With the new Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras, Nikon also announced three new S-line mirrorless full frame lenses (additional information is available here):
The three new lenses are supposed to be very sharp based on the reports I have seen online and yes, they are not cheap. Keep in mind that the new S-line will be the top of the line series of mirrorless lenses (every S-line lens has Nano coating). A cheaper line of mirrorless lenses is rumored to be announced in the future. Let’s do a quick price comparison with the Sony/Zeiss full frame mirrorless lenses:
- The Zeiss Loxia MF lenses are priced between $950 – $1,500
- The Zeiss Batis AF lenses are priced between $1,200 – $1,700
- The Sony Vario-Tessar 24-70mm f/4 lens is $798
- The basic Sony 50mm f/1.8 is $200, the Sony Sonnar 55mm f/1.8 is $898 and the Sony Sonnar 35mm f/2.8 is $798
Now, let’s take a look at the MTF charts of the new S-line lenses – here are some comparisons with similar/current F-mount lenses:
Nikkor F-mount 35mm f/1.8 ($526.95) vs. Z-mount 35mm f/1.8 ($846.95) MTF charts:
Nikkor F-mount 50mm f/1.8 (216.95) vs. Z-mount 50mm f/1.8 ($596.95) MTF charts:
Some more MTF chart comparisons:
A lot of additional information on the new Z-mount can be found in the official Nikon brochure.
Next, I want to add a few links to various Nikon Z sample photos:
- Official Nikon Z7 sample photos
- Official NIKKOR Z 24-70 mm f / 4 S
- Official NIKKOR Z 50 mm f / 1.8 S
- Official NIKKOR Z 35 mm f / 1.8 S
- Nikon Z6 full-size samples (pre-production firmware)
- Shutterbug (2)
- Dpreview pre-production sample gallery (update 1, update 2)
- IR Z7 sample photos & 4K video
- tweakers.net
- dday.it
- Sample photos from Xitek: