Episode 66 - A First Look at Nikon's New NIKKOR Z 120–300mm f/2.8

A First Look at Nikon's New NIKKOR Z 120–300mm f/2.8

Welcome back to the show. I'm your host, Matthew Jordan Smith, and today we're gonna change things up a little bit. It's Monday, November 2nd, 2026. And yes, I think this week, maybe more than ever, we need to focus just for a moment on something that's fun. It might be a heavy week, so let me distract you from everything you'll be hearing this week.

Every once in a while, a new piece of camera equipment comes along that makes you stop and say, "Wow!" Today was one of those days. I got my hands on an early edition of Nikon's brand-new Nikon Z 120 to 300 millimeter F2.8 TC VR S lens.

Now, this is one absolutely incredible lens. And I've got to tell you, I was absolutely blown away.

Now I've been shooting professionally for, for decades. I've worked with all kinds of cameras and all kinds of lenses. I've photographed many incredible people and found myself in situations where having the right equipment meant the difference between getting the photograph and missing the moment forever.

After just one day with this lens, I found myself thinking something I don't say very often, "I wish I'd had this lens five years ago when I was photographing the Tokyo Olympics."

Let me tell you why. First, let's talk about what makes this lens special.

You've got a beautiful 120 to 300 millimeter zoom with a constant 2.8 maximum aperture.

Now that's already incredibly useful when it comes to photographing sports, action, wildlife, and even certain types of landscapes. But here's where things get really interesting.

This Nikkor lens has a built-in 1.4 times teleconverter directly built into the lens. That's right. You can just flip a switch and change to the teleconverter. So simple, no stopping the action.

With the simple movement of a switch, you can instantly extend your reach all the way to 420 millimeters without removing the lens from your camera, without taking your eye away from the viewfinder.

With the teleconverter engaged, you're working at F4.

Now think about that for a second. You're photographing action quickly. Someone's running or jumping and you need to adjust your composition quickly. Maybe the action suddenly moves further away. You don't have time to switch cameras or lenses. You might not even have time to think. You just react. And that's exactly what this lens allows you to do in an instant.

For a professional telephoto zoom with this much reach, I found it surprisingly manageable to handhold. That's right, this baby is light.

And when you pair it with the Nikon Z 9, it becomes one incredible combination.

But specs are one thing. What I really wanted to know was how the lens would perform when something unexpected happened right in front of me. So today, I took it to a place here in Tokyo that holds a very special memory for me.

The Komazawa Olympic Park.

Now, if you've been to Japan, Tokyo, and been to this park, you know how amazing it is. Everywhere you look, people are moving, running, practicing basketball, training, jumping hurdles, preparing for the next competition.

It's a beautiful place to watch people push themselves physically. And for a photographer who loves capturing movement, it's a paradise.

I also have a personal connection to this place. Back in 2021, just before the Tokyo Olympic Games began, I came to this very same park to test a few long lenses before moving into the Tokyo Olympic Village for my assignment.

I was hired by the IOC back then as one of three photographers in history to ever work inside the Olympic Village. That's normally a no man's land. But in 2021, it was very different. It was the first time in history there was a worldwide pandemic, which meant once I entered into the village, for 30 days, I could not leave.

So I had to make sure I had all the gear I needed to handle anything that I might see while living in the village.

I went to this park to test everything out before moving in.

Back in 2021, the Tokyo Olympic Games were unlike any other. A global pandemic, testing every day, mask everywhere you went. The entire world felt different.

Coming back to Komazawa today brought back a flood of memories. Only this time, I had a lens that didn't exist back then. And I've gotta tell you, I couldn't wait to see what it could do.

At first, I started photographing the kinds of activities you expect. People running, playing basketball, athletes practicing relay, doing the hurdles. The new Nikkor lens was handling everything beautifully.

But then something caught my eye, something unexpected. Three kids were practicing an incredibly difficult acrobatic double Dutch routine.

Now, if you've ever watched double Dutch at a high level, you know how challenging it can be. Two ropes turning, precise timing, and everyone having to move in perfect coordination.

But these kids were taking things to another level. All three were trying to jump and spin together in a synchronized routine. It wasn't easy, and they kept missing it over and over and over again.

At one point, they put the ropes down and just practiced jumping and spinning. They'd start, build their rhythm, attempt the move, and always something would go wrong.

Then they try it again, and again.

I stood there watching, fascinated. Not just by the physical difficulty of what they were attempting to do, but by their determination to get it right.

As a photographer, that's the kind of moment I live for.

I could see what they were trying to accomplish. I could even imagine what that perfect instant might look like. But I had no idea when it would happen.

And that's the challenge of photographing action, my friends. You don't get to tell life when to give you the perfect photograph. You have to be ready when it happens.

So I kept my Nikon Z9 ready, following their movement through the new one twenty to three hundred millimeter lens.

And finally, after all those attempts, they nailed it, all three of them perfectly.

For one brief instant, everything came together. Their timing, their movement, their jump, their bodies in the air, the spin. It was incredible.

Did I get the shot? Absolutely. Every instant of the spin, of the jump. It was perfectly timed. That one moment made my entire day.

The amazing thing is they only got the entire routine once. That's it. Just one time.

And that's how life is. Very often you get one chance to get the shot. Life does not repeat itself.

Think about how easy it would have been to miss that photograph. A fraction of a second too early or too late, and that moment's gone forever. Or maybe your, your sharpness is off.

But with the Nikon Z 9 and this extraordinary new lens, focus is insane, and I was ready and I got the shot.

I've gotta tell you, standing there looking at what I captured, I couldn't stop thinking about 2021. I wish I'd had this lens back at the Tokyo Olympics. I didn't have the Z 9. I got my Z9 after the games.

Now, I'm not saying that the lenses I used back then weren't excellent. They were. But because this new 120-300 gives me something that's incredibly valuable when photographing action, lightweight freedom, the freedom to reframe instantly, the freedom to move from 300 to 420 without changing lenses, and the freedom to concentrate on what's happening in front of me instead of worrying about my equipment.

Maybe you've heard stories about how during the Olympics many photographers have to watch all their gear. Now, my situation was different. I was by myself in the Olympic Village with no other photographers around me. That was a special situation and one that will probably never happen again.

Well, hopefully we'll never have a global pandemic like that again.

But I digress. Being able to have one lens that gives you so much range is incredible. And here's the other unspoken thing, carrying that gear around all day long can get heavy, but having a lighter lens makes your life that much easier. For those who shoot all day long with heavy gear, you know what I'm talking about.

This takes a load off.

For me, that's what great camera equipment is supposed to do. It's supposed to get out of your way. It's supposed to allow you to see, to react, and to create.

I've always believed that the most important part of photography isn't the camera or the lenses. It's the photographer's ability to recognize a moment before it disappears. Photography is about the instant.

But when you combine that ability with equipment that responds as quickly as you do, something special happens. And today at Komazawa Kōen Olympic Park I felt that.

Now, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. I've only had this lens for one day and tomorrow I've got a completely different kind of shoot planned, and I'm going to put it through another set of challenges.

But I can tell you this, after today's experience, the Nikkor Z 120-300 2.8 TC VR S may very well be the best telephoto zoom lens I've ever used. That's a big statement. And I don't make it lightly.

I am super excited to see what happens tomorrow. Because the more I use this lens, the more possibilities I see.

But here's what I want to leave you with today. Those three kids at the park today, they weren't thinking about cameras. They weren't performing for me. They were simply trying to accomplish something difficult. And after countless attempts, they finally succeeded.

Their perfect moment lasted only an instant. And now I have a photograph that will preserve that instant forever.

That's the magic of photography, capturing that special instant.

And that's why after all these years, I still get excited when I pick up a camera.

So to all my fellow photographers out there, here's my question for you. If you could have one lens that gave you the freedom to photograph almost any kind of action, what would it be? And more importantly, what would you want it to do?

Now, if you have that one photograph that you missed in your career that you wish you could go back and capture, I'd love to hear your stories. Leave me a message on Instagram and let me know about your experience.

I'm gonna post this image on my Instagram this week, so if you're not following me, do so now. I'm there under Matthew Jordan Smith. I'll share my story, and I look forward to hearing yours.

Until next week, be safe, and yes, get out there and vote. Bye for now.