Nikon Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 Noct review

The Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 Noct is designed to show what is possible with the Nikon Z mount – and it does this brilliantly

Nikon Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 Noct review
(Image: © Digital Camera World)

Digital Camera World Verdict

The Nikon Z 58mm f/0.95 NOCT is a big lens - but is not nearly as big as we had imagined, or as heavy. Even on the small Nikon Z50 it feels something that is actually usable. Used at f/0.95, the limited depth of field is incredible. With portraits you can get the eyelashes pinsharp, but leave the eyes noticeably blurred. In the right hands, and with care, this gives you an incredibly creative too. Beautiful out-of-focus circular highlights, like full moons, appeared behind the model - which portrait photographers and cinematographers will be dying to use. It is expensive - but for most pros, this is a lens that will be hired for a shoot, and as such it will be a lens that will undoubtedly always be on back order.

Pros

  • +

    Incredible f/0.95 maximum aperture

  • +

    LED info panel

  • +

    Super long-travel manual focus ring

Cons

  • -

    Delicate construction and size means it comes in its own custom flight case

  • -

    The price

  • -

    Limited depth of field will test your focus technique to the max

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The Nikon Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 NOCT S was launched earlier this week at the same time as the new Nikon Z50 APS-C mirrorless camera. But sadly at the London press conferences the NOCT was nowhere to be seen... Two days later, it is one of the stars of the show of the Berlin Photo Week where we first got our hands on it. A couple of weeks later, we finally got hold of production samples where we were allowed to take images (which you can see below).

The Z 58mm f/0.95 S has always been the poster boy for the Nikon mirrorless system and for the Nikon Z lens roadmap. In many ways it has been a proof-of-concept lens that goes to prove that moving to a new wider lens mount than used in its previous DSLRs and SLR cameras over the last 60 years was worth all the effort.

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Chris George

Chris George has worked on Digital Camera World since its launch in 2017. He has been writing about photography, mobile phones, video making and technology for over 30 years – and has edited numerous magazines including PhotoPlus, N-Photo, Digital Camera, Video Camera, and Professional Photography. 

His first serious camera was the iconic Olympus OM10, with which he won the title of Young Photographer of the Year - long before the advent of autofocus and memory cards. Today he uses a Nikon D800, a Fujifilm X-T1, a Sony A7, and his iPhone 15 Pro Max.

He has written about technology for countless publications and websites including The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Dorling Kindersley, What Cellphone, T3 and Techradar.