The Nikon Z system has truly come of age over the past year, with new offerings to suit beginners taking their first steps in photography right through to the most seasoned professionals. High-performance yet ultra-compact and very affordable lenses like the Z 28mm f/2.8 and Z 40mm f/2 were launched in time to make it into last year’s Gear of the Year awards but this year has seen a raft of fully tricked-up new lenses, not just from Nikon, but also from independent manufacturers, including Laowa, Viltrox and Yongnuo. Previously released lenses from 7Artisans and Laowa also grab a couple of gongs. And it’s not just about lenses. We’ve seen new Nikon cameras this year at both ends of the price range, with unique benefits. While these bodies set the stage, there’s been an impressive supporting cast of accessories including monopods, tripods and filter kits.
BEGINNER/BUDGET
WINNER: BEST MACRO LENS
Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Ultra Macro APO
£519/$499 Tested in issue
* WHAT WE LOVE
If twice as much is twice as good, this Laowa macro lens comes up trumps with a whopping 2x maximum magnification. In a nutshell, it can capture small objects at twice life size on the camera’s image sensor, enabling massive enlargements of near-microscopic detail when viewing the resulting images on screen or in print. Formerly available in F-mount for DSLRs, a newer redesigned edition is available in native Z-mount. This Laowa can capture nuances that you can’t even see with the naked eye.
* WHAT’S MISSING?
There are no electronics so you have to focus and set the aperture manually, but manual focusing is often preferred in macro photography.
* WHY UPGRADE?
When even a full 1.0x
