Nikon Announces New NIKKOR 70-300mm Telephoto Lens

This week, on the heels of its 100th anniversary, Nikon updated its full-frame 70-300mm tele zoom lens. According to a press release, improvements have been made in image quality, autofocus, speed, VR image stabilization, and more.

The F-mount lens is retailing for around $750 and features an f/4.5-5.6 aperture, internal focus, Nikon's auto-priority manual mode, extra-low dispersion glass, a pulse stepping motor for quieter, smoother focus, and of course the aforementioned vibration reduction to reduce camera shake. 

The lens is compatible with FX or DX cameras, providing an equivalent zoom range of 105-450mm on the latter. The glass has a minimum focus distance of 3.94 ft. (1.2 meters) and the rounded, nine-blade diaphragm will provide smooth focus and the bokeh you're looking for. While the pulse stepping motor limits the number of cameras it can be used, it reduces the sound of the lens while recording HD or 4K UHD video. 

Next week marks Nikon's 100th year anniversary, and there have already been rumors about an updated D810 (possibly named D820 or D850) to be announced on July 25. While we've reached out to Nikon for comment, the company did not confirm.

However, in an interview, Nikon’s CEO Mr. Kazuo Ushida did mention that the company will be making a new mid-range to high-end mirrorless or DSLR, although that was based on a translation.

DP Review clarified the findings with Nikon, releasing a very boilerplate response: "While details are confidential, we can say that we are currently developing new mirrorless products that build upon Nikon's strengths, and offer the performance prospective customers expect, including the ultimate optics performance, image-processing technologies, strength and durability, and operation."

For now, we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully, Nikon has learned from the mistakes of the D800 series and has decided to add some punch to the equation, too.

Here's what's been rumored so far about the D820/D850: 

• 46.5MP full-frame CMOS sensor
• Same Autofocus system as in Nikon D5
• Improved low and high ISO compared to Canon and better than the D810
• New and improved version of SnapBridge 
• Tiltable LCD screen just like the D750 and D500
• The memory card slots will be the same as in the D500: one SD and one XQD

Tech Specs (70-300mm)

• f/4.5-5.6
• Full-frame
• Vibration reduction
• F-mount
• FX or DX compatible
• 3.94 ft minimum focusing distance