Nikon Z 24-105mm f/4-7.1 Review: A Light Travel Zoom With Half-Life-Size Close-Ups

Nikon announced the Nikon Z 24-105mm f/4-7.1 on January 7, 2026, at $549.95 on its own or $2,199.95 in a kit with the Nikon Z5II. It’s a full-frame kit zoom that weighs 350 grams and covers a useful range: wide enough for a street, long enough for a face across a table.

Its trick is close focusing. From 70mm to 105mm it reaches 0.5x magnification, half life size, which turns a travel zoom into a decent lens for food, flowers and small details.

Travel days are where a light zoom earns its keep. One lens, from a harbor view at 24mm to boats and cranes at 105mm, without stopping to change anything.

Photo: Media Gallery

Ken Rockwell’s review is the most complete video review we found for this lens.

Video review: Ken Rockwell

Design

The lens has 12 elements in 10 groups, with one ED and two aspherical elements. The aperture has seven blades, and the filter thread is 67mm. Close focus is 20cm at the wide end and 28cm at the long end. A stepping motor drives the focus.

It extends by about 55mm as you zoom, as Camera Labs measured. There’s no optical VR, so it relies on in-body stabilization, which every current full-frame Nikon has. A single control ring can be set to focus, aperture, exposure compensation or ISO. There’s no focus ring, no AF/MF switch and no zoom lock. Nikon calls it dust and drip resistant, though PetaPixel said it isn’t sealed. The mount is plastic and the hood is sold separately.

On a DX body it covers about 36-158mm equivalent, and supported cameras can use Hi-Res Zoom to stretch it to about 210mm.

How it performs

Camera Labs, Digital Camera World, Amateur Photographer, Photography Blog and PetaPixel all praised the size and weight for the range. The 0.5x close focus drew praise from four of them. Autofocus is quick and quiet, and the center is sharp.

The trade-off is light. f/7.1 at the long end came up in every review, and it means higher ISO indoors and little background blur. Wide-open sharpness and edges are only average, and Amateur Photographer gave it 3.5 out of 5 on optics. Vignetting is visible. Camera Labs measured 4% focus breathing, saw some zoom creep and found it isn’t parfocal.

Who should buy it

New full-frame Nikon owners who want one light lens for travel and everyday shooting. In the Z5II kit it’s an easy recommendation, and it suits the Zf as a walk-around lens.

If you want a constant aperture, the Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S is the step up at roughly twice the price and nearly twice the weight. For more reach, the Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR adds stabilization. If you want f/2.8, the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II is the pro option. Canon’s equivalent is the RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM, which has optical stabilization.

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