LOWA Z-8S GTX C

Product Information

It depends. Are you going to be wearing this boot in warmer climates or are you going to be in colder / more wet environments? I believe the advantages of the focus-by-wire system far outweigh their current problems and limitations, and Nikon made the right decision by incorporating it into all the Z lenses. With the focus-by-wire system, it is possible to not only improve autofocus speed and accuracy but also provide more fine-tuned control of different camera operations. Thanks to this system, Nikon has already been adding several programmable rings and function buttons to its high-end lenses. Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters. You're not going to have any vignetting with any 62mm filter. I know people who have gotten the GTX Z-8S, and in warmer climates they noted how they wished they went with the non-GTX ones. So be sure to know what you’ll be using them for mostly. There will always be a trade off between having a boot that can withstand deeper water and a boot that is breathable.

Price: The lens is pretty expensive at a list price of 1200 EUR (incl. 19% VAT) / 1050 USD. The F Nikkor goes for 730 EUR / 720 USD, the Sigma can be had for 840 EUR / 900 USD. [-] Aside from effective protection, the LOWA Z8S C military boots in Coyote OP are fitted with LOWA Tactical Z Trac® soles for exceptional grip in all terrains. Fabric elements on the boot provide enhanced ventilation creating a highly breathable boot which performs as successfully in hot climates as it does in winter weather conditions. LOWAZ8S GTX Military Boots - Brown Size (diameter x length):84 x109mm (3.3 x 4.3in.) plus 34mm for the lens hood which is 107mm in diameter. Which makes it the largest f1.8 Z Nikkor so far, even larger than the Z 85mm f1.8 S. The F Nikkor is smaller at 82 x 80mm + 35mm lens hood. Due to its origin as a DSLR design from 2015 the Sigma is the behemoth in this comparison at 91 x 130mm including the non-detachable lens hood. For an apples-to-apples comparison one has to allow for the differences of flange distance between the Z-mount (16mm) and the F-mount (46.5mm). If you add these 30.5mm (1.2in.) to the F-Nikkor it has practically the same length as the Z-Nikkor when using it via the FTZ adapter on a Nikon Z camera – see image below. And the Sigma grows to a total length of 161mm. [0] I had some reservations about this model boot at first, because even though it has a fairly tall 8″ shaft, it doesn’t have any speed-lacing hooks, so the laces always stay in their eyelets. Sometimes this makes taller boots tough to put on and take off. There are no secrets here; half the lens is the big metal focus ring and there's but one AF/MF slide switch, and that's it.All I can say is I am extremely happy that I selected the Lowa Z-8S to wear while serving in the military. The broad manual focusing ring consumes much of the space on the lens barrel. This has fine ridges to give good grip and the movement has just the right amount of tension. Although there were no occasions when the Z 7’s AF system failed to get the subject sharp during my testing, it was good to note that the focus throw is wide enough to enable precise manual focusing.

A specialist gore-tex lining keeps water out of the boot, whilst letting sweat and vapours escape. As a result, feet are kept dry in wet conditions and remain comfortable due to the fabric’s breathability. This technology only adds to the Z8 range’s versatility, making them suitable for all climates and terrains. All boots we have online feature Gore-Tex® Membranes with the exception of the LOWA Z8S C Military Boots in Coyote Op. Manual focus is very slow. Since it's completely electronic (the manual focus ring isn't connected to anything other than a digital encoder) I'm surprised we don't have a menu option for focus speed, or better, have adaptive manual focus speed that goes faster as we turn the ring faster.

I know, for example, that my 85mm 1.8S is pretty sharp and has been reviewed favourably etc. and is nice and light. All that is far less important than the way it is able to let me look at images and portraits where I am getting consistently pleasing results. I have decided I like lenses which somehow manage to get out of the way and let me look at facial expressions, the smile, the eyes etc and concentrate on how the subject looks and how they respond to the results. As an ex light infantryman, the LOWA Z-8S GTX would’ve been my choice for long-range patrols and bad weather operations”- Jonathan Wade Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless cameras introduced a new mount with a diameter of 55mm. That’s an increase from 47mm with the F mount. Consequently,Nikon announced three Nikkor Z lenses with the Z6 and Z7, the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4, Z 35mm f/1.8 and the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S. The first two lenses were made available with the Z7 but we had to wait a little longer for the Z6 andZ 50mm f/1.8 S (reviewed here). The focus ring is large and easy to rotate. Due to having a focus-by-wire stepping motor, the focus ring is not coupled mechanically to anything, so it can be set up to perform different functions such as change lens aperture. If you decide to manually focus with the lens, keep in mind that the experience is completely different when compared to Nikon F lenses. Personally, I am not a big fan of the way Nikon implemented manual focusing on the Z system – I wish there was a way to set up manual focus parameters, such as focus throw speed and acceleration.

The lens’ luxurious exterior design is intended to match its superior optical performance. Along with the adoption of metal components, the lens features an engraved “Plena” logo similar to the cursive font and yellow color of the Noct logo. Additional features include a fully weather sealed body for durability and the addition of two L-Fn buttons for customization. Distortion -0.5: This lens produces mild barreldistortion, but it's negligibleand certainly not noticeablein mostcases. Verdict For example, take a look at the below image: NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S @ 20mm, ISO 64, 1/640, f/1.8In their teaser video and press release, Nikon placed a lot of emphasis on the bokeh of the 135mm f/1.8 S Plena – in a way not seen since at least the 58mm f/0.95 Noct, and perhaps since the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G. Given that, I was very interested in the sample images that accompanied the lens’s announcement. Autofocus speed is moderate. It takes a moment to motor quietly from infinity to close distances or vice versa. It's not instantaneous. How does this compare to the vignetting performance of the Nikon 20mm f/1.8G? The difference is actually quite drastic. The Nikon 20mm f/1.8G shows over 2 stops of vignetting at close focus, and over 3 stops when focused at infinity. So the Z-mount version is significantly better in comparison. Keep in mind that all tests were done converting RAW files using dcraw. If you use Lightroom or other similar software, you might not see any signs of aberrations, since specific corrections such as vignetting and distortion will be automatically loaded.

Keep in mind that the angle of light and the position of the sun in the frame can certainly impact the way lenses handle ghosting and flare, but in the case of the Z 20mm f/1.8 S, it seems like the lens is protected well against any kind of flare, thanks to its excellent Nano and Super Integrated coats. Starburst Performance The Nikon Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena is a high-caliber full-frame lens crafted specifically for Z-series mirrorless cameras like the Nikon Z8 and Z7 II. With a 135mm focal length and an f/1.8 maximum aperture, it’s a superb choice for portrait, fashion, and nature photographers.

Lacing Up

The score in the “features-department” is 1[-]/5[0]/6[+]. So the lens has a mixed feature set: It’s neither very small nor very light but it offers the nifty feature of the multi-purpose control ring and is sealed against the weather like Nikon’s pro lenses. It costs a pretty penny but the price may well be justified if the lens performs as expected. Like the previous Z-series lenses, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 S relies upon a smooth, minimalist design with primarily plastic construction. It only has a single switch, auto vs manual focus, as well as one ring to control focus (though you can program it for other tasks if desired). New is that the control ring is programmable. It defaults to Manual Focus, or make it control aperture or exposure compensation if you prefer.