10 Best Nikon Lenses For Car Photography
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
Whether capturing car photos on the side of a racing track or closeup, you need the best Nikon lens for car photography. A quality lens and settings can turn your car images into a masterpiece.
But most car photographers make mistakes when choosing lenses for their projects.
After analyzing requirements, we have sorted out the top 10 Nikon car photography lens kits. It would provide you with the initial concept on which lens can level up your car photographs.
Car photos would come up clearer and free of any potential noise. Below we are starting the roundup of the lens products one after another.
Check out this quick list of our favorites if you’re in a hurry,
What is The Best Nikon Lens For Car Photography?
Whether it’s the curves of the automobile or the reflection, it needs a quality lens to capture the car’s beauty. Below, we will explain the 10 Top Nikon lenses for car photography. It’s an all in one list for you as an automobile photographer. Let’s get into the reviews of the best car photography lenses without any fluff.
Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED
Taking car images is seamless and smoother with the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED. Because of its sensational image quality. It’s unbeatable compared to the rest of the car photography Nikon lenses. Perhaps, we placed the lens at first.
Afterward, the lens features no-distortion features, making it easy for you to capture moving automobiles. The lens kit features a 1.2 feet focal length suitable for taking images even from a little bit distance.
Vibration reduction features or VR lets you create an image without any blur. When the car is moving, and you want to capture the real-time image, the VR feature would help you the most.
Without any doubt, it’s a great lens to have when you are working on car photography with complete focus. It would be one of the best choices you make for your projects.
Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED
If you love taking motorsports photos or are a professional photographer, the following lens is the best option. It’s the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED. It’s a telephoto lens with a lengthy structure.
It’s an FX-format DSLR compatible which gives you an insane zoom. Specifically, you get a 500-millimeter zoom that provides you with a crisp picture of cars even from a distance.
When looking for precision images on the spot, the 4.5 stops vibration reduction feature can help you out.
The Nikon lens features superior Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass. In simple words, it eliminates glare and light pollution. As a result, you get a sharp and clear image of automobiles and their curves.
Among the additional equipment, you get the LF-4 Rear Lens Cap. Which will make sure you get a great image while photographing cars outdoors. Hence, you would get the proper white balance on your images without overexposure.
Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED
The Nikon lens would be an option when you aim to take edge to edge clear car images. The name of the lens is the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED. As you can see, it’s a full-fledged car photography lens.
The lens provides you with one of the best sharp images of automobiles. Every inch of your car would be clear, making the image superb.
Talking about the zoom, it’s a 10.7x Zoom Lens which provides you great images even from far away. As an automobile photographer, you would love to have the lens on your daily kit.
The lens’s autofocus is on the right form and silent as well. As a result, there would be a lot of seamless working tricky car photography compositions.
As a car photographer, the following lens offers you all the features you would ask. Grab it now.
NIKON NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3
The following lens is the well known NIKON NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3. It features a smoother click-less control ring. As a result, you could change the camera settings on the go. It’s an effective yet amazing feature for most car photography experts.
The autofocus of the lens is great and one of the quietest. Moreover, all of your car photos would be in focus. Further, the image’s subject would be in focus, and it won’t create any issues at all.
You get a maximum focal length of 200mm on the following lens. It’s huge and provides you with the flexibility to work with larger compositions. You have the option to capture large automobiles or even trucks in one frame.
Even so, it’s one of the best Nikon lenses for car videography projects.
In addition, the lens is a lightweight kit, making it a great option to travel. Moreover, taking handheld images is far easier than other compatible Nikon lenses on the list.
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G
The following Nikon lens comes with a great range of focal length 18 300 millimeters. Hence, it’s the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G. It’s one of the highly compatible Nikon lenses to shoot cars with any Nikon DSLR camera.
When you are working on car photography projects, the following Nikon lens can help you greatly because it offers you vibration reduction while taking pictures of cars.
On the lens, you get a Silent Wave Motor (SWM), which offers the smoothest and faster autofocus. You get a perfect shot even when you are in some motorsports event as a sports photographer.
To avoid light pollution due to automobile body reflection, it has Aspherical (AS) and Extra-low Dispersion (ED) coating of glass elements. Perhaps, you avoid any sort of glare and a higher amount of reflection.
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G ED
Are you looking to capture vibrant images? Check out the following lens that will provide you with the best lighting possible. The Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G ED provides the most consistent imagery possible.
The following lens is the FX-format F mount lens; it provides wide range compatibility. As a result, you don’t have to worry about whether it would fit on your Nikkon camera or not.
Moreover, the F1.8 maximum aperture makes sure you get better images without any issues.
Capturing high-resolution images is a lot easier with the following Nikon camera set. Thanks to its Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass layer, it provides you with clean and composed car images on the go.
The lens has exceptional capability to avoid any kind of ghosting as well. In turn, you get a proper image of the car without any discoloration.
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED
With 5x zoom, you could also get better images from the instance. If you are someone who does take sporting car photos, the following lens would be the best for sports photography. Thus, the name of the lens stands for Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED.
Nonstick protective fluorine coatings offer the best protection on the lens surface. As a result, dirt and other elements do not stand on the lens, which helps you a lot when working in a dirty condition.
As a car photographer, you would like to avoid light pollution, and the following lens provides you with all.
The lens covers a wide angle and provides you with a great option to shoot car images, which is why you could capture a larger area with the automobile.
All in all, it’s a great lens that offers you great vibration reduction as well. It reduces any subtle vibrations. Your image would be free of any sort of blurriness at all.
NIKON NIKKOR Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3
Are you looking for the most compact Nikon photography lens? Check out the following lens, which offers you the lightest weight possible. Let me introduce you to the NIKON NIKKOR Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3.
The following Nikon lens provides you with the best configuration for capturing the car on the street. Further, if you are a fan of capturing cars on the go, the following lens would be the best of all.
As the lens is lightweight, taking handheld images of cars would be easier. The following lens can retract into a 2.9″ long length.
The focal length range of the lens is 24mm to 50mm. It’s a great focal length range for any car photographer who is doing it in a long process.
Another thing you would consider as a plus point is that you can use the lens for multiple purposes. For example, you could apply the lens for other tasks, such as capturing other photos.
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED
As you are working with car photographs, the following lens can come in handy because the lens has Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC). It helps you to avoid any kind of flare at all.
The performance of the lens is exceptional in lower lighting conditions. As a result, you would get mind-blowing car images even if it’s a gloomy day. You could adjust the camera settings to finetune the image and get better results.
Apart from the low light capability, the VR feature helps to avoid any mind vibration. It gives you the freedom to take car photography with your hand. It helps you reduce any errors that might be caused while taking pictures on hand.
Silent motors of the lens help you to work with better concentration on your projects. The autofocus feature is on the spot, giving you a quality image with a faster workflow.
Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED
The following lens we cover is the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED. It’s a great lens that offers you an extensive option to get 11.1x zoom with all DX-format DSLR cameras. It’s a quality piece for any photographer who is working in moto-sports.
Due to exceptional features, you can capture great images even from far away. You get better VR features to capture without any blur and noise. The lens has great features to let you take amazing photos.
Within the lens, you get M/A mode, which lets you switch between camera moods faster. It means you could go back and forth from manual to auto. It’s a great convenience any automobile photographer wishes to have.
Moreover, you are getting a 7-blade circular aperture to avoid blurred images at all. It’s a must when you are capturing car photos in a hurry. As a result, you get fantastic car photos with minimal effort.
What to Look for in The Best Automotive Nikon Lens
When you are looking for the best Nikon lens for car photography, make sure to consider the below-mentioned aspects. It simplifies the concept of the lens, and you get to make better diction. Not to mention, selecting a better lens is crucial as well.
VR Technology
The VR technology stands for vibration reduction features for lenses. When capturing car images on your hand, it can get a bit shaky. To help minimize the vibration, we use VR features.
Most car photography lenses feature VR features to help you in projects. Make sure to check out the feature before you buy. It would make sure you don’t have to face any blurriness when photographing a car.
Focal Length
Depending on the requirement of your car photo project, determine the focal length. If you need to capture a wide area along with the car, go for lenses that support higher focal length.
On the other hand, if you are photographing car photos from close, go for the ones with at least 18m focal length. As focal length determines how the image would look, make sure to measure it out. In general, you need a higher focal length when capturing moto-sports.
Lens Coating
As a car photographer, chances are you need to capture car images outdoors. Your lens must have a protective coating to avoid over-exposure and glare; For example, the coating could be Extra-low Dispersion, Nano coat, non-stick fluorine and others.
One of the most important benefits of protective lens coating is avoiding glare and flare. As a result, your images stay free from lighting noise. Plus, it avoids dirt and water buildup on the surface of the lens.
Lens Rear-Cap
The rear cap of the lens saves you from getting overexposure in a sunny outdoor environment. It lets you shield the lens when the outside has to highlight. Perhaps, it’s not a mandatory element to have as many photographers don’t use it at all.
Many lens kits such as, Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED offers you lens rear cap. In case you need a rear cap, check out the following kit. But when the lens cap is not available on your favorite lens, you could also buy out an additional cap.
These are the questions that you may need to get in when browsing lenses for car photography.
What is a car photographer called?
Car photographers take various types of photos of cars. Most of the time, the photographer gets called someone dedicated to taking car photos. The main job of the photographer is to capture car photos only. In an alternative way, they get called automobile photographers as well.
What is the best focal length for car photography?
When capturing car photos in close range, focal length around 35mm to 70mm works fine. On the flip side, when capturing racing cars from far away, focal lengths such as 100m to 200m would be ideal. You need to determine the best focal length before getting a lens.
What is a rolling shot?
The rolling shot refers to the pictures of moving cars. The rolling shoot gets taken on another automobile as a rule of thumb. In these sorts of images, cars keep on moving along the road. As a result, everything around the car keeps moving.
What aperture is best for car photography?
Aperture can help you to achieve different effects on the same photos. Take, for example, aperture of f/4 or lower can help you blur out the car's background. Wherein f/7 or higher aperture would help you make the whole car composition sharp and clear. Either way, you should choose the ones with a wise mind.
Is a 50mm lens good for car photography?
50mm lenses are great pieces to start car photography. You get decent car images as it provides you with the perfect focal length. Plus, it falls in between a wide-angle and close-up lens. Hence, you don't need to adjust the lens focal length to finetune the image. It's a great focal length for car photography.
Conclusion
The photo comes out as an amazing piece when you have the best Nikon lens for car photography. With more suitable lenses, you get longer service and better photos every time you click photos. Plus, lenses have protective layers to help avoid any sort of dirt on the lens.
Let’s get a quality lens and start clicking out the car photos images, which look good. Whether you believe it or not, car photos can look better with perfect lenses. It helps you gear up for any car photography tasks, so you need to get a lens right now.
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”
No Comments