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 December 2024, here’s what we can expect to see for the Nikon Z System over the coming months and years.
Table of Contents
The Updated Nikon Z Lens Roadmap
The following is the latest version of the Nikon Z lens roadmap. It was officially released all the way back in September of 2023, and it’s still current as of December 2024. However, it’s a roadmap in name only. As you can see, just one lens remains to be announced:
Sadly, it seems like we are coming to the end of Nikon’s roadmap, unless they decide to release a new version. Nikon previously said that this roadmap would cover “to 2023.” As of December 2024, the only remaining unannounced lens is:
- A 35mm S-line lens
Even this lens may already have been announced, in the form of the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 that was revealed in June of 2024 – though the general consensus is that this is not the lens that Nikon was teasing on the roadmap. Officially, Nikon hasn’t clarified whether the Z 35mm f/1.4 is the same as the missing 35mm lens on the roadmap or something different. But if we do ever get a 35mm S-line optic like the roadmap said, it will most likely be a 35mm f/1.2 lens to match the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S and 85mm f/1.2 S lenses.
Also, Nikon has announced the development of a 28-135mm f/4 PZ (“Power Zoom”) lens. This lens will be aimed mostly at videographers and hybrid shooters. So far, we do not have an official release date from Nikon or any specifications.
In total, every Nikon Z lens we know about is as follows. Lenses that have not yet been formally announced are marked in bold:
- 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 DX PZ VR
- 14-24mm f/2.8 S
- 14-30mm f/4 S
- 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 DX VR
- 17-28mm f/2.8 (Tamron optical design)
- 18-140mm f/3.5-6.3 DX VR
- 20mm f/1.8 S
- 24mm f/1.7 DX
- 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
- 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
- 35mm S (likely f/1.2)
- 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 macro lens
- 50-250mm f/4.5-5.6 DX VR
- 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 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
The official specifications of the unannounced 35mm lens and 28-135mm f/4 PZ are unknown.
When Will Any Upcoming Lenses Be Announced?
The new roadmap doesn’t list any date projections for when the unannounced 35mm S-line lens will go on sale, and anyone who tells you more than that is just making things up or repeating unsubstantiated rumors.
Likewise, it wouldn’t be out of character for Nikon to release a lens that isn’t on the roadmap. That’s what happened with the following lenses, which were total surprises when 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 28-135mm f/4 PZ
- 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
I expect that there will be many more such lenses from Nikon in the future – in fact, probably all of Nikon’s upcoming lenses apart from a 35mm f/1.2 S will be this way, unless Nikon re-launches their roadmap with new lenses.
Third-Party Lenses
Already, there are well over 100 third-party lenses for the Nikon Z system, but almost all of them are manual-focus only. While there’s nothing wrong with manual focus lenses, to keep this article shorter, I’ll stick to listing some of the main third-party autofocus lenses below:
- Meike AF 85mm f/1.4
- 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
- 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)
- Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 (DX only)
- Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 (DX only)
- Viltrox 27mm f/1.2 (DX only)
- Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 (DX only)
- Viltrox 56mm f/1.4 (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 85mm f/1.8
- 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 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 interests me the most is the 16mm f/1.8, which performed surprisingly well in our review.
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.
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
- Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S (our review)
2019
- Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct
- Nikon Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR (our review)
- Nikon Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-5.6 VR (our review)
2020
- Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S (our review)
- Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR (our review)
- Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3 (our review)
- Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 1.4x Teleconverter (our review)
- Nikon Z 2x Teleconverter (our review)
2021
- Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Macro
- Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Macro (our review)
- Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8 (our review)
- Nikon Z 40mm f/2 (our review)
- Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8 SE (same optics as 28mm f/2.8; our review)
- Nikon Z DX 18-140mm f/3.5-6.3 VR (our review)
- Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S (our review)
- Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8 (our review)
2022
- Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S (our review)
- Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S (our review)
- Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S (our review)
- Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8 (our review)
- Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S (our review)
- Nikon Z 40mm f/2 SE (same optics as the 40mm f/2; our review)
2023
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S (our review)
- Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8 (our review)
- Nikon Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR (our review)
- Nikon Z DX 24mm f/1.7
- Nikon Z 70-180mm f/2.8 (our review)
- Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR (our review)
- Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena (our review)
- Nikon Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S (our review)
2024
- Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR (our review)
- Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 (our review)
- Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4
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:
- Nikon Z30
- Nikon Z50 (our review)
- Nikon Z50 II
- Nikon Zfc
- Nikon Z5 (our review)
- Nikon Z6 (our review)
- Nikon Z6 II (our review)
- Nikon Z6 III
- Nikon Z7 (our review)
- Nikon Z7 II (our review)
- Nikon Z8
- Nikon Z9 (our review)
- Nikon Zf (our initial review)
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.
now Ttartisan presents 75mm f2 and 56mm f1.8 af fx. it seems that 75 one offers a good value for money
Nikon z 85mm 1.4 when launching
Voigtlander for Nikon z lenses are really gaining a lot more attention since the Zf. Thoughts of adding these to your reviews? There’s a lot of opinions that the apo lanthars are leica-light but at a fraction of the cost. Would love to see your assessments! Also, excluding manual focus lenses is now missing a big part of the fun we now get with the Zf. Cheers!
120-300 2.8 Z mount would be wonderful
I am missing a 300mm pf lens with z mount as the old one was – compact , light, and almost a macro, perfect for travelers !!
FTZ for screw AF lenses . Why is it ignored? There exists even EF-Z adapter which works fine according to kenrockwell.
Would love to see Nikon update the old 200mm F mount macro lens with a new one for the Z series mirrorless cameras.
I’d really like that new Tamron 50-300 as a travel tele on the Z mount. I had some reservations over their 70-300 but the new one seems to have fixed most of those issues.
It’s crazy that we’re almost six years into the Z system and Nikon still doesn’t make a dedicated lightweight telephoto zoom. The two superzooms kind of count, but only the Tamron 70-300mm really fills this niche (or the 50-250mm for DX shooters).
If Tamron makes the 50-300mm in Z-mount, or if it inspires Nikon to make something similar, that would be really nice.
Sports photographers are missing a Z mount zoom in the 300mm range. 100-300 2.8 would be the sweet spot.
Exactly! It could allow for a single camera set-up often times instead of the 70-200 and 400 combo. I would crop that 300 to 400 if I could just use one camera/lens
This is very helpful. Do you envisage any new Z Til/Shift lenses?
Yes, I’m expecting to see them soon now that Nikon has filled in most of the obvious gaps in their lineup.