In a surprise that's not surprising, Nikon today announced the 24-70mm f/2.8 S II lens, its first redesign of a significant Z-mount lens.
The fact that Nikon is redesigning one of their top tier pro lenses isn't surprising. Nikon has a long history of doing that dating back into the film SLR era. However, what is surprising is how different this new lens is from the older one. Well, perhaps not so much from the outside, though the lens has lost some girth and significant weight while also losing the LED display that very few ever used. No, the inside reveals a complete rethink, with a simpler optical formula, a redesigned aperture diaphragm (11 blades), a fast new Silky Smooth Voice Coil Motor (SSVCM, the acronyms keep getting bigger !?!?), and a completely internal focus system (lens doesn't extend on focus). The 24-70mm f/2.8 S II also now uses 77mm accessories.
Close focus is better, too, though it does vary with focal length now. Focus breathing again has been minimized for video work.
And may I point out something that I asked Nikon for that is now in this new lens: the Control Ring can be set to smooth operation, or a clicked operation. This wasn't the only user-requested change: the lens hood has a slot to allow changing of filter rotation (e.g. polarizer).
So what are we to make of this announcement? How about this: Nikon isn't going to rest on its laurels. The original 24-70mm f/2.8 was an excellent lens optically. I look forward to seeing if Nikon really improved upon that the way they say they have. But just the physical changes, alone, are all welcome enough that I have to consider replacing my original lens.
Update: Added the B&H link on the lens data page. But also the following comments:
In talking to various pros, it seems many (if not most) of us will be trading in our older lens for the new one. There's nothing particularly bad about the original—it's a terrific lens—but there's enough new that's useful and helpful at the pro level that the strong preference will be for the new version.
Thus, what's about to happen is that a lot of used 24-70mm f/2.8 S (original) lenses are going to hit the market. This all brings up an interesting buying decision for someone currently without an f/2.8 zoom in this range. As I write this we have: (1) refurbished and used older lens in excellent shape at US$1700+; (2) new older lens at US$2100; and (3) new new lens at US$2800. I expect the used price of the older lens to go down as supply goes up (all those trade ins). I expect the price of a new version of the older lens to remain near the current point until supply runs out. I don't expect the new lens to be discounted this year (maybe next). That's a pretty broad range of pricing for what are top-of-the-line optics, either way.
Meanwhile, the back channel speculation is about the "why" of the focus motor change. Nikon makes three claims about the focus speed: (1) fastest focusing lens "When used with a camera equipped with the EXPEED7 image-processing engine"; (2) "approximately 5x faster than [the original lens]"; and (3) "AF tracking during zooming has been enhanced by approximately 60%." I'm not aware of any pro complaining about the focus or tracking speed of the original lens on a Z8/Z9. I have to wonder if the move to SSVCM is partly in anticipation of the next generation of Nikon bodies. This is actually one of Nikon's modus operandi: significant lens technology changes tend to precede camera technology changes. The reason why has to do with needing something to test a future camera against. You could, for instance, improve focus performance of the upcoming camera, but if the lens focus speed is the gating element, you wouldn't be able to prove the new performance until such a lens is available. Nikon is first and foremost an optical company, so having lenses lead cameras makes a lot of sense.
