Nikon Z-Mount Is Closed to Sigma, and That’s Becoming Impossible to Ignore

Sigma is a premier optics manufacturer. That is not just an opinion, it is becoming an unassailable fact. In the last several years, Sigma has cemented its reputation as one of the top optical manufacturers in the world. It is, therefore, becoming impossible to ignore that its lenses are not available on Z-mount.

Author’s Note: Yes, I am aware that Sigma is allowed to make autofocus-equipped APS-C lenses for Nikon Z-mount, just as it is allowed to do so for Canon RF-mount. This conversation is focused on full-frame, autofocus-equipped lenses where Sony, Canon, and Nikon all have some level of roadblock up for third-party manufacturers (at varying levels of severity, from limiting FPS performance to outright blocking them).

Neither Nikon nor Sigma was willing to speak about the relationship between Sigma and Z-mount on the record, which is unsurprising. On the one side, Sigma doesn’t want to upset any chance it might have of being accepted onto Z-mount, and on the other hand, Nikon is not going to reveal publicly if it is actively blocking Sigma, and if it is, provide any details as to why — that’s just not going to happen at this stage. Notwithstanding Japanese business customs, publicly traded companies just don’t share this kind of information lightly. The core of the following opinion is, therefore, based on off-the-record conversations with industry insiders as well as personal experience.

There is a prevailing sentiment among photographers that it is Sigma that is deciding not to make lenses for Nikon Z-mount. We see it regularly in the comments on our Sigma lens reviews, and it’s some variation of, “why won’t Sigma release this for Z-mount,” or “can you ask Sigma why they won’t make this for Nikon cameras?”

Photographers are unfairly laying all of the blame on Sigma here.

There is widespread knowledge that Canon blocks third-party lens manufacturers from releasing full-frame coverage lenses, probably because Canon itself went on the record to explain its stance.

“[T]he reason why we have not been collaborating or partnering with a third party is because of our business strategy. Our business strategy says that we are not going to partner with a third party. And the reason why we came up with that strategy is because of the business that we are doing. So our business is that if we have some technology, we try to lock it up inside our company and try to make a profit out of that. That’s the basis of our business,” Go Tokura, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Deputy Head of the Imaging Group at Canon, told PetaPixel last year.

You may not like it, but it’s hard not to respect the transparency. But Nikon, a company that has fostered incredible goodwill with the photographic community since the launch of the Z9 and Z8, hasn’t gone on the record with why Sigma lenses aren’t on Z-mount, and seeing Tamron, Laowa, and Viltrox lenses on the platform makes it look to the average photographer that this is a Sigma decision.

I can tell you with absolute certainty that it is not Sigma’s choice. Stopping for even a moment to think about it, why would Sigma choose to not sell its lenses to more photographers? That just doesn’t make any sense. If it could make its full frame lenses available for Canon RF and Nikon Z cameras, it would.

While the company wouldn’t go on the record to say as much, it has been made abundantly clear to me on multiple occasions over the last couple of years that Sigma desperately wants to make its lenses available on Z-mount — it’s just not being allowed to.

I have my own suspicions as to why Sigma is being blocked, but since I haven’t been able to verify them, I’ll keep them to myself. All I can say is that it’s getting pretty hard to ignore Sigma’s exclusion, especially as other third-party brands are rapidly expanding onto the mount.

Viltrox, in particular, is obviously hungry for market share. Not only are its most recent lenses excellent, they’re shockingly cheap. At the time of publication, Viltrox offers nine full-frame Z-mount lenses that are equipped with autofocus, and the most expensive option is the 135mm f/1.8 LAB lens at $899. Chris Niccolls actually prefers the design of the lower-end Pro series lenses, and there Viltrox has the 28mm f/1.8, the 24mm f/1.8, and the 85mm f/1.8 all available on Z-mount for under $400.

If the fear was that Sigma is making products that are too close to native Nikon lenses, then it makes no sense for the Viltrox 85mm and 135mm lenses to be available. It would be a double standard.

No, there is something else at play here that is making Nikon specifically hold its hand out to stop Sigma from proceeding onto the Z-mount road while it waves Viltrox, Tamron, and Laowa through without even so much as a sideways glance.

Unlike Canon and Sony, Nikon needs market share. Right now, Nikon is a distant third place behind both, and while one continues to block all autofocus-equipped third-party access, the other has allowed it for years. If Nikon wants to continue its excellent growth trajectory and ride the wave of positive public opinion, it needs to answer why Sigma — the most beloved, underdog lens manufacturer — isn’t welcome in its playground.

Sigma isn’t allowed on Nikon Z-mount — a move that feels targeted and unfair — and photographers are going to have a hard time looking past that for much longer.

Image credits: Elements of header photo licensed via Depositphotos.