The Philosophy of NIKKOR Lens Design
What is the true meaning of imaging?
Even before considerations about optical performance or functionality, our engineers return to fundamental questions: What does imaging mean to our customers? And what value can we offer through NIKKOR Z lenses?
In discussing the answers to these questions, our engineers go far beyond optical science, to explore philosophy, aesthetics, and even neurophysiology. In an era where many lenses deliver sharp, lifelike images, we pursue designs that also resonate with human emotions.
Guiding light. How images are formed.
The role of a lens is to bend light in order to form a focused image on a camera’s sensor or piece of film, but this can introduce issues such as distortion and excessive aberrations. For over 90 years, Nikon’s optical designers have explored the best ways of bending light as naturally as possible.
Continuing this legacy, designers working on NIKKOR optics for the mirrorless Z system strive to deliver beautiful imagery by developing superior lenses that provide consistency of rendering and performance across the entire lineup.
Inherited design principles create exceptional lenses.
NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.2 S
Exceptional bokeh with a wide angle of view.
The NIKKOR Z f/1.2 series of prime lenses is widely praised for the stunning quality of bokeh at wide apertures. To achieve a similar rendering to the other members of the premium “f/1.2 trio”, the Z 50mm f/1.2 and Z 85mm f/1.2, the Z 35mm f/1.2 adopts a symmetrical optical layout, which guides light naturally to the sensor, while aspherical ED (extra-low dispersion) elements suppress aberrations to deliver high resolution and beautifully soft bokeh. This exceptional combination of qualities gives depth to images and allows for natural subject/background separation—performance never before possible in a medium wide-angle NIKKOR lens.
NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
A high-performance super-zoom, made possible by the dimensions of the Z mount.
When the Z 28-400mm f/4-8 was originally being planned, it was intended to be a 28-300mm. But, driven by a passion to surprise and excite our customers, the optical design team proposed extending the maximum telephoto to 400mm—something they were confident would be possible thanks to the large diameter of the Z mount. The result is an ultra-versatile 14.2X high magnification zoom of a type that has never existed before.
