The S-Line series of Nikkor Z optics has been steadily proving itself to be something special. Joining the fray and eager to prove its own excellence is the new Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S, in itself an ambitious specification. 50mm lenses are considered the standard lens for full-frame DSLR cameras and range from the diminutive “plastic fantastics”, through to the conventional high-quality lenses and then on to the new batch of exceptionally high quality, very large and heavy optics that are being seen across the whole range of manufacturers. Many of these are 50mm f/1.4 lenses, but a few push that maximum aperture to f/1.2, squeezing the last third of a stop at a very high cost in the price. We now couple the new lens with the 45.7MP Nikon Z7 body and see if it lives up to its potential and can justify its price-point.

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Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S Handling and Features

As we might expect, this is a big lens, weighing in at a hefty 1090g, although to be fair this balances well with the Z7 body and doesn't seem too excessive in use. The lens has extensive weather sealing, a very welcome and now becoming expected feature, and overall the high quality of construction is impressive.

There is a provided petal-shaped lens hood and this bayonets nicely on to the front of the lens. A locking catch is provided. Within the bayonet fit for the hood is a standard 82mm filter thread.

The manual focusing ring is very substantial and, being electronic, utterly smooth in operation. Focusing is down to 0.45m or 1.48 feet, a maximum magnification of 0.15x. This is exactly what we would expect from a 50mm lens and it does enable fairly close photography, but not anywhere near macro magnification. The positioning of the focusing ring means that it could be accidentally moved during AF if the left hand is used to cradle and hold the lens. Fortunately, if this is a problem the option for continuous manual focusing in AF can be switched off.

Immediately behind this is the OLED display. When switching on, this displays NIKKOR and then changes to the selected value. The choice is controlled by a button close by on the lens marked DISP and we can select aperture value or distance. The distance scale can be set to feet or metres. It also incorporates a sliding bar to indicate depth of field. However, the visible scale is very small and there are not enough figures to make this a useful feature. To be more practical, the display would need to be much larger, allowing a wider spread of figures on the scale.

Further round the lens barrel at this point there is also the L-Fn button, which can be programmed to perform various functions using the camera menu.

The final control ring, closest to the camera, can be set to adjust aperture, ISO or exposure compensation. The aperture function could be very useful for videographers as the electromagnetic diaphragm, coupled with this control, makes for totally silent aperture control. The diaphragm has 9 blades, a positive feature for beautiful bokeh.

Optical construction is 17 elements in 15 groups, with 2 ED (Extra Low Dispersion) and 3 Aspherical. Nikon's ARNEO coating plus Nanocrystal coatings complete the picture. The diaphragm has 9 blades for enhanced bokeh.

The lens handles beautifully, it is a total pleasure to use. The weight and bulk has to be accepted, and the cost of course, but in terms of actual usage it is a beauty. In a practical sense, using the camera to control the aperture may be preferable for some, but the option of having the control ring to do this is extremely useful.

As regards the focal length, 50mm is a standard lens for a very good reason, equating the field of view to give an image very similar to that seen naturally by the human eye. The 50mm lens has been largely replaced by the kit zoom for the initial purchase, but the increased quality of a prime lens is not to be underestimated.