Nikon Z 24-105mm F4-7.1 sample gallery and impressions: Nikon's new budget zoom

When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission. Photo: Mitchell Clark Earlier this year, Nikon announced the Nikkor 24-105mm F4-7.1, a new, budget full-frame zoom lens designed to be kitted with its entry-level full-frame offering, the Z5II. We've put in some time with it to see how it performs. As a note, while we've spent some time with the lens on a Z5II, our sample gallery was produced using the higher-resolution Z8; it's probably not a pairing you'll see often out in the wild, but we want to show the lens's image quality in as much detail as possible. Jump to Sample Gallery Speaking of, I'll admit that I had certain expectations coming into shooting with this lens. If you've ever used an inexpensive lens with a wide focal range and a relatively slow, variable aperture, you're probably aware that it's not a formula for great image quality. Despite that, I found the 24-105mm to be decently sharp for most of the frame, even wide open. Vignetting was also quite a bit better than I'd have guessed; it's there at F4, and doesn't fully go away until F8, but even wide open it's not too noticeable unless you're specifically taking comparison shots. The shooting experience In good light, the 24-105mm F4-7.1 produces impressive image quality for its price throughout its focal range. Nikon Z8 | Nikkor 24-105 F4-7.1 | 45mm | F5.6 | 1/50 sec | ISO 90 Nikon used a stepper motor to power this lens' autofocus, which is what we'd expect for this price range. It performs well; the lens is quick to focus, even when you're going from close up to near infinity. While it's not lightning fast, it'll get the job done for most types of shooting. The 24-105mm extends quite a way out when you're zooming in, but despite this, its center of gravity doesn't change that much. It's a small thing, but it's nice not having to adjust your grip as you change focal lengths. I also didn't find that the lens forced me to hold it in a way that made me accidentally activate the customizable control ring. It's not all sunshine, though. Even with modern cameras with stabilized sensors and decent high ISO performance, F7.1 is still quite slow. You don't get down to it until you're almost entirely zoomed in – even at 85mm, the lens can still maintain F6.3 – but it will limit what you can do with it. You won't want to shoot fast-moving subjects unless they're in bright sunlight, and while its longer focal lengths are theoretically decent for portraiture, you may not be able to get as much subject separation as you'd want. Still, if you prefer the wide-end, it's worth noting that the maximum aperture stays relatively fast for a while. At 35mm it's F4.2, and it stays at or under F5.6 until around 62mm. Summary While these kinds of lenses are rarely the most exciting, Nikon has built a decent selection of kit zooms for its Z mount cameras. Retailing for $550 on its own and adding $350 to the retail price of the Z5II, this is the company's least expensive full-frame offering in that category by a fair margin. The 24-200mm F4-6.3 VR retails for $400 more, and adds an additional $450 onto the price of the Z5II. And while that lens is well-regarded, has stabilization and is faster at its long(er) end, it's also a fair bit heavier and a bit larger, though the size gap between them isn't as big as you might think given its extra reach. While the 24-105mm isn't the kind of lens that most photographers will keep around forever, it seems like it offers a decent place to start for those who aren't sure yet where their photography journey will take them. Sample Gallery Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter/magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing; we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it. Sample galleryThis widget is not optimized for RSS feed readers. Click here to open it in a new browser window / tab.

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