What I am Doing Now (2 September 2022)

So, now I’m finally with Nikon Z 6II, but also thinking about introducing a bit of change to my lens lineup which consists of Nikon 18-35mm (f/3.5-4.5) and Nikon 14mm (f/2.8) . The latter will be let go, as it’s been underused and will not autofocus on the Z mount adapter. 😢

I’ve been using 18-35mm as my main lens for the past 9 years and quite satisfied, but tempted to replace it with either Nikon 16-35mm (f/4) or Nikon Z 14-30mm (f/4) .

In terms of focal length, 16-35mm is the perfect range when it comes to shooting cityscapes in Singapore. Although 14-30mm lets me go 2mm wider, losing 5mm at the tele-end is a bit hard to bear.

Besides, while 16-35mm uses 77mm filter thread size (same as 18-35mm), 14-30mm uses 82mm, and I feel stupid to replace all my 77mm filters (UV, ND 3, 6 and 10 stops) with 82mm ones. 😅

Anyway, in order to make a decision, I rented 16-35mm for testing last weekend, but immediately felt it’s quite front-heavy. 16-35mm is a physically long lens, but with the Z mount adapter (FTZ II ) placed between the body and the lens, it has become even longer and heavier (the combined weight of the lens and FTZ II is over 800g).

As for the sharpness, it turned out to be not any better than my 18-35mm, so I’ll give it a pass on 16-35mm! The next up is 14-30mm Z that I’m renting this weekend. I’m secretly hoping that the sharpness isn’t any better than 18-35mm so that I don’t have to worry about making a difficult decision on whether to get this lens and all my 77mm filters replaced with 82mm ones. 😂

Updated on 2 September 2022 from Singapore.

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About the Author: LASTLIGHTS.NET is a passion project of Joey J, a Singapore-based Japanese photographer primarily shooting cityscape photography with long exposure at blue hour. Visit his Home Gallery (30 most favourite photos taken) or download his free eBook, Getting Started with Long Exposure Photography.