Hahahahaha. Got my hands on a pre-production model of the new Nikon 80mm - 400mm AS-S Nikkor f:4.5-5.6 G ED lens and ran out of the shop. The industry reps are at a meeting with one of our owners and this is my chance...
First, the studio pics of the lens itself. Note the new style of the barrel and the inclusion of a the 4 slider controls on the LHS of the lens. The bottom one is a lock to keep it from creeping open when you are transporting it. The barrel shape is a very elegant curve at the back there that leaves plenty of room for the fingers of your right hand.
The feel of the lens is very smooth and the results appear to be superb - the VR snaps in with authority and I was able to hand-hold all of the featured shots. It's a cool day out there with mild contrast and not a lot of atmospherics so we got a pretty neutral look at things.
The tripod foot is greatly redesigned in comparison to the previous model - much neater.
I cannot say how much this is going to cost, nor when we are going to have them in store. We'll announce it when we know.
