Nikon made two Development Announcements today, just prior to the kickoff of IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) in Amsterdam. Both have a RED tint to them.
The first deals with Nikon’s upcoming Z CINEMA lenses (back with the all caps that NIKKOR also uses; apparently the Caps Lock key is stuck in the lens marketing room). The news here is fivefold:
- The first lens will be the NIKKOR Z CINEMA 50mm T1.9 VV.
- There will be nine lenses in the set.
- All nine will be T1.9.
- The VV stands for a larger image circle in order to cover the RED V-RAPTOR [X] VV image sensor, which is larger than the FX (full frame) size in Nikon’s still cameras (41x22mm as apposed to 36x24mm).
- These new lenses will feature a “highly precise” autofocus system.
The image accompanying the press release shows the 50mm version in enough detail to show that it has an aperture ring that’s lockable (though labeled IRIS), geared focus and aperture rings, plus an A/M switch.
It’s likely that the 50mm t/1.9 lens will be shown in Amsterdam this week, and perhaps others might be behind glass, too.
In Nikon’s second press release, Nikon officially announced plans for the 2.0 firmware expected for the ZR, to be offered sometime before the end of the year. Nikon specifically called out three features:
- Log3G10 and REDWideGamutRGB tone modes will be added to the H.265 compression options.
- A new High ISO NR option, also when using H.265, provides more control over noise reduction.
- Focus peaking will now be available when recording R3D NE raw video.
A future ZR update in 2027 will add open gate recording and anamorphic desqueeze display.
Meanwhile, RED CONTROL and RED CONTROL PRO, which were designed for the original RED cameras, will now be able to remotely control a ZR, as well.