Lens roadmaps never used to really be a thing. A company developed a lens, then they announced it, then you could buy it, and that was it. But consumer demand has changed. People are more fickle and prone to swapping brands if they think the competition will offer something better suited to their needs. So, now they seem to be coming thick and fast.
So, in order to try and convince people that they are going to deliver what people want, Nikon has updated their Z mount lens roadmap. There are 13 previously unannounced lenses in the list. It adds some popular classics, like the 60mm and 105mm macros, and completes the holy trinity with 14-24mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 zooms.
The two colours denote lenses that have already been announced vs ones that haven’t previously been officially announced. The blue listings are lenses have been announced and are currently available to either purchase today or pre-order. The yellow lenses have not yet been announced, although a few of them have popped up on previous roadmaps.
So, first up, let’s get the lenses that haven’t been announced but we already knew about out of the way…
- Nikkor Z 20mm f/1.8 S
- Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S
- Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S
- Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S
As you can see, a fairly short list, but that leaves nine unannounced lenses that we haven’t seen before.
- Nikkor Z 28mm compact prime
- Nikkor Z 40mm compact prime
- Nikkor Z 60mm macro
- Nikkor Z 105mm S macro
- Nikkor Z 24-105mm S
- Nikkor Z 100-400mm S
- Nikkor Z 18-140mm DX
- Nikkor Z 24-200mm
- Nikkor Z 200-600mm
Interestingly, maximum apertures haven’t been listed for the previously unknown lenses. But we can make a few possible assumptions.
The 60mm and 105mm macro lenses are likely to be f/2.8 to match up with their 105mm f/2.8 and 60mm f/2.8 F mount counterparts. It’s possible they could go with a wider aperture and a completely new design, but for the sake of expediency, it likely makes more sense to simply take their existing lens formulas and rehouse them.
The 24-105mm lens is an interesting one, as it’s not a zoom that Nikon makes. Nikon does a 24-120mm f/4 zoom for F mount, but not a 24-105mm. Sigma makes one, though, the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 Art lens. So, it seems likely that this will be f/4. That this lens is listed as an “S Series” lens also suggests that it will have a constant aperture. It’s possible that it’s an f/2.8 lens, but doubtful. It would be competing with the 24-70mm f/2.8 and what would lower budget users who want a bit more range and don’t mind losing a stop of light use? The F mount version with the adapter?
A Nikkor Z 28mm f/1.8 S lens was previously alluded to on what was alleged to be a leaked 2020/21 Z mount roadmap, although that roadmap now appears to be fake. The 28mm listed on this official roadmap doesn’t appear to be an S series lens. It’s in the “Compact prime lenses” section. Several other lenses mentioned in the alleged roadmap also appear to be missing from Nikon’s latest official list, also indicating that the leak was fake.
On the DX front, there’s only one other new lens coming for the newly announced Z50 at the moment. Of course, the roadmap shows the two lenses that were announced today – the Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR and the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR – but it also lists an 18-140mm lens, which should be a good general-purpose walkabout lens offering a similar field of view range as a 27-210mm on full-frame. I think it’s highly likely that a lens with this range of zoom will be variable aperture. Possibly f/3.5-6.3, like the new 16-50mm.
As for the rest, we’ll just have to wait and see.
There are no dates listed on the roadmap, although previous roadmaps have suggested that we’ll see the Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S announced this year – perhaps at PPE? – with the 14-24mm f/2.8 S, 20mm f/1.8S and 50mm f/1.2S lenses coming in 2020.
We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
[via DPReview]
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