JD750 Loc: SoCal

One of my favorite Nikkor lenses is the 50mm f1.8 (I have the D model but the newer version is the G model). It’s light, small, sharp and fast. What is not to like?

Now with the Z series Nikon redesigned the lens mount and they are offering a 50mm f1.8 S which is native lenses for the Z series bodies. So both lenses are the same focal length and speed, (f1.8) but there is a big difference in size, weight and cost. Almost 50% more for the S lens. I am confused. It’s a 50mm prime so why is it so big, heavy and expensive? Almost 3x the cost of the F mount ancestor. Yet, it’s not any faster.

So if I buy a Z body then I get to pay 2x for a native 50mm Prime lens that is no faster than the older F series? I must be missing something here. What is driving the size/weight/cost of the S? And why do I want to buy that one ?

New Z Body S lens 50mm f1.8

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F Mount 50mm F1.8

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CO

I rented the Z6 for two weeks recently along with the 24-70mm f/4 S lens and the 50mm f/1.8 S lens. The 50mm is larger and heavier than the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lenses for F-mount. I don't know the reason why. The new S lenses do have the new stepper focusing motor instead of the silent wave (AF-S) motor.

The Nikon 50mm f/1.8 S lens is a lot like my Tamron 45mm f/1.8 SP VC lens. The Tamron weighs 520 grams. It's a solid lens with metal construction and is fully weather sealed.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

How was the 50mm Nikkor lens? Is it sharp? Does it focus quickly? Any advantages over the F mount other than the quiet motor?

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

My guess is the new lens will have better color contrast and sharpness. Especially at wide apertures which is the true test for evaluating lens quality.

CO

I went out and did a lot of test shots when I had the camera. The lens is very sharp. It's very hard to determine if it focuses quickly because it's so quiet. I always thought the Nikon silent wave (AF-S) motors were quiet. The stepping motors in the new lenses are even quieter. The only way to tell that it's focusing is to see the image come into focus in the viewfinder. It seemed reasonably fast from what I could tell.

Nikon says that the new Z lens mount allows them to design lenses with better edge performance - less vignetting, and coma. They're supposed to be good for people who like to do night sky photography. Points of light near the edges of the frame won't be distorted from coma. I'll post some test shots I did. The first photo is a screen shot of an image I had up in Nikon Capture NX-D. I turned on "Show Focus Point" and "Show Camera Information". I had the focus point on the clock on the front of the bicycle. The next two images are .jpeg files - the first one at f/1.8, the next one at f/4. I don't see any vignetting in the corners.

Screen shot in Capture NX-D. Show focus point turned on

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f/1.8 aperture. No vignetting in the corners from what I can tell

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f/4 aperture

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Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

The new “Z” bodies have a larger lens mount flange than the venerable F mount to accommodate larger apertures such a f/1.2 and f/0.95. Nikon was not able to achieve those apertures with the smaller F mount flange. That’s the reason.

CO

I wonder if there's more to it than that. My Tamron 45mm f/1.8 SP VC lens is designed for the smaller Nikon F-mount but weighs 520 grams. That's even more than the new 50mm f/1.8 for Z-mount. It has a professional build quality with a metal lens barrel. It seems more substantial than other 50mm lenses.

BebuLamar

Well the Z mount is larger so the lens must be larger at the lens mount. It can be smaller in the front but I guess Nikon didn't want to do that. I also guess that the F mount lens is shorter because the longer flange distance on the F mount make up for that.
The S lenses has more elements and has a 9 blade diaphragm instead of 7 in the G lens. The S lenses have electronic diaphragm so a motor or actuator is needed in the lens. I think the S lens also is sharper.
The fact that the S lens has stepping motor shouldn't make it more expensive as I believe stepping motor is cheaper than the silent wave motor.

cedymock Loc: Irmo, South Carolina

Hope this helps ?
Photo specification are different from technical specification when you looking for what a lens can do (50mm f 1.8) when you are looking at cost and weight technical specification (size number of elements weather sealing).
The 50mm f/1.8 for Z-mount has 12 elements, more glass more weight more cost.
The 50mm f/1.8 for F-mount has 7 elements, less glass less weight less cost.

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/mirrorless-lenses/nikkor-z-50mm-f%252f1.8-s.html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-TechSpecs

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/camera-lenses/af-s-nikkor-50mm-f%252f1.8g.html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-TechSpecs

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, design can be confusing, as can pricing. The Z is a different camera, so I think Nikon did the best they could designing a lens that would be perfect for that camera. The old 50mm f/1.8 was perfect for their DSLRs.

cedymock Loc: Irmo, South Carolina

Sorry BebuLamar didn't see your post before I replied didn't mean to duplicate.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

This is the reason - less compromises in the design and execution of the lens !

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aflundi Loc: Albuquerque, NM

The two are in completely different classes. The F-mount Nikon 50s are pretty sharp in the center and somewhat softer at the edges. They also have a lot of additional imperfections such as chromatic aberrations, coma, etc. The Z-mount 50 on the other hand is *very* sharp edge to edge wide open with extremely low distortion and other aberrations. Its optics are in the same class as the $4000 55mm Zeiss Otus.

The Sigma 50/1.4Art is also big, heavy and more expensive and is much sharper than the F-mount Nikon 50s, but not quite up to the image quality of the 50/1.8S.

The Z-mount 50 was also designed to have characteristics more amenable to video than the F-mount lenses such as quiet, speed-controlled focus.

There's a lot more to a lens than just its focal length and max f-stop.

That's not to say the F-mount lenses aren't any good. I love each of the 50/1.8G, 50/1.4G, 50/1.4D, and 50/1.4Art as each has an advantage -- a unique look, size and weight, and/or price. They all produce good images. But, the 50/1.8S is an absolute bargain if you are looking for something close to perfection.

spraguead Loc: Boston, MA

Even the newer Nikon 50 G series have been rumored to soon be completely updated. At which point they'll probably be bigger, heaver, with more glass inside to improve sharpness, coma, etc.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

From my perspective, the value of the Z cameras is the ability it gives Nikon to make some even better lenses than they do now. I suspect these improved lenses will come at a price. From what's available so far, some of the F4 lenses 'seem' lighter and smaller. With today's vastly improved sensors, F4 seems to be the new F2.8! That said, I can't wait to see what Nikon cooks up in the F0.95 arena. The Z system is new and development ongoing. At the moment I wouldn't trade my 400/2.8 and D5 combo for a Z system, but who knows what's coming. And who really needs, or cares about that mirror anyway. Just my rant. Best of luck.