Nikon teases upcoming super telephoto lenses, 50mm prime with an updated lens road map

Maybe the 400mm is long ... :-)

Yes. And some day Sony might offer a pro level camera! [Rimshot]

(...I'm kidding, lighten up. It's the weekend!)

I think you'll find Nikon have all those lenses in the F mount and a perfectly suitable FTZ adapter for any imminent pro Z bodies.

I've used 300/4 and 500/5.6 PF lenses on my Z6 with no issues. The Z6 AF is a bit better behaved on the 500/5.6 with teleconverter than the D500.

It's somewhat worse than the D500 without the teleconverter, though. The D500 AF, particularly on moving targets, is better at f/5.6, but the Z6 is more surefooted at f/8.

Perhaps because both of those exist in F-mount. I have the 70-200 f4, it's sharp as all f-, and it works just fine on my Z6, so I doubt it's a priority.

The AF-P 70-300 f4.5/5.6 E is right there, so I think Nikon isn't in a hurry to rejuvenate that. What's more, even with that E lens' presence many go for the cheaper AF-S G VR version nonetheless.
I do look forward to the Z replacement, though. The E lens while is sharp and nice rendering, has flares and vignetting below the Z standard.

@ Tonio. No thats not true Most Pro's are not Wedding Photographers!!! Widen your scope

Thank you for the correction. Yes the EVF bump and the pop up flash unit both seem to occupy the pentagonal bump that would have to be removed.

There is no pop-up flash on the Z5/Z6/Z7. Only the Z50 has a pop-up flash.

I'd love to see a Nikon Z answer to the X100V. Not holding my breath though.

If it’s a choice between a hump and a low magnification viewfinder (cough, A7c), I’ll take the hump.

I want to see what I'm shooting, and want the best EVF within reason I can get. If it takes up a bit of room, so be it.

"If it’s a choice between a hump and a low magnification viewfinder (cough, A7c), I’ll take the hump."

But they arent mutually exclusive.

@xeppelin It's more about physical space than prices. You need a certain high eye point to make the EVF not a PITA, then multiply that with an intended magnification ratio (i.e. image size in angles) you get the minimum required EVF size.
Then the mount goes in the way of the EVF optics, and you either have to piti-fy the EVF or widen the body. That's why X-Pro is actually bulkier than the X-T series, defeating a "compact" rangefinder.

The viewfinder, rear screen, weather sealing, ergonomics, mechanical shutter, video capabilities, user interface, low light focusing, shutter speeds, color science, are just a few of the features you will be losing.
All for a camera that is in the same price bracket as the Z 6II.
Heck, you’re better off getting an A7III over the A7c.
The A7c is almost universally considered a lesser warmed up A7III without the viewfinder.

Based on you’re comment above about the flash hump, I don’t think you’ve actually handled a Z camera.

Sorry, I was trying to be helpful...
I thought my very detailed response regarding differences between cameras showed just that.
For what it's worth, you may want to take a look at the Z 50...while not FF, it is a great compact system.

I think you need to get hands-on with a Sony and Nikon mirrorless. Spec sheets can be misleading and you may find the overall enjoyment of using the Nikon camera trumps the greater compact lens options of the E mount. It certainly did for me. The build quality of the Nikon's is stellar.

Fuji I assume? I believe they release 2-3 lenses a year and some are in need of a refresh for video.
Nikon has released 16 Z Mount lenses since late 2018, Fuji 6 X mount in the same period.

@Operon I'm thinking of Canon EF-M

Judging by its silhouette the 85mm measures approximately 100mm (max. diameter) x 125mm (length).

This is very similar to the dimensions of the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM: ø103mm x 117mm.

On the other hand 85mm f/1.4 mirrorless lenses are slimmer, for instance:

- Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN | Art: ø82.8mm x 96.1mm
- Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM: ø89.5mm x 107.5mm.

The Z 50/1.2S happens to be a stupidly long 50mm lens, longer than anything from any other manufacturer often by a wide margin. So an 85/1.2 could certainly be shorter than it.

I am sure the 50mm 1.2 will be incredible quality. It is long but only marginally heavier than the Canon equivalent.

The answer is simple: Focal length and f-number are not the only two variables that determine lens size.

By smaller I think you mean shorter. If you look at the girth of the new 85mm its about the same as the f0.95 Noct - which is huge. It's almost certainly going to be a f1.2 as ultimately is the width that determines maximum aperture and not length.

The exotic telephotos would suggest that a pro sports body is in the works.

Yeah, choice is a bad thing.

@TomCodyPleastToMeetYa: It's a bad thing when Nikon offers lenses in bundled kits at reduced prices, but they don't offer the lens that many people would like to have bundled. Too many choices also stretches Nikon's manufacturing even thinner than it already is. They're already having trouble keeping up with the demand for the 24-50 and 24-200, along with other lenses. My guess is that many people would rather have a 24-105 f/4 than the 24-70 f/4.

24-50 f/4-6.3
24-70 f/4
24-70 f/2.8
24-105 f/4 or f/2.8-4 (aperture hasn't been announced yet)
24-200 f/4-6.3

That's a lot of focal length and aperture overlap. Get rid of the 24-70 f/4 and it's a lot better. Then you have one very compact standard zoom, one fast aperture standard zoom, one slower aperture standard zoom (but with improved reach on the long end), and one do everything/travel super zoom.

24-70 F4 is a legendary lens and is perfect kit lens for the Z6, also a 24-105 F4 / F2.8 - F4 will likely to be £300 - £400 expensive than the 24-70 and could be an upper kit lens for the z7 II

Every Z system lens optical layout that I have seen could not possibly be used in F mount. The rearmost elements would need to be in the same space that a flapping mirror occupies.

One can easily see that the optical formulas are very different. Take a look at the Z 85mm 1.8S vs. F 85mm 1.8G. The Z lens has two ED elements etc.

FTZ adapter length is 30.5mm (difference between flange of Z and F mounts). The Z 85 1.8S lens has rear element close to the mount, which shouldn't be possible if your theory was correct.

Silly trolling. The Z lenses so far have been great quality and a step up over the F mount lenses.

Yes, let's suspend the laws of physics.

You can say what you want about Nikon Z lenses, but it's money well spend quality wise.

It's pretty clear that prices of new lenses and camera's are going up for all brands because of the shrinking market.

Higher quality and better corrected.

I don't believe Nikon ever claimed that lenses would be cheaper, or even easier to design. They did claim, though, that the lens mount allows greater freedom in optical design, i.e. more options to explore.

The Z lenses are the most value for dollar on the market. The Z 50mm S and Z 85mm S are Zeiss Otus quality for a fraction of the price. The Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S are the sharpest full frame lenses ever tested in their respective focal length. They are also all weather sealed. No, there is no $100 USD Nifty Fifty, but that market is dying.

I fully agree. The Z 50 mm f/1.8 is my favorite.

I get it, Nikon looks like a good system. If I didn't shoot Sony I'd join them over Canon. I might even adapt of few of my Sony's to the Z6 one day. Do I think the lenses are head and shoulders above Sony G or Canon L, probably not, but perhaps the 1.8 primes look like a great buy.

I don't think it'll be f/2 though - need to keep it differentiated from the S-line f/1.8 family. I'm expecting both muffins will be f/2.8.

I really am excited about the compact primes. Canon had a 40mm 2.8 that was super nice to shoot with with how convenient it was. I'd probably go for the 28mm as I have a Z50.

@steelhead3

It better be an internal zoom with that length, seems to be 35-37 cm from image, while Sony is just 32 cm long.

The 200-600 is almost exactly the same size as the Sony version, and will most likely have internal zoom which is better for weather resistance and makes the zoom ring easier to turn.

Isn't that like asking, if everything Porsche makes is a 911, doesn't that make the 911 meaningless?

There are 9 lenses on that roadmap that aren't S-Line.

I could never see the logic behind Nikon using the "S" designation for lenses that are designed for the "Z" range of cameras...

Maybe a throwback to the old S mount they used in thier rangefinder cameras, which in all shape and form, is a mirrorless camera.

entoman, because they have Z lenses are not in the 'S" line, implying higher quality / price.

Same as Canon using whatever L stands for, or Sony's G and GM. Just a differentiator.

@entoman S stands for "sexy". Subconsciously, but probably true.

starbase - this isn't intended as a criticism of Nikon's fine lenses, but perhaps "U" for utilitarian, would have been the most apt choice. They're optically and mechanically excellent, but definitely practical rather than sexy.

I'm in two minds about the Z bodies, stylistically. I can't quite get to grips with the "fake prism" bump, which looks like a glued-on afterthought.

Nikon make great gear, but I can't help feeling that part of the reason why they are losing market share is down to the aesthetics - it's clearly a factor that many people consider important, as demonstrated by all the comments we read about how "beautiful" Fujifilm cameras are.

I just assumed they were designed by Audi...

(I wonder if they could sue for using the name in this way?)

@entoman
Funny - as for me the Z beats any other current camera aesthetically. Whereas I find the D bodies rather ugly. The VF bump isn‘t fake too - it holds the appreciated high-magnification VF ocular, EVF screen and actually IS smaller than a prism bump. It allows for a pleasingly low „shoulder“ for the rest of the camera body.

E.g., c.f. https://media.the-digital-picture.com/Images/Other/Nikon-Z-7/Nikon-Z-6-7-Camera-Cross-Section.jpg

I believe you're looking for the 500 PF. You want the extra stop, well, that's not going to change that an f/4 500 or 600 is going to be enormous.

@IdM photography

Most probably f/1.2 since:

- its approximative dimensions, judging by the silhouette, are 100mm (max. diameter) x 125mm (length);

- the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM is 103mm x 117mm.

Since you asked, looking at the WEX website in the UK, of 16 Z lenses 12 are in stock, 2 are awaiting stock and 1 is pre-order.

The 2 awaiting stock are the 35 and 85 1.8S lenses, both of which were recently in stock but are currently on offer,

Seems Nikon has no real problem with satisfying demand.

It's not like Nikon ever developed compelling DX lens lineup for DSLRs...

Yes, they really are coming out with some amazing class leading lenses.
Thanks for reminding us that they still exist!

Yeah but buying expensive Z-FX lenses for an unstabilized 20MP body is pretty crazy.

Hopefully Sigma reverse-engineers the mount and releases their 16mm/30mm/56mm F1.4 trio.

By the end of 2022, Canon will still have a dead-end crop system, and no APS-C lenses for RF 🤣

I'd love to see Nikon put out a couple of solid options for the Z50 (an UWA zoom, and something like the 16-80mm f/2.8-4 would be a great start), but they're still better positioned there than Canon.

I wouldn't expect them to ever release a comprehensive collection of Z DX lenses:
1) FX is now cheap enough for more people
2) The FTZ and plentiful, cheap F DX lenses
3) Cheaper Z FX lenses

Nikon probably wants to have some long lenses take amazing shots at the Olympics for marketing purposes.

It takes pixel peeping to separate the two. See Jim Kasson’s review of them here on DPR. He advises not bothering to replace a working 70-200/2.8 with the Z version. Little to no benefit.

Leave it to fPrime to start the bashing when a manufacturer announces more options that make their lens lineup more appealing for a broad range of users.

How do you know that they don’t have one planned?
Did Nikon, by releasing this roadmap, say they were not making any more lenses after these?
If recent history is any indication, they’ve released lenses that weren’t even on the original roadmap.
24 new lenses + 2 TC converters by 2021 and now 3 new lenses added to that roadmap is not too shabby!
I’m looking forward to seeing what else they add over the next few months.

Yes, a 35mm f1.2 is even more important than a 85mm f1.2... Maybe Sigma will at some point launch a Z mount version of its 35mm f1.2 Art...

I always like to see what negative take fPrime will come up with on a Nikon story. Most of them are a reach so it's hard to say. Who was guessing it'd be 35mm f/1.2?

@camerons...someday probably he will complain why there is no 35mm f/5.6 lens?

FPrime you keep pretending to be a Nikon user. Give up.

robertfel, the Olympics are going to be shot with the D6 and F lenses. No suitable Z camera yet.

Same for Canon

fprime, you need to do a better job of hiding your cornflakes in the morning, someone, maybe your cat, keeps micturating in your cereal. Honestly, wth. 1. More telephoto lenses are sold than fast 35's. 2. Nikon needs to get the telephoto crowd to migrate to mirrorless. That's their priority, not to satisfy the grumpy bokeh worshipers. What are you going to shoot with 35 1.2 that you can't with 35 1.8? 85mm is a different story. 105 is a different story, 135 too. But honestly, I dare you to bite you tongue once in a while.

@m_black If you want to shoot a standing person (the subject isn't that close) and achieve some isolation with the background (blurry background), a 35mm f1.8 won't do the job, a 35mm f1.2 is great...