Spot Cool Stuff once had a chance to go on a photo safari with a borrowed Nikon 600mm super telephoto lens. It was beauty in the form of glass and die-cast magnesium, that lens was. Even sub-par shots came out vibrant, with an edge-to-edge sharpness that made it look like you were standing right next to that bear, not in a Jeep 100 meters away.

(Sadly, purchasing the Nikon 600mm lens is out our, and most consumer’s, budget. Happily, you can rent it and other ultra high-end photography gear at Borrow Lenses.)

Now comes a lens that’s sure to please avid Nikon photographers (and avid voyeurs) who are not content with a mere 600mm of super telephoto-ness: the Nikon 800mm.

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Prices for Nikon lenses recently jumped in the United States by between 8% and 25%. That followed similar increases in Europe, Asia, Austrialia, Canada and, well, pretty much everywhere. Price increases hit especially hard at discounters such as Amazon and Adorama (which will ship worldwide).

Fortunately, the prices for the D60, D90, D300, D3 and D3x camera bodies did not increase. At least not yet. (See our review of the Nikon D80, D90 and D300 for a comparison of those cameras)

With the higher lens prices is more important than ever to shop smart. To that end here’s our review of the best—and best value—Nikon lenses:

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