Nikon is offering their customers a memory expansion buffer for the Nikon D3 DSLR. The buffer memory expansion increasesthe number of shots in a single burst of continuous shooting. Requests for Buffer Memory Expansion service will be accepted beginning July 30, 2008 and the service costs around $500.00. To submit your D3 for this enhancement, please view this link http://form.nikonimagesvcapprove.com and fill in the attached service document and for more info head over here.
Corrections:
# Images captured with "Rotate tall", in the playback menu, set to "On", are not automatically rotated for display immediately after capture (image review).
# The following changes and additions have been made to "f4: Assign FUNC.Button > FUNC. Button + dials" ; "f5: Assign preview button > Preview + command dials", and "f6: Assign AE-L / AF-L button > AE-L / AF-L + command dials" menus in Custom Settings:
* The "Choose image area" option has been separated into two options, "Choose image area (FX / DX / 5:4)" and "Choose image area (FX / DX)"
* A new "Shooting menu bank" option has been added.
After the last Nikon D3 firmware fiasco, Nikon is not taking any chances and has finally released a new firmware update for the D3. As expected the new update fixes the photo corruption problem, which was experienced by a number of Nikon users.
The following improvements have been made in version 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 1/250–1 s to 1/4000–1 s.
- 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 (24x16). This issue has been resolved.
While the new firmware update for the Nikon D3 may be causing havoc that doesn’t mean it’s not a great camera! The website Dpreview tested the DSLR and have posted an in-depth (32 pages ) review of the camera.
The DSLR impresses with its fantastic image quality and its versatile ISO 100-12,800 sensitivity range. The D3 is an extremely fast camera and boasts of a “superb” continuous mode. However The D3 lacks a dust removal system and the focus points were found to be concentrated in the center of the frame.
Conclusion:
"For a sports camera it's also a surprisingly good studio and landscape camera, and if there's a better DSLR out there for photojournalists and red carpet paps we've yet to meet it. Image quality (especially at higher ISOs) is stunning, the camera a joy to use and the speed and responsiveness breathtaking. “
Recently we reported how the new update for Nikon D3 causes image corruption and Nikon now confirms this. According to the statement Nikon admits that image data in “rare cases” may get “corrupted” and have hence “terminated the firmware update download.” Those who have downloaded the firmware are requested not to use the following combination:
• Release mode: Continuous high speed (CH), or Continuous low speed (CL) with Custom Setting d2 set to 9 fps
* 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).
Rob Galbraith is reporting that the newly released firmware v1.10 for the Nikon D3 causes photo corruption. This bug has been faced by a number of D3 users who report that their images suffer from a peculiar offset ghost image phenomenon. The corruption is in the JPEG, the NEF and the preview JPEG inside the NEF.
Nikon USA, Lexar and SanDisk have been notified by Galbraith and for now don’t hit the update button and download v1.10. Keep watching this space for more updates.
Nikon has released an update for its Capture NX, which now includes support for RAW images captured with the D3.The Capture NX 1.3.3 is available as a free downloads to registered users.
Capture NX 1.3.3
• Support for Raw images captured with the D3 (A and B firmware v1.10 and later) and the "Vignette Control" option enabled, has been added.
• New "Artist, Copyright and Vignette Control" items have been added to the Camera Settings palette. In addition, the categories displayed in the Camera Settings palette have been changed from "File / Shooting Info / Picture Control / Flash and GPS" to "File Info / Shooting Info / Picture Control and GPS". Items in each category have been modified.
• An issue that caused an error to occur with some systems when opening an image saved in TIFF format with LZW compression has been resolved.
• When a folder containing a Dust Off Reference photo was selected from the Dust Off Settings Palette, accessed from "1.Base Adjustments / Raw Adjustments / Dust Off" , for use with a Raw image captured with the D1x or D1H, an alert stating that "No Dust Off reference photo was present" would display and the Reference Photo could not be used. This issue has been resolved.
• When a white balance settings file, saved with "fine-tuning" of the "Calculate Automatically" option in the White Balance settings palette, accessed from "1. Base Adjustments / Raw Adjustments /White Balance," was applied to another image, the white balance settings were not reflected. This issue has been resolved.
The new version can be downloaded from the following links:
Hoodman has released a new LCD Hoodcap exclusively for the Nikon D3. The Nikon D3 LCD Hoodcap claims to be optically clear and has a scratch resistant coating to withstand daily wear and tear. The Nikon D3 LCD Hoodcap (H-CAPD3) is retailing for £22.99 including VAT in the UK.
DxO Labs has announced the addition of 10 new lenses to its library of lens correction modules for DxO Optics Pro v5. The addition of these lenses, designed specifically for the Nikon D3 and Nikon D300 digital SLR camera bodies makes the total number of lens correction modules available to DxO Optics Pro users to nearly 700.
For Nikon D3 DxO Optics Pro v5 software now offers lens correction modules for the AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED, and AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED lenses. Support for this camera body and these lenses are available only in the Elite version of DxO Optics Pro v5.
For Nikon D300 now there is support for AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED, the AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, the AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, the AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED, the AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED, AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED, and the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM. Support for this camera body and these lenses are available in both the Standard and the Elite editions of DxO Optics Pro v5.
The latest version of the DxO Optics Pro v5 now supports the new Nikon D3 camera body and an initial selection of lenses. Lens correction modules for three popular Nikkor lenses are available for the Nikon D3: the AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, the AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D and the AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED.
According to DxO Labs, the latest version now includes a new and improved RAW conversion engine, which has been with the rest of the software’s automated image enhancement features (optical corrections, color rendering, exposure optimization, highlight recovery, etc.)
DxO Optics Pro v5 is available in Standard and Elite versions at pricing unchanged from version 4.5:
DxO Optics Pro v5 Standard: € 124
DxO Optics Pro v5 Elite: € 249
The Nikon D3 is an of object of desire for many photography enthusiasts and for good reason. Darren Henderson from the website Luminous Landscape took the DSLR to a rock concert and tested how the camera performed under low light conditions.
Images from the D3 were found to be not the "most dynamic" though the camera did allow for greater amplification of the existing light levels when compared to the D2x. Under live music conditions the D3 was given 8.5 out of 10 as the camera was able to adjust to the changeable lighting conditions of the concert quite well.
Nikon has released new firmware updates for its D3 and D300 digital SLR cameras. The latest updates now include three optional Picture Controls, one for each of the three D2X/D2XS Color mode settings. Via the Picture Control option, color reproduction of images captured with the D2X and D2XS is possible.
Nikon over the weekend released the Capture NX 1.3 for Mac and Windows. The upgrade now supports RAW NEF images taken with the D3 and D300 and also includes support for Picture Control. RAW images can now be saved with lossless compression and the vignette control function, can now be used with JPEG- and TIFF- format images.
Nikon’s flagship DSLR is an object of desire for hard-core photography nuts (present company included). Nikon believes that the D3 bridges the gap between the prosumer and the consumer unfortunately not all of us can afford a $5,000 camera.
So what has Nikon included on the D3 to justify its rather exorbitant price? Well there is a 12.1 megapixel sensor that measures a sizeable 36 by 23.9 mm, a scene recognition system and a fully manual mode. For more details head over to the D3 product page
Nikon has released an update for its Capture NX, which now includes support for RAW images captured with the D3.The Capture NX 1.3.3 is available as a free downloads to registered users. 
Hoodman
The Nikon D3 is an of object of desire for many photography enthusiasts and for good reason. Darren Henderson from the website 
Nikon over the weekend released the Capture NX 1.3 for Mac and Windows. The upgrade now supports RAW NEF images taken with the D3 and D300 and also includes support for Picture Control. RAW images can now be saved with lossless compression and the vignette control function, can now be used with JPEG- and TIFF- format images. 
