6 reasons the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II is great for video

A complete redesign

The NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II has undergone an interior and exterior design overhaul to make it lighter, more efficient and more responsive.

Internally, the number of lens groups and elements has been reduced, meaning less weight and better performance. There are also more aperture blades (11), enabling smoother focus falloff and bokeh. New SSVCM (Silky Swift Voice Coil Motor) focus motors have been added for faster autofocus (and the previous version of this lens was already pretty quick). Why is all of that important? Because it provides better-looking images and faster, quieter autofocus.

External design improvements include a rubberised focus ring as opposed to the metal one in the previous version. It’s also slightly larger and easier to grip. And the function wheel has a silent mode, so you won’t hear clicking if you need to adjust it during a recording session.

These all help make the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II a good video lens, but one of the biggest changes to this version is the self-contained zoom. 

Internal zoom

The first thing you’ll notice when using the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II is the lack of movement when you’re changing focal lengths. Whether you’re at 24mm or all the way zoomed in at 70mm, the lens barrel stays the same length because the zoom is contained inside the body of the lens. This is a world first for a 24-70mm zoom lens and a real bonus for video.

It’s also useful when you have it on a gimbal, as you won’t have to worry about adjusting for differing lengths when zooming in or out. Fewer parts moving in and out of the lens body also means less opportunity for dust and water from the environment to get inside. The fact that the barrel doesn’t extend also means the lens is fully compatible with accessories such as matte boxes.

Lighter weight

Long sessions with heavy gear can be extremely tiring, especially if there are a lot of handheld or gimbal situations. To help with that, the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II is the world’s lightest 24-70mm f/2.8 lens in its class, weighing in at just 675g. It also means your gear is lighter to carry around from scene to scene.

Focal length versatility

With the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II, you get multiple common focal lengths with a wide aperture. That adds up to fewer lenses in your camera bag on shoot day, less equipment to carry around and the ability to capture a variety of creative angles. 

This lens’s wide 24mm focal length also makes it versatile enough to film in small spaces. Say you’re making a talking head-style YouTube video where you need to record yourself and only have a small room to work in. You can pull back to 24mm and still get the footage you need without hunting for a different lens. If you’re at a concert and need to get closer to the artist, you can zoom in to 70mm for a tighter focal length.

Lightning-fast AF

Autofocus on the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II is our best yet, with 5x faster performance than the Mk 1 lens. With 40% reduction in scan time at the telephoto end, 50% quieter performance (even at the highest speeds) and a massive 60% quicker focus tracking when zooming, the AF on this lens won’t let you down when the action happens.

Get close to your subject

Closeups are no problem here, with the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II having a minimum focus distance of just 24cm at 24mm and 33cm at 70mm. This means you can get those detail clips that go towards telling an effective story.

Minimal focus breathing

A persistent challenge of filming, especially when filming yourself, is the dreaded focus breathing when switching between or tracking subjects.

The motors used in this lens are better able to quickly and quietly pull focus, and its autofocusing elements can be detected more accurately. For a real-world demonstration of how this works, check out this video from Nikon expert and photographer Ricci Cherra. You can see this lens switch between subjects almost flawlessly, with nearly zero focus breathing. In fact, focus breathing has been cut by half compared to the previous version, so you can do those extreme focus pulls with no worries.

De-clickable control ring

The ability to turn the control ring click off is a boon in video, when you want a quiet and smooth transition in whatever function is assigned to it.

Lens hood with filter window

Included with the lens, the filter window allows you to rotate a variable ND filter with the lens hood still attached, for faster workflow.