Nikon CX 9mm f/1.8 lens is in development

Nikon is working on a CX-mount 9mm wide-angle prime lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.8, which is designed for the company’s 1-series mirrorless cameras with 1-inch-type sensors.

It has been a while since Nikon last made an announcement related to its mirrorless camera system. The 1 J5 is the most recent MILC introduced by the Japanese company. “Recent” is a loosely term used here, as the launch event took place one year ago, in April 2015.

In the meantime, the manufacturer has patented plenty of products designed for its CX-mount. However, there is room for one more. A patent for a Nikon CX 9mm f/1.8 lens has been spotted in Japan and the optic might be released in the future for 1-series cameras.

Nikon CX 9mm f/1.8 lens patented in Japan for 1-series mirrorless cameras

Nikon filed for the patent back in August 2014. The exact date is August 11, but the approval has only been granted on March 22, 2016. These things usually take a lot of time, so it is not entirely surprising that this one also took this long.

The internal configuration of the patented Nikon CX 9mm f/1.8 lens.

The patent application is describing a wide-angle lens with a fixed focal length of 9mm. The internal design also reveals that the product has been developed to cover 1-inch-type image sensors.

Although it has an ultra-wide focal length, the optic is not described as a fisheye model. There is only one mention of this aspect, but it is referring to another optic. This might be due to the fact that, when mounted on a 1-series camera, the Nikon CX 9mm f/1.8 lens will offer a full-frame focal length equivalent of approximately 24.5mm.

The maximum aperture of the optic is said to be f/1.8, which is bright one. It will come in handy in low-light scenarios, such as capturing photos outside when it is darker or indoors.

Filing a patent does not have to mean anything, especially considering the fact that Nikon’s support for its mirrorless mount has been poor during the past 12 months. However, the company may announce new mirrorless products soon, therefore you must stay tuned to Camyx to find out!

Nikon patented multiple CX-mount lenses in 2015

Throughout 2015, Nikon has patented multiple optics for its 1-series mirrorless cameras. Neither of them was released on the market, but they are still worth mentioning:

• 3mm f/2.8: a fisheye lens with a 35mm equivalent of about 8mm;
• 7.2-13.6mm f/3.5-4.5: a wide-angle zoom lens that can be used underwater;
• 9-30mm f/1.8-2.8: a zoom optic that would offer a full-frame equivalent of 24.5-81.5mm;
• 10-45mm f/4.5-5.6: another waterproof zoom lens for the 1 AW1 underwater camera.

With so many mirrorless products in development, it would be a pity to let all those research and development money go to waste. The mirrorless market is expected to rise in the future, therefore it is believed that new Nikon CX-mount products are coming soon, as stated above.