Nikon Announces New AF-S DX Nikkor 18-140mm Lens & Speedlight SB-300

Nikon has announced a new AF-S DX Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens for Nikon's DX-format DSLR cameras, as well as an SB-300, a compact and lightweight Speedlight.

The new 18-140mm lens offers approximately 7.8x optical zoom equivalent to 27-210mm in 35mm, and seems to be an update to the Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G lens which was introduced in 2000. The lens is constructed with one ED lens element and one aspherical lens element, and equipped with vibration reduction (VR) which Nikon says can compensate for camera shake at up to 4.0 stops. The lens also comes with a Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for fast and quiet auto-focusing.

The lens is expected to sell around US$600, and will not be bundled with any current Nikon DSLRs. Because of that, and the fact that the 18-135mm used to be bundled as a kit lens, the announcement has fueled speculation that the announcement of a matching body - like a D400 - will be made soon.

Besides the new lens, Nikon has also announced the SB-300, a compact and lightweight Speedlight which can be rotated up to 120° for bounce flash photography. The SB-300 works with both Nikon FX and DX DSLR cameras, as well as Coolpix compacts which support i-TTL flash control. It's expected to sell for around US$150.

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