Nikon Z DX 12-28 VR - Review

 

Another gear review? Yes and no. This lens is something special. It is the first time I get a competent zoom starting in the ultra wide range at 18 mm, and ending at the normal focal length 42 mm. Yes, I wished it was faster. The 20-50 f/4 from Sony for full frame shows that this should be possible, especially for a DX lens. But it never restricted me so far.

But let me start more slowly. We have a compact lens which extrudes from the camera only 64mm. It does not extend out of its housing due to the internal zoom mechanism. It is also lightweight at only 203g while still feeling solid. Sure, the 16-50 DX kit is smaller, but it extrudes when focused, has to be stored to be really compact, and then extended for use. This 12-28 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is about as small as it gets. A f/2.8 version would probably add some weight and size, as the 16-50 f/2.8 DX shows.

The zoom mechanism, however, is unusual. Nikon calls it "Power Zoom". But it is simply an electronic motor controlled by the zoom dial. The Nikon Z30 shows a bar while zooming. It can also display the exact focal length on the rear. But this is a lens for visual focusing based on the live view. I found no problems in using it. For videographers, the zoom can be set to keys and the zoom speed can be set in the menu. This works well. Use a mic to avoid catching the very faint noises of the motor.

The optical qualities of this lens are amazing. Even if you pixel-peep, you will be satisfied with the results. I found a remarkable resistance against flaring too. That is important for wide and ultra-wide lenses because the sun will often be near or in the frame. Sharpness is excellent in the center and good in the corners, improving when the lens is closed by one stop. Using the embedded corrections, I see no distortion and only moderate vignetting wide open. These days, lenses are optimized with those corrections in mind. 

From the smart phone, many users are used to the wide angle of view. Mine has an ultra-wide optics allowing an amazing overview of a scene. The downside is that you need to sort out the objects with layers avoiding a confusing composition. That is not always easy as you see in the picture below.

The long end provides a 42 mm film-equivalent focal length, seen by many photographers as a standard. Unfortunately, this lens closes down to f/5.6 which is equivalent to f/8 on a full frame camera. You won't get the smooth and exciting object isolation by background blur that f/1.8 and a longer focal length offers. If you are close enough, you will get some background blur. 

The simple trick to isolate subjects is a long lens and a close distance. Remember that the DOF of a frame filling object at a fixed aperture remains the same for all focal lengths, but the background blur is very different as well as the amount of disturbing background in your frame. At 42 mm, the isolation is never as good as at 135 mm. If you use the lens at the long end for portraits and the like, the results can be good.

I am not a huge fan of wide angle shots with a very narrow depth of field anyway. That is a special, very uncommon, look. So, the f/3.5 at 12 mm, equivalent to f/5.6 at 18 mm, is all I need. Wide-angle portraits can be sort of tricky because they tend to distort the subjects. To emphasize legs and show some environment they can be a nice thing to have.

Remember, that the lens also contains the standard 35 mm focal length, albeit with a maximal opening of about f/5.6 in full frame terms. For street photographers, I recommend setting the power zoom to remember the zoom position when the camera is switched off. Together with the compact factor of the Z30 that sounds like an optimal choice.

I stopped chasing people in the streets. In Germany, it is more illegal than not, and not welcome too. I am a travel photographer enjoying the beauty of the world. To have a small camera like the combo of the Z30 with the 12-28 with me is just the right choice. The smartphone works too, but only as long as you do not take a closer look and print larger.

There are other points which speak against a smartphone as my sole camera. For a start, photography is my hobby. Why should I restrict myself to a sub-optimal device like a smartphone? Even taking the Z30 instead of my trusted Z5 II is a choice that I consider carefully. In most cases, it might not matter. But it can make difference when I take out the outstanding Nikon Z S-line glass and shoot more demanding scenes like macros, telephoto, low light and so on.

The other point is that I shoot RAW and develop my photos, something that does not work well on a smartphone. All photos on this page went through Lightroom. I balance the highlights, adjust the colors, crop and straighten the verticals. If you can do the picture above with an exact vertical building, congratulations! I can't. To be able to fix the frame a bit in post is even more necessary for the Z30 with its hand-held shooting style and lack of a viewfinder. Often, I take a wider angle to capture the right moment and crop a bit in post.

We haven't mentioned the VR yet. Yes, you don't need it in many cases. But all too often, you do. A fast lens is no replacement, unless you can also live with a small depth of field and if this is the look you are after. Thus, the VR of this lens is very welcome. It helps in all scenes without a movement which needs to be frozen, or whenever the blur of a moving object should be visible against a sharp background.

An alternative to this lens would be to put the full frame 14-30 f/4 or the expensive 14-24 f/2.8 on this APS-C camera. It does not feel right. But you can do it. You will get a narrower angle of view, but still in the ultra-wide range. What you do not get is any form of image stabilization. The f/1.8 lenses work on the Z30 with a factor of 1.5 too, and the results will be excellent, even wide open, because those lenses are sharpest in the center. If you plan to shoot wide open and do not need stabilization, this is a good idea.

As a summary, each combination of photographic gear is a compromise, with benefits and drawbacks. Use it as intended to get the most out of it. This lens is clearly best in the wide angle range, but offering the options to go into the standard range. I think, that makes an ideal everyday companion. It is a system which fits in any bag and weights only 600g.