Nikon’s forthcoming halo lens, the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, is proving so incredibly popular with its customers that the Japanese manufacturer is struggling to meet demand, even before the lens has hit the shelves.
Nikon Japan released a statement saying that it had decided to temporarily suspend pre-orders as demand was “exceeding expectations” and that it will “take a considerable amount of time to deliver the product.”
The manufacturer offered its apologies and stated that it is endeavoring to catch up and will resume accepting pre-orders in the near future.
Given the amount of glass and technical precision required to make such an expensive lens in what is probably still very low numbers compared to other products, it wouldn’t take much to overwhelm the manufacturer’s capacity. What is surprising, however, is that such a niche and expensive product is proving so popular even before it’s reached market. That said, it's quite possible that Nikon planned to make three lenses when suddenly four orders came through, throwing their production schedule completely out of the window.
Cynics might suggest that this announcement is a publicity stunt aimed to increase the amount of hype surrounding this lens, and the company does have form for apologizing that its products are simply too popular.
As it stands, you can still preorder this lens for a mere $7,996.95 over at B&HPhoto, but keep in mind that it might take a little longer than expected to turn up in the post. If that’s making you frustrated, consider that you can currently save $100 on the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 which probably doesn’t quite offer the same amount of bokeh but, despite being 16 times cheaper, does give you autofocus. Result!
Tell us which is your preferred option in the comments below.
I'm kind of surprised and not at the same time. It's an extravagant piece of glass that doesn't seem to have any practical purpose (outside of very few niche applications) at the cost it's offered. So I'm surprised because of the price for what it is, and at the same time not surprised because there will always be people buying "novelty" items regardless of the price.
Though I will say this, it is very very impressive in person. Just not $8,000 impressive, at least not for me.
LOL, do people fall for this? Nikon says this about literally every product they launch. They have supply chain issues. The D850 supply issues in the US were an absolute embarrassment.
It's a perfect lens for full body shots. I wish they could make it for sony.
Marketing words, no more. I find it extremely unbelievable that there is such a demand for a $8,000 lens that they can't keep up.
Nikon might be saying the truth here. With that kind of a specialty lens, it's most likely not to be produced massively. And the "high" demand can actually still be a low number versus their production rate.
So Nikon probably produces one lens a week and then maybe they can't keep up.
I am no marketing wizard but I am astonished at the fact that Nikon, despite experiencing such a huge decline in sells and profit, will focus on those kinds of items.
uh huh
"exceeding expectations”
They planned to sell 10 per month and the demand is for 15.
😜
Beat me to it lol.
Another marketing BS, like people really need this to take great photo...
I would rather get myself a Canon 85mm f/1.2L DS and save myself some money. I am confident any photographer would get better results with the DS compared to this.
It's like gfx-100, not all buyers are professionals, some buy for brag rights, some due to gas, some wants to grow in that system and have money, some just as collectable.
It's obviously not for someone who thinks it's not worth for what it offers.
As long as they got their money back and didn't go bankrupt because of that, it's fine
It seems simply that there are more photographers with the means to own expensive gear that they may never really get much use from. Like most expensive camera gear, it doesn't guarantee great photos, it just guarantees another photographer that owns a really expensive lens. Owning a few really expensive telephoto lens only helped me once I figured out how to use them. It took years.
That'll be a lot of people with nothing better to do with they cash than buy the newest brag.
Personally I can't see the worth of buying one for my business at all but there are a lot more amateurs out there than professionals and they have a lot more money to spend. Good for them, I guess. :)
Lenses like this are like Zeiss lenses, well made, optically good, but utterly useless in modern professional production.
Nikon should market a Leica adapter to go with their lens, then they really won't be able to keep up!
As the article suggests, Nikon pulls this stunt every time they release a new pro-level piece of gear. Not saying it isn't true to an extent, but it's probably much less "so much demand!" and more "our production speed is terrible!"
...probably more "we only have have so much production capability"...
If you have the budget for it, who cares? If I had a butt load of money, I'd have gear that wouldn't get used all that often, but since it's in the budget, why not? The camera companies need to sell stuff and if I get that big bank deposit from some long lost relative, I'd be happy to oblige. :-)
So keep in mind I am very new to true photography. I just got a z6 and prior had a d7200 that collected some dust right after purchase. So “learning” is my status. Here is from newby point of view, since we are talking a few days from purchase to announcement. Initially I thought great I spent a pretty penny on a camera that I won’t be buying $8k lenses for so do I return it now? But reading these articles helped me understand that sometimes silly stuff happens. I may pick up the 1.8 for 500$ because the nifty fifty is a great arsenal piece, just not sure why they would create such a glass piece with such high price tag. I would expect new tooling and equipment was needed, but wouldn’t performance of tools be a true consideration.
Glad to hear you joining the photography world with a new camera, congrats!
My idea on buying gear is only buy the gear when you have fully pushed what you currently own and shoot to the point that it limits what you are wanting to achieve, and not to buy just because of it being the latest and greatest.
So enjoy what you have, learn it, find out what its limitations are, find out where it excels and shoot it there. When you are wanting to get certain shots and can't with what you have, then start looking.
How many were actually sold?
7 or 8?
LOL