This may have gone un-noticed by most, but die-hard Nikon users probably realized what a historical day this is for Nikon.  We have the first Nikkor f/1.2 lens since, wait for it….. nineteen seventy eight.  In fact, it’s their first f/1.2 lens to have autofocus, EVER. (Historical fact check:  click HERE for my favorite Nikon web page ever, the Nikon lens compendiumm)   As exciting as this is, I was still kinda hoping that Nikon would do an FX 50mm f/1.2 first.  F/1.2 just won’t be the same on this new mirrorless crop sensor system.  What am I talking about?  Let me explain:  Nikon’s mirrorless sensor system is a 2.7x crop, therefore this 32mm f/1.2 gives the same viewing angle as an 85mm prime would on a full-frame camera.  However, the depth of field won’t be the same because of the difference in sensor size;  the 2.7x crop will make it behave like an 85mm f/3.2 would on a full-frame sensor.  Kind of a bummer?

Still, that’s pretty respectable for a compact camera system, especially considering that wide-open bokeh is always very pretty.  I’m sure the lens will perform beautifully, and f/1.2 is still f/1.2 when it comes to shooting in low light.  If the new mirroless sensors like in the Nikon V2 can deliver a decent ISO 3200 or so, having an “equivalent” 85mm f/1.2 lens would be pretty useful in casual and/or incognito situations, where lugging around a 5D mk3 and an 85 f/1.2 might be a tad overkill.

What do you think?  Nikon isn’t the only one designing exotic primes for crop-sensor mirrorless systems;  Panasonic and Sony have been churning out mirrorless primes left and right, Olympus has a Zukio 75mm f/1.8 lens for $900, and Zeiss has a 24mm f/1.8 mirrorless prime that costs over $1,000!  Here at SLR Lounge, we’re pretty excited to see where this goes.

Take care,
=Matthew Saville=

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