Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-105mm f/4-7.1 review: A practical zoom with one big video problem

There are lenses that win on paper. Then there are lenses that win by being easy to carry, easy to trust and easy to keep on the camera.

The Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-105mm f/4-7.1 ($550) is clearly trying to be the second kind. It is a compact, lightweight full-frame zoom built to cover most of a working day without asking much from your back, your bag or your budget. On paper, that is a practical mix. In use, it makes a lot of sense for hybrid shooters who need one lens to do a little bit of everything.

But this lens has one issue that matters more for video than anything else in its spec sheet: the aperture changes as you zoom. At 24 mm, the lens opens to f/4. At 105 mm, the widest it can open is f/7.1. That is a common compromise in lower-cost photo zooms. For video shooters, though, it is a bigger problem. A variable-aperture lens is harder to trust during a shot because brightness can shift as you zoom. If you want exposure to stay stable across the full range, you have to treat this like an f/7.1 lens. That changes how useful it is for motion work and defines who this lens is really for.

Design and handling

This lens gets a lot right before you even make a frame. It is light, reasonably compact and easy to leave on the camera. That matters more than many shooters want to admit. If a lens is small enough that you do not think twice about packing it, it has already won part of the battle.

Long days are where the design pays off. Carry it at an event or bring it on a trip without noticing the weight. During an office shoot, a campus walk-through or a day of pickup footage, it simply stays on the camera. If you shoot handheld often or work with a small support system, low weight isn’t glamorous, but it changes how often a lens is actually used.

The build is sensible, though Nikon saved money where you would expect. The lens feels more practical than premium. Weather resistance is here, but the construction is clearly aimed at keeping cost and weight down. The mount is plastic. You will not find an AF/MF switch on the barrel or optical stabilization inside the lens. The hood is sold separately too, which feels a little cheap on a lens designed for real-world use.

Still, the handling is straightforward. Nikon includes a customizable control ring, and the autofocus system uses an STM, or stepping motor. A stepping motor is generally quieter and smoother than older focus motor designs. For hybrid shooters, especially solo shooters, that is a real plus. You want autofocus that does its job without drawing attention to itself in the audio track or in visible focus jumps.

What the 24-105mm range means in real work

A 24-105 mm zoom is one of the most practical ranges you can put on a hybrid camera. At 24 mm, it covers establishing shots, interiors and handheld walk-and-talk pieces. The middle of the range, roughly 35 mm to 70 mm, handles interviews, medium shots and general B-roll. At 105 mm, you can isolate details, compress the background a little and grab tighter coverage without swapping lenses.

That extra reach over a 24-70 mm lens is bigger than it sounds. When video is the primary focus, flexibility beats purity. A corporate shooter moving from an office lobby to a conference room to a close-up of hands on a laptop does not always have time to change glass. A travel shooter bouncing between a market, a sidewalk interview and a food detail shot wants one lens that can keep up. This Nikon understands that job. The appeal is range, not elegance.

A focal range like this lets a lens stay on the camera, and that is worth a lot. Every swap slows a shutdown. Each one is another chance for dust, another lost moment, another interruption in rhythm. A useful midrange zoom earns its keep by reducing friction. The 24-105 mm format has always done that well, and this lens is no exception.

The video issue you cannot ignore

This is where the lens stops being easy to recommend without qualification.

The NIKKOR Z 24-105mm f/4-7.1 is a variable-aperture zoom. In plain English, the maximum aperture changes as you zoom. Aperture is the opening in the lens that lets light through, and a smaller f-number means a larger opening that passes more light. On this lens, the opening shrinks as you zoom in. It starts at f/4 on the wide end and closes down to f/7.1 by the long end.

That is not ideal for video. Zoom during a shot and the amount of light the lens can pass changes as you move through the range, which can produce a visible exposure shift. The image darkens as you push tighter. In still photography, that is often fine. In video, especially professional video, it is not what you want. Stable exposure is part of what makes a zoom usable during a take. This lens makes that harder.

To guarantee your exposure holds while zooming, you need to shoot at f/7.1 or smaller across the whole range. Even at 24 mm, where the lens could open to f/4, you give up that advantage if you want the freedom to zoom without a shift in brightness. In practice, a lens that looks like f/4 on paper becomes an f/7.1 lens for many video uses. That is a serious compromise. It costs you light, background blur and low-light flexibility.

This is why constant-aperture zooms are preferred for video. Keeping the same maximum aperture across the full zoom range makes exposure predictable and the lens easier to use in motion work. When using a photo lens for video, it is almost always better to have that consistency from end to end. This Nikon is not built that way, and video shooters need to weigh that honestly before buying.

None of this makes the lens useless for video. It changes how you use it. Set your focal length before the shot, then record. Do not plan on dramatic zooms during a take. Daylight coverage, locked-off interviews, behind-the-scenes capture, travel footage and general B-roll all play to its strengths. Event work in dim rooms does not. Neither does live reframing, where exposure consistency matters. If video is your primary discipline, you will be working around this lens rather than with it.

Autofocus and general video behavior

The good news is that the lens is competent in the places where many affordable zooms fall apart. Autofocus is quick, quiet and well-suited to hybrid use. It is not built to impress in a spec battle, but it does what most shooters actually need. It locks on without fuss and works quietly enough for video.

That counts for a lot. Smooth, quiet autofocus is exactly what you want for handheld B-roll, simple talking-head work and solo shooting. The STM motor helps here. The focus system feels more modern and video-aware than the price suggests.

Focus breathing is also fairly well controlled, which is good news for rack-focus work. Breathing is the slight change in framing that happens when focus shifts from one subject distance to another. Some lenses make the frame appear to zoom a little during a pull. This one keeps that in check, so it feels steadier in motion work.

There is a catch here too. Manual focus is electronic, not mechanical, meaning the focus ring tells a motor what to do rather than directly moving the optics. That works fine for small corrections. It does not offer the repeatable feel serious manual focus users want. For autofocus-led hybrid shooting, not a huge problem. For precise manual pulls, it is another reminder that this is a stills-style zoom, not a cinema workhorse.

Image quality

The optical story is solid, but not special. The lens delivers good center sharpness through much of the range. Edge and corner sharpness drop off, especially in parts of the mid-range and during close-up work. Nothing here falls apart; the lens simply asks for reasonable expectations.

For video-first users, that is probably enough. Most real-world video does not live or die by laboratory corner sharpness. Faces, hands, products and action tend to sit near the center of the frame, so if the center holds up, the lens can still look very good in working conditions. That is one reason lenses like this survive spec-sheet criticism. They often look better in context than they do in debate.

Close-up performance

One of the lens’s best tricks is its ability to focus very close. More than just a convenience feature, it genuinely expands what the lens can do on a workday.

This is not a true macro lens, but it gets close enough to be useful. For hybrid shooters, that means detail shots of food, products or hands without needing a second lens in the bag. Small advantages like that add real value over time.

The tradeoff is that close-up quality is not perfect across the frame. Edge softness grows more noticeable when you push into close-focus territory. The feature is useful, but it will not replace a dedicated macro lens when the whole frame needs to look immaculate. That feels fair. It is a convenience, and a good one, not a magic trick.

Verdict

The Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-105mm f/4-7.1 is a sensible lens, provided you bring the right expectations.

Its strengths are real. It is light enough to carry all day, the range is genuinely useful and autofocus stays quiet and dependable. Close-up capability adds more value than expected at an approachable price. On a Nikon full-frame body with in-body stabilization, it makes sense as a general-purpose lens for hybrid work, especially if you shoot in decent light and value range over speed.

For video shooters, though, the variable aperture defines the lens. Shooting at f/7.1 across the zoom range is the only way to guarantee steady exposure. That limitation reduces low-light flexibility, limits depth-of-field control and undercuts one of the core reasons video shooters like standard zooms in the first place.

So the honest conclusion is simple. If you want one light, affordable lens for general hybrid shooting, and your style leans toward setting the focal length before the take rather than zooming during it, the NIKKOR Z 24-105mm f/4-7.1 is a reasonable choice. If video is your primary discipline and you need a zoom that behaves predictably throughout the range, a constant-aperture lens will serve you better. This Nikon is convenient and capable, but it is not the video shooter’s ideal lens.

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-105mm f/4-7.1

$546.95 at B&H Video $549.95 at Best Buy

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