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Nikon D300s, Nikon D3000 In Stock. Get’Em Quick.

d300s-inkySo, of course— our new server is still down and we can’t actually update our homepage (how about that classy ad that expired most of a month ago? lemme tell ya…) and we get a truckoad of Nikon’s new boys: the D300s (body only) and the D3000 kits.

The D300s is of course the highlight here, being the very well-reviewed and stalwart D300 but with HD video plopped in and support for SD and CF at the same time.

The D3000 is the newest in the entry level line, presumably taking the D60′s spot in the line-up. It comes as a kit with the 18-55mm VR lens.

If you’ve been saving your nickels and dimes for either of these, your time is now. We have them here, available, and ready to ship. Get those orders in before we run out.



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.



Coming Soon

So recently (yesterday) there was some concerns shooting around the camera world about the new Nikon D5000. More accurately the concern was with Nikon Digital Camera Batteries, Indianapolis and the rest of the country needed a clarification. If you have been keeping up with the news about the new D5000 Nikon you may have noticed that there is a new battery, the EN-EL9a. The question/concern was forward and backward compatibility. The Nikon Digital SLR cameras that used the original EN-EL9 batteries include the D40, the D40X and the D60. Along comes the announcement of the new vid on the block (yes the D5000 is going to be a more competent Nikon video camera too) and there in the fine print is the EN-EL9a battery. Will the new battery work in the older models, will the old batteries work in the new model.

The new D5000 with nifty swivel screen and so much more.

It’s the whole “You got peanut butter in my chocolate! No you got chocolate in my peanut butter! But what’s the answer? Will it work!
Luckily our Nikon representative was on site and we were able to persuade him to find out, because inquiring minds want to know. A call was made, a tech guru’s ego pampered and in a few minutes the definitive answer delivered.  Either battery will work in any of the cameras mentioned in this expose. The EN-EL9a is a higher storage capacity brother to the original EN-EL9 Nikon Digital Batteries. Whew! That’s a load off.

Next week we are going to call him about global warming, or the ever present  Coke vs. Pepsi debate.



Nikon D5000: What’s Up With It

D6000 (Body Only)

D6000 (Body Only)

Well, because Jody in his infinite brilliance managed to accidentally delete the first version of this post, here we go again:

There it is kiddies! The D5000! I’ve seen this bouncing around rumor town a bit, and it’s nice to see it’s true. For those not up with the jazz, it’s a slightly stripped down D90 with a smaller bod and a new and happening tilt/swivel LCD (which I love, and which brings the DSLR market up to 4 current models with it, 6 if you count the Sonys with tilting screens, 7 if you add the lonely E-330 down on our shelf that someone needs to take home.)

So, in the interest of public service, here’s a breakdown of the pertinent differences (also known as “why this isn’t going to kill the D90″), comparing the new and shiny D5000 to the D90:

Pros:

  • Tilt/swivel LCD
  • Smaller body (though not by much, apparently)
  • Lighter body (fairly notable, actually, 100g or so)

Cons:

  • Smaller LCD (2.7″ @ 230,00 vs the D90′s 3″ with 920,000 dots. BIG difference.)
  • No built-in AF motor. That’s right, the D5000 has the same lens compatibility issues as the D40-D60 bodies.
  • Smaller viewfinder (approx. 95% coverage at .78x magnification vs 96% coverage at .94x magnification.

Both bodies have 720 video at 24 FPS, 11 point auto-focus systems, 12.3 megapixel imagers, and play nicey-nice with the GP-1 GPS dongle. I’m taking it on faith they also have varied delete functions, which unfortunately my editor also does.

Click the picture above for more info. To get your hot little name on our waitlist email info@robertsimaging.com.



Camera Nomenclature Bothers Me

So, there’s a lot about camera naming that bothers me. What, you might ask, has me on this rant? Well, two things.

The other day we had a call asking about trading a Pentax K1000, and it took me a minute to remember that was a film body, I was mentally confusing it with the K1000D, a somewhat dated but still nice consumer DSLR. 1 letter in this case is a big difference.

And, just now, we had a call about a Rebel X. Yup, just “X”, which was of course before the age of digital also, going back to a time when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were popular the first time around. Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d get to use seriously.

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Industrial Design, Anyone Remember This?

http://robertsimaging.com/cmItemDetail.jsp?pid=12153So, month’s ago when the new Sony digital camera, the A900, was being introduced I wrote a blog where I started touching lightly on my love of industrial design and the different approaches to camera designs. I promised way back when I wrote that I promised I would discuss the that famous red triangle that adorns the grips of the Nikon digital SLR cameras.

So, let’s talk about automobiles. I’m sure everyone here has heard of the DeLorean (at the least everyone knows Doc Brown’s car in Back to the Future), and most probably know the Volkswagon Golf. These cars, as well as dozens of others (including many highly celebrated sports cars dating back to the 70s), have something in common with Nikons dating back to the F3. Namely, an Italian designer named Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Now, if you believe the internet (and for now we’ll assume it’s not lying to me too horribly), Giugiaro designed the first Golf, which used a red line around the grill and the headlights for emphasis. When he designed the F3 for Nikon, the brought that same simple concession to color to the world of black professional SLRs.

This line, once dated, would expand into the ellipse found vertically beside the grip on the F5 and the D1, and would with the D2 series condense into the red triangle that adorns so many cameras right now, including the D40, D60, D90, D300, D700, and the once-again Giugiaro-designed D3.

So, there we go, modern Nikon cameras come from a design heritage that also includes several iconic cars like Lotuses, BMWs, Alpha Romeos, Bugattis, Mustangs, and more. Addressing Nikon’s continued use of an element introduced back with the F3, Giugiaro said this:

“For the Nikon F3, I added a red line to the professional-use camera, which used to be entirely black. I sought to make that the hallmark of the Nikon F3 through a bit of graphic flair. In other words, I added a bit of fun to it. Fortunately, the company likes the addition of the red line. I am delighted that the company still uses it extensively to give a family feel to Nikon’s camera line.“

Next time, we’ll look at the history behind the current, sleek legacy of Canon digital SLR cameras, and continue my push into digital camera comparisons via industrial design.

Further reading on the Nikon designs can be found here and here.



Panasonic G1

Panasonic G1

These are getting ready to go up on our website,and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s the new Panasonic digital camera, called the G1, and it’s going to be awesome for everyone looking for something between a pro DSLR and a point and shoot. It’s small, smaller than my old E-410 Olympus digital camera and smaller than a Nikon D60, it can use the LCD for everything, just like a point and shoot (but still has a viewfinder, supposedly the best electronic one ever, for you SLR users), and it has very compact, light swappable lenses.

Oh yeah, and it has a 12 megapixel DSLR sensor. Ooh, and colors. Take better pictures and look better doing it. Win-win.



Niftiness Built In Continued

Last time I started talking about some of the innovations to be found in modern cameras that go beyond the megapixel race and the arguments about noise, and I’d like to share a few more of these innovative ideas I think we sometimes forget to give weight to.

4. Sony’s Rotating Control Panel. I’ll likely always consider this a Sony innovation, even though I know other cameras seem to use it too (the Nikon D60, for example.) This feature is a logical expansion of a feature most cameras have anyway, namely a rotation sensor. Many cameras, in playback, will automatically rotate the image so it’s always the right way, even if you hold the camera in portrait mode. Sonys just do this for the control panel as well. I gotta says, I wish Olympus digital cameras had this, it’s just a pain reading all my settings sideways every time I shoot in portrait.

5. Sony’s Battery Status. This one is definitely an award-winner for tiny little details, but it’s one I’m envious of. At the right are two low battery indicators, can you figure out which one is more useful? It’s a toughie, I know. It’s just such a great idea all around. Tell the user how much battery is left, inspired! I wonder if it’s a Sony patent thing, because the only problem I have with this is that it isn’t in every Canon digital SLR camera, Nikon digital SLR camera, Olympus, Pentax, or in general any digital camera that I pick up.

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Niftiness Built In

This is the age of feature-lust. Every forum I look on seems to be people bemoaning the absence (or in weird cases the inclusion) of various features which are apparently the Single Most Critical Feature in the World (at least until the next camera comes out with something new). And, if you ask me, the whole sensor noise debate and high ISO has started getting in the way of a lot of casual shooters getting out and getting shots they never would have gotten as little as ten years ago anyway. But, while composing over recording a picture is a post to itself (and one I’m likely to write sometime soon), what I’m trying to get to is instead a mini-summary of all the amazing little joys the digital age has given us which tend to get overlooked in the megapixel/sensor-size race.

Hyper-Program: Easy Quality1. Pentax’s Hyper-Program. Pentax is not exactly the first company to come to most people’s minds when talking cameras, but they certainly have some neat features the rest of the world is missing out on. Like Hyper-Program. It starts out like any other program mode, you select everything except aperture and shutter, the camera picks those. But, that’s where similarities end. Normal cameras have program shift, the Pentax can instead drop you out of P and into either aperture or shutter priority (so you get to decide how to shift the program line.) Push a button and you’re back in program, easy-peasy. And, it gets better: You can pick your program line. It can be normal old vanilla program, or you can pick a mode weighted towards hi-speed, high depth of field, or MTF (maximizing lens sharpness).

Super-Control Panel, My Old Friend2. Olympus’ Super Control Panel. Yes yes, we all know by now I’m biased on this one, but in my defense this feature is why I bought an Olympus digital camera for my first DSLR, and not the Alpha 100, D40, or Rebel XSi. Most cameras will show you your settings on the back LCD. Fewer of them will let you just hit the “OK” button and edit them right there on the spot. (DCResource has a wonderful animation of how this works, go here and scroll about halfway down the page). Coming from the rather-dated Canon AE-1 Program I used in college, the variety of advances present in even entry-level DSLRs was a bit dizzying, and being able to see the setting and change it right there seemed more intuitive than diving through menus for it.

3. Nikon’s In-Camera Processing. Many new Nikon digital cameras, including the new Nikon Coolpix cameras and the D60 and D90, have a wealth of software-driven in-camera editing features. These range from the pedestrian enabling or disabling of their D-Lighting curves to such wild-and-crazy gimmicks as star filters (those of you familiar with the Cokin filter system will remember these). The big write-off for these is that you can do all of this stuff on your computer. Sure, true, but sometimes I don’t want to wait that long, or need to show someone how the picture can be tweaked right there in the field. It’s still definitely something we, collectively as digital shooters, should appreciate more.(I’ll point you towards DPReview this time, look here under “Playback retouching” to see these processing options)

Alright, I know I can write some rather long posts, so I’ll stop there for now. I’ve got another of my (in)famous bokeh posts coming up next, then we’ll talk about more digital goodies and why we should appreciate them more.




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