Sharpness at 50mm

For this review, the sharpness test is carried out by photographing a real-world sample, rather than a test chart. The Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens was mounted on a Nikon Z 7, which was in-turn mounted on a sturdy tripod. Exposure delay was activated to prevent camera-shake. Any changes in tone you might see across the crops are due to natural light changes during the shooting session.

The full frame at 50mm

At 50mm, sharpness is superb at the centre when looking at images shot at f/4. It remains excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, with sharpness dropping just a touch at f/11. At f/16, the image is also very good, but a little bit softer. It is softest at f/16. Looking at the images at normal printing sizes, the overall impression of sharpness is very good no matter which aperture you select. At the edges of the images, the sharpest images can be seen between f/8 and f/16.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22