Nikon's New 120-300mm f/2.8 Z Costs $13,999.95 and Ships With a Built-In Teleconverter

Nikon today announced the NIKKOR Z 120-300mm f/2.8 TC VR S, a super-telephoto zoom with a suggested retail price of $13,999.95 and a built-in 1.4x teleconverter that extends the range to 420mm. For working professionals, the price point alone defines the buyer: this is glass for well-funded sports, wildlife and event shooters, not for the general market.

The built-in teleconverter is the headline feature. Engaged, it turns the 120–300mm f/2.8 into a 168–420mm f/4 optic — one lens covering two focal-length ranges without swapping components in the field. The Phoblographer, which reported the announcement, noted the effective combination reaches 420mm at roughly f/3.9-equivalent brightness in practice, making it nominally usable for birding, though the site does not believe birders form the target audience.

What are the hard specifications?

The optical construction is substantial: 30 lens elements in 24 groups, including one ED glass element, one fluorite element, one Super ED element, one SR (short-wavelength refractive) element and one aspherical element. Nikon applies its Arneo Coat, Meso-Amorphous coating and fluorine coating. Autofocus runs on an SSVCM actuator (a stepper-type motor driving focus internally), with a focus limiter offering two positions: full (∞ to 0.98m) and ∞ to 6m.

The physical demands are equally concrete:

• Weight: approximately 2,735 g (6 lb 0.5 oz)
• Dimensions: approximately 128mm x 353.5mm
• Front filter thread: 112mm, plus a 46mm slip-in filter slot with a supplied holder
• Nine diaphragm blades; minimum aperture f/22 without the teleconverter, f/32 with it
• VR (vibration reduction) image stabilization: yes
• Maximum reproduction ratio: 0.18x at 150mm without the teleconverter, 0.25x at 210mm with it
• Minimum focus distance: 0.98m at 120mm, stretching to 2m at 300mm

Supplied accessories include the LC-112B front cap, LF-N1 rear cap, a new HB-120 lens hood, the LN-4 strap and the CL-L3 lens case. Nikon lists related accessories including 112mm NC and polarizing filters, 46mm filters, Z-mount teleconverters and a slip-in circular polarizer.

Who actually buys this lens?

The Phoblographer's assessment is blunt about the economics. The reviewer wrote that the built-in teleconverter "makes it really only accessible to the top end of sports photographers and wildlife photographers" and called the price "insanely expensive at nearly $14,000." The site also raised a structural concern for the sales outlook: "sports photographers are a dying breed. Newsrooms everywhere have laid them all off."

Image quality is where the critique sharpens. Comparing it to the Nikon 105mm f/1.4 — a lens the reviewer credits with a distinctive look — the article finds nothing comparable here. In the reviewer's words, the samples suggest "there's a ton that Sony, Canon, and the L-mount alliance do that looks similar," and the f/2.8 aperture "isn't all that much of a game-changer." The site was not among the small number of North American outlets Nikon allowed to test the lens ahead of launch, though a review unit is expected.

The open question for buyers weighing the investment is whether a single lens replacing a 300mm f/2.8 plus teleconverter setup justifies nearly fourteen thousand dollars against cheaper alternatives from Canon, Sony and Sigma. Until independent testing arrives, Nikon's claim rests on its own samples, and the pro sports market that typically absorbs such lenses keeps shrinking.