Nikon Extending Supertelephoto Lens Product Line To 800mm

Nikon on Friday announced plans for an 800mm f5.6 supertelephoto lens, a product meant to close the gap between closest competitor Canon.

The lens will likely come with a premium, Canon’s EF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM lens currently costs $13,000. Nikon has yet to announce when its new lens will ship or the cost associated with procuring the high-end add-on.

While the average users probably doesn’t need a lens that costs over $10,000 the 800mm option is perfect for shooting wildlife images and other images that are taken from a distance with motion. Sports photographers, action photographers and other photo takers who capture images at far distances should also love the new supertelephoto lens.

The new Nikon 800 f5.6 supertelephoto lens will be shown off in September at the Photokina show in Cologne, Germany.

Nikon’s offerings now include 200-400mm zoom lens and supertelephoto models for 400mm, 500mm, and 600mm lenses. In comparison Canon offers 100-400mm lenses and supertelephoto models that include 400mm, 500mm, 600mm, and 800mm.

Canon isn’t sitting by idly as Nikon attempts to play catch up the company recently announced a 200-400mm model that has a built-in 1.4x extender that pushes the lens to 560mm. The new Canon model is not yet shipping.

Could you justify paying $13,000 for a super high-end lens?

In the meantime let the “mine is bigger than yours” jokes commence:

announcement! my one is bigger than yours. (lens envy) – #nikon 800mm f/5.6 announced #photography bit.ly/Okii5x

— Colin Toews (@ColinsPhotos) July 13, 2012