In summary
As the only dedicated telephoto lens available with a Z-mount, this lens is the natural choice for owners of the Z50 camera who are interested in photographing sports action or wildlife.
Its 5x optical zoom range spans the equivalent of a 75-375mm focal length range in 35mm format, which covers everything from close-up portraits through to bird photography.
With maximum apertures ranging from f/4.5 at 50mm to f/6.3 at 250mm, this lens isn’t very fast, but overall it’s a good performer.
Full review
Announced in October 2019, the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens in one of only two dedicated to Nikon’s APS-C Z-mount and is commonly bundled with the Z50 camera. Covering focal lengths equivalent to 75-375mm in 35mm format, it can focus to within half a metre with a maximum magnification of 0.23x. Built-in VR stabilisation can co-ordinate with the Dual Detect Optical VR in the Z50 to provide up to five stops of shake correction when shooting hand-held.
Side view of the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens. (Source: Nikon.)
The optical design of this lens is more complex than that of the 16-50mm lens, with 16 elements in 112 groups. One ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element has been included to suppress chromatic aberration and Nikon’s Super Integrated Coating has been applied to suppress ghosting and flare.
Internal focusing, driven by a stepping motor is fast and near silent, making it ideal for capturing both stills and video. Full-time focus over-ride enables users to adjust the focus while in AF mode by simply turning the control ring when it’s set to the focus position.
This lens is surprisingly light for its zoom range, weighing only 405 grams, but it’s also relatively slow, with maximum apertures ranging from f/4.5 at 50mm to f/6.5 at 250mm. Minimum focus distances range between 50 cm at the 50mm position and one metre at 250mm.
Who’s it For?
As the only dedicated telephoto lens available with a Z-mount, this lens is the natural choice for owners of the Z50 camera who are interested in photographing sports action or wildlife. Its 5x optical zoom range spans the equivalent of a 75-375mm focal length range in 35mm format, which covers everything from close-up portraits through to bird photography.
Unfortunately, with maximum apertures ranging from f/4.5 at 50mm to f/6.3 at 250mm, this lens isn’t very fast. But that’s the penalty you pay for having a compact, lightweight tele-zoom lens.
Build and Ergonomics
The Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR is made almost entirely from polycarbonate plastic, including its mounting plate. It is supplied without a lens hood, although an optional HB-90A hood is available and is recommended.
The retractable design means it must be extended before it can be used. This adds about 20 mm to its length at the 50mm focal length and 80 mm at the 250mm position, where the dual inner barrels are fully extended.
This diagram shows the external structure of the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens. (Source: Nikon.) 1. Lens hood mounting mark; 2. Zoom ring; 3. Focal length scale; 4. Focal length mark; 5. Control ring; 6. Lens mounting mark; 7. CPU contacts.
The zoom ring is roughly 67 mm long and positioned towards the front of the lens. Most of its length is clad in a finely-ribbed, rubber-like grip band. Focal length settings for the 50mm, 70mm, 100mm, 135mm, 200mm and 250mm positions are stamped on the trailing edge for lining up against the mark on the fixed section of the barrel behind the ring.
The control ring is 10 mm wide and located 6 mm aft of the zoom ring. While mainly used for manual focusing, it can be customised to perform other functions, including aperture, exposure compensation and ISO settings.
The lens barrel ends in a polycarbonate mounting plate with 11 gold-plated contacts that share electronic signals between the lens and the camera. It is supplied with front and end caps but no lens hood.
Performance
Our Imatest tests showed the 50-250mm lens was as good a performer as the 16-50mm lens, which is remarkable. And, like the shorter zoom, the best performance occurred at wider apertures, at least with the 50mm and 70mm focal length settings. We were unable to test the 200mm and 250mm focal lengths due to the limitations of our testing set-up.
We found the highest resolution was at the widest aperture setting with the 70mm focal length, as shown in the graph of our test results above. The 50mm focal length suffered from edge softening throughout most of its aperture range, while the 100mm and 135mm focal lengths were quite variable in their performance.
Lateral chromatic aberration was negligible across the aperture and focal length ranges, as shown in the graph of our Imatest results from JPEG files, below. Uncorrected raw files showed slightly higher CA levels but did not run into the ‘low’ band. The red line marks the boundary between ‘negligible’ and ‘low’ CA.
Normal backlighting was handled well and it was only possible to force the lens to flare when it was pointed at a bright light source. We found traces of veiling flare in contre-jour shots with a partially obscured bright light source within the image frame. But it was lower than expected, since no lens hood was supplied.
Our assessments of rectilinear distortion were carried out on converted raw files to avoid the impacts of the in-camera corrections applied to JPEGs. No obvious distortion was found across the focal length range of the lens.
Vignetting is another aberration that is automatically corrected in JPEG files in the review camera so once again, we had to evaluate raw files. Very slight vignetting could be seen at the widest apertures at all focal lengths but it wouldn’t be enough to worry most photographers. Fortunately, this aberration is easily corrected in image editors and most raw file converters so we don’t see it as a significant issue.
Bokeh at maximum apertures was similar to the results we obtained with the 16-50mm lens and almost as dependent on the focal length, shooting angle and relative brightness of the background. We found a tendency to render bright areas in the background as hard-edged circles, while outlining was common in areas of moderate brightness that were out-of-focus.
Autofocusing performance, which is influenced by the algorithms in the camera, was generally quite competently handled, provided lighting was adequate and there were contrast edges to focus upon. It helped us to able to obtain some great action close-ups with this lens in overcast conditions.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Picture angle: 31 degrees 30 minutes to 6 degrees 30 minutes
Minimum aperture: f/22 to f/32
Lens construction: 16 elements in 12groups (including 1 ED element)
Lens mounts: Nikon Z mount
Diaphragm Blades: 7 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: STM (Stepping Motor)
Stabilisation: Lens shift using voice coil motors (VCMs), up to 5 stops
Minimum focus: 50 cm at 50mm to 100 cm at 250mm
Maximum magnification: 0.23x
Filter size: 62 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 74 x 110 mm
Weight: 405 grams
Standard Accessories: LC-62B 62 mm front lens cap, LF-N1 rear lens cap
Distributor: Nikon Australia, 1300 366 499.
TESTS
Based on JPEG files captured with the Nikon Z50 camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 50mm.
Vignetting at 70mm.
Vignetting at 100mm.
Vignetting at 135mm.
Vignetting at 200mm.
Vignetting at 250mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 50mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 70mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 100mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 135mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 200mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 250mm.
50mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/11.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
Close-up at 50mm; ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/5.6.
Close-up at 250mm; ISO 100, 1/800 second at f/8.
Bokeh at 250mm focal length with even background lighting, f/3.5, ISO 400, 1/500 second.
Close-up at 250mm; ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/8.
Forced flare at 250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/640 second at f/6.3.
Strong backlighting at 50mm focal length; ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/7.1.
Strong backlighting at 250mm focal length; ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/6.3.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/6.3.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/6.3.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/640 second at f/6.3.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/6.3.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/6.3.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
230mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/6.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
250mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/125 second at f/7.1.
Additional image samples can be found with our review of the Nikon Z50 camera.
Rating
RRP: AU$349; US$349
- Build: 8.5
- Handling: 8.6
- Image quality: 8.9
- Versatility: 8.8
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