Nikon announces 85mm f/1.2 S portrait lens and 26mm f/2.8 pancake for Z mount cameras

[Shawn Knight]

What just happened? Nikon has announced two new prime lenses for its Nikon Z-mount mirrorless camera systems. The Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S is described as a fast mid-telephoto prime capable of rendering beautiful bokeh. The lens is geared toward portraiture, weddings, maternity, high fashion and boudoir work, and could become an instant legend.

It features 11 rounded aperture blades for smooth and natural blur alongside 15 lens elements in 10 groups, and uses extra-low dispersion (ED) and aspherical lens elements (AS) to prevent color fringing and aberration.

A nano crystal coating is said to virtually eliminate internal lens element reflections. Dual STM stepping motors ensure smooth and quiet focusing, even when shooting wide open, which will no doubt appeal to videographers. There isn't in-lens stabilization, so you will need to rely on your camera's system for vibration reduction.

The lens measures 102.5 mm x 141.5mm, weighs in at 1,160 grams, and features premium weather sealing. It is compatible with 82mm screw-in filters.

The new Nikkor Z 26mm f/2.8, meanwhile, is the company's slimmest autofocus lens for full-frame mirrorless shooters with a total length of 23.5mm. At just 125 grams, or around 4.4 ounces, it is also the lightest Nikkor Z lens.

Nikon's pancake packs eight lens elements in six groups with three aspherical elements. It has seven rounded diaphragm blades, accepts 52mm filters and boasts a minimum focus distance of 0.2m (0.66 feet). The 26mm focal length and slim design make it perfect for street photography and grabbing candid shots without drawing attention.

Nikon notes the 26mm is dust and drip resistant, but protection is not guaranteed in all situations or circumstances. Translation – this isn't an all-weather lens. Vibration reduction is achieved when mated with a camera featuring in-body VR, we're told.

Both new lenses are available to pre-order directly from Nikon. Pricing is set at $2,799.95 for the Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S and $499.95 for the Nikkor Z 26mm f/2.8. Look for them to start shipping in early March.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/97525-nikon-announces-85mm-f12-s-portrait-lens-26mm.html

 

[mbrowne5061]

If that pancake had proper weather sealing, it would have been perfect for landscapes while through-hiking.

 

[yRaz]

Sony is so far ahead in the mirrorless department that nikon and Cannon shouldn't even bother. DSLRs will always have a place, nikon and Cannon should just keep their market share, they have decades of fantastic lenses on an already established platform.

 

[emmzo]

Sony is so far ahead in the mirrorless department that nikon and Cannon shouldn't even bother. DSLRs will always have a place, nikon and Cannon should just keep their market share, they have decades of fantastic lenses on an already established platform.

They shouldn`t bother? That`s a gross overstatement. Canon showed with R5, R3, they can keep up, Nikon on the other hand, not so much, but it`s not like a huge gap between them. Z6, Z7 II are fantastic cameras. And if you`re not a professional, you won`t use most features that set them apart. I still love Nikon for best color accuracy out of the box.

 

[dangh]

Sony is so far ahead in the mirrorless department that nikon and Cannon shouldn't even bother. DSLRs will always have a place, nikon and Cannon should just keep their market share, they have decades of fantastic lenses on an already established platform.

You forgot about fuji, and whole 4:3 family. While Sony doing well - I have a7 mk3 - other companies as well deliver great cameras.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Sony is so far ahead in the mirrorless department that nikon and Cannon shouldn't even bother. DSLRs will always have a place, nikon and Cannon should just keep their market share, they have decades of fantastic lenses on an already established platform.

Sony didn't think far enough ahead when designing their mirror system, and made the throat of their lens mounts too narrow. It literally cuts off the corners of a FF sensor. This limits what they can do with their optical designs.

Just look at the lens roadmaps for Sony, Nikon, and Canon. Sony's is a ghost town, and Nikon & Canon's seems like they will be putting out regular releases for years to come. Especially Nikon. Their Z-mount is an absolute monster in terms of size. It has a theoretical f-stop limit of something like f/0.6, and being that wide & close to the sensor means they can practically eliminate optical distortions at the edge of the frame.

Sony would need to blow-up their entire mirrorless ecosystem in order to compete. Then again, they don't really need to. They'll happily sell sensors to Nikon and Canon, and still make a killing.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Sony didn't think far enough ahead when designing their mirror system, and made the throat of their lens mounts too narrow. It literally cuts off the corners of a FF sensor. This limits what they can do with their optical designs.

Just look at the lens roadmaps for Sony, Nikon, and Canon. Sony's is a ghost town, and Nikon & Canon's seems like they will be putting out regular releases for years to come. Especially Nikon. Their Z-mount is an absolute monster in terms of size. It has a theoretical f-stop limit of something like f/0.6, and being that wide & close to the sensor means they can practically eliminate optical distortions at the edge of the frame.

Sony would need to blow-up their entire mirrorless ecosystem in order to compete. Then again, they don't really need to. They'll happily sell sensors to Nikon and Canon, and still make a killing.

yeah see Nikon have a Noct f/0.8 Z lens- these cameras are getting so good - it's all about the lenses - Nikon you can put old lenses with an adaptor - that surely helps someone in the Nikon stable - Not sure if Canon have this ability - but cameras are being niche products - so for Pros and serious amateurs - people need to weight up the whole package - and that may be Sony - if I was say a landscape person - you could pick up some old stuff for great prices - weddings and sport is probably cutting edge is best ( well maybe not wedding -except to great that shot super quick ) - wildlife my decision would be on lenses as the big guns are not cheap - if I already had HQ 600/f4 - etc I would just get better with that and others .
Why would you change out lots of lenses when - a better camera is just 2 years away - unless high paid pro

 

[mbrowne5061]

Why would you change out lots of lenses when - a better camera is just 2 years away - unless high paid pro

Because we're approaching the limits of image sensors. Have you noticed that we've kind of plateaued around 50MP several years ago? There is little benefit to going past that resolution in a DSLR, because you can crop that and still get a photo large enough to print. The improvements left to be made are to autofocus (which is also showing signs of plateauing, thanks to real-time image recognition algorithms) and dynamic range (which does have a lot of room for improvement, but not everyone needs that improvement).
Face it: no one is treating a DSLR like a commodity, like a smart phone, and upgrading their body every couple of years.
What people buy, instead, are the lenses. While you can adapt on old lenses, what Nikon did by making the Z-mount so large is two things:
1. create the potential to let in a ridiculous amount of light compared to previous designs
2. basically eliminate distortion and bokeh at the edge of the frame, since the light hits the sensor at more of a perpendicular angle.

But having their mount diameter be smaller than the corner-to-corner width of a full-frame sensor, Sony has eliminated a lot of different optical designs as options in the first place, limited themselves to slower lens designs, and has done nothing to actually improve lens distortion.