Tokina announces 16-28mm F2.8 lens for Canon & Nikon

Pre-Photokina 2010: Nikon has introduced the AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G wide-angle fast prime lens. Offering a large f/1.4 aperture, the lens is made up of 10 elements in seven groups, including one aspherical glass element. It comes in a weather-sealed magnesium alloy body and incorporates the company's Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for quieter auto-focusing, along with Nano-Crystal coating to reduce flare. The lens will start shipping from November 19, 2010 at a retail price of £1699.99.

Voigtländer has announced the European price and availability of its Apo-Lanthar 90mm F3.5 SL II close focus lens in Canon, Nikon and Pentax mounts. Announced in February 2010, the lens is priced at €549 for all the three mounts. In the UK market it is priced at £487.62 for the Canon EF mount and £464.12 for the Nikon Ai-S and Pentax KA mounts. The lens has been redesigned with a smaller body while maintaining the same optical construction and 50cm minimum focusing distance of the previous, SL version.

PMA 2010: Lens maker Tokina is set to produce a 16-28mm F2.8 ultra wide angle zoom lens for full-frame DSLRs. The lens, called the SD 16-28 F2.8 (IF) FX is being shown in mockup form on the stand of US distributor THK at the PMA show in Anaheim, California. Specifications and availability are as yet unknown.

Nikon has released the AF-S Nikkor 24mm F/1.4G ED wide aperture prime lens for full-frame DSLRs. It features an anti-reflective Nano Crystal coating and both ED and aspherical lens elements to help minimize distortion and chromatic aberration. The lens comes in a weather-resistant body and includes a Silent Wave Motor for quieter autofocus operation.

Newly merged Kenko-Tokina has quietly launched the Tokina SD 17-35mm F4 AT-X PRO FX, a semi-fast wideangle zoom for full frame cameras. The company says the F4 maximum aperture makes it easier to produce a smaller lens with fewer aberrations, to sit alongside its 16-28mm F2.8 PRO. The lens features 'SD' glass that the company says offers similar properties to fluorite elements as well as its 'silent drive module' AF motor and high-precision AF position sensor for fast, accurate focusing. No details of pricing or availability are yet available from the company's distributors outside Japan.

Canon has announced the production of its 50 millionth EF lens. The specific lens was one of the newly released EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USMs. EF mount lens production started in 1987. In September 2009, Nikon announced the 50 millionth lens for its F mount, launched in 1959.

Sigma UK has announced its latest 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC ultra wide angle lens will be available soon in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts. Announced at PMA 2010, the lens is designed for APS-C cameras and offers a wide angle of view of 121 degrees. It will be available in all three mounts from the end of this month for a retail price of £799.99.

Five months after announcing its development, Tamron has said the SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD zoom lens will be available from the end of this month in Nikon F mount. Priced at $449 and working both on full-frame and APS-C digital SLRs, it is the company's first lens to feature an Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) autofocus motor, giving full-time manual focus override.