Well, it's finally HERE!!! Okay let me clarify. It's not actually on the shelves yet, but it has been listed on Adorama and B&H, so we can finally get a feel for the street price...

(drumroll...) $690.

Nearly seven hundred bucks? Ouch! Dang, Nikon, that is STEEP for an f/3.5-5.6, semi-plastic lens!

We can only hope that this means the one thing that would make up for the price tag- This must be one razor sharp lens!

I'm pretty hopeful, and here's why:

~ The Nikon 18-200 DX VR costs about the same. A lens with WAY less zoom that costs about the same has got to be better SOME how, and image quality is about all that CAN be different.

~ The Nikon 18-135 DX (non VR) costs a few hundred LESS than the 16-85, and is already extremely sharp, even wide open. The 16-85 adds VR, yes, but hopefully image quality is also improved...

~ The Canon 17-85 EF-S IS costs a few hundred less as well, and is again decently sharp. Yet again, the 16-85 is priced AS IF it were a nearly professional grade lens, so one can only assume that it excels.

All Nikon needs to do now is DELIVER! Normally I would be first in line for a piece of gear like this, but I spent WAY too much on gear last year so I'm going to try and keep the expenses down in 2008. But we'll find out soon enough! Rest assured I'll post again as soon as I see the first reports of image quality...

Take care,
=Matt=

I see it all the time. Someone posts a blog entry saying "oh my gosh oh my gosh, guess what just came in the mail! I just got my new... (insert your choice of $1000 lens or $2000 camera, etc. etc. here) ...It's so awesome, bwahahaha, I know you're all jealous! I rock!" Okay maybe most people aren't THAT over-the-top, but some are.

Or there's always people who IM you ten times telling you they just got their new toy, and how awesome it is, and the whole saga that was involved with acquiring the item...

Yes, people, today I'd like to talk to you about TACT. Some people may not care, of course, because after all it's THEIR blog, and "If you're jealous then that's YOUR fault, not mine!" But personally, I just know how annoyingly annoying it can be when people continually talk about how amazing their new piece of equipment is.

Maybe I'm a little more heavily subjected to it, because so many people come to me for recommendations and I try to give honest, useful, practical recommendations, with a little bit of THRIFT in mind. You don't need a Macbook Pro if you're just going to surf the web and take notes in class. You don't need an f/1.2 prime lens if you can barely put an f/3.5 kit zoom to good use. And even if you are going to use your computer for imaging, even if you do make pretty stellar images, if you're barely making ends meet then you're probably much better off with a standard Macbook, or an f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens...

Hmm, I didn't even realize I had THAT thought pattern in my head until I wrote it down. But I guess it's right, and what I'm trying to say is- If you're AWESOME at what you do, then it's a lot easier to NOT be annoyed when you brag about getting that 30" LCD monitor etc. etc. Whereas if you stink at what you do, yet go on and on about how the new equipment will help you make amazing images, then maybe it's time to adjust "focus"...

Of course, I must disclaim, there's still nothing wrong with being "average" at your hobby or whatever, and buying expensive toys. If you've earned your keep, if you've worked hard to make money, then by all means you deserve the reward of some expensive toys! As I like to say, money is for spending! Just be sure to consider others when you talk about your new stuff, try to be a little tactful.

I'm almost the opposite of this- I'm so busy that I let my new purchases pile up before I get around to mentioning them on my blog or to friends, it usually ends up being "oh by the way, I got the D300 last week..." or whatever. In fact I regularly get people who are like "What the heck? Since when did you get (insert gear purchased 2-3 months ago here)????"

Being too busy to brag is part of it indeed, but also I like to THINK that I use a little tact, and try to use the overall feel of my blog in general to emphasize the fact that it's not about the equipment, it's about the artist.

Thank you.
=Matt=