Nikon Surge
Nikon has just announced the D60—an upgrade to the D40X—and a trio of new lenses: The PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED Tilt/Shift, the AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED and the AF-S DX Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR.
A few things of note: First, all three lenses have virtually identical specs to their Canon counterparts. Now, it’s conceivable that there are optical and manufacturing reasons for why lens designs converge on similar parameters—but from where I sit, this looks very much like an attempt on Nikon’s part to match Canon’s lens range on what’s effectively a one-to-one basis. If this theory is correct, perhaps in the not too distant future we can expect to see a travel-friendly 70-200mm f/4 VR, a 24-105mm f/4 VR or a second-generation DX 17-55mm f/2.8, now with VR? Or near the higher end of the spectrum, how about a compact 400mm f/4 VR with diffractive optics, a 50mm f/1.2 or super telephotos above 600mm?
Second, this is Nikon’s first foray into tilt/shift lenses—a domain previously totally dominated by Canon. When the announced 45mm and 85mm tilt/shift lenses join the new 24mm in the lineup, the Nikon system will suddenly seem much more attractive to landscape and architecture photographers. Nikon’s newfound urge to go after markets that have been traditional Canon strongholds almost makes me wonder if there has been a leadership change within the company: Many of the announcements in the last few months seem to suggest a much more aggressive strategy than what we’ve seen in recent years. Either way, as Nikon closes the gap, consumers stand to gain.
Finally—and this is more of a question than a statement—could someone please explain to me why Nikon insists on using the term “Micro” for a macro lens, when the entire rest of the industry uses, well, “Macro”? Dumb.
January 29, 2008 #