Wedding photographers often debate about lens choices, focusing on a mix of creativity, convenience, and image quality. Choosing a single versatile lens can simplify things, which can ease your workflow and create more opportunities for capturing moments.
Coming to you from Taylor Jackson, this honest video puts the Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S lens to real-world use, shooting an actual wedding from start to finish. Jackson tests this lens as his main choice to see if the convenience factor outweighs the limitations of the f/4 aperture. When compared to popular prime lenses that create very shallow depth of field, this lens offers a practical trade-off—more versatility with less bokeh. In bright outdoor settings, like summer ceremonies on golf courses, it's perfectly workable and even advantageous. He can cover wide scenes and zoom in close quickly, moving less and capturing more.
For darker settings, Jackson acknowledges an expected trade-off: raising your ISO. Shooting indoors, especially in dim or nighttime situations, may push the camera to its upper ISO limits, something photographers relying on lower f-stops may worry about when considering a lens like this. Still, as Jackson discovers, the sharpness and handling remain impressive, supporting a more documentary-style approach. He even describes the background blur at 120mm as pleasing and more than sufficient for typical wedding scenarios.
Jackson also offers practical insight into using flash lighting alongside the 24-120mm. He shares how he uses off-camera flash primarily to enhance the existing lighting rather than as an overtly creative tool. He points out that for typical wedding day moments—from preparation shots, where you deal with cluttered backgrounds, to classic portraits, and even during ceremony events—this lens handles most scenes comfortably. The lens feels balanced and easy to handle, even when fully zoomed.
But the lens doesn't replace your entire wedding kit. Jackson observes that when it turns darker, especially during indoor reception setups or more demanding creative environments after sundown, you're going to want faster primes or lenses designed for lower light. This limitation means the lens is less ideal during these scenarios if you prefer more dramatic, aesthetically nuanced imagery. Despite this, he was pleasantly surprised with how effective autofocus remained in lower-light conditions, pointing out it's better than anticipated from a typical f/4 lens.
In discussing overall image quality, Jackson emphasizes that sharpness and color representation from Nikon's S line lenses remain superb. While not the dreamy softness of an f/1.2 prime, the results at f/4 retain clear critical sharpness and detail—a trade-off Jackson comfortably accepted throughout most of the wedding day. He concludes the versatility is compelling enough to merit serious consideration, especially for photographers who value capturing moments over producing highly stylized imagery in every frame. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Jackson.
