Nikon quality lens designation

Hello All,

I have searched for the answer for this one but I didn't find what I wanted. Does Nikon have a designator for their high end glass similar to the Canon "L" designation.

Thanks in advance.

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Eric Gissendaner
Naples, Florida
Nikon D70
Nikon N80
Olympus C-3040Z

ED is the only distinction. Other then that its knowing which are really better then others. Price too maybe, although some will fight me on that one.

--
http://www.camhabib.smugmug.com

Nikon's "L" lenses are generally designated with a gold band. In addition all are fixed aperture lenses f/2.8 or faster apart from four notable exceptions (current offerings) the 70-180 macro; 200 f/4 macro; 500 f/4; 600 f/4 and arguably three more: the 12-24 f/4 DX; 300 f/4; and the 80-400 VR.

Eric Gissendaner said:

Hello All,

I have searched for the answer for this one but I didn't find what
I wanted. Does Nikon have a designator for their high end glass
similar to the Canon "L" designation.

Thanks in advance.

--
Eric Gissendaner
Naples, Florida
Nikon D70
Nikon N80
Olympus C-3040Z

Click to expand...

--
http://imageevent.com/chadgladstone

....if Nikon would develop and market a "pro-series" of Nikkors.

Personally, I'd gladly pay the $20-$40 difference per lens (an estimate--maybe more maybe less) for pro-series lenses with metal lens bodies, metal filter threads and metal focusing helixes.

As it is, I think it's DISGRACEFUL that Nikkor is selling "pro-quality" lenses like the 12-24DX, 70-200VR, etc with hefty pricetags and plastic bodies and filter threads.

While I do applaud Nikon for their 5 year warranty as opposed to Canon's one year, the general consensus is that Canon and Nikon are now in a "race to the bottom" as they forsake build-quality for price point and market share.

I think Nikon is making a big mistake, perhaps forgetting that one of their strong points has always been the backwards compatibility and value retention of their lenses. Now, more and more DX and G lenses are in the line-up with no aperature ring and thus no backwards compatibility. I don't know about everyone else, but I sure wouldn't want to be trying to sell a used DX lens 8-10 years from now and hope to try and get even a fraction of it's original cost......

NP

--
http://www.pbase.com/nonprophet

Nonprophet said:

As it is, I think it's DISGRACEFUL that Nikkor is selling
"pro-quality" lenses like the 12-24DX, 70-200VR, etc with hefty
pricetags and plastic bodies and filter threads.

Click to expand...

Wow your the first person to complain about the 70-200vr. I can understand the hefty price tag has R&D and manufactoring these babies to exacting standards is not inexpensive.

As for the plastic bodies, well I'm not sure about that, a metal body on the 70-200vr may make that beast a little too heavy. Plastic is a light durable strong substance, while some light weight metals tend to flex and bend too much.

With the amount of technology that now goes into lenses I wonder if they ever will have the same shelf life as the older manual lenses had. In that regard I don't expect to get 10 or 20 years out of them. It may be sad but that I think is the future. The alternative is to use manual lenses or ones with less technology (that in of itself isn't a bad thing just a personal preference).

I agree with you that both Canon and Nikon are in a race for the bottem but can you blame them, they see a huge pool of potential customers that haven't bought a SLR because it used to be viewed as too hard or to expensive.

With the 17-55 getting rave reviews (for the most part) I think it shows that Nikon hasn't forgetton the higher end and will continue to develop quality pro lenses.

Regards
Mike

Nonprophet said:

I don't know about everyone else, but I
sure wouldn't want to be trying to sell a used DX lens 8-10 years
from now and hope to try and get even a fraction of it's original
cost......

Click to expand...

hahahahahahahah. This is crazy talk.

What other tool or electonic device do you use for 8-10 years straight and still has value? Name one thing. The only thing I can even think of is nikon lenses.

yunfat said:

hahahahahahahah. This is crazy talk.

What other tool or electonic device do you use for 8-10 years
straight and still has value? Name one thing. The only thing I can
even think of is nikon lenses.

Click to expand...

Ummm....a lens is not a "electronic device" IMHO.

But to answer your question: A Rolex, a car, a light meter, etc. If you buy quality to begin with, you should get many, many years of service. Equating camera lenses with say the obsolescence of computers is really silly! There are TONS of 15-20 year old Nikkor 80-200AFD's out there selling for more than 1/2 their original price--they have metal bodies and were known for their build quality.

NP

--
http://www.pbase.com/nonprophet

Thanks for the feedback guys. I did pick up a copy of the New Nikon Compendium. It has a wealth of knowledge about Nikon cameras and lenses. I also have found the lens reviews at Thom Hogans site to be helpful as well.

Right now my long zoom is the 70-300 4-5.6G. It's OK but I'm looking for better quality.

Any suggestions?
--
Eric Gissendaner
Naples, Florida
Nikon D70
Nikon N80
Olympus C-3040Z

Eric Gissendaner said:

Thanks for the feedback guys. I did pick up a copy of the New Nikon
Compendium. It has a wealth of knowledge about Nikon cameras and
lenses. I also have found the lens reviews at Thom Hogans site to
be helpful as well.

Right now my long zoom is the 70-300 4-5.6G. It's OK but I'm
looking for better quality.

Click to expand...

The 70-200 and a TC-14 will fill the bill quite nicely. There isn't a pro-quality Nikkor in the 70-300 range.

Don
--
St. Louis - USA
Pbase supporter
http://www.pbase.com/stl_don
'one of the main functions of a hobby is to provide a need to buy things'

there are even plastic mount low end "ED" lenses - low end plastic "AFS" lenses and Pro lenses with Neither (the 35-70 F2.8 for instance) .. Basically if it's metal bodied (or mainly metal construction, even if it's only inside - that 35-70 again for instance) and F2.8 aperture constant, you can class it as a "Pro" Zoom .. I'd class ALL the primes as Pro lenses, even the 50mm F1.8 despite build..

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Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist