Nikon D3100 and Four New Lenses. Pictures!

By Mike Zawadzki, Technical Consultant

Wow lots of news has been developing over last few hours.  Well it makes sense, Nikon is expected to have a press conference on August 19th.  Earlier this week photos were leaked of the Canon EOS 60D, which is expected to be announced later this month as well.  Nikonrumors.com has posted scans from a German Photography magazine with pictures of the D3100 and four new lenses.  

The Four Newest Nikon Lenses
Photo Credit: Nikonrumors.com

The lenses are what I expected:

1. AF-S 85mm f/1.4G N (As I predicted, no VR)
2. AF-S 55-300mm f/4-5.6G DX VR
3. AF-S 28-300 f/3.5-5.6G VR
4. AF-S 24-120 f/4G N VR

The only lens missing from earlier rumors is a new AF-S 200mm f/2G N VRII lens, which will probably end up being announced in September.  Everything else looks to be spot on and matches up with the 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR being discontinued in Japan late last night/early today (EST).  

The Soon to be released D3100
Photo Credit: Nikonrumors.com

Here are the specs on the D3100:

-14.2 MP CMOS Sensor
-Faster Live View AF
-3" LCD
-100 – 12800 ISO
-11 AF points
-1080p HD video
-New EXPEED2 processor

This is pretty much spot on with what I expected and what most rumors indicated.  However what surprised me is the new EXPEED2 processor.  This means all new Nikon DSLRs will have the new processor.  This means lower noise levels!  The new, more powerful EXPEED2 will probably aid in AF speed, and video functionality as well.  What still confuses me is the name!  D3100 suggests that this camera is a replacement for the D3000, however the specs on the camera beat out the current D5000, so to me D7000 would have made more sense.  Looks like an impressive entry level that should compete heavily with the Canon t2i.  I will be watching all photo rumors closely leading up to Photokina.  Stay tuned...