Nikon filed a patent 2011197413 in Japan for a 800mm f/5.6 lens:
The longest telephoto in the current Nikon arsenal is the Nikkor 600mm f/4 ED VR lens ($10,300) while Canon already has a EF 800 f/5.6L IS USM lens ($14,000).
Read also my update to this post.
So far, I have received two separate emails from two different major US retailers indicating a price increase on all Nikon products starting on October 12th (or 16th), 2011. I have removed the store names in order to protect my sources. If you have planned to buy something from Nikon, now will be a good time to do it. Check out the Nikon Buying Guide for some price comparison (the page will take some time to load because it has to collect prices from several different websites). Check also the current Nikon rebates.
First email:
On Sept 1, Nikon announced that there will be a new pricing policy going into effect on all Nikon DSLR, Lens and Flash product. This will go live October 16, 2011. What does this mean? Any retailer that prices Nikon DSLR, Lens or Flash product below their National price will be in a violation of the policy (Unilateral Pricing Policy = Maximum Value Policy (MVP).
I received separate emails from retailers in two different European countries that the Nikon SB 900 speedlight has reached end of life and can no longer be ordered. This is a rather unusual development since the SB-900 was announced in 2008. The previous SB-800 model was announced in 2003. Maybe this is just a glitch in Nikon’s ordering system.
Nikon announced two new EDG fieldscopes with VR technology (world’s first). They can be attached to a DSLR with an adapter – see this guest post for more info. Both models are priced at $5,499.95.
The AF and viewfinder coverage of the current D700 will be improved with the D800
Just few more updates on the Nikon D800 specs:
According to Amazon’s listings the Nikon 1 mirrorless cameras will start shipping on October 24th. Amazon UK has listed the same date.
The official US press release listed the shipping date as October 20th.
