Nikon Is Actively Developing Dedicated Nikkor Cinema Lenses
Nikon is actively developing dedicated Nikkor cinema lenses, the company tells PetaPixel. While it may take a bit of time before they officially launch, the company confirms that it has identified optics that the cinema industry needs, and it will deliver them.
When Nikon acquired RED last year, one of the first questions PetaPixel asked was if Nikon would move further into cinema manufacturing by developing dedicated cinema lenses.
“We have also begun considering Nikkor lenses for cinema. We are actively considering lens development that is in demand in the cinema market,” Keiji Oishi, from Nikon’s Imaging Business Unit and RED’s new CEO, told PetaPixel at the 2024 NAB show in Las Vegas. At the time, it had been less than a week since Nikon had officially acquired RED.
Today, Nikon representatives confirmed that it had moved forward and that the company is actively developing dedicated cinema lenses.
It is important to note that Nikon uses the word “dedicated” to differentiate these lenses from its current Z Cinema power zoom optic, the 28-135mm f/4 PZ, which is more of a hybrid lens than one made specifically with cinematic video capture in mind.
Nikon did not provide any further details on the lenses that are in development, other than to provide the image above, which, presumably, are actual silhouettes of upcoming lenses.
Nikon’s Pace is Extremely Unusual
Back when Nikon purchased RED, the company said that customers would need to be patient and that it could be some time before it would deliver any new products made in tandem with its new acquisition. However, that wait has been substantially less than expected.
“The development of a professional digital camera with the competencies of both companies will [now] begin, but it will take a few years,” Oishi said back in April of 2024.
But instead, in just over a year, Nikon brought its Z mount to RED cameras, launched a Z cinema lens, announced the ZR Z cinema camera, and released the more affordable V-Raptor XE. That is significantly faster than the typical development cycle for new camera products, which sits around three years. Nikon is taking cinema seriously, and it shows.
Image credits: Nikon
