Nikon Announces AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens

From Nikon:

An Everyday Lens That's Anything But Ordinary: The AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens Offers Advanced Photographers Powerful Versatility

MELVILLE, NY – Today, Nikon Inc. announced the new AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR lens – an amazingly versatile DX-format lens that is well suited for advanced and enthusiast photographers. The NIKKOR 16-80mm features a combination of the best Nikon lens technologies, some never before seen in a Nikon DX-format lens, including Nikon’s legendary Nano Crystal Coat. The resulting lens gives a wide variety of photographers an all-purpose optic to help take their photography further and tell their story with clarity and precision.

“The NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4 is a very exciting addition to the NIKKOR DX-format lens lineup, and a new milestone in the NIKKOR legacy – it combines the most advanced optical technologies with an extremely useful focal range to capture photos and HD video,” said Masahiro Horie, Director of Marketing and Planning, Nikon Inc. “This new lens is a great companion for Nikon’s high-performance, lightweight series of DX-format DSLR cameras.”

DX-Format Versatility
Make no mistake, the new AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR is premium glass for those who desire a fast and highly capable wide-angle zoom lens. The lens features a popular, wide 24-120mm (FX-format equivalent) focal range, which makes it ideally suited for a variety of shooting disciplines. From wide-angle landscapes, tight portraits or for those looking for an all-in-one tool for travel, this lens does it all. The large f/2.8 - f/4 aperture lets photographers shoot in challenging light with ease, with the creative flexibility afforded by a shallow depth-of-field. Whether photographing friends’ faces or a festive plate full of local flavor, the 16-80mm’s fast aperture lets users blur the background to create that dramatic separation between subject and background that emphasizes and flatters a subject. For creative close-ups of everything from passion-projects to flowers, the lens has a very useful minimum focusing distance of merely 1.2 feet throughout the entire 5x zoom range.

To further enhance its low-light capability, the new NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4 lens also features Nikon’s Vibration Reduction (VR) image stabilization technology, which provides up to 4 stops of image stabilization*, helping to create sharp images while shooting handheld or in challenging light. As an added benefit to landscape and wildlife photographers, this lens features VR with automatic tripod detection, to counteract vibration when mounted on a tripod.

Latest Optical Technologies
The new AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm F/2.8-4E ED VR boasts some of the best optical innovations from Nikon, and is the first Nikon DX-format lens to wear the gold “N” emblem, to indicate the presence of Nikon’s exclusive Nano Crystal Coat. This advanced optical coating significantly reduces instances of ghosting and flare for the highest quality images. The front and rear elements also integrate a fluorine coating to make it easier to remove dirt, moisture and smudges from the lens surface. This is also the first Nikon DX lens to feature an electromagnetic diaphragm; this innovation electronically adjusts the aperture within the lens, resulting in consistent exposure during high speed shooting.

The new NIKKOR 16-80mm lens features robust construction while retaining a lightweight and compact body. The lens features four Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) elements and three aspheric elements to further combat instances of ghost, flare and chromatic aberration. The lens is constructed of 17 elements in 13 groups, and features a seven-blade diaphragm to create a circular, natural bokeh for a pleasing out of focus area of the image. For fast, accurate and quiet AF performance, the 16-80mm also features Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor (SWM) technology.

Price and Availability
The new Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR will be available in July for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $1,069.95.

B&H has the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens available for preorder.