During our visit to the Zeiss booth in NAB 2024, we saw their new Zeiss Nano Prime lenses. It’s a set of six focal lengths: 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm, with a large T1.5 maximum aperture. All six lenses contain a 12-blade aperture and offer a 95mm front diameter and 86mm thread for matte boxes and filters to keep things consistent.
Zeiss Nano Prime – Entry-level but still expensive
Zeiss calls these an entry-level set. And in the grand scheme of things, that’s probably a fair assessment. However, you’re still going to be paying between $4,500 and $5,000 per lens. Or, if you want the entire set of six, those are available for a hair under $26K – and the set includes a fancy hard case.
Native electronic lens communication
The Zeiss Nano Primes offer electronic communication between the lens and the camera body. Obviously, these aren’t autofocus lenses, but it means that the lens should communicate back to the camera to report the focal length, aperture, and perhaps even the focus distance.
While it’ll obviously work on just about any Sony E mount camera, the lenses seem designed primarily for high-end cameras like the Sony Burano CineAlta camera (buy here). Of course, they’ll behave just as well on something like the Sony FX3 (buy here), too.
Zeiss said that more mounting options may come in the future via DIY mount replacement kits, but that will depend on what camera companies will be willing to share a license with Zeiss.
Zeiss Nano Prime Specs
18mm T1.524mm T1.535mm T1.550mm T1.575mm T1.5100mm T1.5
Focal length18mm24mm35mm50mm75mm100mm
Max apertureT1.5T1.5T1.5T1.5T1.5T1.5
Min apertureT16T16T16T16T16T16
MountSony ESony ESony ESony ESony ESony E
Interchangeable mountYesYesYesYesYesYes
FormatFull-FrameFull-FrameFull-FrameFull-FrameFull-FrameFull-Frame
StabilisationNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
Electronic commsYesYesYesYesYesYes
Diaphragm blades121212121212
Focus throw280°280°280°280°280°280°
Iris throw90°90°90°90°90°90°
Dimensions100 x 112mm100 x 89mm100 x 89mm100 x 89mm100 x 112mm100 x 112mm
Weight1.19kg876g871g924g1.13kg1.3kg
Price and Availability
The Zeiss Nano Prime lenses are available to pre-order now. The 18mm T1.5 is $4,990, the 24mm T1.5 is $4,490, the 35mm T1.5 is $4,490, the 50mm T1.5 is $4,490, the 75mm T1.5 is $4,490, and the 100mm T1.5 is $4,990.
Combined, this equates to $27,440. However, you can buy all six in a combined kit for $25,950, which includes a free Pelican-style hard case – normally a separate $850 purchase.
Shipping is expected to begin in May 2024.
Sponsor shout-out: A huge shout-out for our #NAB2024 gear sponsors. They pick up the bill so you can get amazing free content: Nanlite, ProGrade Digital, Sennheiser, SmallRig, Ugreen, YC onion
