The Nikon Z6 is a good option if you want to shoot full-frame video on a small, mirrorless camera, but the downside is that there aren’t many native Z-mount lenses available. In fact, Nikon only has three native Z-mount lenses that you can currently buy: the NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S, NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S, and NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S. You can use a Nikon FTZ Mount Adapter that allows you to put nearly any Nikon F-mount lens on Z-mount mirrorless camera body, and you can get mechanical lens adapters from companies like MTF Services, but what other options are available if you want native Z-mount lenses?
One of the first companies to be offering native Nikon Z-mount lenses is Kipon. Kipon is best known for making adapters, but for the last 6 years, they have been developing camera lenses. Kipon has come up with what they claim are the worlds-first full-frame lenses for the Nikon Z from a third-party manufacturer. The full-frame lens series is called ELEGANT, and there are 5 focal lengths available.
- 24mm/f2.4 $499 USD
- 35mm/f2.4 $468 USD
- 50mm/f2.4 $325 USD
- 75mm/f2.4 $355 USD
- 90mm/f2.4 $386 USD
The ELEGANT series are manual focus designs, and all feature a consistent 49mm filter thread and 58mm exterior diameter. They have an all-metal construction that uses anodized aluminum, brass, and stainless steel components.
The 24mm f/2.4 uses an eight-element, seven-group optical design. The 35mm f/2.4 has a six-element, six-group optical design, and a MOD of 2.3′. The 50mm f/2.4, like the 24mm and 35mm lenses, has a six-blade diaphragm and both depth of field and focus distance scales for pre-focusing. The 75mm f/2.4, features a five-element design, close 2’ minimum focusing distance, and a six-blade diaphragm. The longest lens in the series is the 90mm f/2.4, which uses similar design elements as the shorter lenses, has a 2.3’ minimum focusing distance, and a 10-blade diaphragm for smooth, circular bokeh.
The ELEGANT lenses were not designed for the Nikon Z6 and Z7, they were originally made in Leica-M mount and called IBERIT. These lenses (which are exactly the same optically as the ELEGANT series were jointly made by Kipon and German lens manufacturer IB/E OPTICS.
The ELEGANT series primes look like an affordable option for your Nikon Z6 if you want manual focus lenses and don’t want to use any type of lens adapter. The ELEGANT series will start shipping sometime this month. These same lenses will also be available in Canon R mount.
