The release of the hotly anticipated NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S completed Z mount’s ‘holy trinity’ of premium S-line lenses, alongside the NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S and NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S. However, this full-frame (FX) medium-telephoto zoom lens is an outstanding addition to Nikon’s ever-increasing line-up of mirrorless optics in its own right.
The 70-200mm zoom range is suited to a wide variety of genres including wedding, wildlife, sports, event and reportage photography, and will allow you to maintain a comfortable distance, while still filling the frame with your subjects.
Light gathering is aided via the fast, constant f/2.8 aperture and when low-lighting conditions cause shutter speeds to dip, the lens’ incredible Vibration Reduction can provide up to 5.5 stops of compensation.
For outstanding image results including edge-to-edge sharpness and significantly reduced optical errors, the NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S comprises 21 elements in 18 groups. This includes six Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) elements, two aspherical elements and a Short-Wavelength Refractive (SR) element. In conjunction with Nikon’s Nano Crystal Coat and ARNEO Coat, chromatic aberration, coma, ghosting and flare are significantly reduced, providing you the creative freedom to concentrate fully on the subject at hand.
High imaging performance is not only maintained when stopped down, but also when shooting wide open at f/2.8. The fast, fixed aperture and its rounded, nine-blade construction is able to produce impressive, natural-looking bokeh that complements portraits of people and animals.
Wildlife and sports photographers need to keep up with fast-moving subjects and the NIKKOR Z 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR S is equipped for those demands, thanks to its extremely reliable and fast autofocus system. Nikon’s Multi-Focusing System uses two internal drive units to combat aberrations and deliver extremely accurate autofocus. AF is near silent too, which is ideal when documenting weddings, photographing skittish wildlife subjects or capturing audio when shooting video footage.
As you’d expect from a longer lens, the NIKKOR Z 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR S features a focus limiter switch so you can reduce the focus range for even faster and more accurate autofocusing. The medium-telephoto zoom is also well equipped for close-ups, thanks to a minimum focus distance of 0.5 metres at the wide end and one metre at the telephoto end.
The OLED screen on the top of the lens barrel can be set to display the focal length, aperture or depth-of-field and focus distance, and is visible in the dark. The ability to assess the relationship between depth-of-field and focus distance is particularly useful when shooting video, given that many filmmakers favour manual focus.
Focus breathing has been almost entirely eliminated from the NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S, resulting in virtually no changes to focal length, angle of view and magnification when focusing. Further video-centric features include high-precision iris control, so that exposure adjustments when recording are reproduced very naturally.
The near-silent customisable control ring can be assigned to aperture, ISO or exposure compensation, allowing you to control your preferred setting without removing your eye from the EVF. The NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S boasts two function keys (L-Fn and L-Fn2). Each button can be assigned one of 21 different functions, including subject tracking, which is useful when photographing fast-moving sports and wildlife subjects.
Whether you’re a professional sports, wildlife or wedding photographer or completing your ‘holy trinity’, the NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S provides professionals and enthusiasts a feature-rich S-line telephoto lens with outstanding imaging potential.
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