Nikon 1 32mm f/1.2 fast prime lens launched

Nikon has now launched the Nikon 1 32mm f/1.2 lens first announced last year (New Gear, N-Photo 14). With an equivalent focal length of approximately 85mm on a full-frame camera, it’s a classic ‘portrait’ lens, delivering pleasing perspective and beautifully defocussed backgrounds. It’s priced at £799, which is largely what we had expected for such a fast prime lens, though this is likely to fall over time. Nikon says it will be on sale from June 13th.

Even though Nikon came comparatively late to the compact system camera market, it’s been quick to add lenses to its Nikon 1 range, which already outstrips rival systems from Canon, Samsung, Sony and Fujifilm and is hard on the heels of Micro Four Thirds systems from Olympus and Panasonic.

The Nikon 1′s smaller CX-format sensor has attracted some criticism when most rivals use larger Micro Four Thirds or APS-C sized sensors, but this has enabled Nikon to keep down the size of both the camera bodies and, crucially, the lenses. The new 32mm f/1.2 is just 47mm long and weighs 235g – this compares with 84mm and 595g for the Nikon 85mm f/1.4, its nearest full-frame equivalent.

This is what it looks like on the Nikon 1 V2, a camera aimed squarely at serious photographers and enthusiasts – they make a handsome pair! The ‘N’ marking on the barrel indicates the presence of Nikon’s Nano Crystal Coat technology, which is designed to reduce flare and ghosting, even in backlit shots. This usually found only on Nikon’s professional D-SLR lenses, and it’s the first time it’s been used on a 1 Nikkor optic.

Nikon has also been careful to ensure compatibility between the Nikon 1 range and its D-SLRs with the FT1 mount adaptor. This enables you to fit any Nikon D-SLR lens to a Nikon 1 body. The CX size sensor produces a 2.7x crop factor, so if you use a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, for example, it becomes the equivalent of a 189-550mm f/2.8!