One of our favorite travel lenses in recent years was the Nikon 18-200 DX zoom.
It had the range: close up, telephoto, compact enough and made packing light on simple travel trips easy.
There was a drawback in the first version, with the weight of the glass sometimes letting the zoom extend when vertical.
They fixed it in V2 and put a locking switch when the lens was in full wide mode.
Whatever.
Loved that lens, but when the full frame move was made, the DX lenses were sent to sidelines. Kinda like Toy Story.
Still had em, but rarely used em.
And now, finally Nikon has come up with a sweet 28-300mm lens for the Full Framers!

It’s f/3.5-5.6 but it’ll still get into the kit. Sure, love us some f/2.8 (or 1.4 which we’ll chat about in a minute), don’t get us wrong, but this versatile, VR enhanced lens is a must. Actually been waiting awhile for this range in a FX format.
One lens for travel and with that kind of range, you are covered. Or you can start paying the $45. carry on fee with airlines like Spirt, when you bring the full.
C’mon, if it’s a gig, you bring it all, but if it’s a quick holiday? Around town? A lens that’ll do you right in most situations?
It fits the DX cameras and gives you 42-450mm, a staggering range, but for us full framers, put this puppy on and your D700 will sing.

Like we said, it’s already on the list to buy.

And the official word:


AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR: High Performance, High Quality and Telephoto Zoom
Building on the popularity and versatility of broad focal range lenses, the new AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR is Nikon’s first FX-format lens with a 10.7X zoom range for enthusiasts and professionals. The new 28-300mm is the all-in-one optical solution that is ideal for travel, landscapes, portraits and capturing distant subjects. The 28-300mm VR lens is optimized for edge-to-edge sharpness on both FX and DX-format D-SLR cameras, and has an equivalent focal length of 42-450mm when attached to a DX-format D-SLR. It’s optical formula includes two ED glass elements that effectively minimize chromatic aberration, even at the widest aperture settings, and three Aspherical Lens Elements that virtually eliminates coma and other aberrations at wide aperture settings as well. This high performance lens also incorporates an M/A Focus Mode Switch that enables quick changes between manual and autofocus operation, and Internal Focus (IF) providing fast and quiet autofocus without changing the length of the lens while retaining working distance through the focus range.

One thing we’ve also been doing lately, is digging back into the bag and pulling out the primes of yore. Simplifying our lives at times.
I know, just was talking about a large capacity zoom.
But photogs do not live by one lens alone. Oh, no.

Before we go on, there is a tip we always try to share: when jumping into one brand or another, invest in the lenses. The camera bodies will change, especially in the consumer market, faster than you may like but that’s technology like a computer.
But the glass. ahhh, the glass. We are still putting very old primes on very new bodies. Maybe they weren’t designed for digital and a flat sensor but, dang they are still good.

So spend the dough on the lens. decide on your company of choice, and invest.

Ok, where were we….oh yeah..Primes!

So Nikon came out with their latest 85mm f/1.4 lens! Nothing tricky here except a top of the line pro prime lens. Seriously.
When we first started in photography, primes were it, and zooms were not. Strictly amateur. That’s all changed now.
How many of you out there shoot with Primes? Or ever have?
Watch it change your vision. You will compose in different manner, engage your subjects in new way, and with f1.4 you shallow depth of field folks will be in heaven. Not our thing, but we’ll take the extreme low light capability any day of the week.
If you were a documentary photographer, it’s lenses like this in low, natural light, that will help you tell your story.
And like we said, they don’t change like the body does. The camera body that is.

It’s priced for the pro too, at about $1700. but it could become your favorite lens.

And now, the release:

AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G ED: Fast Medium Telephoto Lens Destined to Become a Classic
A highly anticipated lens for professional photographers with no room for compromise, the new
AF-S 85mm f/1.4G ED is an ultra-fast classic portrait lens boasting amazing picture quality, high performance and the ability to create dramatic background effects (bokeh). This lens is engineered for professional portrait, studio and wedding photographers wanting to shoot at fast maximum apertures while retaining the highest performance. The 85mm lens is also well suited for portraits and low-light shooting situations because of its ability to create a shallow depth of field with exacting sharpness and detail. The AF-S 85mm f/1.4 is optimized for edge-to-edge sharpness on both FX and DX-format D-SLR cameras, and features two focus modes, M/A (manual-priority autofocus) and M (manual) to further enhance versatility and adapt to a shooters needs. Additional features include Internal Focus (IF) that allows the lens to focus without changing the barrel length, Nano Crystal Coat to reduce instances of ghosting and flare, and a rugged construction build to endure aggressive field use.

There are 2 other lenses we saw that have been released, and we should post that info for you here, also.

AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR: Making Super Telephoto Shooting Easy and Affordable
The new AF-S DX 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR fills a variety of roles as the perfect lens for family picture takers and photo enthusiasts alike. This lens is the ideal compliment to the 18-55mm VR DX-format camera kit lens, such as the one coupled with the just-released D3100 D-SLR camera, and provides users with an affordable way to achieve super zoom focal lengths from 82.5mm to 450mm (35mm equivalent). The 55-300mm VR lens brings the benefits of longer focal lengths into range for users when capturing distant subjects, such as at athletic events, family gatherings and summer vacations. Additional features include a Tripod Detection Mode, which allows users to keep VR image stabilization activated and automatically compensates for minute vibrations when mounted on a tripod. Additionally, a High Refractive Index (HRI) lens element is implemented to keep the lens compact while offering high contrast even at maximum aperture. The optical construction consists of two Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Elements that effectively minimize chromatic aberration, even at the widest aperture settings.

AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4 G ED VR: Defines Versatility
The new AF-S 24-120mm f/4 G ED VR zoom lens redefines the wide-to-portrait lens category, and provides users with a medium focal range lens with a constant aperture that is ideally suited for a wide variety of photographic disciplines. This high performance lens offers a constant maximum aperture of f/4 to maintain exposure settings throughout the entire zoom range and is perfect for photographing landscapes, portraits, interiors and weddings. The 24-120mm f/4 also features two ED elements, three aspherical lens elements, a useful M/A Focus Mode Switch, Internal Focus and Nano Crystal Coat to reduce ghosting and flare for greater image clarity, throughout the entire frame.

We told we’d tell you our faves and what we are buying. And perhaps the other 2 will fit exactly what YOU need.