This page contains reviews of NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2.
Lens Summary
| Price | Reasonable price |
| Size | Small size and good compatibility with APS-C |
| Weight | Lightweight and also compatible with APS-C |
| Ease of use | Simple but good |
| AF performance | Not outstanding, but generally good |
| Resolution performance | The image quality tends to deteriorate when shooting at close range. |
| Bokeh | Good background blur when shooting close-ups |
| chromatic aberration | Considering the price, it's high quality |
| distortion | Almost no problems |
| coma aberration | There are problems around the maximum aperture setting. |
| Vignetting | It stands out at infinity. |
| flare resistance | So-so |
| Overall evaluation | The new generation of Nifty Fifty |
Evaluation：
Compared to the NIKKOR Z S-Line, the optical performance is not particularly high. However, considering the reasonable price, well-balanced optical performance and compact, lightweight lens size, it is a lens that is easy to recommend as a step up from kit lenses. A new generation of nifty Fifty lenses.
Foreword
- Release Date:
- Product page
- My Flickr album
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- Japanese user contribution site
- B&H photo
- Adorama
This compact, lightweight, low-priced 40mm fixed-focus lens was added to the roadmap in 2019, development was announced in March 2021, and it was officially announced in September of the same year. As the F1.8 lens group is shifting to high-end models, it is thought that it will be positioned as a so-called ‘nifty Fifty lens’ for entry-level users in the future.
This full-size mirrorless lens is very light, at 45.5mm in length and 170g in weight. However, it has a bright maximum aperture of F2, and the diaphragm blades are made up of 9 blades, which is rare for a lens in this price range. As a trade-off for its small size, light weight and low price, the exterior, including the lens mount, is made of plastic, and the only control is the focus ring.
The lens configuration is simple, with 6 elements in 4 groups, but it uses two aspherical lenses. In particular, the last element is a large aspherical lens, and it can be said that the optical design is typical of a large-aperture Z mount. In addition, it is designed to be dustproof and drip-proof, and it has a solid design for its price.
The lens size is similar to the Z 28mm F2.8, and is also about the same as the Z 24-50mm F4-6.3. Although the Z MC 50mm F2.8 is a little larger, it seems to be a valuable macro lens option for a compact and lightweight system.
specifications
| lens mount | Z mount |
| Supported sensor size | Full frame |
| focal length | 40mm |
| Lens construction | 6 lenses in 4 groups |
| Aperture | F2 - F16 |
| Aperture blades | 9 |
| Minimum focusing distance | 0.29m |
| Maximum magnification | ×0.17 |
| Filter diameter | 52mm |
| image stabilisation | - |
| Teleconversion lens | - |
| Coating | Super-Ingrated Coating |
| Size | φ70×45.5mm |
| Weight | 170g |
| weather sealing | Support |
| AF | Stepping motor |
| Aperture ring | - |
| Other controls | - |
| Accessories | Lens cap 52mm LC-52B (spring type) Rear cover LF-N1 |
Lens prices and how to buy them
NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 Review
Appearance and operability
Boxes and accessories
The design is simple, with a black base and yellow brand colour, in the style of the Nikon Z series. The side of the box shows the lens filter diameter (52mm) and accessories. The lens itself is separated by cardboard and wrapped in thin cushioning material. The only items included are the lens cap, instruction manual and warranty card. The lens hood is not included, and there is no separate sales item available, so if you need one, you will need to look for a 52mm hood made by another company.
Appearance
The exterior, including the lens mount, is made of plastic. Although the texture is inferior to metal parts, the feel in the hand is very good, and there is no cheap plastic feel at all. The focus ring is made of hard rubber, and the texture is better than plastic rings.
The overall design is relatively plain, with few decorative elements, and is typical of Nikon Z lenses. There are some design changes compared to older Z lenses, such as the ‘NIKKOR’ logo, which was previously on the side, being moved to the top of the lens name on the front. You can also see the CE mark, serial number and country of manufacture. The country of manufacture is Thailand.
Hands-on
This is a compact and lightweight 40mm f/2 lens for full-frame cameras. Although the overall length is kept to 45.5mm, the diameter is large at 70mm, as you would expect from a large-aperture Nikon Z mount lens. However, it weighs just 170g, so it is still a lens that is easy to carry and store.
As mentioned above, the build quality is very good, despite being a plastic lens. It doesn't feel like the cheapest of the full-frame Z lenses.
Front and back
The 52mm filter socket is positioned around the front lens, which is less than 25mm in diameter. As there is no mention of the front lens being treated with a fluorine coating, it is advisable to attach a protective filter in situations where the lens is likely to get wet or dirty. As there is also no lens hood available to increase protection, the importance of a filter is high in order to avoid damage.
As mentioned above, Nikon has not released a lens hood that is compatible with this lens. For this reason, if you need a lens hood, you will need to look for one on your own. In addition to the compact lens hoods for Canon EF/RF lenses, there are also several lens hoods made by other companies that are compatible with this type of 52mm hood. I had several F-Foto hoods for EF lenses, so I tried fitting them on and they worked without any problems.
The lens mount is made of plastic. It is well-made and robust, but it is not known how much it will wear over time. In addition, although it is designed to be dustproof and drip-proof, there is no sealing around the mount. Instead, it has a hard cover to prevent the intrusion of water droplets and dust. The rear element is positioned right up against the mount surface, and the surrounding area is treated with a flare cutter to prevent unnecessary light.
Focus ring
The 17mm-wide hard rubber focus ring rotates smoothly with just the right amount of resistance. The amount of movement of the focus point depends on the speed of the ring's rotation, and if it is rotated quickly, the entire focus range can be operated with a stroke of about 90 degrees. On the other hand, if it is rotated slowly, it will take more than one rotation to operate the entire focus range.
Personally, I think the amount of movement when it is rotated quickly is too large. I would have liked it to have at least a stroke of about 180 degrees.
As mentioned above, you will need to find an external lens hood. I had some F-Foto 52mm lens hoods for Canon lenses, so I tried fitting them and they worked fine.
Lens Hood
As mentioned above, you will need to find an external lens hood. I had some F-Foto 52mm lens hoods for Canon lenses, so I tried fitting them and
Example of use
Even when attached to the APS-C Z camera, the balance is good. Of course, it also works well with full-size Z cameras. As there are no control rings or AF/MF switch, you need to operate it on the body s
AF・MF
Focus Speed
This lens uses a stepping motor for focus drive. It enables quiet, smooth focusing, and the focus speed is also fast enough. It's a little slower than lightning, but you'll find it fast enough for most subjects. Also, if you use it at a normal shooting distance, you'll find the focus speed to be close to lightning. This is a point that we would like to commend for a standard lens in this price range. (Many other companies' lenses use DC motors or a telescopic focus structure.)
The AF-C tracking speed is also good enough, and I feel that it has the potential to improve further as the performance of the camera side improves.
Breathing
Focus breathing refers to the change in the angle of view depending on the focus position.If the change in angle of view is significant, the field of view will expand or contract during focusing, potentially causing distractions and affecting autofocus stability. Ideally, it is better to have no focusing breathing. In order to check the effects of breathing, we took the following photos with the lens stopped down to the minimum aperture, at the minimum shooting distance and at infinity.
This lens has a slightly wider angle of view when shooting close-ups, and a slightly narrower angle of view at infinity. Focus breathing is generally well controlled, and unless you move the focus very quickly, the change in angle of view will not be noticeable. Nikon has well controlled this characteristic in its Z lenses, and it seems that the Z 40mm F2 is no exception.
This characteristic is mainly an advantage when shooting video, but it can also be said that the experience of shooting general still images is good because there is no distracting change in the angle of view.
AF accuracy
It focuses with good accuracy when combined with Z 7. It is also highly repeatable and does not give the impression of being particularly unstable.
MF
The stroke of the focus ring is short at 90 degrees when rotated quickly, so it is necessary to rotate it slowly to achieve accuracy. Personally, I find this a little inconvenient, and I would have preferred a stroke of around 180 degrees.
Resolution Chart
Test conditions
- Camera body:Z 7
- Interchangeable lens:NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2
- Pearl Optical Industry Co.
‘[HR23348] ISO12233-compliant 8K resolution test chart (for still cameras)’ - Olympus HYRes 3.1 analysis software
- The lighting environment is constant indoors.
- Tripod, self-timer 10 seconds, electronic shutter
- RAW output
- ISO 100
- RAW development in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
・Sharpness: Off
・Noise reduction: Off
・Chromatic aberration correction: Off - Focus on each point to be analysed and take a picture
(image plane curvature is difficult to measure at close range, so check at infinity) - Note that this is a test at close range (infinity may be even better).
- If you adjust the sharpness when developing JPEG or RAW images, the values may improve. Please note that the values given here are the ‘minimum values’.
Test results
Basically, this lens does not have good resolution performance when taking close-up photos, so if you want to take a sharp photo of your subject, it is recommended that you place it in the centre of the frame. If you place it in the periphery or corner of the frame, you may be able to obtain an acceptable level of sharpness by stopping down to f/2.8 to f/4.
Centre of frame
When shooting close-ups, the effects of spherical aberration and axial chromatic aberration can be seen. There appears to be a discrepancy between the peak of contrast and the peak of resolution performance, and if you prioritise resolution, the contrast will decrease as in the example below. The resolution performance is not as good as the S-Line, which is ‘sharp from wide open’, so you can expect better results if you stop down the aperture by 1 or 2 stops to get the peak performance. Stopping down will improve both contrast and sharpness. However, there is no significant change after F4, so if there are no problems with depth of field, you should choose F4. Performance continues up to F8?F11, and only F16 is reduced due to diffraction.
Middle of frame
As with the centre, the image quality at maximum aperture is a little soft, and unlike the centre, there is also a flow in the image like astigmatism, so the resolution is low. The image quality at maximum aperture is not very good, so even if you stop down one stop, the image will still be soft. For this reason, if you want to get the best results, you should stop down to at least F4. Although there is a slight improvement at F5.6-F8, it is not a significant improvement, and the difference in image quality between the centre and the edges remains until the end.
Four corners of frame
The image quality deteriorates even further compared to the centre. In particular, when the aperture is fully open, the image has a strong astigmatism-like flow, and it cannot be said to be a practical image quality if you are focusing on resolution performance. It gradually improves when the aperture is narrowed, but to obtain a satisfactory image quality, you will want to narrow it down to F5.6~F8. Narrowing the aperture brings it closer to the image quality of the centre, but it is slightly softer and not as homogeneous. The performance when the aperture is narrowed may be better with old standard lenses of the Gaussian type.
Sample
far-field resolution
Test environment
Date: 2021-10-1: Cloudy: Strong wind
Camera: Z 7
Tripod: Leofoto LS-365C
Head: Leofoto G4
Exposure: Aperture priority AE, ISO 400
RAW output: 14bit
Development: Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
· Sharpness off
Test results
Although the image quality is not as sharp as it is when the aperture is fully open, it is definitely of good resolution overall. However, if you can slightly narrow the aperture, you can expect improvements in sharpness and light fall-off, so if you can, we recommend narrowing the aperture to F4~F5.6.
Centre of frame
The performance is good from wide open, but when you check the details, it is slightly soft. However, it is a satisfactory standard, and depending on the sharpness setting, it should produce good image quality. When you stop down to F2.8, the slight softness disappears and the contrast improves overall. If you want to get sharp results with a high pixel count camera, you should stop down to at least F2.8. There is no significant change in the aperture value from there on.
Performance is maintained up to around F11, and at F16 there is a decrease in sharpness due to diffraction. However, the effect of diffraction is within acceptable limits, and you can expect results above practical image quality across the entire aperture range.
Middle of frame
Compared to the centre, there is no significant difference, and it demonstrates good resolution performance. However, as with the centre, there is a slight drop in contrast when the aperture is fully open. If you want to get the best results, you should at least stop down the aperture by one stop. When the aperture is stopped down to F2.8, the contrast improves significantly, and when it is stopped down to F4, it appears to reach the peak of image quality. After that, it maintains peak performance up to F11, and then the performance drops due to diffraction at F16.
Four corners of frame
Although vignetting is noticeable, the resolution performance is fairly good, and there is no extreme image flow or softness. As you stop down, the light fall-off and resolution performance gradually improve, with the resolution performance peaking at F4 and the light fall-off improving at F5.6. From there, it continues to perform well up to around F11, and F16 also provides practical image quality.
curvature of a surface
What is surface curvature?
This refers to the fact that the shooting distance at which the image is in focus differs from the centre to the four corners. For example, even if the image is in focus at a shooting distance of 1m, if the subject is moving back and forth around 1m at the edge of the frame, there is a possibility of field curvature.
Although there are few lenses that have noticeable field curvature, in recent lenses, aberration may increase and become noticeable at close distances. However, there are few opportunities to take photos of flat subjects at close range, so even if there is some image curvature, there is no need to worry.
However, if there is an effect even at infinity, you should be careful. If you are trying to achieve a pan-focus effect, for example in a landscape, there is a possibility that you will end up with an unintentional out-of-focus image. As there is no way to correct this aberration, the only way to avoid the problem is to increase the F-number to widen the depth of field.
Test results
When shooting close-ups, the focus peak appears to move slightly towards the edge of the frame. However, this is not an extreme effect, and the problem becomes less noticeable as the shooting distance increases. There is no need to be particularly concerned.
Lateral chromatic aberration
What is lateral chromatic aberration?
A colour shift that appears mainly around the edges and corners of the frame. Unlike longitudinal chromatic aberration, the effect of correcting this aberration using the aperture is small, so it is necessary to correct it at the stage of optical design. However, it is possible to digitally correct chromatic aberration using the image processing engine built into the camera body. This makes it possible to correct chromatic aberration, which is difficult to correct optically alone, and recently, there have been lenses that prioritise the correction of other aberrations over chromatic aberration correction. In particular, mirrorless systems tend to rely on post-processing.
Test results
Although it does not use ED lenses to correct chromatic aberration, it appears to be well corrected. Even when magnified to 100% across the entire aperture range, no noticeable chromatic aberration can be seen. However, since it is not zero, it is possible that it may be slightly noticeable in scenes with high contrast.
Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration
What is longitudinal chromatic aberration?
Longitudinal chromatic aberration is a colour shift that occurs in front of and behind the plane of focus. If the area in front of the plane of focus is mainly purple fringing, and the area behind the plane of focus has unnatural green colouring in the out-of-focus area, then the main cause is likely to be longitudinal chromatic aberration. This is more likely to occur with large-aperture lenses such as F1.4 and F1.8, and in such cases it is necessary to close down the aperture to improve the situation. It is possible to correct this using development software, but it is more difficult to process than lateral chromatic aberration, so it is best to suppress the aberration optically if possible. However, when suppressing longitudinal chromatic aberration with a large-aperture lens, the product price tends to be higher. Lenses that perfectly correct for longitudinal chromatic aberration have high contrast on the focal plane from wide open aperture, so you can expect a punchy resolution.
Test results
Like with lateral chromatic aberration, this is a good correction for a lens with a relatively simple optical design. Like with lateral chromatic aberration, it is not zero, so it may be noticeable in scenes with high contrast. Spherical aberration also remains, and when taking close-up photos, the background will be soft and blurred, while the foreground will be sharp. As a result, if there is a possibility of aberration occurring in actual photos, it is highly likely that the chromatic aberration will appear strongly at the edge of the hard foreground blur.
Distortion
What is Image Distortion?
Distortion is the phenomenon where a straight line does not appear straight on a flat surface. It is particularly noticeable in cases where there are many straight lines, such as in man-made objects or when the horizon is visible, and it is divided into two types: barrel distortion, which is similar to the fisheye effect, and pincushion distortion, which causes the centre of the image to appear squeezed.
This is a relatively easy aberration to correct, but it is difficult to manually correct for distortions that have a special shape, such as ‘bamboo hat-shaped’ distortion. In this case, a correction profile that matches the lens is required.
Test results
Very slight barrel distortion. It is good enough without correction, but it is possible to perfectly correct the
Coma aberration
What are coma and astigmatism?
Coma and astigmatism are mainly the failure of a point of light to appear as a point of light in the four corners of the frame. For example, this can be seen in artificial lights, stars and illuminations in night scenes. Even during the day, bright point light sources such as sunlight filtering through trees can also have an effect. As this problem cannot be corrected in post-processing, it is necessary to correct it optically.
Although it can be improved by narrowing the aperture, in situations where shutter speed is important, such as night scenes and astrophotography, it is not possible to narrow the aperture, and optical correction may be necessary.
Test results
The point-illumination reproduction is not good at the periphery of the open aperture, so it is necessary to stop down the aperture somewhat. This may be the reason why the corners of the distant resolution are a little soft. Naturally, it is also thought to affect the quality of the bokeh in the four corners.
This effect improves dramatically when the aperture is stopped down, and the problem is almost eliminated by F4. If you want to emphasise the resolution performance, including the point light sources in the periphery, it is recommended to stop down to F4.
Spherical aberration
At the tested shooting distances, there is no significant difference in the bokeh in front and behind the subject. However, in the small bokeh area, there is a slight difference in the depiction of the background bokeh and the small bokeh. Also, as can be seen from the resolution test chart and the on-axis chromatic aberration test, when shooting close-ups at maximum aperture, the peak of contrast and the peak of resolution performance are slightly different, and in some cases, the peak of focus may appear to be shifted by stopping down the aperture.
Although it uses two aspherical lenses, the ring bokeh is not very noticeable. It seems to have been polished well. As you can see from the sample images, the effect of axial chromatic aberration can be seen in areas of high contrast.
Foreground and background blur
What is a beautiful blur and a noisy blur?
The evaluation of bokeh tends to be subjective, but I personally think that ‘soft, diffused bokeh’ is beautiful, while ‘sudden bokeh or hard-edged bokeh’ is not so good (or is a unique depiction). However, everyone has their own preferences, so there may be people who prefer the opposite. For reference, here are some examples of ‘blurred bokeh’ and ‘hard-edged bokeh’. The difference in the tendency of the depiction is mainly due to the state of correction of spherical aberration, and when the bokeh on either side is soft, there is a tendency for the bokeh on the other side to become hard.
Back Blur
At least in scenes where it is easy to get a bokeh effect at close range, there is a big difference in the quality of the bokeh in front and behind. While the background bokeh is soft and blurred, the foreground bokeh is hard and tends to be noisy. In particular, the foreground bokeh, combined with the slight axial chromatic aberration that remains, can cause problems in the form of ‘purple fringing’. Although the background bokeh also has a green tint, it is blurred and less noticeable.
The bokeh quality also changes slightly depending on the aperture value, and the slight chromatic aberration that is noticeable at wide aperture becomes more gentle when the aperture is stopped down to F2.8. If you find the background bokeh too noisy, it may be better to stop down the aperture a little.
Front Blur
Bokehball
Effects of Vignetting and Spherical Aberration
If vignetting is strong, the bokeh at the four corners of the frame will be elliptically deformed or partially missing. The only way to solve this problem is to close down the aperture. However, closing down the aperture will make the bokeh smaller and in some cases the shape of the aperture blades may become visible, so it is necessary to compromise on the amount of vignetting depending on the situation.
If the amount of vignetting is small, it is possible to get a circular bokeh from wide open to the four corners. Ideally, a lens with little vignetting is preferable, but to eliminate it, it is necessary to fundamentally increase the size of the lens. There is a need to strike a balance between portability and cost, so some kind of compromise is necessary.
If the correction of spherical aberration is not perfect, there will be a difference in the depiction of the bokeh in front and behind (as shown in the review of bokeh in front and behind). In this case, one side will have a smooth depiction with blurring, while the other side will have a hard depiction like double-line bokeh.
Test results
The first thing that surprised me was the small amount of vignetting. Despite being a small, lightweight, bright standard lens, the effect on the bokeh in the corners is minimal, and it's amazing that it maintains a near-circular shape. Because the bokeh doesn't appear to be small towards the corners, there is a possibility that the bokeh will appear larger than with a standard F2 lens.
Although the lens uses two aspherical lenses, the inner part of the bokeh is smooth and beautiful. It is on a par with the Z 50mm F1.8 S. Is the polishing precision of the aspherical lens extremely high, or is it a PMo aspherical lens? Either way, the bokeh is beautiful and at a satisfying level.
There is a slight border, but it is not noticeable, and even in high contrast situations, there appears to be little chromatic aberration. When the aperture is stopped down to F2.8, the shape of the aperture blades can be seen, but this is within acceptable limits. When the aperture is stopped down to F4, the aperture blades become clearly angular, so opinions may differ. However, even when the aperture is stopped down, the inside of the bokeh is beautiful and does not stand out in a bad way. When the aperture is stopped down to F8~F11, the inside of the bokeh becomes coarser, but the bokeh becomes smaller, so in the end it is unlikely to stand out.
Sample of a boke
Close range
As you would expect, when shooting close-ups, the effects of spherical aberration cause the background to become soft and blurred. Furthermore, since the vignetting in the corners is small, the image quality is maintained well even in the peripheral areas. The bokeh itself is beautifully rendered, and there are no particular flaws to speak of. When the aperture is stopped down to F2.8, spherical aberration is reduced, and it disappears at F4. If you want to take close-up photos with a sharp, high-contrast focus plane, it is recommended to stop down to F4. However, I personally feel that F2.8 has a better balance.
Short range
I tested it again with the shooting distance slightly increased. Naturally, as the bokeh becomes smaller, the depiction becomes coarser from the periphery to the corners. In particular, if highlights enter the corners, it can become quite noisy depending on the situation, so you need to be careful. However, this tendency is not limited to this lens, and it is a general tendency for lenses such as the reasonably priced ‘35mm F1.8’ and ‘50mm F1.8’. When it comes to expensive 50mm F1.8-class lenses such as the ‘NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S’, many models have improved bokeh quality in the corners. This is a compromise point for reasonably priced standard lenses.
The way to improve this is to stop down the aperture. Stopping down to f/2.8-f/4 will improve the uniformity of the bokeh and eliminate the noise in the corners. However, the bokeh will become smaller, so you will need to adjust the aperture value depending on the situation.
Medium range
I tested the camera at an even longer shooting distance than in ‘Part 1’. As I expected, the open aperture produced noisy results over a wide area of the periphery. Fortunately, the roughness and chromatic aberration of the aspherical lens were not very noticeable, but in situations with high contrast, it is possible that a slightly smaller aperture would produce a more subdued bokeh effect. Personally, I think F2.5-F2.8 is a good compromise.
Portrait
The following are the results of taking pictures of a tripod that is 170cm tall while changing the distance and aperture.
It is possible to get a blurred effect even if the whole body is in the frame. However, it does not seem to be possible to clearly separate it from the background. It is possible to sufficiently blur the background by getting close to the subject, up to around the knees or the upper body. However, you should be careful as the depiction of the surrounding areas and corners is likely to be rough. It is possible to get a large blurred effect by getting close to the subject, up to a close-up of the bust or face. Although the corners may still be noisy, this is not a problem as it is easy to adjust with the aperture.
Vignetting
What is vignetting?
Unnatural drop in light intensity around the frame.
The light intensity is lower than in the central area, and there is insufficient exposure in the four corners of the frame. This mainly occurs with large-aperture lenses and wide-angle lenses.
Although this is a phenomenon that can be easily corrected using software, it is necessary to be careful about the fact that it can cause noise, as the insufficient exposure is covered by post-processing correction (sensitization). In particular, when using high sensitivity for nightscape or starry sky photography, there is a possibility that noise will appear strongly.
Minimum focusing distance
The reason why the upper part of the image is darker in the example images shown here is probably because the centre of the image circle is slightly shifted upwards due to the in-body image stabilisation. When you check the test results at the minimum shooting distance, the drop in light at maximum aperture is a little noticeable. Considering that the drop in light at the minimum shooting distance is not noticeable with many lenses, it could be said to be a little strong. However, the influence is slight, and it is not felt to be a major problem.
Infinity
On the other hand, the vignetting at infinity is very strong, and it becomes considerably darker towards the corners. If you are imagining a result with flat brightness even around the edges of the frame, you will need to use strong vignetting correction (vignetting correction). In many cases, in-camera correction will not be sufficient, so you may need to manually correct it during development.
Backlight resistance, sunstar
centre
Many of the lenses in the NIKKOR Z S-Line are resistant to backlighting. In comparison, this reasonably priced single-focus lens is a little more prone to flare and ghosting in backlit conditions. Although it seems to be doing well for a reasonably priced single-focus lens, it is inevitable that ghosting will have a significant impact on image quality. Even if you stop down the aperture, backlighting resistance does not improve much, and it is better to avoid it as it will make the flare more apparent.
corner
In contrast to the case where the light source is placed in the centre, the camera has good resistance to backlighting. Neither flare nor ghosting is visible when the aperture is wide open. When the aperture is narrowed, a slight streak of light extends from the light source, and although flare occurs in the surrounding area, there is no significant effect.
sunstar
Unusually for a lens in this price range, it uses nine diaphragm blades. When the lens is stopped down, there are 18 light rays. When stopped down to f/4, you can already see the signs of light rays, and at f/11 to f/16, the image is sharp. Compared to the similarly affordable ‘NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8’, I personally prefer the beautiful rendering.
Summary
Good points
The cheapest of the NIKKOR Z lenses
Compact and lightweight
Good build quality
Designed to be dust- and splash-proof
Smooth focus ring
Fast and smooth AF
Minimal focus breathing
Fairly good telephoto resolution
Good colour aberration correction for this class of lens
Smooth bokeh in close-up photography
Minimal vignetting in bokeh
Minimal distortion
Fairly good resistance to backlighting
Beautiful bokeh
After all, the fact that it is the cheapest NIKKOR Z lens is an attractive selling point. I think that many people are considering it as their first lens to add to their kit lens because of its reasonable price. In addition to its reasonable price, the fact that it is a compact, lightweight and portable 40mm F2 is also a good point. It has a slightly wider angle of view than the 50mm, making it easier to use, and it has a larger aperture than the typical F2.8 in this class, making it easier to get a large bokeh effect.
The optical performance is a little double-Gaussian, but it is sharp enough when you need it, and if you stop down the aperture, you can get a clear image right to the corners of the frame. Also, when taking close-up shots, the spherical aberration has a softening effect on the background blur, and it seems that you can get a good background blur for this price range. Furthermore, chromatic aberration and distortion are well corrected, and it can be said that it has no particularly noticeable weaknesses.
Bad points
No lens hood
Plastic lens mount
Short focus ring stroke
Low resolution performance when taking close-up photos
Noticeable vignetting at infinity
Noticeable coma aberration
Perhaps the most noticeable things about the actual image are the vignetting at infinity and the coma aberration that appears around the edges of the frame when the aperture is wide open. However, both of these can be improved by stopping down the aperture, so I don't think there will be any problems unless you're using it in a situation where you need an ‘F2’ aperture for something other than bokeh. For example, you need to be careful when using it for nightscapes or starry sky photos. Other than that, there should be few opportunities to encounter any problems. Another weakness is that the resolution performance when taking close-up photos is reduced, but I don't think there are many people who want high resolution performance when taking close-up photos with this lens. Also, since it improves when you stop down the aperture, you can avoid the problem depending on the situation.
Also, some people may feel disappointed about the plastic lens mount. The price is not exactly ‘bargain-basement’, so I would have liked them to use metal parts for the lens mount. Also, since there is no hood that corresponds to this lens, you need to find a screw-in 52mm filter yourself.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a compact, lightweight, easy-to-use standard single-focus lens, then this could be an interesting option. Although the overall performance is good, the expression of the lens changes depending on the aperture and shooting distance, so there is a certain pleasure to be had in mastering its use. This is a valuable characteristic among the high-performance Z lens group. It has its own unique character, both good and bad.
The build quality is a little plasticky overall, but for the low price, it's surprisingly solidly made. The manual focus ring feels good, and I don't have any complaints about using it. It's a small, lightweight lens, and I think it would be interesting to use it mounted on an APS-C camera like the Z fc.
Compared to the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S
As mentioned above, if you can accept the size and price, the ‘NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S’ is definitely a high-performance lens. In particular, if you want to obtain stable rendering with minimal changes in expression depending on the shooting distance or aperture value, the S-Line is more suitable. Although it is more than twice the price of the 40mm f/2, if you want a ‘high-performance Z lens’, I think you will find it worth the price difference.
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