Nikon Lenses Instant Rebates at Multiple Stores, $2097 Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII; $396.96 85mm f/1.8G and many others - B&H, Amazon, Adorama

For those interested in saving more buying off Amazon. Go buy the Amazon GC from Lucky's, Save Mart, FoodMaxx...$5 off $50 up to $500 per purchase plus you get .05 cents gas reward if you are a member. Not a bad deal if you're going to buy it anyway.

Great deal. Rare to see money off a few of these!

Quote from jdms2000 : aye, keep my 18-105 and primes or get a 24-70 or a 24-120 i'm shooting pictures of my kids 90% of the time and most of that is indoors.

24-70. the lower f-stop and clarity is much better. I personally do not like lens that physical move (forgot what it was called when barrel gets larger and smaller when you zoom) but i cant afford it

Really tempted to snag a 18-300mm for my D300.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-70-20...002JCSV8U?

The lowest price ever for Nikon's best telephoto zoom.

Original price is $2400.

Amazon is also offering 2% ($41) back as a promo code with all purchases.

yea, nikon just released instant rebates on alot of lenses due to bad financial report last qtr...price will last till March 2nd

Sorry guys, didn't open the other post about the Nikon rebates; usually those only apply to the general consumer lenses.

Quote from jdms2000 : aye, keep my 18-105 and primes or get a 24-70 or a 24-120 i'm shooting pictures of my kids 90% of the time and most of that is indoors.

24-70. Always go for the lower fstops.

Picked up the 70-200 bundle deal from Adorama and the 85 1.8G bundled with Lightroom 4 from B&H to complete my lens purchases. Great deals.

picked up a 18-300mm thats great
A real $300 saving on this lens it was $999 since it released
thanks

Ugh, I want to get the 24-70, but I'm saving for a house. Darn you Nikon!

Quote from EBOBO : http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-70-20...002JCSV8U? The lowest price ever for Nikon's best telephoto zoom. Original price is $2400. Amazon is also offering 2% ($41) back as a promo code with all purchases.

This lens keeps value like gold. I bought this lens 2 years ago when it was $300 cheaper plus another $300 off like this deal, now its price only gets higher.

Quote from akirasaga : yea, nikon just released instant rebates on alot of lenses due to bad financial report last qtr...price will last till March 2nd

Yes, Nikon's weak financials are definitely part of it. And those are partly due to the fact that since October, the yen has fallen against the dollar by more than 20%. So price cuts in the form of instant rebates are a natural thing, with Nikon stubbornly trying to fix prices through MAP.

http://www.indexmundi.com/xrates/...&days=5475

Only a couple of years ago one could buy the 70-200/2.8 VR II for about $2,100 from reputable dealers. But then the dollar plunged and Nikon enforced MAP pricing.

Going back another few years, the 24-70/2.8 could be bought for under $1,500 at B&H. Bing Cashbackers with stacked eBay coupons nailed them for $1,200 back then. Now it's $1,900 minus the $200 instant rebate.

Quote from dudezz : 24-70. the lower f-stop and clarity is much better. I personally do not like lens that physical move (forgot what it was called when barrel gets larger and smaller when you zoom) but i cant afford it

Actually, the 24-70/2.8 and 24-120/4 both change their physical length when zooming. The 24-70 actually gets longest when it's wide, then gets shorter, then lengthens (but not as much) as it zooms toward 70mm. However, its (big!) hood attaches to the fixed part of the lens, so the extending part moves back and forth inside the hood. So from the side, it doesn't appear to be extending. The 24-120/4 has the hood at the very end so it's much more noticeable, especially since the barrel extends significantly more.

http://www.photozone.de/nikon_ff/...2470_28_ff

http://www.photozone.de/nikon_ff/...4120f4vrff

Quote from jdms2000 : aye, keep my 18-105 and primes or get a 24-70 or a 24-120 i'm shooting pictures of my kids 90% of the time and most of that is indoors.

The 24-70/2.8 is spectacular. Focuses faster, is sharper, and it's f/2.8. But it's big and heavy and doesn't have VR (which doesn't help with moving subjects unless you're panning). The 24-120/4 is pretty sharp, has a more useful focal length, is relatively smaller and lighter, and has VR which is great for stationary objects (most will get 2-3 stops lower shutter speed and/or ISO with it, with decent handholding technique). But it isn't quite as good optically as the 24-70/2.8.

For kids indoors, I use flash too. Bounce it off walls or run it off-camera the Strobist way and make the lighting flattering rather than "bad flash shots." Usually better than trying to shoot at f/1.4 and getting only one eye in focus.