Nikon Developing Lenses NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S and NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8

Lens News

by Jeff LochJanuary 20^th, 2023

Nikon recently announced the development of two new lenses for their mirrorless cameras: the NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S and the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8. As part of the S-line, the 85mm f/1.2 S will be one of Nikon’s flagship portrait lenses and offer impressive image quality. On the other hand, the very compact and lightweight 26mm f/2.8 “pancake” lens will be an excellent prime for street photography or when you want to carry a camera with you all day long. So let’s take a closer look at what we know about these lenses so far!

Nikon continues to announce and launch lenses for its NIKKOR Z mirrorless cameras at a constant pace. Interestingly, the company does not only focus on high-end lenses which are part of its S-line, such as the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct. Indeed, Nikon also develops a lot of more affordable prime and zoom lenses, like the NIKKOR Z 17-28mm f/2.8 or the compact NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2, to list a few. In a sense, the yellow company tries to please both professional and amateur content creators; a thing that the red company is still struggling to accomplish fast.

Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S and NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8

This time, Nikon is back with two lenses: the NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S, designed for professional users, and what will be a more affordable “prosumer” lens, the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8. Similar to Sony’s latest FE 300mm f/2.8 G Master OSS announcement, we have very little information on these two new Nikon lenses.

As its name suggests, the NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S is part of the S-line high-end prime and zoom. As such, it’ll feature an ARNEO coating, fast and silent autofocus performances, and a user-assignable control ring.

The very compact NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 will be one of the most compact and lightweight prime lenses for Nikon Z cameras. It’ll be compatible with all Nikon mirrorless cameras as it covers full-frame image sensors. In my opinion, this lens will be an excellent option to pair with your camera if you want to travel lightweight and still have a decently fast glass with you.

Price and availability

At the time of writing, we don’t have any information about the price or availability of both lenses. However, we’ll let you know once we learn more about it.

Would one of these NIKKOR Z lenses be a great addition to your kit? What lens is still missing in the Nikon Z lineup for you? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments down below!