Nikon has just announced the release of a new Z mount 24mm DX lens, and I for one am a bit confused by the news. It was only in January that the company announced a Z mount 26mm "pancake" lens. Although the latter was billed as a full frame lens, there was no reason it could not be used equally well on DX cameras, where it would have the equivalent focal length of 39mm, as attested by B&H Photo's webpage where the lens compatibility list included my own Zfc. It seems then Nikon is willing to risk some duplication in its DX product line.
Compatibility only goes one way, however. The new 24mm lens is only compatible with DX cameras, on which it will have the equivalent of a 36mm focal length, which means full frame Nikon photographers will have no choice but to stick with the 26mm.
Aside from the issue of focal length, the 24mm is physically very small, measuring only 2.8" x 1.6," and has a maximum aperture of f1.7. Interestingly, Nikon claims in its product announcement that the lens is "Capable of creating extraordinary shallow depth of field and beautiful background blur," though to achieve this I would assume the lens must be held extremely close to the subject since wide-angle lens by their very design have inherently sharp depth of field no matter what the aperture setting.
The new lens is currently available for preorder at B&H for $279.95 and is expected to begin shipping on June 15th. As for myself, I don't expect to purchase either the 24mm or the 26mm as the Nikon 16-50mm kit lens that came with my Zfc is more than sufficient for my purposes.
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