A Guide to Nikon Lenses

NIKKOR Lenses

Nikon has been pursuing optical perfection in producing NIKKOR lenses for over 80 years. The greatest possible attention is paid to every aspect, making every lens worthy of being called an optical masterpiece. NIKKOR lenses are manufactured using the most advanced techniques in the world to take performance to even greater heights. These lenses are available in all shapes and sizes, from lenses with a fixed focal length that are often very compact and excel in low-light performance, to all-in-one zoom lenses. So there's a lens for every subject and application that meets the requirements at that moment. On this page we highlight various applications with the appropriate NIKKOR lenses.

Portraits and events

NIKKOR portrait lenses are perfectly suited to capturing intimate moments and human emotions, whether you're photographing faces or the joy around you at events. Their speed and impressive depth make them ideal for softening the background, allowing your subject to stand out clearly, even in difficult lighting conditions. Lenses with a fixed focal length and large aperture are often used here, but zoom lenses such as a 24-70mm are also excellent for this purpose. Characteristics of a portrait lens are:

• Blurred backgrounds
• Sharp shots in low light
• Fast autofocus

Recommended lenses for portrait photography:

Travel and landscape

When traveling, it's great to have a light lens with enough flexibility to keep shooting all day long. Wide-angle lenses are ideal for capturing the most beautiful landscapes, and with an all-in-one zoom lens you're always ready to photograph everything you encounter — including shots at medium distances or close-ups. Characteristics of a travel and landscape lens are:

• Versatility (all-in-one zoom lenses)
• Suitable for low light
• Travel-friendly (compact and light)

Recommended lenses for travel and landscape photography:

Sport and action

When you want to capture all the impressive details during sports and action — from drops of sweat to spectacular saves or a close finish — you need a powerful lens with a great range. This puts you right in the middle of the action and brings you closer to your subject than normally possible. To get your images as sharp as possible, these NIKKOR lenses are equipped with vibration reduction (VR), an exclusive Nikon technology to reduce image blur. They are also robust and durable, so you only need to worry about the shot. Characteristics of a sports and action lens are:

• Great reach
• Speed and stability
• Robust and durable

Tip: extend your reach with teleconverters!

Recommended lenses for sports and action photography:

Nature and wildlife

Just like sports, photographing nature and wildlife often requires a lens that brings you close enough to capture every detail. With a powerful zoom you can get closer to wild animals than you dared to dream, so you can see every whisker or leaf. The vibration reduction (VR) technology ensures that image blur caused by camera shake is reduced. It increases the chance of sharp shots when shooting handheld and produces considerably sharper images in a variety of shooting conditions. Characteristics of a nature and wildlife lens are:

• Powerful zoom
• Refined details
• Impeccable color reproduction

Recommended lenses for nature and wildlife photography:

Macro and close-up

With a macro lens you can focus on even the smallest details, allowing you to capture subjects and colors that are invisible to the naked eye. These lenses provide stunning magnification and offer the ability to focus at just approx. 15 centimeters from your subject. Some characteristics of a macro and close-up lens are:

• Stunning magnification
• Revealing hidden details
• Focusing at short distances

Recommended lenses for macro photography:

Street

On the street there's always something to see and people are constantly moving. Street photography is therefore enormously versatile. From spontaneous portraits to vibrant street scenes, every image is unique. NIKKOR lenses for street photography offer the right balance between size and performance, and thanks to their large aperture they are ideal for low-light situations. With large to medium focal lengths you can capture many different subjects and there's a lens for every budget. Some characteristics of a street photography lens are:

• Large aperture
• Large to medium focal lengths
• Easy to carry

Recommended lenses for street photography:

Special lenses: fisheye and tilt-shift

Fisheye lenses and lenses with perspective correction, such as tilt-shift, can take your composition to the next level when you want to shoot from a unique perspective. You can use these to bend or straighten your subject and capture the world around you in a creative way. With perspective correction lenses you can also change depth of field within a subject, selectively focus on certain subjects, or correct perspective distortion in architectural shots. Some characteristics of special lenses are for example:

• Fisheye
• Perspective correction
• Manual focus

Examples of lenses for a special purpose: