Nikon have just announced the launch of the D300s, the successor to the number one selling D300. Aimed at the prosumer, the D300s will be the flagship DX body for Nikon ahead of the D90.

The most striking addition is the ability to record HD video. As I’ve discussed before, I’m not a fan of video on DSLRs so this isn’t a big point for me. Dual memory card slots is useful though – that was one of the features from the D3 that I would have loved on the D700. Apart from this the only other headline grabber is a new Quiet Shutter mode, which locks the mirror up for a while when you take the shot. I’ve never considered Nikon shutters to be noisy in the first place but this will be useful for wedding or nature photographers at those critical moments.

The only update I can see on the new 18-200mm DX VR lens is a focus lock button – the VR side of things hasn’t been changed. The original version is still a cracking lens and in my opinion should be in the arsenal of all Nikon DX users.

Nikon have also announced an update to the popular (and my favourite) 70-200 AF-S VR lens. Some criticism was levelled at the first version mentioning soft corners; personally I’ve never experienced this to any great degree. This new version is optimised for FX users (D700, D3, D3X) and the VR is boosted too – it’s going to be a wonderful lens, but I’m not upgrading yet.

Details of all the new gear is on the Nikon website.