As you might already know, Nikon added a few new lenses to its Nikon Z lens roadmap in October, which included a couple of super-telephoto lenses. Although the maximum apertures of these lenses were not defined, I projected that these would be fast super-telephoto primes, namely Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 S and Z 600mm f/4 S. Nikon recently released an image of its upcoming lens line-up, which includes silhouettes of unreleased lenses, and it looks like these will indeed be fast super-telephoto primes.
Based on these silhouttes, we can make projections about the upcoming lenses and their maximum apertures. Here is the detailed list:
- Nikon Z 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 DX – this is likely a rehash of its current Nikon F mount counterpart, so it will probably have the same maximum aperture of f/3.5-5.6. It will not be an “S” line, so don’t expect this lens to have any premium or weather-sealing features.
- Nikon Z 24-105mm f/2.8-4 S – if the scale of the lens is more or less correct, this could be a fast-aperture f/2.8-4 zoom. I initially thought this would be an f/4 lens, but considering that it is taller than the 24-200mm superzoom and almost as tall as the Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, it is unlikely that Nikon will make another standard f/4 zoom lens.
- Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8 – judging by the small size of the silhouette, we can project this to be a small, lightweight, and very inexpensive f/2.8 pancake-style prime.
- Nikon Z 40mm f/2.8 – another pancake-style prime with an f/2.8 maximum aperture.
- Nikon Z 50mm f/2.8 Macro – it looks fairly small in the image, so it will likely be an f/2.8 macro lens.
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S – although the lens does not seem to be as tall as the newly-released Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S, look at how wide the front element of the lens is. This will most definitely be a premium f/1.2 prime that’s going to be very heavy and pricey.
- Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 S – it is a given that this will be a variable aperture lens. And being an “S-line” lens, I expect it to be a solid, weather-sealed zoom for shooting outdoors.
- Nikon Z 105mm f/2.8 Macro S – optically, this should be very similar to the current Nikon F 105mm f/2.8 Macro lens. However, the silhouette shows a very tall lens with a large barrel. Perhaps Nikon is planning to go with a faster maximum aperture of f/2?
- Nikon Z 200-600mm f/5.6 – this could be very similar to Nikon’s popular F-mount 200-500mm f/5.6 lens but with 100mm extra reach. The lens looks pretty big in the image – almost as big as the 400mm prime.
- Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 S – Nikon’s “best of the best”. I expect this lens to be announced with a high-end Nikon Z camera body that is designed for shooting sports and wildlife (Nikon Z9?). It will be an exotic, super expensive lens for professionals. Expect new levels of optical performance for high-res cameras, and I really hope Nikon will design it to be lighter than the current Nikon 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR lens.
- Nikon Z 600mm f/4 S – this beast should be announced together with the 400mm f/2.8 S. We might see a “development announcement” first for the trio of 400mm f/2.8 S, 600mm f/4 S and the Nikon Z9 (or whatever the premium full-frame sports camera is going to be named). Either way, this is going to be a stellar lens for the Z mount. Super good and super expensive.
What’s Missing
Although it is great to see Nikon develop so many lenses for the Z mount, there are plenty of gaps in the line-up that many of us Nikon shooters want to see sooner than later. Let’s take a look at the list of lenses that I would like to see in the next roadmap:
- Nikon Z 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5 Fisheye S
- Nikon Z 14mm f/2.8 S
- Nikon Z 35mm f/1.2 S
- Nikon Z 105mm f/1.4 S
- Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S
- Nikon Z 70-200mm f/4 S
- Nikon Z 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6
- Nikon Z 200mm f/4 Macro S
- Nikon Z 300mm f/2.8 S
- Nikon Z 300mm f/4 PF S
- Nikon Z 500mm f/4 S
- Nikon Z 500mm f/5.6 PF S
- Nikon Z 800mm f/11 PF S
It would be also great to get a few DX primes, such as the Z 24mm f/1.8 DX, Z 35mm f/1.8 DX, and Z 50mm f/1.8 DX. Add the missing Z 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 DX ultra-wide angle zoom. Small, lightweight, and very affordable – that’s the point of having a DX system.
Personally, I am staying away from buying the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S due to its size and weight. Yes, it is an amazingly sharp lens and currently the sharpest 70-200mm f/2.8 on the market, but for my landscape and travel photography needs, I would rather see an f/4 version.
Other lenses that I would really like to see sooner than later would be a 300mm f/4 PF, 500mm f/5.6 PF and 800mm f/11 PF lenses. I recently had a chance to test Canon’s 800mm f/11 lens. At first, it sounded like a gimmick, but after I used it for a few weeks, I was amazed to see how useful it can be for things like astro and wildlife photography.
What lenses would you like Nikon to release in the next few years? Please let us know in the comments section below!
I’d love a lightweight 100-500mm lens like Canon has!!!
The only one at the moment would be a 135mm 1.8
I would love a similar lens like the Canon RF 15-35 f2.8 or the equal of Sony.
It is more versitzt than having a 14-24. Even though there is the Z 14-30 f4 is for sure amazing it still is just f4 and not f2.8
For me, the 200-600 is critical. I could imagine a Z5 for landscapes (with the 14-30 and the Tamron 28-200, when they bring it out in Z mount) but not for wildlife. If the 200-600 is good enough for 35mm wildlife shooting, then I’d consider a mirrorless 24mp 35mm if it’s got good autofocus. If not, then there’s no point in switching from a D500. I’m hanging onto my 300/f4D + 1.4TC for now to see what happens.
Thanks for summarising the missing lists. I wonder if Nikkor 800mm f/5.6 will ever be updated with S line? I know it will sell much less compared to other lenses. However it will be good to see in the Nikkor arsenal. After all its an incredible lens as per your review with FL version of the same.
It’s disappointing Nikon isn’t including a 12-24 f4. Sony is eating Nikon’s lunch with landscape shooters with this single lens, much like Nikon did with the original 14-24 f2.8. Nikon is clearly playing catch-up and no longer innovating. This does not inspire confidence in investing in their system.
I have both the Z50 and the Z6 but I don’t have any native Z lenses. I just don’t see the point of spending a lot of money in lenses that admittedly have better IQ and are better suited for video, but are much more slower than my existing F mount fast glass.
I am waiting for a f4 fixed aperture travel lens with a little more reach than the 24-70mm (maybe 24-120 FX and 16-85mm or 18-105mm DX). I think Nikon dropped the ball by making a camera specifically designed to accept faster glass (faster than it was technically possible with the F mount), and then delivering very slow lenses.
Nikon seems to have based their lens design in the vast amount of photographs taken with low apertures available online, without understanding that all those photos have been taken mostly with mobile phones.
nikon should complete their F4 holy trinity, finally 14-30, 24-70, 70-200, or even better 100-300 / 4. In fact, they should have done it first
I think u may be wrong regarding 24-105 n 105macro
1) its highly unlikely that 24 105 will be a 2.8- 4 . i guess it will be a fixed f4
2) the new 105 macro will be/ have to be optically much better than f mount version
3) if the maximum aperture of 200 600 @600mm is going to 5.6 then its gonna be a highly demanding lens among wildlife shooters but i hope it is 5.6 atleast @ 500mm making it a better preference over 200 500 f mount version fpr Z shooters
Wish list for Dx:
1) 24-105 f/2-2.8 (in case possible) or 24-105 f/2.8
2) 20-50 f/2.8 (there’s still a gem for Dx, 18-35 f/1.8 ART, F mount) or a 24-50 f/2.8 mostly targetted for portrait and street photography
The hope would be to benefit from the reduced Dx size to build these relatively big and fast lenses whose performances are very similar to primes.
Sigma did this with 18-35 ART