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Nikon has been winning hearts with its mirrorless cameras and lenses. The company has launched offerings such as the 35mm f1.2 Z S, the Nikon 50mm f2.8 Z MC, or the Z 600mm f4, which have been quite popular among photographers. While the company does not have too many offerings for macro users, it appears that is bound to change soon. Why? Because Nikon has released three new patents, each exhibiting the design of exciting pro macro lenses, which can be a boon for macro photographers.
First spotted by Asobinet, the company has released patent numbers 2025135037 and P2025135036, which showcase three macro probe lenses: the 17-22 mm f11 design, the 19-22 mm at f14, and the 10 mm f8. The first two seem to be designed as long tubes so that they can slip inside a test tube or down a beetle burrow. The second one is designed for an APS-C sensor, which could also feature internal LEDs or fibre coupling.
Example 1
- Focal length: 13.250-16.088
- F-number: 14,000
- Half angle of view: 49.998-43.006
- Image height: 15.000
- Total length: 299.048
- Back focal length: 26.233
- Magnification: -1.284 – -1.538
Example 2
- Focal length: 18.958-22.538
- F-number: 14,000
- Half angle of view: 49.997-43.001
- Image height: 21.630
- Total length: 299.388
- Back focal length: 28.498
- Magnification: -1.840 – -2.162
Example 3
- Focal length: 16.853-22.781
- F-number: 11.600
- Half angle of view: 53.492-42.009
- Image height: 21.630
- Total length: 349.456
- Back focal length: 15.293
- Magnification: -1.094 – -1.412
Example 4
- Focal length: 9.9913
- F-number: 8,000
- Half angle of view: 56.998
- Image height: 14.500
- Total length: 179.975
- Back focal length: 30.552
- Magnification: -1.241
The patent is certainly exciting since only a handful of companies make such lenses. For instance, Laowa and AstrHori own the market for probe lenses. These lenses are manual focus and are available for Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Leica mounts. In addition, they only cost about $1200 to $1700.
If Nikon launches something similar, it will be exciting to see how it competes with the other two brands. One difference would be price, since Nikon will sell them at a much higher price. Furthermore, Nikon can also become the first Japanese first-party lens brand to achieve this. Sony also has patents for endoscopic optics, but nothing has been fruitful yet. With problem lenses becoming exceptionally important for video use as well, as one can get more creative shots, this could only further help Nikon to reach new heights. Moreover, a native mount can also help Nikon Z users to get better in-body image stabilisation, eye AF, and weather sealing.
But as with patents, sometimes they never see the light of day. We can only hope that the company overcomes this and launches the probe lenses for the better. After all, Nikon has to catch up with Sony and Fujifilm in terms of innovation, and they can do that if they stay on this path.
