It has Nikon's brand new 3rd generation VR system (the first lens to carry it) which Nikon claims can give the photographer up to a 5-stop advantage (compared to its predecessor's 4 stops). Its price in the US seems to be just south of US$1,400.
I know several folks went Canon because of the 70-200mm f/4 IS. We have to wait and see how the new Nikkor compares to the Canon (and the Canon is a superb lens, so Nikon had their work cut out). However, now there might be one less reason to buy white lenses.
And an amusing factoid: IIRC, the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS was also Canon's first lens with their 3rd generation IS system.
Tony
Nikon: we don't want more pixels, we want better pixels.
megatop412 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 252 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 2553 times:
I have to say that every time I read about how many stops one of Nikon's newer lenses' VR is supposed to be able to provide stabilization for I'm a bit skeptical. Really- a 5 stop advantage? I eagerly await some field trials on this one. If this bears out to be true I might just be interested in a replacement for my 70-300mmVR.
SNATH From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 3232 posts, RR: 24 Reply 3, posted (6 months 3 weeks 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 2463 times:
Quoting megatop412 (Reply 2): I have to say that every time I read about how many stops one of Nikon's newer lenses' VR is supposed to be able to provide stabilization for I'm a bit skeptical. Really- a 5 stop advantage?
The 24-120 f/4 VR, with its claimed 4-stop VR system, is my general-purpose lens. I can consistently get sharp pictures with it @120mm at 1/10sec (almost always) and 1/8sec (most of the time), and that's in portrait orientation in which I just cannot keep my camera as steady as in landscape orientation. If you consider the rule-of-thumb 1/(focal length) rule, 1/8 sec is almost exactly 4 stops better than 1/120 sec. So, Nikon's claims on the VR system's efficiency are not far off reality. From various reviews I've read, the consensus seems to be that if manufacturers (not only Nikon) claim N stops of stabilization, you'll consistently get N-1, and maybe N under certain circumstances.
FWIW,
Tony
Nikon: we don't want more pixels, we want better pixels.
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