Nikon just updated their Z lens roadmap with a whopping nine new lenses, in addition to two DX lenses announced today with the Z50. Here’s a first look at the new lenses we can expect to see.
The Updated Nikon Z Lens Roadmap
Here’s the roadmap it replaces:
The new lenses we never knew about before are as follows:
- 28mm pancake lens
- 40mm pancake lens
- 60mm macro lens
- 105mm macro lens
- 24-105mm
- 100-400mm
- 18-140mm (DX)
- 24-200mm (non-S lineup)
- 200-600mm (non-S lineup)
Nikon has not released the maximum aperture value for any of these nine lenses, at least yet.
When Are These Lenses Coming Out?
The new roadmap doesn’t list any date projections for when the nine new Z lenses will go on sale. So, taking the old information into account, here’s all we know right now about the upcoming announcement schedule:
In 2019:
- 70-200mm f/2.8
In 2020:
- 50mm f/1.2
- 20mm f/1.8
- 14-24mm f/2.8
- Four (or two?) additional Nikon Z lenses
In 2021:
- Seven Nikon Z lenses
Previously, there were eleven empty “TBA” spots in Nikon’s roadmap. Today, Nikon announced eleven lenses, so my assumption is that we know what all the TBA lenses are going to be. However, note that four of the TBA lenses were scheduled for 2020 and seven for 2021, while in fact two of them (the 16-50mm DX and 50-250mm DX) were announced in October 2019. Until I hear anything further, I’m going to assume that Nikon simply was ahead of schedule on these lenses – but there’s also a possibility that some unknown lenses remain that will be announced before the end of 2021.
Analyzing the Future Lenses
A lot of Nikon’s upcoming lens lineup looks very interesting. In particular, it’s exciting to see a company put specific effort into releasing pancake lenses – a 28mm and a 40mm lens. Personally, as someone who’s been pushing for more pancake lenses from major companies, I am very excited to see this!
It’s also nice to see not one, but two dedicated macro lenses on their way for the Z system. I’d have preferred a 150mm+ macro lens rather than a 60mm and a 105mm, but I’m not complaining. The Z cameras are great for close-up photography for a few reasons – focus stacking, in-viewfinder magnification, focus peaking – and they deserved more than an adapted lens.
The 100-400mm also seems interesting to me. The biggest gap in the entire Z lens lineup was – and still is – a small aperture telephoto lens. Heck, I’d be first in line to buy the Nikon Z 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3… if it weren’t DX only. Most likely, the 100-400mm will still be too heavy to be ideal (with a 70-200mm f/4 or 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 preferable for travel photography) but at least it’s something. Still, you’ve got to wonder why Nikon continues to hold out and not release a lightweight telephoto zoom for what is, ostensibly, a travel-friendly camera system.
We also get the first supertelephoto Z lens – the 200-600mm, though no word on its maximum aperture – which very well could win fans for wildlife and sports photography. Seeing as though it’s not an “S” series lens, chances are good that it will mimic something like Nikon’s 200-500mm f/5.6, a very highly regarded budget supertelephoto lens.
Lastly, Nikon rounds out their new lens set with three wide-to-telephoto zooms: a 24-105mm S, 24-200mm non-S, and 18-140mm DX. A number of photographers complained when the Z6 and Z7 were announced that the kit 24-70mm f/4 didn’t zoom far enough; for those photographers, the 24-105mm S might be just the ticket. (I also wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the new kit lens to go with Nikon’s upcoming high-end Z full-frame camera). The 24-200mm should make a good superzoom for travel, although don’t expect its image quality to be at the same standard as Nikon’s other lenses. Same goes for the DX 18-140mm.
Nikon Z Lenses Released So Far
This list below keeps track of all the Nikon Z-mount lenses that have been announced so far, in the order that they shipped. Although it is a short list so far, we plan to update this article continually as new Z-mount lenses are released.
2018
- 24-70mm f/4 S (our review)
- 35mm f/1.8 S (our review)
- 50mm f/1.8 S (our review)
2019
- 24-70mm f/2.8 S
- 14-30mm f/4 S (our review)
- 85mm f/1.8 S
- 24mm f/1.8 S
- 58mm f/0.95 S
- DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3
- DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3
If you want to find out more about the Nikon Z lenses, see Nikon Z Mirrorless Lenses page at Nikon USA.
“How about a Nikon 20-100mm f/4E VR instead? That would be my ultimate landscape lens.”
I’ve never understood the reasoning behind going 24-70, then 70-200, with no overlap. When you’re in the field and an extra few millimetres are essential, you don’t always have the luxury or the time of being able to change your lens before the light disappears on you.
Hey Pete! Not sure if you meant to quote me or someone else about a 20-100mm f/4, but personally that’s never been one on my list. Especially not with VR given the IBIS on the Z6 and Z7. That said, if Nikon (or any other company) released a 20-100mm f/4 lens, it would certainly turn heads! Supposedly it is extremely difficult to design ultra wide-to-telephoto lenses, which is why almost every manufacturer stops at the 24mm mark.
My personal reason to prefer a 24-70mm and 70-200mm without any overlap is just to save weight. The Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 lens is significantly smaller and lighter than the comparable Canon or Panasonic 24-105mm f/4 mirrorless options, and just as sharp. But that’s just me; I suspect that Nikon’s decision to release a 24-105mm lens in this roadmap is precisely to satisfy photographers who prefer overlap like you!
Looks like that quote comes from an article Nasim wrote about the most desired future Nikon lenses: photographylife.com/the-m…kon-lenses
Certainly if Nikon is ever going to release a lens like that, mirrorless would be the time to do it.
1. The images that can’t be made without a focal length of 71-99mm are few, if any.
2. For those few, one can take a step forward or back, or crop from an image with a surplus of quality.
3. Far more images that would have been better shot at 200-400 than 70-100, so I’m awaiting the 100-400 to pair with my 24-70.
I’m surprised Nikon didn’t introduce a Z counterpart to the versatile F-mount 28-300mm lens. This was my preferred travel lens when I needed to cover the full range from wide to tele with just one lens.
On my Nikon 200-500 mm i am often using the 1.4 x extender. I hope, Nikon also brings out an extender to the longer Z-telephoto lenses.
I might finally spring for a z mount camera when the 28mm pancake prime is available. Mirrorless bodies are nice and compact but a lot of the lenses are huge by comparison to the older (and perhaps lower optical performing) DSLR lenses. I like that Nikon is focus on some.practical lenses. Too many focused on techs and top performance when most of our pics are only on the web ND not printed
I think the roadmap is very sensible. And I agree that the pancake lenses are nice, and that can also set Nikon apart from the competition.
Personally, I’m disappointed that there are not more f/1.2 lenses in the upcoming years.
That’s exactly what I’m thinking at the moment. I’m really interested by f/1.2 lenses (a very rare breed in nikon world).
I’m very happy to see that they’ve listened to many of us who shoot macro, but am also disappointed, Spenser, that there isn’t a long focal length macro, like the very old, 200mm f4. I have the 105/2.8G and love it, even on the Z7 with the FTZ.
I don’t understand why release dates were omitted, either. They did a pretty good job meeting the forecast releases for 2018-2019.
Considering the DX lens roadmap, it seems Nikon is going to replace most of the lower end DSLRs with mirrorless cameras. Not sure how I feel about that. I would still prefer to have DSLR continuation in the D7XXX series and also I’d like a D500 successor in DSLR shape. Everything below that can be mirrorless, if it must. I’m still a big believer in Nikon’s DSLRs due to ergonomics, battery life and durability of the bodies. The only advantage the Z system will have in my opinion will be the better lenses and better video features, but right now I am happy with my F-mount lenses, they are good enough even if they’re not perfectly sharp.
My big disappointment with the roadmap is that there is no imminent prospect of a Z 70-200mm f/4 zoom. I was attracted by the Nikon mirrorless bodies and f/4 zooms as a lightweight alternative to my D850 equipment, particularly for hiking. The Z6/Z7, 14-30mm f/4 and 24-70mm f/4 are an excellent start to a lightweight travel kit. But (at least for the next few years) it appears that there is going to be no continuation of such a kit beyond 70mm. The options are the Z 70-200mm f/2.8 (when it is released), the planned Z 100-400mm zoom, and the F-mount 70-200mm f/4 with the FTZ adapter. I do not see any of these options as an ideal lightweight solution.
Why not get a 70-300mm AF-P for a lightweight travel option? The 70-300 with FTZ adapter weighs slightly less than the 70-200mm F4. It also weigh less than the Sony 70-200mm F4. So a native Z 70-200mm F4 would most likely weigh about the same.
One of my favorite lenses always was and is the 135mm – preferably f/2.8, because it is a small and handy moderate tele lens.
Unfortunately it seems I have to buy a Zeiis lens for Sony ef with an tz-01-adapter to get a compact modern 135mm autofocus lens for my Z6.
First, hello to everyone. I have been following this site for a while & this is my first time posting comments. Since I shoot lots of landscape, the most interesting Z lens for me is the 24-105 mm. As a former Nikon FX DSLR owner, I miss the 24-120 mm f4 lens, despite some compromises on IQ. Another Z lens I am also interested is the 14-24 mm f2.8, hopefully it will be good for astrophotography. Currently, I don’t own any Nikon mirrorless camera as I am on the fence between full frame & medium format. I probably won’t make the final decision until the end of next year, after more Z bodies & lenses have come out.