p.1 #2 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
Probably these companies have not yet figured out how to reliably replicate Nikon camera to lens communication in the Z system.
Another possible explication is that Z lenses are generally better than F lenses in those areas where Sigma lenses, although being somewhat bulky, had an edge - i.e. resolution and, in some instances, chromatic aberrations.
Maybe those companies just wanted to wait what Nikon offers, and at what price point, before deciding on which lenses to produce.
Alternatively, they thought nobody would use Nikon Z cameras and thus had no plans to make lenses for it.
p.1 #3 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
Tamron knows how to make native Z mount lenses along with the AF protocols. They have been making OEM Z mount lenses. The latest one is very well known. It is a matter of licensing and agreements not technology.
Sigma is also able to reverse engineer the mount and protocols as they have always done. Other smaller companies have already done this.
My guess is that the Z mount base was smaller than other more lucrative opportunities. So they focused their attentions there. They will get around to it as the Z mount becomes more successful.
For now, both Sigma and Tamron say their capacity is fully booked.
p.1 #8 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
Buckeye2604 wrote:
Apparently there are more being made than that one? 1bwana1, fill us in.
I don't know any secrets.
When the new Tamron made Z 28-70 came out, I asked my Tamron Company Rep if that means they now have the protocols for the Z AF system. He said that they had already had them. He said it isn't about whether they can make them, but is about agreement and licensing. Of course he won't say which lenses they are. But he did say that if it looks like a Tamron, feels like a Tamron, and is made of similar materials as a Tamron, it is very likely that it is made by Tamron, no matter what the logo says. He said Tamron is a public company, their customer list is also public, and they are the larges lens maker in the World.
It is pretty well accepted that Tamron makes a number of models for Sony, including some that are badged as Zeiss lenses. It is likely the same with all the major manufacturers.
p.1 #9 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
We can eliminate all of the “made in Thailand” lenses. I don’t think Tamron has a factory there.
1bwana1 wrote:
I don't know any secrets.
When the new Tamron made Z 28-70 came out, I asked my Tamron Company Rep if that means they now have the protocols for the Z AF system. He said that they had already had them. He said it isn't about whether they can make them, but is about agreement and licensing. Of course he won't say which lenses they are. But he did say that if it looks like a Tamron, feels like a Tamron, and is made of similar materials as a Tamron, it is very likely that it is made by Tamron, no matter what the logo says. He said Tamron is a public company, their customer list is also public, and they are the larges lens maker in the World.
It is pretty well accepted that Tamron makes a number of models for Sony, including some that are badged as Zeiss lenses. It is likely the same with all the major manufacturers.
p.1 #10 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
1bwana1 wrote:
I don't know any secrets.
When the new Tamron made Z 28-70 came out, I asked my Tamron Company Rep if that means they now have the protocols for the Z AF system. He said that they had already had them. He said it isn't about whether they can make them, but is about agreement and licensing. Of course he won't say which lenses they are. But he did say that if it looks like a Tamron, feels like a Tamron, and is made of similar materials as a Tamron, it is very likely that it is made by Tamron, no matter what the logo says. He said Tamron is a public company, their customer list is also public, and they are the larges lens maker in the World.
It is pretty well accepted that Tamron makes a number of models for Sony, including some that are badged as Zeiss lenses. It is likely the same with all the major manufacturers.
And with it being made in China (https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/nikon_z_28_75mm_f2_8_review) it's more or less proof the lenses are coming out of Tamron's factory since Nikon only makes lenses from Japan and Thailand ever since they closed their factories in China.
So there we have it. Nikon's asking Tamron to make third party lenses for them. We have a precedent and there is a chance there will be more. Nikon's willing to ask, Tamron's willing to deal and I guess Tamron thinks it makes more business sense to sell the lenses to Nikon than to us directly. Which implies Tamron's not going to make Z mount lenses themselves and we're probably not going to see Tamron-badged Z mount lenses. Whatever Z mount Tamrons that we may see in the future are the ones that Nikon paid Tamron to.
p.1 #11 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
unchecked wrote:
And with it being made in China (https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/nikon_z_28_75mm_f2_8_review) it's more or less proof the lenses are coming out of Tamron's factory since Nikon only makes lenses from Japan and Thailand ever since they closed their factories in China.
So there we have it. Nikon's asking Tamron to make third party lenses for them. We have a precedent and there is a chance there will be more. Nikon's willing to ask, Tamron's willing to deal and I guess Tamron thinks it makes more business sense to sell the lenses to Nikon than to us directly. Which implies Tamron's not going to make Z mount lenses themselves and we're probably not going to see Tamron-badged Z mount lenses. Whatever Z mount Tamrons that we may see in the future are the ones that Nikon paid Tamron to. ...Show more →
Producing "commodity" lenses, i.e. those with a known and proven way of manufacturing, quality control etc., in larger factories or just where there is production capacity available appears to be an efficient strategy. While lens development is probably difficult if it would become totally disconnected from manufacturing, producing a couple of top line lenses is probably enough to support development.
p.1 #12 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
unchecked wrote:
So there we have it. Nikon's asking Tamron to make third party lenses for them. We have a precedent and there is a chance there will be more. Nikon's willing to ask, Tamron's willing to deal and I guess Tamron thinks it makes more business sense to sell the lenses to Nikon than to us directly. Which implies Tamron's not going to make Z mount lenses themselves and we're probably not going to see Tamron-badged Z mount lenses. Whatever Z mount Tamrons that we may see in the future are the ones that Nikon paid Tamron to.
I think you're concluding way too much from this one lens deal. It could be a one-off, it could be time-limited with Tamron getting the license in 1-2 years, or for specific lenses that don't compete directly with some Nikkors etc.
Tamron has also made Nikkor-branded lenses in the past (e.g. the AF-D 70-300mm ED*) and still offered Tamron-branded lenses for F mount.
Cosina has recently announced a couple of Voigtländer lenses that are fully licensed for Z mount, including EXIF support etc. They are of course manual focus only, so maybe Nikon is less worried about cannibalization of sales than they would be with Tamron or Sigma.
Not sure if Viltrox has an official license. Would be curious if anyone has info on that.
I expect Tamron, Sigma and Samyang to eventually offer lenses for Z mount. It may take another 2-3 years, but we'll get there.
p.1 #13 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
fjablo wrote:
I think you're concluding way too much from this one lens deal. It could be a one-off, it could be time-limited with Tamron getting the license in 1-2 years, or for specific lenses that don't compete directly with some Nikkors etc.
Tamron has also made Nikkor-branded lenses in the past (e.g. the AF-D 70-300mm ED*) and still offered Tamron-branded lenses for F mount.
Cosina has recently announced a couple of Voigtländer lenses that are fully licensed for Z mount, including EXIF support etc. They are of course manual focus only, so maybe Nikon is less worried about cannibalization of sales than they would be with Tamron or Sigma.
Not sure if Viltrox has an official license. Would be curious if anyone has info on that.
I expect Tamron, Sigma and Samyang to eventually offer lenses for Z mount. It may take another 2-3 years, but we'll get there.
We need to rethink what it means to "licence", who's the owner the licensor and who's the licensee. It's not so much the mount protocol that's Nikon's licencing to Tamron. But rather it's also Tamron, the owner of the lens design, licencing the lens itself to Nikon and allowing Nikon to rebadge them as a Nikon.
Tamron already knows how to make their lenses and adapters communicate with the Z mount bodies. Most of their newer F-mount lenses can be updated to work seamlessly via the FTZ. But they're not making them in Z mount for whatever reason. As with most business decisions, it's likely that they're not going to make much, if any, money.
So Nikon approaches Tamron to have them make the 28-75, Tamron says "ok but I'll need the protocol officially to make it", and then there's a limited production deal involved. In this scenario, Tamron doesn't have to care how many of us buy the lenses, they have only one customer and make sure money from Nikon and have Nikon borne the inventory management costs. And Nikon, being able to sell this lens as an "official" Nikon lens, also peels away the third party tag of this lens. It also means Nikon has to fully support it, and they would have to licence the specs from Tamron as part of the deal. It's a win-win-win for Tamron, Nikon and us.
But of course, there's the middle man fee. But then again, this lens is still half the price of the 24-70 f2.8.
p.1 #14 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
unchecked wrote:
We need to rethink what it means to "licence", who's the owner the licensor and who's the licensee. It's not so much the mount protocol that's Nikon's licencing to Tamron. But rather it's also Tamron, the owner of the lens design, licencing the lens itself to Nikon and allowing Nikon to rebadge them as a Nikon.
Tamron already knows how to make their lenses and adapters communicate with the Z mount bodies. Most of their newer F-mount lenses can be updated to work seamlessly via the FTZ. But they're not making them in Z mount for whatever reason. As with most business decisions, it's likely that they're not going to make much, if any, money.
So Nikon approaches Tamron to have them make the 28-75, Tamron says "ok but I'll need the protocol officially to make it", and then there's a limited production deal involved. In this scenario, Tamron doesn't have to care how many of us buy the lenses, they have only one customer and make sure money from Nikon and have Nikon borne the inventory management costs. And Nikon, being able to sell this lens as an "official" Nikon lens, also peels away the third party tag of this lens. It also means Nikon has to fully support it, and they would have to licence the specs from Tamron as part of the deal. It's a win-win-win for Tamron, Nikon and us.
But of course, there's the middle man fee. But then again, this lens is still half the price of the 24-70 f2.8. ...Show more →
Again, that's too black & white and a premature conclusion.
Could be, of course. But just because they chose this business model for one lens (as they have done before, a couple of decades ago!) doesn't mean this will be the only business model going forward.
I wouldn't be too surprised to see the full f2.8 'trinity' of Tamron being re-bagded this way - so the 28-75, 70-180 and 17-28. But beyond that I think we will see Tamron-labeled lenses at some point.
p.1 #15 · How come Tamron and Sigma don't make Nikon Z mount lenses?
I found my long lost Quantaray 70-300 lens that was made by Sigma, way back when. It was the first lens I bought. It went on my N60 with its 1 count 'em, one focus point.
