Nikon Sale - some new lowest ever prices

[Mark_Laidlaw]

$2800 for the 400 4.5 is pretty great. That's alot of lens for that price. Love mine to pieces.

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[C Conway]

Hi Dave, Thanks for notifying us about this sale. I purchased a used 100-400 lens from B&H four days ago. The sales price of a new 100-400 is now less than what I paid for my used one (item condition: 9). Ugh. I asked B&H if they would adjust the price of my used lens and am waiting to hear back. Thanks again!

 

[Steve Pumilia]

I see the 28-400 is also on sale. Have been thinking of picking that up for travel.

 

[MrFotoFool]

Hi Dave, Thanks for notifying us about this sale. I purchased a used 100-400 lens from B&H four days ago. The sales price of a new 100-400 is now less than what I paid for my used one (item condition: 9). Ugh. I asked B&H if they would adjust the price of my used lens and am waiting to hear back. Thanks again!

They might, but in the worst case you can just return the one you bought for a full refund and buy a new one.

 

[maxxus46]

PF lenses not selling well? I don't think this sale has anything to do with them not selling. The existing PF lenses are superb, and I highly doubt any Chinese manufacturer can create a knock off that would compete. Nikons PF lenses really are that good... I think it's more to do with Cash flow and the value of the dollar much like someone else noted here. But hey ..NOW is the time to buy the PF lenses! Those prices are at used levels

Maybe the PF lenses are not selling as well as they’d like. We’ve likely got a point where the majority moving to mirrorless have and already bought the lenses intended. My guess is the high priced primes sales have seriously slowed.

High price lenses like the PF are in a weird spot as the buyers of the “best” will probably go for the TC primes while the “good enough” crowd buy the 180-600 and stop there. The PF line is still really expensive for most camera buyers and the difference between the 180-600 and 600/400 is not night and day for a quality difference for normal people comparing. The average person looking at images from either probably can’t tell them apart.

I wonder just how big the pool of potential buyers for PF is given Nikons market share and the TC buyers who won’t bother with them and the 180-600 crowd who can’t becuase it’s a huge financial strain or won’t because they are just happy enough with that lens and can’t justify the price/performance difference.

 

[Dionigi Colombo]

I was hoping for a discount on D6 but nothing

 

[gnpToday]

BH sent an email, and well personally, I didn't expect Nikon to re-up their sale so quickly. And some lenses lower prices than ever before. A non-comprehensive list, but ones that could be of interest to the group:

100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 $2300 - $500 off - first big sale of this lens
400mm f/4.5 $2800 - $450 off
600mm f/6.3 $3800 - $1k off
600mm f/4 $14000 - $1500 off
800mm f/6.3 $5500 - $1k off

I didn't get the 600mm f/6.3 before...will I now?

If you buy be sure to use Steve's BH affliate link!
https://bhpho.to/461XgHx

Cheers!

@Dave Stargazer Curious where I can enter Steve’s BH affliate link (I can’t seem to find that option)….Thanks
I now suspect it is only available on certain products!

 

[Lee R]

PF lenses not selling well? I don't think this sale has anything to do with them not selling. The existing PF lenses are superb, and I highly doubt any Chinese manufacturer can create a knock off that would compete. Nikons PF lenses really are that good... I think it's more to do with Cash flow and the value of the dollar much like someone else noted here. But hey ..NOW is the time to buy the PF lenses! Those prices are at used levels

I think the PF's are fantastic but I doubt they sell in large numbers due to price. There's just a limited pool of people who spend 4-5k and up on a single lens. By lowering they'll get more bites for sure and I'm sure there's also lot of margin built into those lenses so they make good profits, sort of like large SUV's vs a sedan.

I wouldn't underestimate the Chinese company's. The PF's are made in China after all and they don't exactly do a good job keeping secrets with companies techniques in manufacturing that build things there. So no doubt Viltrox and others know *exactly* how Nikon builds the PF's and every spec about the lenses and every machine used in building them. They demonstrated what they're capable of with that 135mm 1.8 recently. I have zero doubt they can do the same for longer telephoto's and we'll see them in probably a year to five years. Also keep in mind DJI is an amazing company and they don't build knock off's in fact nobody seems to be able to compete with them. If they build lenses and full frame ILC cameras at mainstream prices the Japanese are really in for some serious competition. Just look at what they've done with cinema cameras and equipment.

No doubt as mentioned the end of year sales need a bump and they're trying to motivate buyers to hit those sales numbers, but that means they probably sold less than expected.

The 180-600 seems to never go on sale, I bet it's one of the best sellers they have.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I have little doubt the Chinese photo industry will catch up. But, IMHO they aren't there yet. I picked up a Viltrox 16 1.8 a while back. I was not impressed. No matter what I tried it was just soft - everywhere. Stopping down didn't help. Running the shutter up and down didn't help.

I finally got frustrated and mounted my Rokinon 20 1.8 on my FTZ adapter and found it was a lot sharper than the Viltrox. So, I decided to pass on the musical chairs hoping for a good copy and returned it for a refund. I'm pretty surprised (in a good way) with how good the Rokinon is. on my Z8.

 

[Lee R]

I have little doubt the Chinese photo industry will catch up. But, IMHO they aren't there yet. I picked up a Viltrox 16 1.8 a while back. I was not impressed. No matter what I tried it was just soft - everywhere. Stopping down didn't help. Running the shutter up and down didn't help.

I finally got frustrated and mounted my Rokinon 20 1.8 on my FTZ adapter and found it was a lot sharper than the Viltrox. So, I decided to pass on the musical chairs hoping for a good copy and returned it for a refund. I'm pretty surprised (in a good way) with how good the Rokinon is. on my Z8.

That's interesting because that lens was right up there when photography life tested it with the best. Henry Hudson praised it as a surprise as well.

Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Review - Page 3 of 6

A hands-on lab review of the Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8, a budget ultra-wide lens with surprising performance. See how it measures up.

photographylife.com

Maybe they have some duds in the mix.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

That's interesting because that lens was right up there when photography life tested it with the best. Henry Hudson praised it as a surprise as well.

Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Review - Page 3 of 6

A hands-on lab review of the Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8, a budget ultra-wide lens with surprising performance. See how it measures up.

photographylife.com

Maybe they have some duds in the mix.

It was those reviews, and a side conversation with Spencer Cox, that persuaded me to buy it. I'm sure every maker has off days. I wish I had not gotten one built on one of theirs. On the up side it pushed me to test the Rokinon and saved me $600.

 

[Lee R]

It was those reviews, and a side conversation with Spencer Cox, that persuaded me to buy it. I'm sure every maker has off days. I wish I had not gotten one built on one of theirs. On the up side it pushed me to test the Rokinon and saved me $600.

Isn't the Rokinon and the Viltrox around the same price of 500ish. I've been looking at that Viltrox instead of the 20mm 1.8. I still have the F mount 20 1.8.

I bought the Nikon 105mm Macro in Z recently and found it no sharper than my 2:1 Chinese TT artisan 100mm Macro, that really shocked me. I kept it for the focus stacking, VR and weather sealing but it's not any sharper. 1000 vs 300 dollar manual lens.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

For my use case, I can’t rationalize the cost of the Z model 20 1.8. I bought the Rokinon about 10 years ago. I don’t recall what I paid, but it wasn’t close to $500. The Viltrox is currently going for $580.

 

[Lee R]

For my use case, I can’t rationalize the cost of the Z model 20 1.8. I bought the Rokinon about 10 years ago. I don’t recall what I paid, but it wasn’t close to $500. The Viltrox is currently going for $580.

That's why I kept the 20 1.8G, still works fine. The Nikons sharper but I don't shoot astro or nightscapes often and it's not as wide as I like for landscapes most of the time. I use the 14-30 F4 a lot more since it's easy to travel with.

I have the 135 1.8 Plena and it's one of my favorite lenses, I love the images out of it. I am very curious how the Viltrox 135 1.8 stacks up against that lens. Right now it does very well against Sony's version, which I don't think is as good as the Plena. But it's $900 vs $2400.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

The test for the Viltrox 135 will be minimizing sample variation. Sounds like you’re in pretty good shape.

 

[Dave Stargazer]

@Dave Stargazer Curious where I can enter Steve’s BH affliate link (I can’t seem to find that option)….Thanks
I now suspect it is only available on certain products!

Hi Greg - I included the link for BH right below my call to use it - here it is:
https://bhpho.to/461XgHx

Just click on that link, then shop and drop whatever you want into your cart and buy it - Steve should get the "finder's fee"

But you can find all of Steve's affliate links etc. on the Donations page - it's Menu link at the top of this (and every) page.

My understanding of the way BH's affliate program (and Amazon's) work is that if you start shopping using an affliate link, whatever you buy [during that visit] gets credited to the affliate - even if you shop around for hrs. I hope that the affliate credit sticks when I add something to a wish list - it should, but it's impossible to know the internals of their system (which could change at any time anyway).

Cheers!

 

[marvf]

Since Nikon makes many of its lenses in China, could Nikon be worried about Trump tariffs boosting the price for these lenses in the US market, so better sell Chinese-manufactured Nikon lenses now while they can??
Time to stock up!

 

[marvf]

Here's the list (from Thom Hogan) of Chinese-manufactured Nikon lenses:

• 17-28mm f/2.8#
• 20mm f/1.8 S
• 24mm f/1.7 DX
• 24mm f/1.8 S
• 24-50mm f/4-6.3*
• 28-75mm f/2.8#
• 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
• 35mm f/1.8 S
• 50mm f/2.8 MC
• 70-180mm f/2.8#
• 85mm f/1.2 S
• 85mm f/1.8 S
• 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR
• 400mm f/4.5 VR S
• 600mm f/6.3 PF VR S
• 800mm f/6.3 PF VR S

 

[AlanB313]

How long will the sale last?

 

[Drew]

I have little doubt the Chinese photo industry will catch up. But, IMHO they aren't there yet. I picked up a Viltrox 16 1.8 a while back. I was not impressed. No matter what I tried it was just soft - everywhere. Stopping down didn't help. Running the shutter up and down didn't help.

I finally got frustrated and mounted my Rokinon 20 1.8 on my FTZ adapter and found it was a lot sharper than the Viltrox. So, I decided to pass on the musical chairs hoping for a good copy and returned it for a refund. I'm pretty surprised (in a good way) with how good the Rokinon is. on my Z8.

Must be your copy of the Viltrox lens that is soft, my copy is sharp. Been using it for Milky Way astrophotgraphy.

 

[fcotterill]

I think the PF's are fantastic but I doubt they sell in large numbers due to price. There's just a limited pool of people who spend 4-5k and up on a single lens. By lowering they'll get more bites for sure and I'm sure there's also lot of margin built into those lenses so they make good profits, sort of like large SUV's vs a sedan.

I wouldn't underestimate the Chinese company's.

Agree 100% NiSi eclipsed the lazy Lee Filters and have since included optics in their portfolio.
Thom Hogan's comments on Chinese optics

The Continuing Problem of APS-C | Cameras and Photography Explained | Thom Hogan

The coming problem for the Japanese camera companies: China sneaking past the APS-C door

www.bythom.com

The PF's are made in China after all and they don't exactly do a good job keeping secrets with companies techniques in manufacturing that build things there.

The technical challenges for a photography application is to achieve very high precision in the concentric rings at a microscale and build the machines to mass produce PF elements of basically faultless quality - within tight specifications.

Nikon's solution as to how it makes Phase Fresnel elements is classified. But it appears to involve precision molds using a proprietary polymer shaped from at least two types of optical resin. I'd also speculate Nikon's decades of experience and leading expertise in ultralithography (semiconductor etching etc) positions them to apply this technology in precision optics... Pure guess here, however.

So no doubt Viltrox and others know *exactly* how Nikon builds the PF's and every spec about the lenses and every machine used in building them.

Help me understand Nikkor Phase Fresnel elements (PF)

I have never owned or researched a Nikon PF lens. The rumored 600 PF lens has me interested in what that means now and for future lens development. The little research I have done seems to indicate PF allows smaller and lighter elements while maintaining quality. Since PF has only been around...

bcgforums.com

They demonstrated what they're capable of with that 135mm 1.8 recently. I have zero doubt they can do the same for longer telephoto's and we'll see them in probably a year to five years.

It will be a surprise if they succeed where Sigma and Canon have not

Also keep in mind DJI is an amazing company and they don't build knock off's in fact nobody seems to be able to compete with them. If they build lenses and full frame ILC cameras at mainstream prices the Japanese are really in for some serious competition. Just look at what they've done with cinema cameras and equipment.

DJI own Hasselblad, so interesting times are ahead!

No doubt as mentioned the end of year sales need a bump and they're trying to motivate buyers to hit those sales numbers, but that means they probably sold less than expected.

The 180-600 seems to never go on sale, I bet it's one of the best sellers they have.

Yet the 200-500 f5.6E was on Special fairly often.

 

[ElenaH]

That's weird. I looked at some of the sale prices on that website, and that's more or less what has been ongoing here since December or even earlier, without any interruption. Would Nikon be kinder to Europe, for a change?

There is an Nikon Action in Europe as well. I don't know from which country you are, I am from Austria. And I had been thinking for a long time about 600PF .. I have 180-600 and it is a brilliant lens! But when I was shooting bee-eaters with that lens I couldn't hold that lens too long ... So, I decided and already paid 3900€ for 600PF. It must come this week. So, my store (Hartlauer) obviously sold some pieces and now I need to wait a bit for my copy ;-) If you are a freelancer than you can also deduct value-added taxes.
The Action is prolongated until 27.01 (originally was until 13.01).

As for Viltrox - I had a look at 75/1.2 APS-C for my Z50 II but for my test the images have too cool colours and for me it looks like it lacks some resolution, there are too less details in lights and shadows.

The lenses have a lot of characteristics and sharpness is only one of them and often not the most important one. There is also a bokeh, 3D-look, representation of colours to name a few of visual characteristics (plus vignetting, coma, CA's .. etc what can be well corrected in post)

I have Sigma 135/1.8 and Zeiss 135/2. And when I took pictures of wild dogs under the tree at noon with Zeiss in a harsh light in Africa, I could still recover in LRC all details in shadows and highlights! And there was still space to move the LRC sliders! So, I could have recovered even more. The resolution (lines per inch) of Zeiss was just incredible and much better than of my other lenses (I tested it against Nikon Z 70-200 S, Tamron 70-200, Sigma 135/1.8) and I think, it helped to recover the information from the file.
The transition from sharp to unsharp was also very pleasing as was the bokeh.
Some lenses can have min.aperture f2 but can have better or more pleasing transition and bokeh than lenses with f1.8 or f1.4. It depends on geometry and kind of grass (Zeiss uses lead, for example)

Nikon's Plena (I don't have it) probably has more saturated colours than Sigma 135/1.8 because Nikon lenses usually provide more vivid colours than Sigmas and Tamrons.
But Sigmas have very nice circled bokeh and they are sharp. So is 135/1.8 - sharp, nice bokeh, nice skin colours but I couldn't recover any details in lights and shadows.

I am afraid that Viltrox will not provide the colours I'd like to have and in my opinion better to save some money and buy the best, what you like, what you need for your photography, for your goals and what will bring you a lot of joy. Perhaps, my new 600PF will not have such vivid colours like 180-600 (because of PF elements) but I will get every bird in flight!! And I will carry it with me everywhere becasue it is light. And shoot and shoot. So, it will bring me a lot of joy and fun. This is why I made this decision.

If I'd decide between Viltrox and Plena than I would prefer Plena... What for sense to pay less and never use it? Or to be not satisfied, not happy?

To take decisions I always go to Flickr. There are groups according to the lenses. So to say almost every lens have its own group and you can have a look at pictures of other photographers taking with a lens you consider to buy. For example, there is also a group for Viltrox 135/1.8 but for E-Mount. I assume, the construction for Z will not differ too much, but there will be a Z-mount. So, you can have a look at pictures taken with that lens and than find a group for Plena and have a look at pictures and so on ...

 

[Unscript]

There is an Nikon Action in Europe as well. I don't know from which country you are, I am from Austria. And I had been thinking for a long time about 600PF .. I have 180-600 and it is a brilliant lens! But when I was shooting bee-eaters with that lens I couldn't hold that lens too long ... So, I decided and already paid 3900€ for 600PF. It must come this week. So, my store (Hartlauer) obviously sold some pieces and now I need to wait a bit for my copy ;-) If you are a freelancer than you can also deduct value-added taxes.
The Action is prolongated until 27.01 (originally was until 13.01).

What I meant is that their winter discount seemed to have been maintained in Europe since the end of fall, unless it recently changed for some of the lenses. I've only watched a couple of them now and then.

The taxes still make it more expensive, though (I can't deduct them).

About Viltrox, it would take a lot before I start consciously buying Chinese products.

 

[Mark_Laidlaw]

Since Nikon makes many of its lenses in China, could Nikon be worried about Trump tariffs boosting the price for these lenses in the US market, so better sell Chinese-manufactured Nikon lenses now while they can??
Time to stock up!

This is a big reason why I picked up an 800PF this year. Found one on Nikon Refurb for $4700, which I thought was a pretty good deal.

 

[Whiskeyman]

Without going overtly political, we’re looking down the barrel of some potentially significant tariffs on imported goods. Lots of consumers are trying to front load major purchases and manufacturers appear to be trying to move inventory.

So, are you implying that increased demand would cause prices to go down?

I'm thinking that demand is actually down, or that supply has overcorrected from the recent past and is very high. When I last visited the nearest B&M camera store, their inventory was higher than I've seen it for a very long time. Across all brands, for both cameras and lenses.