On June 2, 2021, Nikon announced the development of the lens (along with the development of
Nikkor Z 40 mm). First, a Special Edition (SE) version of the lens was released on June 29, 2021. According to Nikon, this SE lens resembles a design from the classic Nikkor lenses released around the same time as the
Nikon FM2 film SLR camera. The two versions are optically identical, differing only cosmetically (also in weight and maximum diameter of lens dimensions). The lenses do not come with a lens hood. Philipreeve.net called the lens a solid performer with a very small size and quite reasonable price, an optimal choice for "light and compact travel wide angle lens for landscape or candid street photography". They highlighted very good to excellent sharpness, controlled focus breathing, while for the cons they noted a bigger gap between this lens and the S-line lenses in terms of vignetting, chromatic aberrations and flare resistance. Spencer Cox of Photography Life also concluded that the lens is a solid performer, that is very small and reasonably priced. He praised the excellent autofocus speed and accuracy, smooth bokeh, light weight and small size, while criticizing higher-than-ideal vignetting, distortion and chromatic aberration and lack of controls, buttons on the lens. == Features ==