The Nikon D3100 is Nikon’s latest offering to the consumer entry-level line and successor to the Nikon D3000. What’s particular exciting about this camera is that this is Nikon’s first full HD dSLR. Previous Nikon dSLRs including the professional D3s only do 720p so this is particularly exciting for those who use Nikon and like to do video with their dSLR. There’s also a nice little bump in resolution from 10.2 MP to 14.2 MP, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. A very simplified explanation, when more pixels are packed tightly together on the same size sensor, each pixel’s light gathering capability is diminished because the pixel size has to be reduced to fit more pixels on the sensor. That’s why the Nikon D3s (12 MP on a full-frame sensor) has such incredible low-light capability. Other added features is one more stop in the ISO range (12,800 versus 3200), Live View, a faster processor (EXPEED 2), and a HDMI port. MSRP price for the Nikon D3100 with 18-55 kit lens is $699.95 and available for pre-order at B&H here.

Our Recommendation: If you’re looking for an affordable, feature rich, easy to carry around camera for family vacations, day trips, photographing your children/family/friends/significant other, then we certainly recommend this camera for you.  The Nikon D3100′s small size and ability to use some 100+ Nikkor lenses make this a killer choice. With 1080p HD video, you can capture important memories such as your child’s first step or record a heart-felt message for your boyfriend/girlfriend to share on Facebook.

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G

For professional photographers and serious amateurs who use Nikon, this is probably the most important announcement of the four lenses. Many Nikon photographers have been waiting for a much needed update to the Nikon AF 85mm f/1.4D and it has finally arrived. The new Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G now has AF-S for faster focusing, loses the aperture ring, features the Nano Crystal Coat (eliminates lens reflection, ghosting, and flares), and has full-time manual focus. Like the previous 85mm f/1.4D, the 85mm f/1.4G also has a 9-blade diaphragm meaning that you can get nice circular bokeh as well as nice pretty sun-stars. This lens will work great on FX or DX Nikon bodies. The Nikon 85mm f/1.4G will be available on September 2, 2010 with a MSRP of $1,649.99.

Our Recommendation: If you don’t already have a 85mm, you definitely need one. The 85mm is a great focal length for portraits and well as limited telephoto shots. Also having fast glass means you can shoot in lower-light situations or you can isolate your subject from the background easily. A definite must buy in our book. If you already own the 85mm f/1.4D, you might find that you’re hard-pressed to upgrade given the cost, but the increase in focusing speed will certainly make up for the cost. If you’re just an amateur photographer, we recommend skipping this lens and getting the more affordable Nikon AF 85mm f/1.8D and save yourself ~$1,000+. The 85mm f/1.8D is definitely no slouch and will be more than plenty for many folks.

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR

One of types of lenses that Nikon has been lacking are pro-sumer/professional carry-around lenses. Canon has long offered a secondary professional line that combines the build quality and optics of the L lenses, but in a lighter and more portable package such as the 17-40mm f/4L, 24-105mm f/4L IS, and 70-200mm f/4L IS. Nikon has upped the ante and have started introducing this same line, first seen with the 16-35mm f/4 VR and now the 24-120mm f/4 VR; this is not to be confused with the consumer grade Nikon AF-S 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6ED-IF VR that was not very highly rated. This 24-120mm is all pro with Nikon’s latest 4-stop image stabilization and constant aperture of f/4 throughout the zoom range and works great on full-frame (FX) or crop-frames (DX). MSRP is $1,299.95.

Our Recommendation: If you’re type of photography doesn’t require photographing in low-light situations, save yourself the money and weight by buying this lens. In comparison to the Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, this lens only weighs 25 oz versus 31.75 oz, that’s quite a noticeable difference. So if you’re looking for a light-weight professional lens with wide-angle and reach, this is the lens for you. I can certainly see this lens being used in the studio where studio strobes are being used, on vacations, photoshoots outdoors with decent-to-plenty of light, and as a general carry-around lens. This lens will certainly become very popular and we recommend you pre-ordering one now or else you’ll be waiting a long time for it.

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 55-300mm f/4-5.6G ED VR DX

Not to leave the photographers who use DX bodies out in the cold, Nikon has released a new DX-only lens, the AF-S 55-300 f/4-5.6G ED VR DX. This lens also uses Nikon’s latest generation VR, 4-stop image stabilization. Weighing only 18.7 oz, this lens is light but has a lot of reach making this an ideal lens for traveling. At 55mm, you’ll still be able to do shots of couples and groups (provided you can stand back far enough) and with a reach of 300mm, you’ll be able to get some nice tight crops of landscapes and scenics. MSRP for this lens is $399.95 and available for pre-order on B&H here.

Our Recommendation: While this lens has a lot of nice range, it’s biggest draw back is the slower aperture meaning you’ll need more light to avoid getting blurry pictures. The good news is that many new Nikon bodies can go into the higher ISO range which means you can increase your ISO to get more light sensitivity to compensate for the slower aperture at the cost of noise. If you do a lot of traveling and looking for a single lens that will let you shoot far, this would be it. This lens will also work great for out-door well lit portraits. Otherwise, skip this lens. If you try to use this lens for, say, trying to capturing you son or daughter’s basketball game, you won’t be very happy with the performance.

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

Have a Nikon D700 or even a D3s and looking for a single lens solution for daily carry around, then this lens, the Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR might be for you. With it’s incredibly 11x zoom ratio, you can photograph groups and wide mountains and zoom into a bird in flight. What makes this lens stand-out from say the Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G is that this lens can be used on a full-frame camera whereas the 18-200mm is limited to DX bodies. This lens will work great for many purposes. Going on a day-trip and not quite sure what you want to shoot, grab this lens. Going trail hiking, grab this lens. Spend the day in San Francisco with your boyfriend/girlfriend/family, this is the lens. Vacationing? You can’t go wrong with this lens either. The only thing this lens won’t do well at is low-light shooting with fast moving subjects/objects.

Our Recommendation: I’m personally not a big fan of “super-zoom” lenses because you sacrifice a lot. For a “super-zoom” lens like this, you lose image quality, deal with higher distortion, slower aperture, and it also makes you a lazier photographer. That’s right, a lens like this will diminish the artistic quality of your images because instead of training your brain to look for different perspectives, you can just zoom into your subject or object. But if you’re looking for a “snap-shot” lens, a lens that you can just take pictures with, here it is. For only $1,049.95, you can’t beat the range you get. If I had a D700 or D3s, I guarantee you, it will never see this lens. Cameras of that professional quality would benefit from a better lens like the Nikon 24-120mm (above) and that is the lens I would recommend for you to get instead of this one. Photographer Bob Krist seems to like this lens. Read his review here.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

That’s where the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (get yours at B&H Photo Video) comes into play. It’s a very capable lens with very good sharpness, image stabilization, all at 1/3 the cost of the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (get yours at B&H Photo Video). So let’s see if it’s worth buying the Toyota Camry over the Lexus LS460.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

Pros:

• Image stabilization (at an affordable price also!)
• Very fast and precise auto focus because of Canon’s USM (ultrasonic motor) technology
• Acceptable sharpness
• Cost: ~$350-$400
• Light weight
• Excellent focal range
• Semi-decent macro capabilities (.19x magnification at 135mm)
• Minimum focusing distance (MFD) of 1.64 feet (0.5 m)

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM with optional hood

Cons:

• Slower aperture (f/3.5-5.6)
• First generation Image Stabilization
• Zoom creep
• Price indicative of build quality
• Strong barrel and pincushion distortion throughout
• Decent contrast and colors
• 6 blade aperture (doesn’t make for very nice sun stars)
• Lens hood not included
• Minimum focusing distance (MFD) of 1.64 feet (0.5 m)

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Pros:

• Constant f/4 aperture through the entire focal range
• 3 stop Image Stabilization
• Excellent build quality
• Razor sharp edge to edge
• Portable (compared to other L lenses)
• Has good wide angle
• Decent macro capabilities
• Excellent fast and quiet auto focus

Cons:

• Noticeable barrel and pincushion distortion
• Could use a bit more focal range
• Cost
• Heavier compared to the 28-135mm

Side-by-Side Comparison

For those of us who like the pretty side-by-side comparison charts of the Canon EF 28-135mm versus Canon 24-105mm:

Thoughts and Performances

Look how fragile the lens barrel looks

I’ve owned the 28-135mm for a number of months and it was a love/hate relationship to say the least. For the most part, the lens performed fine. It was usually soft, but on rare occasions, you can get some really sharp images from it. I’m generally accustomed to faster lenses, so the times I’ve had to use it in challenging conditions (low light), I’ve found it slow to acquire focus and track subjects (AI Servo). It’s definitely nice having image stabilization (IS) without paying a fortune for it, but it’s one of Canon’s first generation IS and you’ll find it not very smooth when it stabilizes; the image “jumps” into focus, a bit disarraying when you’re not expecting it. The build quality is decent, but I find myself having to worry about it more often than not such as is the barrel extending (zoom creep) when I’m walking around. There is also some barrel play unlike the 24-105mm where the barrel is not even fidgeting when fully extended to 105mm.

Used on a 1.6x crop body, the 28-135mm doesn’t have much of a wide angle to speak of (28mm x 1.6 = 44.8mm), but it does have some nice telephoto “reach” (135mm x 1.6 = 216mm) compared to the 24-105mm’s 168mm. I’ve found both the 28-135mm and 24-105mm work best on a full-frame body such as the 5D, 5D Mark II, 1Ds Mark II, and 1Ds Mark III; there is just a certain unexplainable quality, but YMMV.

The three big things to love with the 28-135mm is the low cost, the IS, and the focal range. Other than that, there isn’t much of anything else to love about the lens. This lens has one of the best focal ranges for an EF lens and comes in real handy when you need it.

Much of what I have to say about the 24-105mm, I’ve already detailed in my previous review post here, but I’ll repost here as a refresher.

In a nutshell, the 24-105mm easily blows away the 28-135mm in every regard including price. If you’ve never handled a L lens before, the 24-105mm is certainly a nice entry into the world of Luxury (and bankruptcy). Every piece of the lens is very solid built. When the barrel is full extended, there is absolutely no barrel play what-so-ever unlike the 28-135mm, where if you are not careful, you can snap the barrel apart. Another major element of the Canon L line is the constant aperture. Being able to use 24mm at f/4, 105mm at f/4, and everything else in between at f/4 is very, very nice.

Solidly built.

The 3-stop Image Stabilization is very smooth and well dampened so you don’t experience any pop-into-lock image as you do with the 28-135mm’s IS. Being able to focus closer by .16 inches may not seem like much, but you’ll find it quite useful.

I’ve found that both lenses excel for portrait work. The 24-105mm really shines in this area as it is deadly sharp wide open where the 28-135mm needs to be stopped down a stop or two to achieve some level of decent sharpness.

Recommendation

If you can afford it, get the 24-105mm, you won’t regret it with your very first photo shoot with it. It is currently my favorite and most used lens for many situations from just walking around or portrait photography. On the other hand, you can’t really go wrong with the 28-135mm. It’s an older lens designed for film cameras, but works just fine with Canon’s dSLRs. For under $400 with Image Stabilization, it’s a hard lens to pass over. Unlike other EF-S lenses that cost as much or more, the 28-135mm can be used on full-frame cameras whenever you chose to upgrade (and if you chose to). I would certainly recommend this lens to anyone shooting a Rebel series (XT, XTi, XSi, XS) or even the pro-sumer grade (20D, 30D, 40D, 50D). While not as wide as the 18-55mm kit lens or as much reach as the 55-200mm, the 28-135mm’s image quality is much better than both those lenses.

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Think Tank Photo, and was in the market for another bag that can hold my 15.4″ Apple MacBook Pro along with my Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II with a lens and various other equipment in a stylish, comfortable, and unassuming bag that doesn’t scream “steal me”. As luck would have it, the Think Tank Urban Disguise (UD) 60 fit the bill.

At $190 MSRP, the bag isn’t cheap, but it is certainly worth $190. Think Tank Photo designed this bag with detail in mind, from the very precise stitching, authentic leather on the handles, to the large over sized YKK zippers, everything oozes quality.

What I Like About The UD60

• Quality and detail in one package
• Stylish design that is very professional looking
• LOTS of pockets (and secret pockets) to put equipment such as flashes, Compact Flash cards, laptop charger, two pro SLRs, and etc.
• Over-sized zippers makes me confident that if I overstuffed the bag, it won’t burst at the seams
• Everything is well laid out and easy to access
• Very comfortable shoulder strap with extreme padding for additional comfort
• LOTS of dividers
• Can comfortable hold my 15.4″ MacBook Pro or a 17″ MacBook Pro
• Place to put documents and files
• Has a way to slip bag through luggage handles
• Can convert to an fugly looking backpack with the optional shoulder harness attachment
• Comes with the Pee Wee Pixel Pocket Rocket
• Has a raincover
• Has a swivel on the shoulder strap to keep the strap from tangling

What I Don’t Like About The UD60

To ever Yin, there is a Yang:

• Cannot pack a pro SLR with lens attached
• fugly looking backpack conversion
• shoulder strap is not as thick as I would like it to be
• Velcro dividers padding aren’t as thick as I would like (but then again, if they are too thick, you couldn’t fit as much equipment)

Conclusion

The Urban Disguise 60 is a great shoulder bag if you are looking for something to carry you laptop and photo equipment while looking cool doing it but not attracting enough attention to get mugged. My major gripe with the bag is that I can’t pack my 1Ds Mark II with a lens attached which doesn’t do much good if you need you camera in a ready-to-shoot state. But on the other hand, for the size and what you can carry, it’s quite amazing. I can pack both my 1D and 1Ds bodies with a Canon EOS 24-105mm /f4L IS USM, a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM (hood reversed), with a Canon 580EX II Speedlite, CP-E4, PocketWizard Plus II, Westcott 43″ double collapsible umbrella, 15.4″ MacBook Pro laptop, and so much more.

I highly recommend this bag as it has become my “daily commuter” bag. With the amount of equipment I carry on a daily basis, this bag ensures I have everything I need to do 90% of my photography work. One thing to note is that it will be almost impossible to find one bag (be it shoulder, sling, backpack, etc.) that fits all situations all the time. While this is my commuter bag, I also have a Pelican 1514 for when I need to bring more equipment for a different type of shoot or if I need the additional protection afforded by the solid Pelican cases. So yes, it is OK to own more than 2 3 4 camera bags.

View more pictures of the Urban Disguise 60 here.

2009-10-22 UPDATE: A testament to Think Tank Photo listening to it’s customers, check out the new Urban Disguise UD 70 Pro shoulder bag. Apparently it can now take a pro-size dSLR with 70-200mm attached! Very nice!

2009-11-26 UPDATE: Check out professional photographer Jeff Ascough’s blog thoughts on the Think Tank Urban Disguise 60 (UD 60) on his blog here.