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Nikon Reportedly Recipient of Two Red Dot Awards

So, via Imaging Resource is a press release from Nikon talking excitedly about it’s two Red Dot awards. The Red Dot awards are some design awards that take the idea of design pretty seriously, appearance, ease-of-use, the ease with which one can pick it up and figure it out, etc..

Anyway, Nikon apparently won some awards for the Coolpix S1000pj point-and-shoot with the LED projector, and for the D5000 entry-level DSLR. Not that I can verify this independently, since Red Dot’s site hasn’t updated with this year’s winners. It does look like this won’t be Nikon’s first time winning a Red Dot, the D3 won one last year.



Nikon Updates Firmware For D3x, D3, D700, D300s

Nikon issued a buncha new firmwares, apparently to support those new boffo 64GB cards that’re starting to trickle out (like this one, maybe?). Anyway, I found this news at DPReview, and they have it laid out the best for getting ahold of those, so rather than reinvent the wheel I’m just going to float them some traffic and send you there to grab those. Just to remember to come back to us when you need the cameras themselves, k?



It’s The Future: More DSLRs, IN SPACE!

nasa-d3sIt’s the future, people. How can I tell? I can tell because we keep sending cameras I can actually buy into space!

Firstly, I remember right after buying my Olympus E-3 (I call it “Leon”) that Olympus sent some E-3s and lenses into space in a joint effort with JAXA. They’re now part of a project on the international space station.

Then, some enterprising MIT students sent a Canon Powershot A470 into shallow space in a cooler. A friggin’ cooler!

And now, our very own NASA is upgrading it’s D2xs to Nikon’s new standard flagship, the D3s. Imaging Resource has a press release saying they’ve ordered 11 of’em. So take that, naysayers and fence-sitters, whether or not you feel the D3 was as big a refresh as you’d expected, it’s big enough to convince NASA. And they shot the moon with a rocket, so you know they need their toys to be tough.

Now, since it’s now the Future, where are my moving sidewalks? Come on already!



Canon’s New EOS-1D Mark IV Gets Real

eos-1d-mark-IVCanon this morning in the wee hours when I was decidedly not awake announced their newest pro body, the long-awaited EOS-1D Mark IV. It’s direct predecessor, the Mark III, had just been announced before I hired on here at Roberts, so the announcement of the Mark IV is something of a milestone for me, personally.

Now, getting past the sentimentals, here’s what you need to know:

1. The Mark IV continues the tradition of the 1D line in using an ASP-H sensor with a 1.3x crop factor. The full-frame chips remain a hallmark of the studio-oriented 1Ds line, and of course the 5D series. It’s up now to 16.1 megapixels, and keeps dual-processors (now the DIGIC IV models).

2. It has an all new 45-point autofocus system (39 of which become the more accurate cross-type points with an aperture of f2.8 or wider). Did we  mention it’s all new and reportedly exhaustively field tested?

3. Canon is showing a rare conservative streak, and the continuous shooting mode is throttled back to 10 frames per second (versus the blistering 14 of its predecessor).

4. 1080p video. Really, were you expecting them to leave this out after the 5D Mark II, Rebel T1i, and 7D all got it? If you were, shame on you. If you weren’t, ta-da! HD video for everybody!

5. Expanded ISO. The Mark IV sport an expanded ISO range of 100 – 102,400 (which seems somehow familiar)

Those seem to be the key points, a lot of it is the stock stuff you’d expect from a camera at this price point. It keeps the 3″ 920,000 dot LCD, build, 1/300s EX shutter sync, 100% viewfinder, you get the point. Continuing the trend started with the EOS 7D, Canon’s announced a new wireless file transmitter for this beastie (and one for the 5D Mark II, too), for those of you who dig sending photos straight to a computer.

I shouldn’t have to say Get On Our Wait List Today, but it looks like I just did.



Nikon Announces D3s Pro DSLR with 720P Video

d3sRight around two years ago Nikon shook up the camera business when it announced it’s first full-frame DSLR, the D3. Focusing on overall image quality and low-light performance instead of the then-popular (well, more so than now anyway) megapixel race, the D3 came out with a higher megapixel count then previous models, but nowhere near the count Canon and Sony were gearing towards. And it paid off, Nikon carved out a strong following of people who loved the low-light performance and the amazing speed the D3 offered.

Now, in 2009 Nikon is taking a less revolutionary tack, opting to revise and improve the already highly critically reviewed D3 with the new D3s. Introducing some reported tweaks to a new 12.1 megapixel sensor, sporting a boosted ISO range fro 100 to 102,400, a 720p HD video mode, and an increased buffer (now holding 48 raw files vs 18 in the D3), the D3s doesn’t tweak much else. The body design, LCD, and most of the specs remain as they were. But, put it to yourself, with how solid the D3 was at what it aimed to do, what else could you ask for but some intelligent revisions to an already stellar camera?



New Product: ThinkTank Airport Takeoff

Oooooh, rolling luggage and a back-pack...

Oooooh, rolling luggage and a back-pack...

The appropriately named Airport Takeoff from ThinkTank, another entry from in their newest line-up, serves double duty as your rolling luggage and hanging on your back like the three-thirty coffee itch. It’s suited for holding two professional sized DSLRs (You know, D3, 1D/s I-III) with or without lenses attached and a decent slab of glass in the order of a 300mm 2.8.



Why You Need To Photowalk

Pho­towalks = Sexy, Try and Deny It

Pho­towalks = Sexy, Try and Deny It

We didn’t see you out at the last photowalk (except you, Tony, we appreciated seeing you.) And you know what, you really missed out. Check out that shot above. Check out the shots below. We really want to see you out this coming Tuesday. Don’t worry if you don’t think you’re very good or you don’t have fancy equipment, we don’t care. You want help and advice? We’ll give it, gladly. It’s about a love for photography, no matter how you do it.

Thanks again to Erin and Jeff. Shots below from Nikon’s D3 and my trusty Olympus E-3.



Nikon Rocks Indy, Derek Shoots a D3, Pigs Nationwide Take Wing

photo by Dawn Boarman

photo by Dawn Boarman

So, as mentioned by the stalwart Mr Henry, the photo walk was great fun. Thanks go to Jeff and Erin for making it what it was. I spent the first half working with my normal tackle while Nick, at my recommendation, got some one-on-one love with the very sweet D700 and the (old/current) 70-200 VR. Then, near the end and at Jeff’s suggestion, I picked up the D3 that had remained strangely untouched and started running around with it and the 14-24, 24-70, and the 85mm f1.8.

The D3 was as impressive as I remember from the last time I got to handle one briefly, and the CH drive mode was so fast it took me a second to realize it wasn’t just a funny sounding shutter action but in fact three of them every time I pressed the button. Hair trigger on that beast.

Jeff was great to have out, he’s really quite knowledgable not only in specs but in methods, and he was very forthcoming with help and tips. And, afterwards at Rock Bottom, we were all (Dawn, Nick, Jeff and myself) talking it over, and we think maybe we haven’t been pointing out enough that these aren’t just photowalks for the guys and gals who know what they’re doing, that they are in fact learning experiences and that we’re out there to help you understand photography better. So, if you’ve been holding off on coming out because you’re not a ‘shooter’, stop it. Come on out and ask Nick and myself any questions you have, we’ll give you all the advice in our noggins in exchange for your company.



Nikon Annouces D300s, D3000, 70-200 f2.8 VR II,and 18-200mm VR II

Nikon today, as you may have already heard, announced the long-awaited D300s (for speed! Kinda like the new iPhone), the new entry-level D3000 (which looks to replace the aging D40/D60 series, spec-wise), and two hot lenses, the newest revision of Nikon’s AF-S 70-200mm VR (now the AF-S 70-200mm VR II), and a new 18-200mm.

D300s

D300s

Up front and center is the new DX semi-pro body, the D300s, which now of course sports HD video. It is, probably unsurprisingly given its name, very similar to a D300 in most other regards. Which isn’t bad. The D300 at introduction was an astounding, revolutionary camera and I don’t imagine adding 720p @ 24 fps is going to be detrimental to that legacy.

D3000

D3000

The D3000 is a bit of a curveball, apparently forgoing the movie mode of its other recent Nikon kin (although the specs table still lists AVI as a format, mind fixing that, Nikon?). It is fairly typical specs-wise, sporting just over 10 megapixels and 11 autofocus points. Lacking the swiveling screen of its big brother, the D5000, and movie mode, I feel pretty confident saying this slots into their entry level division, and is priced accordingly, coming out around $600 with the 18-55 VR lens.

AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

In a move many have been waiting for ever since the release of the D3 almost 2 years ago, Nikon has finally announced a revision to it’s 70-200mm 2.8 VR. Part of the holy trinity of pro zooms, the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II slots in with the other newer pro lenses to (we expect) create a line-up from 14 to 200mm with enhanced performance for the increasingly more-demanding sensors Nikon has been churning out (D3x, anybody?)

AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

And, lastly, the ever-popular consumer super-zoom, the 18-200mm VR, has been revised, and we’re expecting increased sharpness and overall optical performance out of this lens too. If its predecessor was any benchmark, this stands to be one of the hottest lenses Nikon currently offers.

As is the norm around here, these will all have wait-lists for them so we can handle requests in a rational manner. Call us up at 1-800-726-5544, ask for Mail-Order, and let us know which product you’d like. We’ll add you to our list, and once we start getting these in we’ll go through those lists in order, call you up, and if you still want/need it, we’ll do the sale then.



Glass LCD Screens

So, let’s start off-topic. I’ve been looking into buying a new MP3 player to replace my rather agéd Zen Xtra (a device roughly the size of an internal SATA drive it’s so old now). Not being a fan of the iPod culture, I’ve been doing my due dilligence on its practical competitor, the Zune, and I found the most amazing video ever.

It’s a guy talking about how he feels that for devices with glass screens, people are just wasting money on screen protectors. He then goes on to prove his point using the highly scientific approach of attacking the screen with various metal objects.

Now, to bring this around to topic. About halfway through I looked over at Nick, who had put down the game controller and was now watching the fun along with me, and said ‘you know, Nikon uses glass screens on their DSLRs.’ Which is true, I remember our rep making a big point about in in the D300 training, and the D700, D3, and D3x share that screen.

So, you Nikon pro users, watch below and understand why Nikon is so proud of the durability of that screen:

If anyone uses any other DSLR brand and can get me some documented proof they use glass LCDs (it’s quite possible, just no one else has gone out of their way to make it clear to me like Nikon did), I will more than gladly update this post.




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