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

Dan, if you have the money to run two systems, go for it. If you need the specialized lenses that may or may not be coming from Canon, enjoy.

Just remember you're the unicorn. Few need specialized lenses (hence their name as specialized), and fewer have the money to support two systems.

nikon doesn't need a d850/r5 competitor, what they need is an a9/a9ii competitor, in order to have better af than canon has, with no evf blackout/frame duplication.

the only way to do that is with a stacked sensor, which canon doesn't have, and probably won't have for quite awhile, given that canon apparently can't even make bsi sensors.

we would hope that nikon won't be using the same slow stepper motors that they've used in other z-mount lenses; that will not work for performance telephoto primes, that need to have 20fps af-c capability, in order to take advantage of fast stacked sensor readout speeds.

it's a dilemma... wait to buy these unknown nikon supertelephotos, with the hope that nikon will finally release a 20fps nikon body in a timely manner? or wait for a 20fps nikon milc body, to use with f-mount supertelephotos?

nikon needs to put performance milc bodies on the roadmap, because stacked-sensor af is the best way that they can one-up canon.

I disagree. IMO the canon R5/6 are the best bodies made right now, full stop. The D850 had that crown, now canon has it. The z6ii isn't competitive if you shoot action or active wildlife...not at 5.5fps or you get a slideshow/blackout. I own a z6 and it is great except for wildlife. The v2 doesn't seem to solve that issue, not completely anyway..or not just yet.

@richard cohen: one of my canon colleagues uses a R5 now and he';s very pleased with it. As a long time Nikon user I could play with it a couple of times and by means of handling/ergonomics/build/viewfinder its a great camera.

Seeing the part of the market the R5 camera is aimed at will it professional photographers make to switch or lure them over? Not any more - the differences are not there to make it worth. So the r5 *might be* the best body, but for (professional) Canon users.

Z mount lenses! IBIS. More powerful processing. Focus from corner to corner. Smaller size. USB power. EVF. Better video functionality. Higher DR and less noise at high ISO. There's more! I know the D850 is great but the Z7II will be a major upgrade.

Yes, I am, now IBIS is standard feature but with IS lenses you have more possibilities, i.e for documentary filming when you do not want to use gimbal. Look at new Canon primes: 24/35/85mm + 24-105mm with IS, for documentary video IBIS + IS lenses open more chances. I was going to buy Z6II but lack of VR lenses has changed it.

As a Nikon shooter of many years, I can say without any hesitation that the Z viewfinder lag is atrocious. Maybe the ZIIs are better, but I highly doubt it. There is apparently no shortage of Z users who don't swing their camera from side to side while trying to track a moving subject and will defend this inferior technology 'til the cows come home. Better you than me!

Ok, so you haven’t used a Z6II but still write such sweeping statements.

@bernardlang

"Ok, so you haven’t used a Z6II but still write such sweeping statements."

Reilly wasn't talking about the Z6II but the Z6, which does appear to have a problem with viewfinder refresh rate according to the DPreview review:

"What you see through the viewfinder is incredibly crisp, but live view is laggy."
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-z6/3

It was listed as a 'con' in the conclusion:
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-z6/9

So he's not making any 'sweeping statements' as you put it. Hopefully this behaviour is less of a problem with the Z6II, but that camera is not available yet. Where did you get yours, btw?

Your info is from Jan 14, 2019 and after that there are firmware updates. And the Z6II is all more than 2 weeks available and many shops have it. So inform you for you say it is not available yet.

The Z6ii is like using an OVF to me and SO much better than the EVF in the Sony which was coarse, digital and washed out. The EVF doesn't appear laggy at all.

If you're talking blackout time in high FPS on the original Z6 and Z7, then maybe but the Z6II is noticeably better. When I wave my hand in front of the lens on even the original Z6 & Z7, I don't notice any lag. So why'd you say it's bad?

Don't forget about the image stabilization!

I have the name for it too: NIKKAND, since we want it all.

It seems more compact than the 50mm f1.2 S though.

Cheers,
Bernard

It will also probably be the sharpest and highest quality in history. Use the 1.8 instead, it's already great quality in a smaller, lighter package. Or just grumble and moan like most posters...

G Pik, where are the empty shelves?

Um, I don't recall them me the latest lens I just ordered was out of stock. Some how by some miracle I got it 3 days later.

In case you weren't aware, there has been an uptick in COVID cases around the globe and some places are going back to lockdown. You know what happened during the summer. It's not only Nikon, but I'm sure Canon and Sony and others will be in the same boat with "out of stick" items if this continues.

The 70-200 f2.8 S has been out of stock for weeks, it was available on Nikons website for about a day then out of stock again. I've been waiting 2 months for a 2x Z Teleconverter. There are plenty of threads about the poor supply of lenses. COVED gets blamed for everything now.

Well, because 90% of the time COVID in some form or another, is responsible for most of the holdups that are going on in many industries. It could be that Nikon is waiting for parts from some supplier who was shut down (or may still be shut down, or operating on a limited schedule) so it's not always entirely Nikon's fault. They may have partially finished 70-200's on the line waiting for, say, a few washers that are back ordered from the vendor.

You gotta check local shops. If you order only from B&H and the like you'll be waiting forever since the line is so long.

Ah really?

So far I have received all the Z lenses I ordered early on the very day of planned availability, which is most of them except the Noct that I bought second hand and the DX zooms that I didn’t order.

I guess it depends on where you are located.

Nikon seems to have a lot of demand in the US and they haven’t been able to deliver in sufficient numbers. Here in Japan most of their products are rather easy to buy.

It also seems that they have a policy to agressively protect their employees and may therefore have been impacted more than others by the covid.

My local camera store had the 70-200mm S in stock and I haven't had any issues buying the gear I want in the past year.
G Pik, your issues and melodramatic, strawman point "nothing in stock to sell!!! Would you run a shop with empty shelves?" are not the experiences of all.

The Nikkor AF-S 105mm 1.4E is also one heck of lens, sharp wide open, and must have for portraits. It can be used with the FTZ adapter, but native Z version would be welcome.

Also there is no similar lens in Canon or Sony lineup.

The lens range is just over two years old remember.

Just look at Canon and the upcoming RF lenses.

Because what we all really need is a 28-70 f/2? I think Nikon's Z line-up so far is really useful.

Well, to me the Nikon line-up looks more "practical" and down-to-earth than Canon's offering:
- For instance the f/1.8 primes are really killer lenses.
- Even the 24-70 f/4 is a real bargain (when purshased as kit lens).

Who really needs a bulky 28-70 f/2? The 4 mm missing in wide angle is a "no go" for my usage.

@Grapejam =
At least put a little effort into your criticisms...#facepalm

Yes, happen to have Sigma 105 it too, for Sony FE. But it is the only other one available, and there is none made by Sony.

The Nikkor 105/1.4 is:
+ Much smaller / lighter
+ Seem slightly sharper in center @f1.4 (both mounted on A7RIV)
+ Excellent contrast and rendering
- Vignetting very strong @f1.4

Sigma 105/1.4:
+ Very sharp @f1.4 to edges
+ Vignetting is much less severe due to crazy front element
+ Less cat eyes effect
- Requires 105mm filter
- Large and heavy
- Focal length is actually shorter than Nikkor

Everybody scoff at the 28-70 till they use it and every single one of them fall in love with it. One EOS R with a 28 70 f2 is lighter and more versatile tha 2 bodies + primes combo that wedding photogs use.

I don’t understand how originality is an asset here...
- 70-200mm f2.8 not allowing the usage of teleconverters
- no high quality primes costing less than 2200 US$, and then again not as good as 1000 US$ f1.8 S glass
- ....

In my world originality is something you do when you have basics covered beyond reproach. Canon is very far behind Nikon on that front.

Canon’s engineers are certainly having fun but they seemingly completely forgot to serve the basic needs of photographers.

Since when were the RF 1.8 primes not "high quality"?

The RF f1.8 primes
- are few and apart
- are not bad lenses but average is a suitable word to describe them as opposed to outstanding for S f1.8 lenses. Each of the S f1.8 primes belongs to the very best lenses ever designed at the focal length. Their competitors are the Zeiss Otus. The RF f1.8 primes are more playing with Vivitar.

Cheers,
Bernard

You can also say that the Nikon S f1.8 primes are overengineered, overpriced, too big and heavy and don't make enough appreciateable difference in optical quality compared to the RF primes unless pixel peeping hard to justify the size, weight and price difference, and most of the RF f1.8 primes have some form of utility like IS or Macro capability.

Me, when I shop for f1.8 primes I go with affordabiliity and compactness in mind.

@Grapejam
Your loss, you’re missing out on some great optics.
But you’re a Canon shooter, so you were probably never planning on giving them a chance anyway.

Define "great optics". The Z lenses are all sharpness and correction, they render so flat and clinical I don't find them attractive at all.

I fully understand your feelings, I would also be envious if I had committed my money to a different camera system than the Z. :-)

Why should I be envious if I never care about sharpness which is what the Z lenses are all about ? :-)

You're talking to someone who opted for the more expensive and softer EF 50L f1.2 over the Sigma art, and 85L f1.2L over the f1.4 :-)

Let's face it, there're people who care more about the artistic and creativity aspect of photography than pixel peeping :-)

There are certainly such people.

And if you looked at facts without your Canon filters you would realize that the Z lens are not just sharper, they also feature a really beautiful rendering and super pure colors thanks to best in class CA control.

But I appreciate the incredible energy you devote to teaching the world that your brand of choice is the only one enabling artistic expression... right... that makes a lot of sense...

@grapejam you mean like the RF 70-200mm that CAN'T take a TC? That's a seriously stupid compromise just to make it compact. They should do that with the f4 version, not the pro level f2.8.

So by this time next year Nikon will have pulled their company out from under huge financial losses and be the market leader with 80% of all ILC sales. Well why not? Don't they have the best lenses? Don't they have the the most amazing camera bodies?

How many people care about putting TC on their 70 200? And if you want TC, gets the EF version.

Wel, given the size and cost, I can live with soft corners myself (I also tend to shoot wider than I really would need anyway when using that lens so the very corners are usually cropped off in my photos. It's also half the price so one would have to weigh that out too.

Reilly have you used the 14-30? It's a stellar lens and given its price and weight hard to beat. Actually a wee bit better than my Nikon 14-24 and Sigma Art 14-24, even inte corners.

Thanks, it seemed to go along with numerous other contributions posted here.

Sales are still higher than film SLR sales in te 90's. Back then, mobile phone cameras were called single use disposable film cameras you bought at the pharmacy. That and compact film cameras with power zoom lenses put just as much pressure on SLR sales as does cell phones do now on DSLR/MILC sales.

Nikon has form here for producing f2.8 pancakes - boring! So these will also probably be quite resistible f2.8s.

It would be a great wonder if they managed to think out of the box and produce something as small and as good as the CV 40/2 with an AF motor.

I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone wouldn't want to get vaccinated.. but then again, my fellow Americans do lots of things that I can't understand why any sane person would do.

And yes, I too would like to see Europe again, but I'm afraid at this rate that it's gonna be awhile. Some 'Democrat hoax' this turned out to be..

Or maybe the Olympics will go on as rescheduled without any US athletes.
We snooze, we lose.

Mike & Mr. Bolton -- I feel ya! :/

I think you will be allowed to go abroad, as long as you are vaccinated and have proof of this.

I would imagine that athletes and other "VIP's" would get priority access to vaccination. Yes, there will be lots of people who refuse the vaccination. The United States is a veritable lunatic asylum at this point, sad to say. But if there is a firm policy of "bring and show a vaccination certificate," travel for protected Americans seems viable by late summer. For people like me, with no particular priority, it's gonna be a nail-biter as to when we will be able to be vaccinated.

Dreaming for a Nikon 135 f/1.8 s lens to come .

I am quite sure this will come, as Nikon seems to be highly commited to f/1.8 primes (and on purpose!).
Let's give Nikon a bit more time, the Z is only 2 years old as of now.
I must say I am quite impressed by what they have acheived so far!

Meanwhile, the Sigma 135mm is excellent.

I would guess f/2.8 or f/2.4, to make a significant difference with their "S" f/1.8 line-up.

"24-70 F4, 16-50, and 50-250 "

horrible performing lenses.

@io rep Have you ever tried these lenses? Unfortunately, I haven't tried yet 24-70. However, I heard a lot from owners about this glass.
For their price 16-50 and 50-250 have a great value. Of course, you can't buy F2.8 or even F4 for this money. Despite the fact they're quite dark as any kit lens, you get compact lenses with built-in IS, great sharpness, quick and silent autofocus, and no focus breathing.

@io rep
The 24-70mm f4 is absolutely outstanding. The best compact transtandard lens ever designed.

Cheers,
Bernard

I can confirm about the 24-70 f/4, it's a real bargain:
- It's a really fine lens regarding sharpness and uniformity center-edge.
- It has only some distorsion and some vignetting (as all lenses in this price level), which are corrected by software (I am using DxO Photolab).

This is now my "go to" compact travel lens without problem, something I have missed for years in the "F" line-up.
The result is just perfect 60x40 cm prints: outstanding!

I get tired of the reflexive Nikon-bashing. So many points to make. The Canon f11 superteles are to some of us, kind of a joke. F11? Really? Meanwhile, Nikon's 500mm f5.6 PF is one of the greatest lenses ever. The 50-250 kit lens is remarkably sharp for a cheapo lens. Every company has its pluses and minuses. I will add that who gets the latest and greatest lens or camera feature "first" is a shallow way to choose one's system. Supposedly, one builds a camera system over a period of years, not all at once.

My guess is that it will be f4.5-5.6 since it's listed as a "S" lens.

Rather see a 200-400mm f/4.0 or 200-600mm f/5.6; with both being compatible with Nikon's TC-X

Anyone who remembers the form factor of the 180-400/4 and 200-400/4 will realise that this lens is not an f/4 but an equivalent of the 80-400/4.5-5.6.

A 100-400mm fixed f/4.0 would be a big lens!

"I like the size and it really needs to be f/4." - Is that's what they call cognitive dissonance?

The F-mount 70-200 f/4 is an awesome lens. It would be great to see a Z-mount equivalent.

I fully agree.

This is a key lens for the Z line up.

Keep in mind the 70-200 f/4 for F mount appeared 14 years after the D1 arrived. After 6 years, almost 7 years now, it hasn't even been updated to an E lens like their other staple lenses they have. In 20 years we've had three (4 if you include Z mount) 70-200 2.8's. An f/4 version doesn't seem to be priority.

It is a 1.2

Fuji is great, unless you into wildlife, then the lens selection is very limited.

Well, with Nikon you could easily get past 70mm in the new 24-200mm which is well regarded for what it is.

In Fuji land, your lens options past 140mm are quite limited.

It seems you forgot a "small detail" your appreciation about Fuji lenses smaller sizes (as I don't see any reference to sensor sizes) doesn't refer the Nikon's you compare to are for full frame not APS-C like Fuji.

You could have said you considered Z50 and put it off because of reduced lens options but you didn't.

Well, not really three lenses because you can mount any Z lens on the Z50. For example you can buy the future 200-600 and use it with the 20mp APSC to have 900mm equivalent. No adapter.

No, not always. Some labs still perform fantastic chemical printing. Besides this, digitizing hi res slide film delivers anything from 120 MP to 240 MP, the lenses don't have any distortion, so I don't have to »correct« an image in post. And why do I have to be quick? There is a German phrase: »Gut Ding will Weile haben«, which means »Good things take time.« Photography is a craft, seeing light is a gift from nature, so why do I need to be fast? In addition, I love to work with the people from the lab and I want to make sure that they keep their jobs

What I did forget to mention: None of the Nikon lenses can perform a tilt AND a shift AND a rise/fall at the same time, so sharpness will always be in one single spot. With none of the lenses you can place the plane of focus into the scene. Want to know more? https://www.capcam.org/

Well, I worked mostly with a 4x5 large-format camera in film days, too - that doesn't mean anything. Excellent work can be done with either film or digital, and gear can play a crucial role in it depending on what and how you photograph. So, as long as you don't show proof, your "only one or two people here could up a candle [against] me here" doesn't mean a thing. Actually, such a statement doesn't show anything except that you seem to be pretty insecure about your skills.

Oops, I just noticed that you are here for advertisement, cf. your third post. That explains something.

The Z6II is already similar to the R6 in terms of AF.

Just shot tonight on a dark beach only lit up by a fire with the 85mm at f1.8 and the rate of keepers with eye AF is simply insane.

I just couldn’t believe how great the AF was.

What about the Z7II, I'm not interested in the Z6II at all, I already have the A9, I want something as good as the R5. Also I'll believe the Z6II is as good as the R6 when I see the excellent bird photographer and wildlife shooters give their feedback. I know plenty of them that can afford to buy anything that comes along and also eagerly awaiting Steve Perry's opinion. There are huge caveats in the mk II especially the Z7II that have us doubting it's a big improvement at all for fast action shooters.

How are they starving the R&D budget?
They cut R&D spending on their imaging division for 2020, but only by like 10% if my memory serves me right. And you have to keep in mind that they aren't developing cameras and lenses for the F-mount anymore(maybe we will see a D880), so all that money goes to developing the Z-line.

Because if you reduce R&D for point and shoots and entry level cameras, you have freed up a lot of resources to design and create new Z lenses and cameras.
Reduction in R&D is not necessarily a bad thing if it’s being reduced in key areas that are no longer Nikon’s focus.

@Ilza
Just because Nikons business is expanding in other areas than imaging doesn't mean that they are starving the imaging R&D. Let's just look at the numbers instead:
2016: 25,355 milions of yen
2017: 24,921
2018: 23,460
2019: 24,066
2020: 21,180

That's about a 12% cut from 2019 to 2020. Not remarkable when considering Nikons recent statement that they will focus on the prosumer market. So no more development of coolpix etc. And no more development of F-mount glass or camera. That's hardly starving the R&D department...

I took them from Nikons own website. You can see them here: https://www.nikon.com/about/ir/finance/expenditure/

What are the numbers you are posting? Procentages? Million yen? It's weird of you to say that I don't understand the numbers, when you post undefined numbers like that.

The new 85mm in the roadmap is not smaller than the 50mm 1.2. I think you actually mean "shorter" - which is indeed the case. The silhouetted 85mm is the same height as the 14-24mm 2.8 and the 24-70mm 2.8 which are 125mm and 126mm. For reference, the Canon RF 85mm 1.2 is 117mm

It's girth though would determine how wide the aperture could be and we see that it's around the same as the f0.95 Noct - which is massive. This lens will certainly be a 85mm f1.2.

Given the designs of all Z lenses that have been released, the chances of this being a "re-barrelled" formula are zero.

The 50mm f/1.8S is hardly special. It exhibits strong LoCA for instance. Add onion rings in bokeh highlights and cat eyes ...
Just because it's better than the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G doesn't mean much really.

Who pays these people to post mistruths such as this.?

Don't feed the troll.

The weaknesses of the 50/1.8S are well illustrated. Just visit cameralabs, for instance. Of course, if you prefer, you can just stick to illusions. Illusions can be one path to happiness if you don't look left or right.

DIRECT QUOTE from Cameralabs summary: "The Nikon Z 50mm f1.8S is a very good standard prime lens for owners of Z-series mirrorless bodies: its optical performance is right up there with the much heavier and more expensive Zeiss 55mm f1.4 Otus including longitudinal color aberrations - which is no small feat." END QUOTE.
Basically the exact opposite of what you claim Camerlabs said. Now stop telling lies and slink back under your nasty little bridge.

@The man without mirrors - Forget looking left or right, seems the only way your looking is behind.... Its where you've been left too....

It's amusing when non-users try to tell actual users how poor a product is based on incorrectly paraphrasing 3rd party complimentary reviews. Please tell us man with mirrors, what 50mm FF lens meets your high standards?

I would like to hear from The Man Without Mirrors. Apart from an anonymous commentator signing up to DPR a few months ago, who are you, why have you misquoted the reputable Camerlabs, who else do you misquoted, why do you take every opportunity to spread mistruths about a particular long-admired brand, are you being paid, what is your motive, where on the planet are you based ? There are a few of you on these pages and I am interested to learn how your gig works. So come on, lets hear some truth from you.

Where did I misquote something? The 50/1.8S has bokeh onion rings and cat eyes early starting. That is clearly mentioned in the cameralabs review.
It has LoCAs - thus it's not an APO lens. A 50/1.8S is much easier to design than the Otus (a f/1.4) so it's not a valid comparison to start with. Feel free to compare it to a Leica 50/1.0 - the Nikkor will beat it hands down in terms of sharpness due to the faster speed. That's just normal.
However, just go to DxOMark for a ranking of 40-55mm lenses. The Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 is good, but it is just one of many good lenses ... and it's not THE BEST. Which just reflects my initial statement.
Whereas you folks are just on a religious mission here really.

@The man without mirrors
> Yet within the engineering community
Please don‘t post on behalf of a community you clearly don‘t belong to. Thanks.

I think it interesting that the man without mirrors has apparently not used the 50mm f1.8 S - and quotes a from a single site that is IMO is far from reliable.

You claim "The 50mm f/1.8S ... exhibits strong LoCA for instance" ... really? I own one and I just can't find any on a 60x40 prints shot @ f/1.8!

And again, false attribution. DIRECT QUOTE from DXO: " it is exceptionally sharp and a very good all-round performer. Even wide-open, it comes close to some of the best and most expensive lenses currently available" END OF QUOTE. And BTW, CA is 2. Next best is Otus 55 at 6!! At least read the reviews you attribute opinion to, you are starting to look very stupid as well as mendacious.

You don't have to spend Canon, Zeiss or Leica money to get a superbly corrected lens. In this instance, Nikon engineers have certainly earned the title of top dog when it comes to lens design.