Nikon Reveals First Z DX Power-Zoom

2023.04.18

This morning Nikon revealed the very first power zoom lens for their Z mirrorless platform. The newly announced lens is an ultra-wide zoom designed to cover an APS-C sensor and is also the second weatherproof DX lens for Z-mount from Nikon which hints at future plans for the system.

The new Nikkor Z DX 12-28mm F/3.5-5.6 PZ VR is quite an extraordinary lens, especially considering that the APS-C series of Z-Mount Mirrorless Digital Cameras are aimed at entry-level users. This highly compact zoom lens captures a 99°-53° angle-of-view, equivalent to a 18-42mm lens on a Full-Frame camera. Nikon managed to make this lens weather-sealed and still squeezed in a 4½-stop image-stabilization system plus a power zoom mechanism. Image-stabilization is important for DX Z lenses since no Z-mount camera offers IBIS.

Two fly-by-wire rings control internal motors inside the Nikon Z DX 12-28mm F/3.5-5.6 PZ VR. The larger one in front adjusts focus when the camera is set to Manual Focus mode, while the rear one controls the optical zoom. It is also possible to control the zoom remotely via additional camera buttons or Bluetooth which adds support for the MC-N10 Grip, the ML-L7 Remote, the SnapBridge Smartphone App or NX Tether computer software. There is even 11 zooming speeds to choose from. Both the zoom and focus mechanisms are completely internal which keeps the size and balance of the lens fixed.

To make this lens so compact, Nikon had to limit its light gathering ability, another reason why including image stabilization was important on this lens. At wide-angle, its F/3.5 maximum aperture is fair but this drops down to a dim F/5.6 towards the long end. Together wide its short focal-length, this means that the DX 12-28mm F/3.5-5.6 will always capture an expansive depth-of-field. This wide-angle zoom weighs just 205g which is incredibly light for any lens. The DX 12-28mm F/3.5-5.6 VR PZ can focus down to 19cm from the focal-plane, resulting in a maximum magnification of 0.21X when its focal-length is set to 28mm.

This lens accepts standard 67mm screw-on filters and comes with a petal-type lens hood attached via a bayonet mount. The rear mount appears to be a composite plastic which will make it less durable but it is impossible to determine how much difference it will make.

The new Nikkor Z DX 12-28mm F/3.5-5.6 PZ VR is scheduled to ship at the end of next month for $360 USD or $500 CAD. Both Adorama and B&H Photo are already accepting pre-orders.

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