Digital SLR Blog

Adobe Systems, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Nikon, Nik Software, Wacom and X-Rite have collaborated to organize a Creative Alliance Tour. The nine-city tour as been set up to provide creative professionals with a comprehensive insight into a complete digital workflow. The Creative Alliance Tour will begin in autumn 2009, with stops in the Netherlands, UK, Spain, France, Germany and Italy. For the exact dates and registration information please visit: http://www.thecreativealliancetour.com

Dev Hardware has reviewed the Nikon D700 and the publication found the DSLR extremely appealing. Apart from a comprehensive feature set and advance features like D-Lighting system, the camera also excelled when it came to image quality. The well thought out interface and controls won’t be daunting to an amateur photographer and the magnesium alloy body ensures that the camera remains protected from wear and tear.

The much-anticipated Nikon D5000 DSLR is already making its way to stores before its official release date. Flickr user Kadath has posted a number of unboxing and test shots of the D5000, which can be accessed here.

[Via Engadget ]

According to Amazon, the Nikon D5000 will ship on April 27th. Amazon is selling the DSLR for $849.95. The D5000 has a host of advance features including an articulating display and comes equipped with a 12.3-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor.
 

The newly announced Nikon D5000 DSLR is available on Amazon for pre-order. Amazon hasnn’t published the release date yet and is selling the DSLR for $849.95. You can order it from Amazon from here.

Camera Labs reviewed the Nikon COOLPIX P90 recently and liked the shooter for its build quality, its impressive 24x range with 26mm wide angle and on board manual controls. However the COOLPIX P90 wasn’t without its faults as the camera suffered from occasional image smearing and has a disappointing movie mode.

Excerpt from conclusion:
“In the face of such tough rivals, it’s hard to recommend the COOLPIX P90 over them. Don't get us wrong - it's a fairly decent camera with a number of unique capabilities which are reflected in our scores below, but in our view there are simply better super-zooms available right now.”

The new Nikon AF-S DX-NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED is an ultra-wide lens that offers a focal length of 10 to 24mm. The lens features silent Wave Motor (SWM) technology and FX-format shooters can also benefit from it , since Nikon’s FX-format cameras will automatically apply the DX-Crop Mode when shooting. The AF-S DX-NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED will retail for $899.95.

GeoSpatial Experts are now offering the GPS-enabled Nikon COOLPIX P6000 digital camera with their GPS-Photo Link Express software. All of the Nikon COOLPIX P6000 bundles offered by GeoSpatial Experts are priced below $1000 and for more information go to http://www.geospatialexperts.com/.

“The beauty of the Nikon COOLPIX P6000 bundle is that both the camera and GPS-Photo Link software are simple enough for anyone to use, but they each offer capabilities that will meet the diverse needs of business users and mapping professionals,” said Rick Bobbitt, President of GeoSpatial Experts.

The Nikon D90 Companion is the newest book in O'Reilly Media's Companion series. The book can be purchased for $24.99 and covers technical matters and exposure theory, composition theory, and how to find images and expand your visual sense.

Version 1.4.0 of Nikon Transfer is now available to both Mac and Windows users. Mac users need to go here to download and PC users here.



Modifications enabled with Ver. 1.4.0

- When the ‘Transfer new photos only’ checkbox in the Preferences panel of the Options dialog is checked and all image files displayed in the transfer queue have been transferred, the ‘Disconnect Automatically after transfer’, ‘Shut down computer automatically after transfer’ and ‘Quit Nikon transfer automatically after transfer’ operations are no longer performed, even if these options have been enabled.
- When ‘Date Transferred’ is selected with the Index pull down menu (between prefix and suffix) in the Folder Naming dialog, a checkbox called ‘Do not add trailing number’ is now displayed.  If the checkbox is not checked, a trailing number of the form of “YYYYMMDD_001” will be added as with previous versions.
- ‘Original name+New name’ and ‘New name+Original name’ options have been added to the prefix and suffix portions in the File Naming dialog.
- An ‘Add XMP/IPTC rating as my Picturetown favourites option has been added to the my Picturetown panel in the Options dialog.
- When ‘Verify my Picturetown account’ in the my Picturetown panel of the Options dialog is clicked, the total amount of storage used is now displayed as a percentage of the total capacity available.
 

The Tokina AT-X 16.5-135 DX , is a 16.5-135mm f/3.5-5.6 AF lens that has been designed keeping in mind the needs of DSLR cameras with APS-C sensors. Having a focal length of 16.5 - 135mm, the lens has a minimum aperture of F/22 and is available in both Nikon and Canon mounts.

Tamron has announced the SP AF60mm F/2.0 Di II LD (IF) MACRO 1:1 (Model G005), a life-size macro lens for digital SLR cameras with APS-C size image sensors. The lens will have a fast maximum aperture of F/2.0 and an equivalent angle of view of 93mm when converted to the 35mm format. The new life-size macro lens from Tamron is expected to be made available in mounts for Canon, Nikon (with built-in AF motor) and Sony.

The Nikon EDG Fieldscope Series is a new Nikon Sport Optics brand which feature dielectric high-reflective multilayer prism coating and uses Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass. The eyepieces are waterproofed with O-ring seals and nitrogen gas, allowing EDG Fieldscopes to be used in adverse weather conditions.


Key Features

• Nikon's ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass for chromatic aberration compensation
• Phase correction coated roof prism for high resolution
• Dielectric high-reflective multilayer prism coating on roof prism for the brightest view (straight models only)
• All lenses and prisms are multilayer-coated for the brightest images
• Bayonet mount with lock for EDG eyepieces
• Fog-free and waterproof up to 2 m for 10 min.—thanks to use of O-rings and nitrogen gas (water-resistant main body/eyepiece joint)
• New and stylish design
• Three tripod mount screw holes provided for flexible mounting position; optimum balance realized by CAE (Computer Aided Engineering)



[Via DC Views ]
 

Nikon UK has once again hiked up their prices and like before, blame the currency fluctuation and the weakening of the Sterling. The hike will affect Nikon’s Imaging and Optics products however the COOLPIX series and selected digital SLRs will not see an increase. An updated Recommended Retail Price (RRP) list will be available to view at http://www.nikon.co.uk from 1st March 2009.

The PocketWizard ControlTL  is the latest remote flash system on the block. The device features the MiniTT1™ Transmitter and FlexTT5™ Transceiver for Canon and Nikon cameras and both units can control single or multiple off-camera Canon E-TTLII or Nikon i-TTL flashes at speeds up to 8/fps. The device can also automatically adjust any change in ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Versions for Canon are available March 1st, Nikon in 2Q, 2009.
For more detailed information visit www.pocketwizard.com

Nik Software has announced a free online webinar that will offer tips on Capture NX 2. Presented by Tony Corbel, the Capture NX 2 webinar will take place on February 12th, 11:00 a.m. PST (2:00 p.m. EST). One can make their reservation at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/152815648.

The cutting-edge Nikon D3X was recently reviewed by Photo Review and as expected did extremely well in their tests. The DSLR’s viewfinder showed the full field of view and was quite accurate and image noise was hardly noticeable. Image performance didn’t disappoint either, as skin ones were beautifully rendered and contrast was “natural-looking”.

The newly announced AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G lens is the fastest DX-Format Lens till date. Offering a fixed focal length (which is also a first), the fast-aperture DX-format lens features an ultra-compact Silent Wave Motor for smooth and quite AF operation. The AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G lens should be available by March 2009 for an  estimated selling price of $199.95. For more information, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

Those looking to brush up their flash photography can check out the newest book from Rocky Nook, The Nikon Creative Lighting System (Rocky Nook, $34.95 USD). Author Mike Hagen, gives tips on setting up and using the newest Nikon iTTL flash units and specifically teaches how to use the SB-600, SB-800, and SB-900 strobes. You can order the book from Amazon.

The Nikon Fabre Photo EX is a portable stereoscopic microscope that can be mounted on Nikon DSLR systems. However one also requires a NAS-L1 camera attachment. The Fabre Photo EX lets one make observations of the microscopic world and also helps in taking high-definition photos. No word on pricing or availability.

[Via DC Views ]

At the Focus on Imaging photography show, Nikon will be showcasing its newly announced D3X DSLR. Nikon’s expert team will also be on hand throughout the event to answer any questions and visitors to the Nikon stand (D40, Hall 9) can also win a Nikon D90 camera kit.

Nikon’s seminar schedule will shortly be available on http://www.nikon.co.uk.

At the Focus on Imaging photography show, Nikon will be showcasing its newly announced D3X DSLR. Nikon’s expert team will also be on hand throughout the event to answer any questions and visitors to the Nikon stand (D40, Hall 9) can also win a Nikon D90 camera kit.

Nikon’s seminar schedule will shortly be available on http://www.nikon.co.uk.

The Nikon Coolpix L100 is the latest “prosumer” camera on the block. Touting a 10-megapixel resolution, the L100 has a 15x zoom NIKKOR lens that covers a wide-angle 28mm to super-telephoto 420mm (35mm-format equivalent). The L100’s Sports Continuous Mode allows up to 13 fps and other features include In-Camera Red-Eye Fix for beautiful portraits, D-Lighting for in-camera image enhancement, 15 Scene Modes, movies with sound, and Active Zoom, amongst others.

The newly announced Nikon Coolpix P90 has an impressive 24x wide angle optical zoom that offers the 35mm-equivalent of a 26mm wide-angle to a 624mm telephoto. Touting a 12.1 megapixel resolution, the P90 also has sensitivity up to ISO 6400 and features Nikon’s proprietary D-Lighting for optimizing contrast and Quick Retouch.

Olivier Giroux, the owner of the Mutable Conclusions 2.0 blog has  found a way to capture video from the Nikon D700 by utilizing the Live View feature. The video quality is 30% below 480p resolution however the feed travels over the wire at 100fp.

Firmware update 2.01 is also now available for the Nikon D3 DSLR. The upgrade makes it possible to view the Geodetic information in ViewNX Ver and also improves the continuous-servo AF performance.

Other improvements include:

- When the AF-ON button is pressed, the monitor turns off and a focus point can now be selected using the multi selector.
- Photo information displayed in full-frame playback has been modified as follows:
HI-, LO- has been changed to Hi, Lo
WARM TONE has been changed to WARM FILTER
COLOR CUSTOM has been changed to COLOR BALANCE
- Manamah, displayed in the Time zone options for the World time item in the setup menu, has been changed to Manama.
- An issue that, in extremely rare cases, resulted in noticeable black dots in images captured with Long exp. NR in the shooting menu set to On has been resolved.
- When the Speedlight SB-800 was mounted on the camera with flash mode set to Distance-priority manual (GN) mode, and then the exposure meters were reactivated or the camera was turned on, the distance information displayed on the SB-800 changed.  This issue has been resolved.
- An issue that, in some rare cases, caused images captured with the following lenses to be under-exposed, has been resolved.
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED (5.0x)

Windows Download
Mac Download

The newly releases firmware update 1.01 for the Nikon D700 makes the following improvements:

- When Custom Setting a4 Focus tracking with lock-on was set to Off in Continuous-servo AF, the lens drive moved gradually without achieving focus.  This issue has been resolved.
- When the Speedlight SB-800 was mounted on the camera with flash mode set to Distance-priority manual (GN) mode, and then the exposure meters were reactivated or the camera was turned on, the distance information displayed on the SB-800 changed.  This issue has been resolved.
- When the Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 was mounted on the camera and an EN-EL3e battery inserted in the camera but no batteries inserted in the MB-D10, and SB-900 flash mode set to TTL auto flash mode, the flash mode changed to A mode when the exposure meters turned off or were reactivated, or the camera was turned off or on.  This issue has been resolved.  (This issue has also been resolved with SB-900 firmware Ver. 5.02.

- An issue that, in extremely rare cases, resulted in noticeable black dots in images captured with Long exp. NR in the shooting menu set to On has been resolved.
- Manamah, displayed in the Time zone options for the World time item in the setup menu, has been changed to Manama.


Windows users can download the update from here and Mac users need to gohere.

The NKRemote 1.0 is a Windows based software from Breeze Systems that remotely controls Nikon DSLR cameras from a PC. KRemote 1.0 is the first full release of similar software for Nikon DSLR cameras and currently supports the Nikon D3, D700, D300, D90 and D200. NKRemote 1.0 is available from Breeze Systems’ website http://www.breezesys.com for  US $95.
 

The Nikon D3x, takes the lead on the DxOMark Sensor scale with a 6-point gain above all other camera bodies currently evaluated on the dxomark.com website. According to DxO Labs, the D3 achieves more than 12-bit depth of effective image information and hence takes full advantage of its 14-bit Analog/Digital (A/D) converter. Complete image quality data can be accessed by heading towards http://www.dxomark.com.

If you were planning to buy a Nikon product anytime soon in the UK then be prepared for a price hike. Due to “volatile exchange rate conditions”, Nikon UK has jacked up the prices of all Nikon products including the Nikon D300 (£1279.99), and the D3x (£5999.99).

[Via Photography Blog ]