10 Best low light lens for Nikon (2023 Edition)
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The best low light lens for Nikon can give you crisp and sharper images in darker conditions. Yet, picking out a compatible Nikon lens is a tough job as a photographer. We have sorted the 10 best Nikon low light lenses in one place to make the process easier.
From night sky to astrophotography, low light lenses perform great in any weak lighting conditions. These lenses utilize a faster aperture to let higher light get into the camera sensor. Hence, you get sharper photographs without additional flash lighting.
Capturing contrasting photos would be a lot easier with these lenses. So, let’s get in.
10 Best Low Light Lens For Nikon Camera
Below we are going over the best Nikon lens for low light photography. These are the ones that will help you in dark environment shoots as a photographer. We would go over to the lens, which is great for different sorts of projects. Let’s get into the reviews.
1. NIKON NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S Wide Angle Lens
The lens, as mentioned above, is NIKON NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S. It’s a wide-angle lens to let you capture in-depth photos in low light. Taking sharper images in a dark environment is a lot easier using the lens, as mentioned above.
If you are a fan of taking night sky photographs, the following lens will come in handy. The f/1.8 aperture makes it the best Nikon lens for night sky photography.
Furthermore, the edge-to-edge brightness features would help you a lot in shooting low-light street photographs. It makes sure you get even illumination to each corner of the frame.
The lens uses anti-glare features to eliminate glare in images. Built-in Nano Crystal Coat avoids potential ghosting as well.
In short, the lens is a great extension to your existing Nikon gear. You get sharper and brighter photos and videos with less effort
Pros
- Anti-glare features
- Quite Stepping motor
- Best for low light photos and videos
- Even illumination
- Distortion-free lens kit
Cons
- Not a budget lense
2. Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens
Taking photographs in low light is a lot easier if you have the following lens. It’s, as expected, Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G. It’s a pro camera lens to let you capture stunning images in dark environments.
The following package has a feature-rich lens for Nikon camera gear. These are the features that any landscape or night sky photographer would love to have.
Speaking about features, the lens has auto-focusing to let you get correct focusing right away. However, the zoom option is unavailable in the lens.
Adding the lens to your camera gear might be a bit heavy with 279 ounces weight. Still, the lens has ED glass elements to let you take glare-free pictures in lower light. The lights will be a lot sharper even if you are shooting at night.
Features like fast f/2.8 aperture let you capture photographs if you have a lower light to shoot images. Moreover, the mentioned Nikon lens is great for taking pictures of dusk as well.
Pros
- Has maximum angle of view
- ED glass elements
- Faster Auto Focusing
- Great for travel with
- Higher sharpness in photos
Cons
- The lens is a bit heavy
3. Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED Fixed Lens
The following Nikon lens provides you perfect aperture to let you capture a low light environment without any issue. Plus, your image would come up sharp and crystal clear as it captures lights at its true sense.
We are talking about the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G lens. It’s a great low-light lens for Nikon camera gear. You could use the lens to capture both images and videos at night as an outdoor photographer.
If you want to blur out the background, following the lens would provide you with a perfect shot. The lens has f/1.8 of maximum aperture settings. Thus, your subject becomes a lot more visible even if you are snapping nightlife photographs.
The lens would make sure even lighting across your image. Unlike normal photography lenses, the brightness would not fade out at the edges of photographs.
So, make sure you check out the mentioned wide-angle Nikon lens, which is best for low-light photo shooting.
Pros
- Vivid HD videos capturing
- Lightweight lens
- Nano Crystal Coating
- Nikon DX compatibility
- Captures wide-angle shoots
Cons
- Focusing on the lens is a bit tricky
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4. Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G
The Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G is a perfect lens to shoot in darker situations. It has an aperture of f/2.8, which is great for letting you shoot crisp photos. You get to feature every detail of a darker environment.
If you are concerned about the ghost and flare, the following lens for the Nikon camera has proper protection for it. Thus, the lighting distortion stays in control even in harsh light.
Consistent exposure of the lens lets photographers capture low-light images that look great. As the exposure stays the same, the subject gets a clear appearance in images.
Speaking about color and rendering, the following lens is great at it. You get to capture the natural color of an environment using the lens. Even if you are shooting at night, the following lens is great.
In addition, it’s the best Nikon lens for star photography as well. Point it out at night, and you would get a great snap of stars.
Pros
- Extraordinary Low-light capturing
- Durable build
- Gives High-Resolution images
- Has chromatic aberrations control
- Widest aperture setting
Cons
- A bit expensive kit
5. Nikon 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR DX AF-S ED
The Nikon 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR DX AF-S ED is a lightweight Nikon lens that is great at low-light photography. It has great features to let you capture clear images with ease.
Moreover, the VR stabilization makes sure you get no vibration while shooting images. It makes sure you don’t get any blurriness in your low-light photographs.
The aperture of the f/2.8-4 and enough to let you get a sharper image without extra lighting or flash.
The best part, it’s a versatile lens suitable for photographers who love to shoot in dark environments. The following lens is great at utilizing minimal lights at its best.
In short, the following lens is a great piece to get glare-free, contrasty dark images. Thus you could have it for shooting outdoor photos. It would make the exposure correct and make the composition brighter.
Pros
- Easy to carry with
- Has vibration reduction feature
- Provides sharper images
- Advanced lens technology
- Largest 5X zoom
Cons
- The lens user manual is not available
6. Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S
We are talking about the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S. It’s a fantastic lens kit for Z mirrorless Nikon cameras. As with other mentioned Nikon lenses, you could use the lens to shoot crisp images in low light conditions.
The lenses have all the measures to avoid any cosmic imperfection within your images. As a result, you could capture outdoor photographs at night.
As it’s a wide-angle lens and lets you capture wide images with full detail. The image would not discord at all, maintaining its original form.
f/4 Max aperture of the lens offers photographers to take contrasty photos on the go. Plus, the lens is a lot easier to get a proper image at any focal length.
You could take the lens out for travel and take stunning landscape shoots on the go. Thus, you could capture images of sunset, dusk using the lens. You could use it to take pictures of the night sky as well.
Pros
- Great for sharp images
- Wide-angle capturing
- Customized ring control
- Smoother focusing
- 5 Axis optical VR
Cons
- The lens kit has generic packaging
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7. Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED
If you want to utilize the full performance of your camera sensor, check out the mentioned low-light Nikon lens. The name of the lens spells Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED. And it’s a great kit to have for night sky or astrophotographs.
Thus, it’s a versatile lens great for both wide-angle and telephoto modes. The quiet and smooth zoom feature makes it easier for you to transition between camera moods. Plus, the lens features a 7.8x zoom range for your convenience.
As a photographer, you could capture great street photos even in darker conditions. The flare and flicker get a lot lower as it has robust Vibration reduction features.
The best part is, blurred background effects are great and provide great results. Your image’s subject stays sharp while the background gets softer blurred effects.
Pros
- 7.8x Zoom range
- Gets sharper images
- Wide-angle modes
- DX-format image sensors
Cons
- The lens has a bit of resistance at zoom control.
8. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G Lens
Are you looking for a compact low-light lens for Nikon cameras? Check out the following lens kit. The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G Lens is a great outdoor photography lens for your everyday usage.
Its smaller size lets you carry the kit while travelling. Whether it’s noontime or dark at night, your photos would be clear and shart.
The shallow depth-of-field of the lens lets you create blurred backgrounds with easy steps. It’s a lot easier to get these effects with such built-in features of the lens.
Auto-focus of the lens is great and works fine for most photographs. Further, fine-tuning the autofocus is easy and quiet. Thus, you could capture images with proper detail a lot faster.
The lens’s aperture is f/1.8, which is enough to let you shoot photos and videos in a lower light environment. Plus, consistent brightness and contrast give you a balanced image as a photographer.
Pros
- Easy to carry
- Great performance in bad lighting
- Accurate auto-focus
- Natural background blur
- Better color consistency
Cons
- Not a zoom lens
9. Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens
Looking for great lenses with superior low light performance? Look no further than Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G. It’s a great lens to go outside and take photos without any artificial light.
It’s one of the affordable lenses which gives you top-class images and videos on the go. Plus, you get a lot of consistency on every image.
A wide maximum aperture of the lens is available to let you create blurry backgrounds. It gives you the ease to separate your subject from the background.
If you are a landscape photographer, the following lens is a handy kit for you because the lens is great for capturing long-range images.
It’s the best Nikon lens for astrophotography on our list. You could capture galaxies and the Milky ways using the lens.
So, make sure you have a check on the following lens kit. It would be worthwhile.
Pros
- Great for astrophotography
- In affordable range
- Has additional lens cap
- Consistent output
- Maximum wide aperture
Cons
- Focusing manually is a bit hard
10. Nikon AF FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D Lens
If you aim to shoot crisp photographs in low lights, the Nikon AF FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D Lens can be the best option. It’s a great lens that is compatible with most Nikon cameras.
Both manual and auto-focus are easy to get with the following lens kit. Thanks to the aperture control ring, making manuals on the lens is a lot easier.
The lens is a great kit for portrait photography as well. It has all the features to let you get impressive images without artificial light.
To avoid flare and glare, the following lens has multi-layer protection on its body. In turn, you get a clean image without any error.
The design of the lens is a lot more compact than other units. Any photographer could use the lens for outdoor travel photoshoots as well. The photographs of the lens are a lot balanced in terms of lighting.
Grab the lens now to start snapping some quality low-light images.
Pros
- Includes user manual
- Compact sizing
- Spot-on depth-of-field control
- Better compatibility
- Wide-angle images
Cons
- Autofocus work on Nikon DSLR, which support D-type lenses
How To Choose The Best Low Light Lens For Nikon
As an outdoor photographer, you might not get enough lights all of the time. This is why using the low-light lens for Nikon is a must.
Below, we have covered the topics which you should check out before buying Nikon lenses. As a result, you could get the best kit to take stunning photos in lower light.
Faster Lenses
First, photographers should check out the aperture of the Nikon lens. The aperture of the lens indicates the opening of the camera. The wider opening means your camera sensor gets a high amount of light during a shoot. As a result, the image looks brighter and clear in darker light environments.
This is why you should always go for lenses with a faster(lower) aperture. Most of the low-light photography lenses have an aperture of f/1.8. These lenses let you capture a higher amount of light while taking images.
Nonetheless, make sure your lens has at least below f/2.8 aperture. It’s essential for taking photos in lower lights.
Built-in VR Feature
The VR stands for Vibration Reduction. In simple words, the VR feature on the lens reduces the blurriness caused by the camera shake. Thus, having a VR lens is a must If a photographer shoots nightlife photos or night sky.
These Nikon lenses provide you with great performance in a gloomy environment. As the lens would get minimum blurriness, the image looks a lot clearer and stable.
People who like to capture images and videos on the street would find the feature a lot more useful.
Double Layer Coating
Double layer coating helps to protect your lens from outside dirt specks. More so, double layer coating eliminates ghosting and flares from your images. As a result, you could capture great brighter photographs without any error.
In a few Nikon low light lenses, you could get Nano Crystal coating as well. It’s a great coating that gives you proper images without any ghosting.
So, before taking onto any lenses, make sure it has a proper coating on top.
Weight
If you are traveling to take landscape or travel photographs, lens weight becomes way more important. In general, lenses with lower weight and compact design are easy to carry with.
Checking out the total weight of the lens kit can give you a great idea. Plus, consider the size of the lens.
Fumbling can make it harder for you to take photos in bad lighting. Make sure you are comfortable holding the Nikon camera and lens.
Wide Angle Lens
For astrophotographers, the wide-angle feature is a must-have feature on lenses. The wide ranges let you take a wider space. It’s best for taking in night sky phenomena like the Milky Way.
Most of the wide-angle lenses have a higher Field of View, covering a larger area of the night sky. Which Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm best Nikon lens for star photography as it features wide-angle lenses.
Thus, these lenses are great for any sort of low-light image as well.
How to Read a Nikon Lens Name?
Let's decode the name of a typical Nikon lens product. Take, for example, Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED. The 20mm is for focal length, f/1.8G for aperture, ED for Extra-low Dispersion, and AF-S Auto-Focus with built-in Silent Wave Motor. And the FX represents it's only compatible with a full-frame Nikon camera sensor kit.
What is the Best Telephoto Lens for Nikon?
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED kit would be the best among our listed lenses. It provides you with the perfect focal length to focus on faraway objects. It's great for taking images in insufficient lighting.
Which Are The Best Nikon Lens For Night Sky Photography?
The NIKON NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S Lens is a great lens for night sky photography. The lens has features like edge-to-edge brightness, anti-glare, and others. So, you could take great night sky photos and capture captivating low light images.
Conclusion
Above, we have gone through the best low light lens for Nikon DSLR cameras. These are the lenses that are best at capturing sharper photos without any strong lighting setup. Whether it’s for landscape or astrophotography, these lenses perform great to capture stunning images.
Have a check on these lenses and start shooting clean outdoor or night sky photographs. It offers you an extra edge compared to other photographers. It would make the process of taking low-light images a lot smoother. Hence, make sure you choose the Nikon lens which matches your photography workflow.
Bordie Capron
Author
“Bordie Capron is a Sr. Content Maker who is working in The Clipping Path Service an US-based image and video post-production company for over 7+ years. She completed her degree in graphic designing and worked as a graphic designing expert for several years. She always loved writing”
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