Nikon patent shows kit lens for full-frame mirrorless camera

Nikon filed a patent last year for a 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens for a full-frame mirrorless camera, according to a message on the Japanese site Egami. Nikon does not currently have such a camera.

The patent shows three lens designs for a 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 lens with VR image stabilization. It is probably a kit lens for a possible yet to be released full-frame system camera. Nikon did have a 28-80 f/3.5-5.6D lens in the 1990s, but that has not been on the market for quite some time. The patent was filed on May 31, 2013 and was released on December 15 this year.

Currently, Sony is the only camera manufacturer that has released full-frame mirrorless cameras, in the form of the A7 (II), A7R and A7S. The lack of a mirror reduces the distance between the sensor and the lens, resulting in a more compact camera-lens combination.

Nikon’s current system camera, the Nikon 1 series, is built around a relatively small 1″ sensor. A system camera with a more common aps-c sensor is missing, although such a sensor has been used in the Coolpix A. The lens can however, cannot be swapped and it cannot zoom.

Although manufacturers often apply for patents for products that never appear, it may be an indication that Nikon is considering releasing a new type of mirrorless camera. This will then have to compete with the Sony A7 series.