Dear all, I'll take a few minutes this morning to say a word about Tokyo Photo Expo that took place this weekend in Ikebukuro. In terms of Nikon related products: * I could play for a few seconds with the new 28-70 AF-S ED to be released in Japan on March 25th at the official price of 220.000 Yen (meaning it should be available around 180.000 Yen street price). The lens is really big, but just as nicely built as one would expect from the AF-S series lenses. Although it weights a good 935 gr. I thought the handling was very good. I was a little disappointed with the AF speed (the lens was mounted on a F100) that didn't really appear to be much faster than the 35-70 f2.8 I use with my F90X. This is of course just an impression, I didn't make any measurement, and I don't know how the freshness of the F100's batteries impacts the AF speed of AF-S lenses mounted on it. * Also displayed were the new Coolpix 950 and 700 to be released in March as well. They will feature a 2.1 million pixel CCD (the best resolution at the moment if I am well informed). It should be said though that the highest resolution that can be reached seems to be 1600*1200, the actual number of usable pixels is therefore "only" 1.920.000 (only one of these images will be savable on a 8MB card). The 950, that looks just like the Coolpix 900/910, has a 3X zoom built in (I am not sure about the focal length, 24-70 2.6-3.8, I can check if anyone is interested?). It will also be possible to buy fisheye and teleadapters to vary the focal length of the zoom (respectively from 7 to 20mm and from 120 to 240 mm approximately). The 950 will be able to use the SB28 to back up its built in flash. Its official price will be 125.000 Yen. No official release date was diplayed for the 700. * Also displayed was the mockup of the F100 with digital back. No information was available about it exact characteristics, release time and price. Chasseur d'Image stated recently that it would be available in September with a 2.5 million pixel CCD. * To add a word about fashion, I also saw the super AF-S tele lenses in their new light grey version, they look a bit like Canon lenses. I don't know what next season's color is gonna be… * I also played with the new Sigma 14mm f2.8 EX HSM. It seems to be a very nice lens, with reasonable image distortion (taking its focal length into consideration). Its street price is around 94.000 Yen in Tokyo. Once again, Chasseur d'Image has already tested that lens and gave it 4 stars (which they haven't given too often to Sigma products if I am right). Their new 17-35 f2.8 was also there but I didn't have the chance to put my hands on it. * I also played with the new Tokina 300 f2.8 AF. As the lens does not have a built in motor, it is of course not as fast as the Nikon AF-S, but its AF speed seemed pretty good on the F100. The 2 problems are of course the impossibility to keep the AF with Nikon teleadapters and the necessity to use 112 mm front lens filters. The official price of the lens is 360.000 Yen. I am not sure whether the lens can be used with a tripod collar of not. * The star of the show was probably the new Contax 645. Sorry for the long post and for the possible inaccuracy of the info, Best regards, Bernard .............................................................. Solvay Automotive Asia KK Sangenjaya - Horisho Bld. 1F, 12-39, Taishido 1-chome Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0004, Japan tel.: 81-3-5433-5561 fax: 81-3-5433-5562 ..............................................................
