NikonUSA is now (starting Monday May 30th) promoting a number of key DSLR lenses at strong discounts:
- 200-500mm f/5.6E — US$340 instant rebate reduces the price to US$1059. This is the budget zoom telephoto to own. Competent at all focal lengths, hand-holdable, and at this price, a bargain.
- 24-70mm f/2.8E — US$500 instant rebate reduces the price to US$1599. This was the best of the mid-range zooms Nikon made, though a little on the "big" side. At this price, everyone would have bought one when it first came out.
- 70-200mm f/2.8E — US$450 instant rebate reduces the price to US$1899. Sensing a theme? Nikon's put some of their best recent F-mount optics up with substantive discounts. If you're a DSLR user and don't have an f/2.8 telephoto, now's the time to pick one up.
- 500mm f/5.6E — US$300 instant rebate reduces the price to US$3299. This is a solid lens that, due to its fresnel lens, is short and light for the focal length. Very hand holdable. Both DSLR and mirrorless users have this lens in their kit for good reason: it's the best way to get to 500mm with high quality without breaking the bank (or your back).
- 14-24mm f/2.8G — US$400 instant rebate reduces the price to US$1399. This is a workhorse wide angle zoom that, once you get past the field curvature, can net you great wide angle images in low light.
Before people start hypothesizing that this is the end of the line for these lenses, consider that the yen/dollar relationship has tilted dramatically in the dollar's favor recently. That, coupled with the fact that Nikon probably would like to clear out some F-mount inventory they've been building up probably explains these deep discounts. Oh, and Nikon controls most of the parts in these lenses, and thus likely doesn't have the supply chain problems they have with some of their camera offerings.
Other than perhaps the 200-500mm, I don't expect these lenses to go away any time soon. The three f/2.8 lenses, for instance, really need to stick around to sell the FX DSLRs out through 2026 as Nikon expects. And the 500mm f/5.6E fills a role in both the F-mount and on an FTZ adapter on the Z-mount.
So, sales like this are a way of taking advantage of Nikon's short-term tactical shifts.
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