We could see lenses even faster than f/0.95 for Nikon's Z system

With the arrival of Nikon's Z6 and Z7, we've heard a lot about the new Z mount and the benefits the large lens mount design provides Nikon's engineers.

One of the benefits of the 55mm wide lens mount used by Nikon's full-frame mirrorless cameras is that we can now expect ultra-fast, high-quality lenses with apertures as big as f/0.95. To put that in perspective, the physical limitation of Nikon F mount is lenses with a maximum aperture of f/1.2 (though we haven't seen a autofocus lens with a faster maximum aperture than f/1.4). In fact, next year should see the first of these lenses in the shape of the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens.

Ultra-fast potential

While we've been under the impression that a f/0.95 is the maximum possible aperture for Nikon's Z mount, it appears it could be even more impressive.

In a recent interview with French photography blog Mizuwari, Nicolas Gillet, Nikon France's director of marketing and communication revealed that Z mount is theoretically capable of supporting autofocus lenses with apertures as fast f/0.65.

Will we ever see a f/0.65 lens though? Probably not. You just have to look at the sheer size, weight and the optical path of the forthcoming NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens to understand that a f/0.65 lens is a pretty impractical concept.

What's interesting that Nikon's optical engineers have calculated that autofocus would be possible with a f/0.65 lens - the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens is manual focus, so could we see ultra-fast f/0.95 autofocus lenses in the future?

Source: DPReview.com