Parting Shot

Mike Harris makes a case for (and against) the already legendary Nikon Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct and its future in Nikon’s line-up

Our thoughts on the new Nikon Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct

This issue we got our hands on Nikon’s Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct (see page 104). It came in the beastly CT-101 Lens Case, which looks like something John Wick might use to carry his personal effects. And that’s no bad thing: if I owned an £8k lens I’d want to protect all of that lovely glass, and by all accounts it really is lovely.

While nobody in their right mind is questioning the quality of what is arguably the niftiest nifty fifty (ish) in existence, the price point and indeed timing (in Z mount’s infancy) of the release has left a few forum regulars scratching their heads. Here’s what I think.

Yes, £8k is a lot of money. But the Noct is far from being Nikon’s priciest piece of glass – the AF-S 800mm f/5.6e FL ED VR retails just shy of a whopping £18k, and let’s not forget that legendary 6mm fisheye.

That don’t impress me much

The main problem might be the Noct’s apparent lack of features when compared to some of Nikon’s other big hitters (like the aforementioned 800mm f/5.6e). To start off with, it’s manual focus-only, there’s no Vibration Reduction and although it’s chunky for a 58mm prime, its 102mm girth and 153mm length probably won’t impress any of your non-photographer friends…

That being said, the lens’s ability to produce ultra-clean imagery and the ethereal quality of its super-shallow depth of field tells a very different story: 17 lens elements are crammed within the Noct’s comparatively small frame. That includes four extra-low dispersion and three aspherical elements, and elements with Nano Crystal and ARNEO coatings. That’s a lot of quality glass and the reason why this lens performs so admirably at f/0.95.

Add to that a very precise focus ring (not fly-by-wire), a sexy OLED information display panel, a customizable Fn button and a control ring, and the Noct’s price tag becomes slightly easier to swallow. Quality glass is expensive and you pay for what you get.

But here’s the kicker… The Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct isn’t for humble enthusiasts like you and I, it’s a statement. It’s the Jackson Pollock that Nicolas Cage may or may not hang on his wall; it’s the concept car of Nikon lenses, and it’s a glimpse into the future of Z mount.

More than any of that though, I think the Noct is a promise. It’s a promise from a company that has been making F-mount lenses for over six decades. It’s a promise that Z mount is here to stay.