12 lenses of Christmas: Nikon rewrites the superzoom rulebook

Nikon Z 28-400mm F4-8 VR.

For each of the 12 days of Christmas, we'lll be looking back on the 12 months of 2024 – and all the lenses that every month brought. Today we're revisiting March…

We’d long been rightly impressed with the Nikon Z 24-200mm superzoom for the company’s mirrorless cameras, but March’s announcement of the new Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR really was something special.

This remarkable lens for full-frame cameras takes you all the way from a wide-angle perspective to super-telephoto reach, with just the flick of a wrist. It’s equally viable for use on Nikon’s DX (APS-C) format Z system bodies, on which it gives a spectacular ‘effective’ 42-600mm zoom range.

The Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR is ideal for travel photography, where you only want to take and carry a single lens, and for any other time you don’t want to swap between lenses on your camera body (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

One thing that’s necessarily lacking in the Nikon Z 28-400mm, however, is a fast aperture, which shrinks to f/8 at the long end. With a more standard zoom range, the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 launched for the Nikon Z mount, following on from the existing Sony E-mount offering.

The Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 is an excellent lens that offers a more compact, lightweight and affordable alternative to ‘trinity’ standard zooms (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Speaking of speed, many photographers definitely wouldn’t class an f/2.8 lens as ‘fast’. Catering to Sony E and L-mount shooters, March saw the announcement of the truly speedy Sigma 50mm f/1.2 DG DN | Art. We’re used to Sigma’s Art lenses being quite chunky, but this one has a refreshingly compact and lightweight design – especially for an f/1.2 prime.

Weighing in at just 745g, the Sigma 50mm f/1.2 DG DN | Art is some 30 per cent lighter than the sibling Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN | Art (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

On the subject of lightweight lenses, there was also the launch of the Yongnuo YN11mm f/1.8S DA DSM WL for APS-C format Sony E-mount cameras. Although very compact, it squeezes in not only an aperture control ring but also a wireless remote control facility, available via Yongnuo’s handy little controller, available separately or as part of a complete kit.

Going in the opposite direction, there was news that the fully manual Voigtländer Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Aspherical in Canon RF mount would be arriving the following month.

The APS-C format Yongnuo YN11mm f/1.8S DA DSM WL is available with a separate remote controller, ideal for transitioning between different focus distances (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Following on from the previous month’s medium format lens reviews, we tested the wide-angle Fujifilm GF 23mm f/4 R LM WR and the amazingly compact full-frame Panasonic Lumix S 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. A real potpourri of lenses across all formats!

The Fujifilm GF 23mm f/4 R LM WR gives a wider-angle perspective than you might think. On a medium format body it has an ‘effective’ 18mm focal length in full-frame terms, with a 100° viewing angle (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

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