f/4	17-28mm f/2.8	20mm f/1.8
Best for	Big, expensive lens for those who demand the very best - and don't mind having to carry it around and pay for it. Clumsy to use with filters.	My favorite: sharp, inexpensive and lightweight.	Sharp, inexpensive and lightweight; just that you trade a limited zoom range for the extra stop in speed. I prefer the slower 14-30mm f/4 with its much broader zoom range.	Not a zoom, but a superb high speed ultrawide, and the least expensive as well as fastest lens here.
Weight	22.8 oz. 647 g	16.9 oz. 479 g	15.9 oz. 450 g	17.7 oz. 503 g
Price, 12/2022	$2,297	$1,147	$1,197	$997

* With in-camera correction. Caveat: if you shoot raw data rather than JPG images, whatever software you use to create images from the raw data may or may not apply any correction, so good luck.

Recommendations top

All these lenses are equally super-sharp. This is 2022; all these lenses are superb. Thank goodness it's not 1993 anymore. Today our choices are made for zoom range, speed, size and weight.

Personally I prefer the 14-30mm f/4 because it has the broadest zoom range, it's lightweight and reasonably priced.

The 20mm f/1.8 is superb if you really need the fast f/1.8 speed for low light and astronomical photography, and it's also the least expensive lens here.

The 17-28mm f/2.8 is special because it's fast, and also lightweight and inexpensive. What you don't get is zoom range; it's zoom range is relatively restricted and only a fraction of the range of the 14-24mm f/2.8 or 14-30mm f/4.

The 14-24mm f/2.8 is a big, fast lens. I don't prefer it because it's huge, expensive and needs gigantic 112mm filters (which only work in the included hood), but if you're a guy who demands the "best," this is certainly the biggest and most expensive lens.

All these lenses are equally super-sharp. This is 2022; all these lenses are superb. Thank goodness it's not 1993 anymore.

This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you get it elsewhere. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, dropped, incomplete, gray-market, store demo or used lens — and all of my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new lens. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new lens before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

Thanks for helping me help you!

Ken.

Help Me Help You top

I support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem.

The biggest help is when you use any of these links when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. These places always have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally.

If you find this page as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.

If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks!

If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00.

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Thanks for reading!

Ken.

02, 05 December 2022