If It’s Real, Portrait Photogs Will Love This Nikon 100mm F1.4 Lens
A Nikon 100mm f1.4 prime would go along way in appeasing Mirrorless portrait photographers.
Nikon is experiencing somewhat of a resurgence of late. We went for what seemed to be forever without hearing a peep out of team yellow. However, that has all changed recently. We’ve heard speculation about new cameras, and we’ve seen Nikon’s new in-house sensor. We have also seen lots of patents for new lenses. Today, we have another patent for a new Nikon Z mount lens that will undoubtedly please Z mount portrait photographers. A Nikon 100mm f1.4. These are exciting times indeed. After the break, we’ll take a quick look at the lens and see where it could fit into the current lens lineup.
The Nikon 100mm F1.4
Nikon took a different route to Canon when they launched their Mirrorless cameras. Where Canon offered fast, professional-grade lenses, Nikon opted for more affordable options that would appeal to the masses. As you can imagine, Canon is now fleshing out affordable RF mount lenses, and Nikon is building their pro-grade options. Today, we came across a patent for a new Nikon lens over at Hi-Low. This new lens will be squarely aimed at portrait photographers. The Nikon 100mm f1.4 would be the fastest Z mount lens outside of the gargantuan Nikon 58mm f0.95 Noct and the new Nikon Z 50mm f1.2.
At this point, not much is known about the Nikon 100mm f1.4 lens. We can see from the design it sports 14 elements in three groups. We know it has been designed for Full-Frame cameras and that the length of the lens will be roughly 150.819mm (5.93 inches). And that’s all we have to go on. More details about the Nikon 100mm f1.4 will hopefully emerge soon.
Nikon Desperately Needs Faster Lenses
Don’t get us wrong; the current Nikon lens lineup is actually good. There’s a solid mix of slower, more affordable primes and zooms and faster premium options. However, when it comes to portrait photography, the Z mount collection is lacking. You have the Z 35mm f1.8, the Z 50mm f1.8, a Z 85mm f1.8, the new Nikon 50mm f1.2 S, and the Z 70-200mm f2.8 that can be used. Still, there’s a huge need for more ultra-fast primes. Unless you can afford the manual focus 58mm f0.95 Noct or the 50mm f1.2 S, you’re out of luck unless you adapt F mount lenses.
Nikon’s Z mount system desperately needs more fast primes. We need to start seeing more plans. We know there will be a new 85mm S lens soon as it’s listed on the roadmap. So, that will go a long way to helping round out the platform. We would still like to see faster 35mm options and a fast 135mm option. Still, the Nikon 100mm f1.4 would be welcomed with open arms should it ever make it to market.
The Future Is Looking Bright for Nikon
Now that Nikon has started addressing its issues behind the scenes, the future for Nikon and its fans is looking brighter. Only time will tell, of course. Still, Nikon certainly isn’t slowing down when it comes to filing patents for new lenses. We just hope they can realize all of them and really flesh out their pro-grade lens library before they are left behind. What do you think about the patent for a Nikon 100mm f1.4? Let us know in the comment section below.