Nikon Rumors reports that Nikon has filed a patent for a
58mm f1.2 lens, with an optic elements diagram that is very similar to the famous
Nikon NOCT 58mm f1.2 lens. The NOCT that
was released in 1977 and remained in extremely limited production until 1997,
with less than 11,500 ever made. By way of comparison, Nikon has produced over
7 million 18-55mm VR lenses!! It was
designed to perform at its best at maximum aperture and to prevent chromatic
spherical abberation, commonly showing up as low contrast with 'bat's wings'
around points of light.
I am sure Nikon sees this as a great opportunity to compete
against Canon's 50mm f1.2 L series lens, and gain some profit from a higher end
lens. Without a doubt, Nikon will price
such a lens in the $1,800 - $2,000 price range, similar to the 35mm f1.4 and
the 24mm f1.4.
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| Edward Gardens - Nikon D90 w/ Nikon 60mm f2.8D Micro |
Good for Nikon. It's time they release something in the f1.2 range. Unfortunately, due to the smaller lens mount, any longer focal length won't be able to be made at f1.2. So I guess there won't be an 85mm f1.2.
ReplyDeleteThe Canon version is a good lens but has one flaw - It does not have floating elements and has focus shift at minimum focus distance at smaller apertures.
That would be one factor. The other one would be base length - ie how close you can get the lens to the film / sensor. I'm no optics expert, but I'm pretty sure there would be light loss through the mirror box on SLRs. Leica M mount has an even smaller lens mount opening than Nikon, yet lenses like the Leica 50mm f0.95 Noctilux and the Voigtlander 35mm f1.2 Nokton can be designed for it. Interestingly seems like everything but Canon is 'Noct' at this aperture!
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