If you are a person who spends a great deal of time reading about camera equipment, from Nikon, then you've likely read about the upcoming announcements Nikon is due to make tonight about a new camera, D3100, and several new lenses, 55-300mm F4.5-5.6G VR DX, 24-120mm F4 VR, 85mm F1.4G and 28-300mm F3.5-5.6G. These new items seem to be getting a lot of attention, possibly because they address some serious areas where Nikon has been found lacking. Below are my thoughts on these rumored (but currently unreleased) items. In the next 12 hours or so we will know for sure, after the Nikon press announcements which are due around 12AM EST (North America).
D3100, if the rumored specs are correct this camera will be the first Nikon DSLR to have full 1080p HD video, and will support continuous auto focus while shooting video. The other areas of improvement are said to come in the form of a 14MP CMOS sensor and a larger ISO range (ISO100-12800). Those are some extremely impressive features for what will be an entry level DSLR, but considering that such a camera has to go head to head with the likes of today's mirrorless (EVIL) cameras like the Panasonic GF1, and Sony NEX3 &5, some big steps have to be taken by Nikon to maintain sales. The question is will such a camera be able to get Nikon back on top of the entry level market, a position which Nikon held during the days of the D40 and D60? If the D3100 is as impressive as it sounds, I believe it will sell extremely well.
24-120mm F4 VR, this is a lens that Nikon has needed in its' lineup for some time, something that can go head to head against the Canon 24-105mm F4 IS. If the optics are better than the current 24-120mm F3.5-5.6G VR, which should be too hard, then it would create a great mid range lens lineup for D700 users. The new lens would be great to pair up with the 16-35mm F4 VR. Another great addition to such a lineup would be a 120-400mm F4-5.6G VR lens, or simply a AF-S revision of the 80-400mm F4-5.6D VR. Such a mid-range lens lineup would still not be cheap by any means of the imagination, but would prove to be far less expensive than having the 14-24mm F2.8G, 24-70 F2.8G, 70-200mm F2.8G VRII and 200-400mm F4 VRII to cover the same range.
85mm F1.4G, this is also another lens that Nikon has needed to upgrade for some time, although not due to optical limitations that the current 24-120mm VR has. In this case it is simply a matter of needing to have an AF-S motor in the lens, although having improved optics couldn't hurt it any! Hopefully Nikon has found a way to get a fast AF-S motor into this prime, because if it is slower like the 50mm F1.4G, then some users who might have wanted to upgrade could very well just hold onto their current 85mm F1.4D lens, which is great optically already, even if auto focus is loud.
28-300mm F3.5-5.6G, for users with an FX camera that want a simple walk around or travel lens. I don't think we'll see any optical wonders from this, expect 18-200mm VR optical quality at best. This lens, if it is released will cover a large focal range, something Nikon has not had in it's lineup since discontinuing the 28-200mm F3.5-5.6G back in 2006. Not much to say about this lens other than that it could prove to be a nice travel lens, for when carrying a bunch of other gear is impossible due to weight and baggage size restrictions.
55-300mm F4.5-5.6G VR DX, this would be a totally new focal range for Nikon, and to be honest it kind of seems like an odd ball lens. Yes the focal range would prove to be very attractive for people with an 18-55mm VR, but unless the optics are at least as good as the current 55-200mm VR DX lens, I'm not sure if making it is such a good idea. I suspect it would be one of those lenses that is good up to 200mm and then optically becomes rather poor by 300mm. If the optics are even remotely as good as the 70-300mm VR, Nikon could see sales of the latter drop off, considering that DX users make up the majority of lens buyers.
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