I just realized we got absolutely no leaked sample D700 shots, like we did with the D3… anyway, you’ll be happy to know that the D700 is capable of taking nice shots of hot chicks (but if you shoot them this close, you might have to have them shave first):
A little birdie sends the inside scoop on D700 pricing (directly from a page dump):
D700 D-SLR BODY
Description:
Supplied with:
- #25444 D700 Digital SLR Body;
- EN-EL3e Rechargeable Li-ion Battery;
- MH-18a Quick Charger;
- UC-E4 USB Cable;
- EG-D100 Video Cable;
- AN-D700 Strap;
- BM-9 LCD Monitor Cover;
- BF-1A Body Cap;
BS-1Accessory Shoe Cap;- Nikon Software Suite CD ROM
Product #: 25444
List Price: $3,260.00
MAP: $2,999.95 [ed: Minimum advertised price- if you want to sell for less, you have to do a 'click to see the price' deal]
So thankfully, despite the deplorable value of our dollar right now, we’re not going to set as badly soaked as or Euro buddies.
European English
French
(the rest, I’m sure you can figure out which Nikon site to go to)
As far as I can tell, there isn’t anything that we didn’t know about in the last few days, do we know the price in USD yet though? I’m kind of wondering where this fits relative to the D3. If it’s only about $1000 less, then its placement would appear to be as simply a smaller D3 with less battery (btw- which battery is it using? I’ll have to look).
With respect to the PC/E (tilt/shift but not at the same time) lenses, they were already previously announced, iirc.
The SB-900 is relatively new news and after a quick read of its specs, it looks like it’s about the same but detects FX vs DX, KNOWS if there’s a colored filter over the flash (!), talks to the body more, allows firmware to be upgraded via the body. I can’t tell yet if the menus are at all changed / made simpler or easier, I don’t see any called-out changes to the CLS, no RF, and wtf can’t I use a Nikon camera body battery for the flash? They appear to have made it more energy efficient so that it’ll recharge with 4 batteries in the time it took the SB-800 to recharge with 5, but with even a smaller body battery, we could have shot forever…
I guess we’ll have to wait for Photokina for primes (oh God, please? I’m starting to think this is hopeless… time for more Zeiss maybe) and the D3.
Nikon has updated their lense guide (thanks for everyone for pointing it out) and you can read about them all here:
PC Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/2.8D
85mm medium telephoto lens with tilt/shift mechanism and macro capability
• Wide tilting and shifting range (tilt: ±8.3°, shift: ±12.4mm)
• 1/2 life-size macro shooting capability (at 0.39m/1.3 ft.)
• ±90° lens revolving capability for versatile tilt/shift effects
PC-E NIKKOR 24mm f/3.5D ED
High-performance wideangle lens with Perspective Control
• Wide shifting and tilting range (shift: ±11.5mm; tilt: ±8.5°)
• ±90° lens revolving capability for versatile tilt/shift effects
• Maximum reproduction ratio of 1/2.7 (at 0.21m/0.75 ft.)
• Three ED glass elements, and three aspherical lenses
• Nano Crystal Coat reduces ghost and flare for clear images
• Nine-blade rounded diaphragm
• Auto aperture control with electromagnetic diaphragm (with D3 and D300)
PC-E Micro NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED
Normal lens with Perspective Control and macro capability
• Wide shifting and tilting range (shift: ±11.5mm; tilt: ±8.5°)
• ±90° lens revolving capability for versatile tilt/shift effects
• Maximum reproduction ratio of 1/2 (at 0.253m/0.83 ft.)
• ED glass element
• Nano Crystal Coat reduces ghost and flare for clear images
• Nine-blade rounded diaphragm
• Auto aperture control with electromagnetic diaphragm (with D3 and D300 )
They finally announced upgrade pricing for CaptureNX 2: $69.00 $109.95.
Is it even worth it? Leave a comment…
Right on time, it’s here!
You can download the American trial version here (and the manual).
Global versions can be downloaded here.
What’s new? Not sure yet, I’ll see what I can find and post it later.
Is it for sale yet? No clue, I can’t seem to find a “buy” or “upgrade” link, but I’m sure it’s somewhere.
“This is an ex-parrot!” “She’s dead, Jim.” (For my foreign friends who may be reading this via translation software, these are silly ways of saying something is dead.)
For a screenshot (in case it’s yanked), click here.
Well, discontinued in Australia, but we’ve seen items like this before. The 17-35mm was discontinued in Belgium, so I guess they tend to do this when their stock is depleted and they aren’t expecting any more shipments.
Please, please, please, let some wonderful primes be on their way!
Paul reminds me (can you tell I’m checking my email again?) that Nikon’s running some promo’s on consumer-grade lenses when you buy a D3, D300, D200, or F6.
Seems kind of odd to me because if you’re buying a D3, I’m betting you’re not too interested in a variable aperture 70-300mm, but I’ll leave that decision to you. I’m not going back to variable apertures for all the Ashton Kutcher’s in the world. What would I go back for, you ask? Kate Moss, definitely, sign me up. 18-19mm f/22-48 zoom, doesn’t accept filters? Yup, I’m ready to go.
There’s $150 off the 70-300mm VR until July 6th.
If you buy a D40, D60, or D80, you can get $100 off a 55-200mm f/4-5.6G, 55-200mm f/4-5.6G, or 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G.
In case anyone’s interested- Nikon’s apparently delighted to ship another Coolpix variation- the S52c:
It actually is pretty cool to have wifi integrated into the camera- I can’t see why it is that a $250 camera can have integrated wifi and we can’t get something like this built into the pro bodies. Most of the time, I want to send a couple of shots to a computer right away and worry about others later, I don’t need the full WT-4.
Also- does anyone want to tell me why I need the SU-4 to remotely control speedlights if a $250 camera can have integrated wifi? Why can’t get get wifi built into the pro bodies and get wireless radio communication with our speedlights via adhoc networking mode? Maybe Nikon could siphon off some of the money that would normally go to PocketWizard? Typical wifi latencies of 1-2ms would allow a sync of 1/500 - 1/1000th of a second if my calculation are correct.
Via PhotographyBay and Gizmodo-
Nikon is the owner of a US Patent Application Publication No. US 2008/0084484 (you can read the whole thing on uspto.gov - just do a search for the application number), which details an invention whereby a small display screen is visible through the optical viewfinder. The photographer can switch back and forth between the optical image and the digital display for a variety of purposes. According to the patent, one of the most prominent uses will be to enable a wide viewing angle when zoomed in tight on a subject.
Hopefully it doesn’t replace the optical image, but it looks like it does. I’d must rather have an overlay- show me the analog TTL image in the viewfinder and give me an digital overlay in areas so that I can see a real-time histogram get the areas where a channel’s blown out- basically like a live-view through the viewfinder.
Hey- remember when you had to mail your camera back to the manufacturer in order to get its software upgraded?
Yeah those days sucked, so thankfully, we can now just install new firmware every time someone pulls an “oopsie”- which is the technical term that Software Engineers use to describe situations like the recent problems involving corrupted images in high-speed burst mode using 14-bits.
Thankfully, Nikon was really responsive and offered a quick patch.
I haven’t been able to play with it yet, but no one seems to have seen corrupted images yet (it’s been out close to 24hours now).
–
Also- I’ve read (but not double-checked) that the “D3x” strings are no longer in there! Hmmmm
Roll it back, boys, it corrupts images, kudos to JayPike for spotting this.
It’s always sad when you have to do this, but it happens to the best of projects.
Let’s point out that you probably should never update your firmware early (give it a couple weeks at least), and always keep the older firmware versions on your drive in case you need to rollback- I presume this is possible on the D3, but I’ve never had to try…
Termination of D3 Digital-SLR Camera Firmware Ver. 1.10 Download
On April 15, 2008, an announcement was made on the Nikon website that the Ver. 1.10 firmware update for the D3 digital-SLR camera was available for download. However, it has been confirmed that when the following settings are applied with the updated firmware, image data may, in some rare cases, be corrupted. Therefore, we have terminated the firmware update download. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.
- Release mode: Continuous high speed (CH), or Continuous low speed (CL) with Custom Setting d2 set to 9 fps
- Image area: FX format (36×24) or 5:4 (30×24)
- Image quality: NEF (RAW) or NEF (RAW) + JPEG fine/normal/basic
- NEF (RAW) recording>NEF (RAW) bit depth: 14-bit *The issue related to NEF (RAW) recording>NEF (RAW) bit depth may occur regardless of the option selected for NEF (RAW) recording>Type (Lossless compressed, Compressed, or Uncompressed).
If you have downloaded the D3 Ver. 1.10 firmware update but have not yet updated the camera’s firmware, please do NOT perform the update. If you have already updated the D3 firmware, please do not shoot with the combination of settings indicated above. This issue does not occur with other combinations of camera settings (for example, when NEF (RAW) bit depth is set to 12-bit, or when shooting in continuous low speed (CL) release mode with Custom Setting d2 set to 8 fps or lower.)
The download version of the revised firmware update is expected to be available in late April. For more information regarding this matter, please contact Nikon Customer Support.
Again, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused. We hope that you will continue to choose Nikon for your photography needs.
Vignette Control
“Vignetting” is a drop in brightness at the edges of a photograph. Its effects vary from lens to lens and are most noticeable at maximum aperture. A [Vignette control] option has been added to the shooting menu to reduce vignetting for type G and D lenses (excluding DX, PC, AF 14 mm f/2.8D ED, AF Fisheye 16 mm f/2.8D, AF 20–35 mm f/2.8D, and AF 24–85 mm f/2.8–4D lenses). Choose from [High], [Normal] (the default setting), [Low], and [Off ].
Vignette Control
Depending on the scene, shooting conditions, and type of lens, TIFF and JPEG images may exhibit unevenness or variations in peripheral brightness, while Custom Picture Controls and Nikon Picture Controls that have been modifi ed from default settings may not produce the desired eff ect. Take test shots and view the results in the monitor. Vignette control does not apply to multiple exposures, DX-format images, or images created with [Image overlay]. The eff ects of vignette control can not be previewed in live view and are not visible when NEF (RAW) images are viewed in third-party software. Use ViewNX or Capture NX to view NEF (RAW) images created with vignette control.
The nikon site’s search isn’t so hot… you can find it all here.
Apparently, there’s new software all around today. So far it’s in Europe, Asia. Has not yet hit US as far as I can tell. No reports of problems from people who’ve updated.
Modifications enabled with upgrade of A and B firmware from Ver. 1.00
to Ver. 1.10:
* A Vignette control item has been added to the shooting menu.
For information regarding supported lenses, see the supplemental manual.* A Focus point brightness item has been added to the a6: Focus
point illumination setting in the Autofocus category of Custom Settings.* The Highlights playback display option has been moved from
Display mode > Basic photo info > Highlights in the playback menu to
Display mode > Detailed photo info > Highlights.* When shutter speed and/or aperture are locked with shooting in
live view mode, using the “L” (command lock) button, an “L” icon is
now displayed in the camera monitor.* The size and color of “Demo” displayed in the monitor with
playback, when No memory card in the Custom Settings is set to Enable
release, have been modified.* The range of settings available for ISO sensitivity settings >
ISO sensitivity auto control > Minimum shutter speed in the shooting
menu has been increased from 1/250 to 1/4000* When a compatible Speedlight or Wireless Speedlight Commander
is used, the AF assist illuminator now lights regardless of the focal
length.* When shooting in hand-held live view mode and the frame is
magnified prior to autofocusing, operation has been modified so that
display returns to the magnified display rather than full-frame display.* In some rare cases, the image area visible through the
viewfinder and the image area actually recorded differed when Image
area > Choose image area in the shooting menu was set to DX format
(24×16). This issue has been resolved.* In some rare cases, white balance was not accurately calculated
for images captured at a shutter speed of around 1/4s in P and A
exposure modes. This issue has been resolved.* When attempting to crop images at an aspect ratio of 4 : 3
using the Trim option in the retouch menu, the cropped image did not
have an accurate 4 : 3 aspect ratio. This issue has been resolved.
I’ve been awfully skeptical of the “Nano Crystal Coating” on the new lenses. Trademarked phrases like that slapped onto products just remind me of how stupid I think most marketing people are.
But, a week or so ago, I ran across this Nikon interview with an engineer who brought nano-coating to us.
The most interesting bit is the shot of coated glass next to uncoated glass- there’s an obviously huge difference. The problem, is though, that they who uncoated glass next to nano-coated glass and don’t show glass coated with the previous, non-nano coating.
So there’s a very large difference between coated and uncoated, but we don’t know how much a difference there is between nano and regular coatings. Because of this, I can’t totally shake the feeling that the marketeers are trying to something over on us.
I also can’t, for the life of me, see why I have to dig around to find articles like this.
If you’ve got a little 17 year old girl in you, then get set to put your panties in a bunch because Ashton Aston Kutcher (star of stupid MTV shows) has signed onto an advertising campaign for Nikon.
Yes, THAT is likely to get me to spend my money on the uninspired, me-too point-and-shoots.
Ashton Aston Kutcher- waytf better than, oh say, the way Nikon tries to sell the Euros:
The first rule of hack marketing-droids: put a sexy girl next to anything that isn’t otherwise worth looking at.
Nikkor.com is up (and accessible).
Seems that it was kind of strange- normally when a large company registers a domain- they immediately point it somewhere, like, oh…, maybe their main page?
When I saw the first post that pointed it out, I assumed it was a link-farm and not an official page until I checked the Whois info.
Then it sat around for a few days up, then down, then slashdot’d by cameras geeks like, um, me- I guess.
So what’s up there? Pros I’ve never heard of talking about their jobs and Nikon. I couldn’t find anything terribly exciting though.
I’d be much more interested in seeing amazing shots that we can take with Nikon and learning more about the technology.
(Man, I have GOT to shrink that logo!)
According to Nikon’s site, Nikon is launching a Nikkor.com site to review the 75th anniversary of the brand. It was supposed to open in March but got pushed, so I’m betting this isn’t April Fool’s.
Various dpReviewers are reporting that it’s up, it’s down, and when it’s up, it’s slow and serving up pro’s talking about Nikon.
Hopefully there’ll be something cool on it!
Nikon started a blog last month, I didn’t see it reported anywhere…
Damn, if they actually become more open, I may have to remove the “?” in my logo and slap a “!” in there!
