Photography Life

PL provides various digital photography news, reviews, articles, tips, tutorials and guides to photographers of all levels

Home → Cameras and Lenses

Nikon Z Lens Roadmap (Updated July 2025)

Everything you need to know about Nikon’s upcoming Z lenses

By 309 Comments
Last Updated On

Nikon-lens-roadmap-illustration-pirate-map-fun

Nikon hasn’t added any new lenses to their Z lens roadmap for a while, and it looks like the roadmap is winding down. Still, there have been some big lens announcements both from Nikon and from third parties recently. As of July 2025, here’s what we can expect to see for the Nikon Z System over the coming months and years.

The Updated Nikon Z Lens Roadmap

The following is the final version of the Nikon Z lens roadmap. It was officially released all the way back in September of 2023. However, it’s a roadmap in name only. Just one lens on the roadmap below is unlabeled, and we now know that it is the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.2 S (announced officially in February 2025).

Nikon-Z-Lens-Roadmap-Update-2023

Nikon has also gone beyond the roadmap in some ways. The following lenses were total surprises, never appearing on the official roadmap until they were announced:

  • 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
  • Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3
  • Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8
  • Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8
  • Nikon Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S
  • Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
  • Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4
  • Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4
  • Nikon Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ

In total, every Nikon Z lens we know about is as follows, sorted by focal length. See Nikon DX vs FX for more information.

DX lenses:

  • 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 DX PZ VR
  • 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 DX VR
  • 18-140mm f/3.5-6.3 DX VR
  • 24mm f/1.7 DX
  • 50-250mm f/4.5-5.6 DX VR

FX lenses:

  • 14-24mm f/2.8 S
  • 14-30mm f/4 S
  • 17-28mm f/2.8 (Tamron optical design)
  • 20mm f/1.8 S
  • 24mm f/1.8 S
  • 24-50mm f/4-6.3
  • 24-70mm f/2.8 S
  • 24-70mm f/4 S
  • 24-120mm f/4 S
  • 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
  • 26mm f/2.8
  • 28mm f/2.8
  • 28mm f/2.8 Special Edition
  • 28-75mm f/2.8 (Tamron optical design)
  • 28-135mm f/4 PZ (video lens)
  • 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
  • 35mm f/1.2 S
  • 35mm f/1.4
  • 35mm f/1.8 S
  • 40mm f/2
  • 40mm f/2 Special Edition
  • 50mm f/1.2 S
  • 50mm f/1.4
  • 50mm f/1.8 S
  • 50mm f/2.8 MC (macro lens)
  • 58mm f/0.95 S Noct
  • 70-180mm f/2.8 (Tamron optical design)
  • 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S
  • 85mm f/1.2 S
  • 85mm f/1.8 S
  • 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
  • 105mm f/2.8 VR S MC (macro lens)
  • 135mm f/1.8 S Plena
  • 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR
  • 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
  • 400mm f/4.5 VR S
  • 600mm f/4 TC VR S
  • 600mm f/6.3 VR S PF
  • 800mm f/6.3 VR S PF
  • 1.4x Teleconverter
  • 2.0x Teleconverter

When Will Any More Lenses Be Announced?

Now that the roadmap is complete, it is likely that every new Nikon Z lens will be a surprise. At most, we will get development announcements or hints for some lenses, but the chances that we see another roadmap are very slim.

That begs the question: what’s missing? Although Nikon has a pretty extensive line of Z-mount glass at this point, there are still some types of lenses that we have yet to see. The following are the main examples that stand out to me – note that there is plenty of flexibility in the exact focal length and aperture we might see:

  • 14mm f/1.8
  • 24mm f/1.4
  • 85mm f/1.4
  • 70-200mm f/4
  • 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6
  • 200mm f/2
  • 300mm f/2.8
  • 500mm f/4
  • A 1.7x teleconverter
  • An FX lens covering 12mm or wider
  • A midrange zoom with an f/2 or f/1.8 aperture
  • A fisheye lens
  • Tilt-shift lenses
  • A macro lens longer than 105mm
  • An ultra-macro lens (2x magnification or greater)
  • A zoom macro lens
  • A high-end supertelephoto zoom (like a 180-300mm f/2.8 or 200-400mm f/4)
  • Various DX lenses, especially fast primes and zooms

I want to emphasize that there are no rumors or development announcements suggesting that any of these lenses are coming soon! However, given that these are the biggest gaps in Nikon’s lineup at the moment, I suspect that we will see some lenses like these eventually. Which one would you like to see most?

Third-Party Lenses

Already, there are hundreds of third-party lenses for the Nikon Z system, but most of them are manual-focus only. Some of these are great lenses – I’d give a special shoutout to Voigtlander’s APO glass – but to keep this article shorter, I’ll stick to listing autofocus lenses below. This is not every third-party autofocus lens, but it’s most of them:

  • Meike AF 85mm f/1.4
  • Tamron 16-30mm f/2.8 G2
  • Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2
  • Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 (our review)
  • Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 (our review)
  • Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 (our review)
  • Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro
  • Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 (our review)
  • TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 (DX only)
  • TTArtisan 32mm f/2.8
  • Sigma 16mm f/1.4 (DX only)
  • Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (DX only)
  • Sigma 56mm f/1.4 (DX only)
  • SongRaw 50mm f/1.2
  • Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 25mm f/1.7 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 27mm f/1.2 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 35mm f/1.7 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 56mm f/1.4 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 56mm f/1.7 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 75mm f/1.2 (DX only)
  • Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 (our review)
  • Viltrox 24mm f/1.8 (our review)
  • Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 (our review)
  • Viltrox 50mm f/1.8
  • Viltrox 50mm f/2 (our review)
  • Viltrox 85mm f/1.8
  • Viltrox 135mm f/1.8 LAB
  • Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8
  • Yongnuo 85mm f/1.8

Of the bunch, some of the most exciting are the Tamron lenses. The Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 pairs very well with the Z system considering Nikon’s inexplicable lack of lightweight telephoto lenses (apart from their two superzooms). I’ve shot with the Tamron 70-300mm extensively and really liked it as a portable telephoto option. Hopefully it proves popular enough that Nikon releases a lightweight telephoto zoom of their own to compete with it! Also on the telephoto side of things, Tamron makes a 150-500mm f/5-6.7 that undercuts Nikon’s 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 (costing $1200 rather than $1700), and a 50-400mm that undercuts Nikon’s 100-400mm S.

Meanwhile, the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 is a totally different type of lens that really flies in the face of typical lens design. For event photographers who want a single do-it-all lens, it’s an extremely appealing set of focal lengths that could replace a multi-lens set.

As for the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2, it’s essentially a version of Nikon’s own 28-75mm f/2.8 but with newer, improved optics and the Tamron label rather than the Nikon label. Nikon’s Z 28-75mm f/2.8 is based off the “G1” version of Tamron’s lens. I think that for most photographers, picking up the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2 makes more sense than choosing Nikon’s Z 28-75mm f/2.8 at this point.

I’m also excited about the three Sigma DX lenses. Sigma is one of the best third-party lens companies, and these three lenses are a good start considering that there aren’t very many Nikon-brand Z DX lenses yet. All three Sigma lenses fill useful spots in the lineup, for anything from astrophotography to portraiture and street photography.

Finally, Viltrox has some interesting glass, especially if you’re looking for a fast DX lens on a budget. The 13mm f/1.4 could be a good choice for DX Milky Way photography, while the 56mm f/1.4 and 72mm f/1.2 seem like good options for DX portrait photographers. Of Viltrox’s full-frame lenses, the one that I like the most is the 16mm f/1.8, which performed surprisingly well in our review. (I suspect that the 135mm f/1.8 LAB will also perform well once I have a chance to test it.)

Most of the other third-party lenses listed above have Nikon Z equivalents already, so they aren’t as exciting at first glance, but they could still make sense if you’re trying to save money.

Black and white Landscape photo Tamron 70-300mm
NIKON Z7 + TAMRON 70-300mm F/4.5-6.3 @ 114mm, ISO 64, 1/30, f/5.6

Nikon Z Lenses Announced So Far

The list below keeps track of all the Nikon Z-mount lenses that have been announced so far, in order from oldest to most recent:

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

If you want to find out more about the Nikon Z lenses, see Nikon Z Mirrorless Lenses page at Nikon USA.

Nikon Z Cameras

All the lenses above are Nikon Z mirrorless only, meaning they will not fit on any Nikon DSLR regardless of the adapter you use. At the moment, these are the only cameras which work with Nikon Z lenses:

Of these cameras, the Nikon Z30, Z50, Z50 II, and Zfc have a DX sensor (AKA 1.5x crop sensor), while the others have a larger FX camera sensor. However, all of Nikon’s Z lenses fit on all of these cameras, DX or not. If you use one of Nikon’s DX lenses on an FX camera, your photos will be automatically cropped to fit the DX area. See more at Nikon DX vs FX.

About Spencer Cox

I'm Spencer Cox, a landscape photographer based in Colorado. I started writing for Photography Life a decade ago, and now I run the website in collaboration with Nasim. I've used nearly every digital camera system under the sun, but for my personal work, I love the slow-paced nature of large format film. You can see more at my personal website and my not-exactly-active Instagram page.

guest

309 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Stuart Anderton

For 3rd party AF lenses, you missed the TTartisan 75mm f/2

0
Reply
Rudi

Don’t forget to add the light, excellent DX Viltrox AF 25mm f/1.7 Air, the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air and the Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 Air lenses to the list.

0
Reply
Spencer Cox

Thanks, just added them!

0
Reply
Rudi

I forgot to mention that the 35 1.7 and 56 1.7 are also DX only.

0
Reply
Spencer Cox

No worries, I should have double checked before posting. Just fixed.

0
Reply
Victor Benavides

A well-known astrophotographer had the Voigtlander 50mm f/2 on the Nikon Z because of the quality and light weight. I would definitely include them in the third-party lenses section. Some of them are already very popular and highly rated.

0
Reply
Spencer Cox

I do really like that lens, and I just reviewed it! photographylife.com/revie…lanthar-ii

I’m sticking to listing autofocus lenses in that section of the article, just because there are too many manual focus lenses to cover them all. But if someone wants a manual focus lens for Nikon Z, something from Voigtlander would likely be my top recommendation. (Although I didn’t like the 15mm f/4.5 Heliar as much – all other Voigtlander lenses I’ve tested have been great.)

0
Reply
Minh

I have 14-24/24-70/70-200 f/2.8 so 200-400 f/4 will be the next zoom lens to go.

1
Reply
Ted

Sony just announced a 400-800mm lens. This seems like a fantastic zoom range for a wildlife shooter, covering a range of small to large-animal cases, and Sony’s lens is pretty light. I wonder why this isn’t on the Nikon roadmap. The Nikon tele primes are excellent, of course, but they do force you into some difficult choices.

1
Reply
Tom

It’s also worth mentioning where Nikon’s lenses are manufactured since many of them are made in China (so benefiting their economy and likely with more quality discrepancy). Also made there are some of the 3rd-party cheap brands mentioned in the article: Viltrox, TTArtisan, Meike, Yongnuo…

www.nikonimgsupport.com/eu/BV…lang=en_GB

The 35 mm F1.2 S, not on that list, is made in Thailand, like its 50 mm sister.

-2
Reply
Mikael

I would love a 28mm 1.8S lens and a 70-200 f4S.

5
Reply
Serge

Tamron updated its 70-180 for a VC version, hope it will be (Nikon or Tamron branded) soon available for Z-mount also.

0
Reply
Jason

now Ttartisan presents 75mm f2 and 56mm f1.8 af fx. it seems that 75 one offers a good value for money

0
Reply
Ashish

Nikon z 85mm 1.4 when launching

3
Reply