I tested the DX 24mm F1.7 with the 20.9MP Z50II and Imatest software in our lab to get a handle on its resolving power. It scores in the excellent range (2,400 lines) at f/1.7 and f/2, and crosses into outstanding through the rest of its f/2.8-11 aperture range (2,600-3,000 lines). Most lenses support smaller apertures, typically f/16-22 is the minimum, but I didn’t really miss having the narrower options here as resolution typically suffers when stopping down beyond f/11.
Nikon Z50II, f/1.7, 1/4,000-second, ISO 100 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The lens shows some inward pincushion distortion and, at wider apertures, a vignette. If you use your camera for JPG images or movies, it will apply corrections to compensate, straightening lines and brightening corners. If you use Raw capture you’ll need to apply corrections when processing photos, however. Both Adobe Lightroom and Lightroom Classic include a profile for the lens that applies correction on catalog import.
The prime does a very good job against a backlight. I made some photos with the sun low in the sky behind a subject and see strong contrast in the foreground with no signs of false color from reflections.
Nikon Z50II, f/1.7, 1/2,500-second, ISO 100 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The lens is capable of a very shallow depth of field when used at wider apertures. The background blur is pleasing. I noticed softer edges around defocused highlights and couldn’t spot any onion skin texture in them, a combination that lends itself to cleaner backgrounds. There is some false purple and green color (longitudinal chromatic aberration) visible in backgrounds, especially in busier scenes with areas of high contrast placed behind the plane of focus. In all, I’m pleased with the character of the bokeh, though I’ll caution that you’ll want to use the lens at f/1.7 or f/2.0 for scenes with brightly defocused highlights as the 7-blade aperture takes on a polygonal shape starting at f/2.8.
Nikon Z50II, f/1.7, 1/4,000-second, ISO 100 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
