Nikon Z User

For as long as there have been interchangeable lens cameras, there have also been third party lenses, i.e., companies capitalizing on the success of a camera system by selling additional lenses. Mostly, the third party producers have been competing on price : Getting customers by producing and selling less costly lenses. However, just competing on price is of course very unambitious: It leads to a race to the bottom, a place where nobody wants to be. So another way to attract customers, while also charge a premium price, is to produce exotic lenses. Laowa (Venus Optics) have been exploring this area for a while, for example with the unique 2x macro probe lens and various ultra wide angle lenses. This strategy makes good sense, since these unique lenses can be sold at a premium price point. Interchangeable lens camera users now are generally more willing to pay a high price for lenses that give them new possibilities. The casual  users looking for entry level products are largely g

As single lens reflex (SLR) cameras became popular during the 1960's, the 50mm lens became known as the "normal lens". Since this time, the large aperture 50mm lens has been one of the most popular lenses for photography enthusiasts to use. And any new format has to launch this lens relatively early. So here we have the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S . Seen here on the Nikon Z 7 mirrorless camera (left). For comparison, I have the 1980's era Nikon F3 with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AiS pancake lens (middle), released in 1980. For the fun of it, I also have the Nikon 1 J5 with the 18.5mm f/1.8 lens (right), which was Nikon's first mirrorless camera system. And as you have guessed already, the 18.5mm lens has the same field of view as a 50mm lens on a film based camera, with the 2.7x crop factor of the 1'' sensor. In this article, I will compare the new Z lens with the classic lens from 1980. But first: Why do we have "normal lenses"? Normal lens Some