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Nikon’s new prime lens is pretty cheap, for a lens

A new Nikon lens is always worth a look. Recently the camera company has been upgrading its most stalwart lenses with internal AF motors to work on the latest, motor-less SLR bodies. Now, it has popped out a new, cheapish specialist model — a macro lens for full-frame bodies.

The lens is the AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 40mm ƒ2.8G. As you can see from the name, it has a 40mm focal length and a reasonable ƒ2.8 maximum aperture. On a crop-sensor body, that becomes 60mm, good for portraits.

The lens focusses down to 16.3 cm (6.4 inches), giving a 1:1 sized image on the sensor. It also has Nikon’s M/A autofocus mode, which will focus when you touch the shutter button but also let you grab the wheel and do it yourself without pressing any extra buttons. You can also opt for full manual.

If you don’t need the closeup features, you might be better off with the faster ƒ1.8 50mm Nikkor. If you do, then the $280 asking price isn’t too high. Available August.

AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 40mm ƒ2.8G [Nikon]

See Also:

• Nikon Lets Slip New 50mm ƒ1.8G Silent Wave Lens
• Nikon's New ƒ1.8 'Nifty Fifty' Official at Last
• Nikon Announces Four New SLR Lenses

There’s no question that Canon and Nikon still dominate the interchangeable lens camera (ILC) market, but with Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and now Pentax all launching compact, inexpensive, mirrorless models in recent years, the legacy manufacturers have some catching up to do. In an interview confirming the restoration of pre-quake production levels in Japan, Canon camera division head Masaya Maeda told Reuters that the company is “considering the technical aspects” of creating a mirrorless camera, following up by saying “we will launch an interesting product next year.” The comment doesn’t exactly make a mirrorless Canon a sure thing, but it’s as solid a commitment as we can expect for now.

One possible concern for Canon is that entry into the new ILC category would cannibalize the company’s higher-end point-and-shoot offerings, which likely offer higher margins. But if mirrorless models gain market share over traditional DSLRs and Canon doesn’t have its own cam to match, the company could find itself racing to catch up, rather than dominating the ILC category as it has done in the past. Competition from Canon isn’t likely to start a price war, since there isn’t much elasticity at this point, but it could put pressure on other manufacturers to push the limits with image quality, accessory selection, and perhaps even lead to a future lens standard — though we’re probably more likely to see a Pentax Q that can actually capture DSLR-quality images far before manufacturers decide to adopt a universal lens mount.

Canon restores camera production in Japan, hints at mirrorless model in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every image in this collection was captured in 1/1000 of a second—300x faster than a human blink—the briefest of moments that we would miss if not for the remarkable capabilities of the modern camera. More »

We’re not the only site to put Nikon’s new mid-range DSLR through its paces. Plenty of others have taken the D5100 for a spin and we thought you might like to know: they’re all pretty impressed. The new 1080p30 video mode was much appreciated as was the larger, higher resolution swivel screen around back. The biggest props generally went to the improved high-ISO performance (which was already quite respectable on the D5000 it’s replacing) and the boost in autofocus speed, especially when using the LCD as a view finder in Live View mode. Oddly, the built-in effects also garnered a lot of attention. The Miniature Effect (a tilt-shift simulator) and Selective Color mode impressed reviewers the most with their surprising level of sophistication for in-camera processing. All of the effects can also be used when shooting video, so you can make your HD footage look like black and white 8mm by turning on Night Vision. Criticisms were relatively minor and applicable to most mid- and entry-level DSLRs — primarily that the body is plasticy and there is a slight lag in focus and shutter performance. The D5100 is an obvious upgrade over the D5000 and more than holds its own against its competitors, but if you want to dig deeper check out our review and the ones below.

Read – DPReview
Read – Photography Blog
Read – CNET
Read – Nikon Rumors
Read – Pocket-Lint
Read – Pocket-Lint (2)

Nikon’s D5100 impresses, captures children’s birthday parties with incredible clarity originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon’s new nifty fifty is a must-have lens for pretty much anyone (who owns a Nikon SLR)

Nikon’s widely-leaked new 50mm ƒ1.8G lens has finally been made official, and comes in at the reasonable, reasonable price of $220. If you have a Nikon SLR and are still using the horrible kit zoom lens, you should go place your order now. I’ll wait.

Back? Good. Let me tell you what you just bought (and thanks for trusting me, by the way). The main difference between this new “nifty fifty” and the almost decade-old ƒ1.8D is that it has an autofocus motor inside. This means you can use it with any current or recent Nikon SLR. The older lens lacks this motor and is instead driven by one in the camera, which cheaper bodies don’t have.

The other change is that the aperture ring has gone. For younger photographers who never used a ring on the lens to change the aperture, this isn’t a big deal. For oldies who find twisting a ring way easier than twiddling a dial, it’s a shame.

And that’s about it. The 50mm lenses have long been some of the sharpest (and cheapest) lenses available. This, coupled with the shallow depth-of-field that lets you isolate subjects from the background and the great low-light abilities of the ƒ1.8 aperture mean that everybody should have one. And if you put it on a crop-sensor, DX-format body, you get an awesome 75mm portrait lens.

So well done for ordering it. Now sit back and wait, because it’s not shipping until June 16th.

Nikon 50mm ƒ1.8G [I Am Nikon blog]

See Also:

• Nikon Lets Slip New 50mm ƒ1.8G Silent Wave Lens
• Nikon Launches 50mm Silent Wave Lens. At Last.
• Nikon Announces Hot, Fast 35mm “Standard” Lens