The 24-120mm AF-S VR and the 12-24mm DX lenses have begun arriving in stores throughout the world. As is usual with distribution of new Nikon products, today (6/2/03) you'll find them in the Asian markets (Japan, Hong Kong, etc.), by the end of the week we should see them in Europe, and the poor old US should see lenses in two to three weeks. Why do we get the raw end in the US? Partly due to the size of the market, the shipping methods used to deliver the huge quantity needed, and the requirement to sub-distribute so all stores receive initial shipments at the same time.
Software Updates and More
Photo Mechanic 4.0.2 now supports NEF browsing, though only using the image thumbnails, not by rendering the NEF. Fsoft has introduced a 24 Euro Photoshop plug-in for resizing, Resize Magic, that does indeed seem to do a better job on retaining detail on downsizing than Photoshop does.