Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Draxima

sent on 19 Dicembre 2025

Pros: – Very high sharpness for a bright 20mm – f/1.8 really useful for stars and nighttime cityscapes – Silent and precise AF – Balanced color rendition, without strange changes

Cons: – Not exactly entry-level price (I only have one kidney now) – Not the lightest in the category – Some traces of distortion if you like to photograph "rigorous" architecture

Opinion: If you're interested in night photography, here's the highlight: with f/1.8 and the quality of the optical elements, this lens allows you to get shots with well-defined stars and bright urban lights without invasive flare. In practice, at night he pulls off a particular, almost "magical" look, because he manages to maintain contrast and detail even when the scene is complicated. In a kit Z is a lens that makes sense for those looking for a serious wide-angle and do not want to compromise in difficult light conditions.

Fraever

sent on 13 Dicembre 2025

Pros: Sharp in the center, aperture at 1.8 despite the 20mm, few chromatic aberrations, average distortion, tropicalized

Cons: Fairly blurry non-center area, lots of vignetting, price

Opinion: At 1.8 the lens is sharp in the center but quite blurred in everything else, which is solved quite by closing it to f4. It suffers a lot from vignetting and has a bit of focus breathing, also the coma is not very noticeable even at 1.8 so great for photographing the stars or cities with a lot of lights at night. It can focus very close and despite being a wide-angle the bokeh is pleasant. Having said that, however, I don't think it's worth the € 1300 list, € 800 would be a more appropriate price for what it offers, also because it is a niche lens and not very versatile, a more sensible purchase would be the 14-30 f4, which for better or worse being wide-angle you can use longer shutter speeds to overcome the narrower aperture.

Maxdemian74

sent on 18 Ottobre 2024

Pros: Surgical Instrument

Cons: the cost, but all in all it's understandable

Opinion: It is a very correct, very sharp and effective lens in low light conditions. (very good for the starry sky, where I noticed better management of the coma, compared to the G model). As a performance it is superior to the Z14-30 f4, the AF-20 G 1/8, the AF 20 f 2/8D and the AF 14-24 f2/8 and here I stop because I have no other yardsticks of comparison :) The construction is understated but does not feel very solid, like all Z lenses. However, it is only a feeling because the workmanship is good and the manual focus flows in a pleasant and "creamy" way. The short focusing distance allows for interesting creative ideas, so the lens can be used in areas that are not limited to the landscape. In conclusion, I would say that it is a very high level lens!

Lupaccio58

sent on 09 Marzo 2024

Pros: Extreme correctness, great sharpness and chromatic respect

Cons: Nothing, even the price is reasonable

Opinion: Excellent optics not to be compared to the excellent 20mm f1.8G. The optical scheme changes, there is an extra lens and speaking of lenses we find 3 aspherical and 3 ED lenses, also on the Z we also find a diaphragm with 9 blades instead of 7. The result is a concentrate of power that half is enough, absolutely the best 20mm I've ever tried! The sharpness returned is devastating, the flare is unknown, the correctness of this lens is touching. I use it with my second body (Zf) for light street and travel outings together with the Z 50mm f1.8 obtaining a very light and very very performance set, and I can say that - apart from the comfort of the zoom - it absolutely does not make me regret the stratospheric Z 14-24 left at home. And the MTFs don't say anything different, this little guy (so to speak...) is truly prodigious! Highly recommended for any situation, indispensable for landscapers, well done mom Nikon!

RoccoPhotos

sent on 23 Luglio 2022

Pros: Excellent yield, weight, file quality

Cons: Appearance

Opinion: Optics of good workmanship and excellent yield, as a first impact did not give me much confidence, because very light and plastic it seemed almost a toy, but once really put to work I had to eat everything, it has an almost magical rendering and balanced colors even under penalty of opening. The price maybe a little over the top but definitely worth it .

Apeschi

sent on 22 Marzo 2022

Pros: Great goal. It is a wideagolar pushed on Full Frame very bright. Despite being a 20mm it is still very correct in yield and has no obvious distortions. It is very bright and extremely sharp even at full aperture.

Cons: It is not a compact lens. The price is not really cheap, but it is still a great lens that is worth all the money it costs.

Opinion: Very sharp lens even at full aperture. Great blurry. Fall of light at the edges at full aperture absolutely very contained and negligible. Usable from f1.8 included onwards. Minimal aberration considering that we are talking about a 20mm. Definitely a great goal. It is a lens that can be used in many fields. I like it for landscapes wanting to frame a wide field but also for full-person portraits set in the context (obviously it is not a lens to recommend for portraits, given the focal length, but in some cases it is still versatile).

Giancarlo Bogoni

sent on 03 Gennaio 2022

Pros: Excellent even at full aperture, minimal vignetting and nothing or almost no ghost images. Very incisive and detailed.

Cons: Certainly the weight and partly also the price

Opinion: Used on both Z7II and Z9 it offers a beautiful superlative microcontrast and sharpness. I use it with satisfaction because it is lighter and less bulky than the 14-24 when I do not want to carry too much weight with me. At f/4 it's pretty much perfect. It holds the backlight very well. I am of the opinion that the Z optics, especially if S-Line like this, are superior to the corresponding ones with F mount. Too bad that the hoods are always questionable

Nani1987

sent on 19 Febbraio 2021

Pros: Sharpness, low coma, almost zero flares and ghosts, minimum focus distance

Cons: Focus by wire, shameful case, and if we want price and size but justified by quality

Opinion: Pros: Taken a few months ago to replace the Zeiss Distagon 21mm 2.8, which had in turn replaced the nikon 20mm 1.8G. Excellent sharpness already in ta, coma a ta really very contained (much better than G) flares and ghosts absent in any light condition (main reason why I sold the Zeiss), although it is a feature that I do not care about, lightning and silent focus, really great! The goals for Ml Nikon are really great. Cons: mixed plastic-metal construction decidedly better than the G, but the Zeiss is useless to turn around is superior, the Zeiss is another world. Made in China (too bad Nikon delocalizzi almost everything now, but the world goes like this). Manual focus by wire (like the whole z series) is convenient when working in autofocus since you have a third programmable ring, but when you work in manual focus the feeling I don't like (it's subjective), the light point star is similar to that of the 14-30 is not bad but it doesn't even drive you crazy , that of the G is better, finally, it is a, but the cases of Nikon Z objectives are indecent, they could make them pay 10€ more and make a case properly. In conclusion the optical quality is really formidable, super recommended, against there are but quite irrelevant. Happy to have taken it as a replacement for the Zeiss that as good as it was I could not digest it in the backlight (distagon 21mm + ftz+z6 give life to strong flares, they are incompatible with each other), instead for those who already own a 20mm G, it is superior in all respects but try it first and evaluate if the game is worth the candle, as both are excellent targets! Grade 10, case aside!

Gioberfoto

sent on 22 Novembre 2020

Pros: S line

Cons: Cost

Opinion: Having had this optics for a few days now, moving to the Z system, I traded 20 1.8 g for this optics that seems superior to the previous model in all. Clear from fear even at the edges you can take more than good photos at full opening, flares and absent reflections you have to go and obviously look for attention to the neutral filters that you mount us, I no longer use them, especially on these new optics. The only drawback perhaps is the graft, because the lens has the barrel for quite long focus and when I go to insert the optics on the machine it turns and gives me the impression that I did not insert it well. But I repeat it is I who have big hands. However upset even if the price is Altino I recommend it, now there is a cash discount of 150 EU.

Agostini Federico

sent on 28 Agosto 2020

Pros: Maybe the size and weight

Cons: Nothing.

Opinion: I like to take pictures of landscape, night and milky way. For the landscape I use on the Z 7 and Z6 the 14-30 with great satisfaction and results, I was therefore looking for a better lens for the night and after reading the various reviews I decided to buy the 20 mm 1.8 and I have to say that the choice was great. In terms of sharpness, and image quality I say that it is one of the best, if not the best 20 mm in circulation, try to believe, I think I have nothing else to add, I took pictures at night in Rome, and the Milky Way at Elba and in Val D'Orcia that are amazing, so ladies and gentlemen and buy it, you will not regret it.