The whole world is waiting for a good native 28mm Z lens. The focal length is conspicuously absent from the Z lineup. I suspect Nikon will make the Z 28mm one of their suoer-duper "special" lenses, which (to them) means optically excellent but physically bloated beyond reason. Myabe Mr. Kobayashi will help. While I would welcome his potential contribution of a nice Voigtlander Z 28mm, it certainly won't be auto focus.
My experience with the the Z 28mm "Plastique" is that technically, it easily competes with the best of the old Nikon manual focus 28mms. Personally, I find the tiny front element with the aperture right behind upsetting and a touch creepy. It just doesn't look right.
The 28/2.8SE does fine against the 28mm f2.8 AIS. But that lens is 40 years old now isnt it?
I know the 28 cron costs 5 grand but it is 20 years old (mine is v2 so maybe half that but still, it is fundamentally the same design). Maybe it's a house style thing but working with Zf files shot with the 28 cron, vs the 28 Z, well there's just more there. More separation of colors and tones and you can push harder. Which for me matters as I like to push my raw files pretty hard. Sharpness... uh yeah the Cron is also definitely that but I care less about that.
I think Nikon is capable of making small lenses that are good. The question is are they willing to charge 1000, 1500, 2000 for a lens all the reviewers on youtube will not understand? All youtubers want is sharpness and shallow DoF. They even say "I dont see the different in these two" between the 105 that's swirling like an old Russian lens and the 70-200 for the same shot (this comment inspired by an actual youtube video I saw with many many thousands of views). Thanks, you sold me on the 105 but you didnt even notice they were obviously different renderings lol.
When you compare the lengths of, say, the Z 50/1.8 with that of a Nikon 50 AiS lens + adapter, you are kind of in the same place. I think Nikon wanted performance out of its lenses where the cost-is-no-object performance of Zeiss lenses has placed the market. This is why, IMHO, many of the Nikon Z lenses (like that 50 and the 35/1.8) are so large -- very modern design w/lots of elements. The 26, 28, 40 are something else -- optimized for portability rather than lens speed. But (as I think you imply) the Zf is a modestly sized body compared to the Z8/Z9 and those big honkers look a bit out of place on it.
FWIW with today's sensors, I wonder whether what we want is a wide with little to no light fall-off as opposed to a fast prime per se. I can't think of a picture I could take with my 28/2 AiS lens that I couldn't also make with its little Z28 (and slower f:28) cousin. Based on light levels at least.
The size thing is why I gave up adapting SLR lenses. Why would I bother, when the 50/1.8S is as good as it is? It renders amazing as well, though the contrast is a bit much.
BUT, you can throw a 50 Lux on the front, and it's a lot smaller. Yes the 1.8S is sharper. In fact it is one of the sharpest lenses money can buy for peak resolution in the center 2/3rds of the frame. It renders really beautifully too. It autofocuses. But the size is huge. What I'd like is for Nikon to make an F2.0 that performs more like the Lux; it can have some field curvature and vignetting and weaker corners if it's small.
Instead the offering is a 6/4 40mm. Which is... ok. I guess. It's not weather sealed though and that's one of the big selling points of the whole system. Like, middle ground! That's what I want lol. Middle ground.
Also no, I think we want vignetting and distortion if it can get us a faster aperture without the aberrations that are hard to suppress in software. Nikon already is allowing for both, and size, not just for sharpness but for a lot of these lenses to not have focus breathing for them to be video appropriate. Given the Zf is a stills first camera, and it focuses with the lens closed down, I'd be absolutely fine with some focus shift, breathing, etc. to cut down on size. Same with distortion and vignetting.
I don't need a 2.0 that's true. What I do need is a better lens than the 28mm. JMO. I'm willing to pay huge money. Frankly, I have, because I'm going to also be shooting digital Leica going forward because I think Leica balances size and performance better. If Nikon can start offering something a bit more reasonably sized I will be SOOOOO happy I genuinely think the Zf is just an amazing camera and I can hand it to a friend and be in focus in a picture. Trust me I have never been in focus in a photograph in my life that was taken by a friend or family member lol.
