Nikon Rumors » Nikon D300s

Nikon D700 & D300s are now officially discontinued

[NR] admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:28:12 +0000

Nikon D700 and D300s are now officially listed as discontinued on Nikon's website.

The surprise here is the phase out of the D300s, because I have not received any reliable information about a potential replacement.

I believe the D700 will be available for sale for at least few more months after the D800 announcement.

Update: I was told that the Nikon D700 is no longer on display at the Nikon flagship store in Ginza.

Nikon D700, D300s and other products no longer shipping in Japan

[NR] admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:42:52 +0000

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Nikon Japan announced today that it has stopped shipments of the following products in Japan as a result of a new Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law:

Nikon D300s and D700
Wireless Transmitter WT-3
Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10, MB-D200, MB-D80
Battery Chamber Cover BL-3 (※ 2)
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL9

Overseas shipment of those products is not impacted. Nikon also mentioned that the following products are also not compatible with the new Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law but they will continue to sell them in Japan:

Nikon D3X and D3S
Wireless Transmitter WT-4
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL4a, EN-EL3e, EN-EL9a

DIY wireless tethering for Nikon D300s

[NR] admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 07:29:36 +0000

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This DIY wireless tethering for Nikon D300s was created by Jamie Carl.

"As you can see, I have it mounted inside my MB-D10 vertical grip. To do this I used my spare MS-D10 battery holder which holds 8xAA batteries. I then cut off the battery mounts from one side so that I could fit the Trulink device board inside but still be able to mount 4xAA batteries, which is what is required to power the Trulink board. I then modified the battery circuit by pulling out the top connector plate at the back of the battery holder and effectively cutting it in half. At the same time I cut off the top contacts so that the batteries would no longer supply power to the camera and become a completely independent circuit. I then soldered a wire to the remaining part of the back plate, ran it up the front to a switch, then soldered the last wire to the bottom contact plate to connect the positive.

Fitting in the Trulink board was probably the most tricky part. In the end I just drilled a hole for the antenna to stick through, then I grinded down the plastic around it so that it would sit flat and straight. I then had to use a washer as a spacer because I needed the antenna to screw in tight to hold the board in place. After that it was just a matter of wiring up the power and modifying the USB cable to the right length."

Nikon prices going up

[NR] admin — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:03:01 +0000

I received several reports that the prices of some Nikon equipment went up in the last few days. Few of the mentioned items are:

Nikon D300s body only (current prices: B&H $1529.95, Adorama $1599.00, Amazon $1449.00)
Nikon D700 body only (current prices: B&H 2699.95, Adorama $2599.00, Amazon $2399.95)
Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VRII lens (current prices: B&H: 2299.00, Adorama 2399.95, Amazon 2119.95)
Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 lens (current prices: B&H $1799.95, Adorama $1,829.95, Amazon $1,789.00)

Some of the reports came from outside the US. I would not be surprised if most of Nikon products go back to their MSRP. Expect also additional shortages in the next few months for some of the popular models that are produced in Japan.

Update: the new Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G is now in stock at Amazon for $1999 (sold by third party, original price was $1,699.95).

Nikon D300s slowly phasing out

[NR] admin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:33:58 +0000

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A follow up on this post from yesterday: Nikon Service Point Munchen is selling their Nikon D300s demo camera on eBay:

Nikon Service Point Munchen has been a good indicator of discontinued products in the past: when they sold their last D300 on eBay in 2009, the D300s was announced a month later.

Another German retailer lists the Nikon D300s as "geringe Stückzahl auf Lager" which means limited quantity in stock:

Nikon D300s orders no longer possible in Switzerland

[NR] admin — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:36:11 +0000

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The Swiss retailer Brack (in English) has listed the Nikon D300s as "keine nachbestellung möglich" which means "can not be ordered any longer":

A reader contacted the store directly and got the same response from the product manager. Brack is a large electronics reseller and they deliver to several different stores in Switzerland.

After the release of the D7000, the price of the D300s has fallen down to $1,449.00 for body only.

A quick giveaway (#5) while we are waiting

[NR] admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:39:23 +0000

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Update #2: the winner is Camille Miller.

Update: this giveaway is now closed. The winner will be picked shortly by the forum mods here.

You can win this Nikon D300s book by David Busch (bibliography | more info). The rules are simple - just leave a comment to this post. I will close all comments on the day Nikon makes its next announcement (probably Tuesday, February 9th @ midnight) and will randomly pick the winner. Of course I don’t believe in “US only” giveaways and I will ship this book anywhere in the world.

More giveaways are coming soon. Stay tuned!

Fine print: The contest is void where prohibited by law. All taxes are the responsibility of the winner. NikonRumors.com is not responsible for anything.

Four firmware updates from Nikon for D300s, D700, D3, D3x

[NR] admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:25:09 +0000

The main fixes/additions are improved white balance, support for 64 GB memory cards, some GPS changes.

Official Nikon D300s survey

[NR] admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:34:16 +0000

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credit: Nikon USA

Nikon just sent out a D300s survey (via email). It seems that this survey is not personalized and everyone can do it (at least in the US) - here is the link. There are a lot of questions about lenses.

Tell Nikon what you think!

And the winners of the Nikon D300s book are…

[NR] admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:14:04 +0000

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The winners of the Nikon D300s book by David Busch are: Michel Lamy and Ashley Quinn. Congratulations! To everybody else: there is more to come, soon. Stay tuned!

Nikon Rumors giveaway #3

[NR] admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:24:42 +0000

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This giveaway is now closed. I will announce the winners tomorrow. 596 comments total.

Since it is slow on Nikon rumors, I will start giving stuff away. Here is the first one:

Amazon just got in stock the new Nikon D300s book by David Busch (bibliography | more info on this book can be found oh his website here). I happened to have two signed copies (courtesy of David Busch himself) of that book to give away. The rules are simple - just leave a comment to this post. I will close all comments in 24 hours and will randomly pick two winners. Of course I don’t believe in “US only” giveaways and I will ship those books anywhere in the world.

Fine print: The contest is void where prohibited by law. If you are not old enough to be eligible to win a free photography book, go live someplace else. All taxes are the responsibility of the winner. NikonRumors.com is not responsible for anything.

Nikon D300s price drop

[NR] admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:26:22 +0000

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In the US the Nikon D300s now sells for $1,619.86 @Amazon; $1,599.95 @B&H and Adorama (add to cart to see final price).

Nikon D400 book post mortem

[NR] admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:08:20 +0000

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Remember the Nikon D400 book story from Germany by the author Michael Gradias? It was covered multiples times here on NikonRumors (post 1, post 2 and post 3). Well, this rumor was almost true (except the actual book name). The book is now available for pre-order on Amazon Germany under the name Nikon D300s with the same ISBN# 9783827244826 and from the same author:

If you need a Nikon D300s book in English, those are your options:

Nikon DSLR with video – the best thing since sliced bread?

[NR] admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:30:36 +0000

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This post contains videos taken with a Nikon DSLR - skip it if you don't care about this feature.

The latest Nikon D3s rumors (D3+video) triggered me to do this controversial post - I just wanted to give some example on how videographers are using the video feature from the latest Nikon DSLR cameras:

The movie "Gadget" claims to be the first shot with a Nikon DSLR (don't know happened to "Reverie"):

Heineken - Keep the Change Commercial (shot with Nikon D90):

Music video shot with the Nikon D90 (and some RED for the slo-mo):

A videographer shoots news reports with a Nikon D300s:

Chase Jarvis used the Nikon D300s in the his latest SanDisk Extreme Pro campaign:

Few more Nikon D90 movies:

HENKELL HOTEL (Nikon D90 D-movie) from Martin Crespo on Vimeo.

Trifonic/Musicvideo from viktorfokeev.com on Vimeo.

And the last video is from Nikon France (ad for the D300s, shot with the D300s):

I had few readers asked me about the mic on top of the Nikon D300s press-release pictures - it's the Rode Stereo Video On-Camera Microphone:

Update: a web series that is shot entirely on two Nikon D90.

And few more sent in by readers:

NYC Spring Day: Nikon D90 from Mike Kobal on Vimeo.

Nikon D300s movie recording issue (not confirmed)

[NR] admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:45:15 +0000

I received this tip anonymously - I have no idea if the described issue is real or not (my D300s is still on order). Please take this with a grain of salt until we get some real reports from the field:

D300s movie recording issue
Apparently D300s has few issues with movie recording. below is a Q&A written by Nikon to distributors.

Q1： During movie shooting, recording stopped before the count down display reached “00m 00s.” Does this indicate damage or a defect?
A1：We will need to inspect your camera. Please contact an authorized Nikon service representative.

Q2：Why does this issue occur?
A2：Movies may not be recorded when external microphone is used and free space on the memory card is running low.

Q3：Is there anything that can be done to prevent this from occurring?
A3：Yes.
Nikon service representatives will make adjustments to your camera.

Q4：What adjustments have been made?
A4：The length of movie-recording time displayed before shooting has been adjusted.

Q5：What changes can be expected when adjustments are made?
A5：With same free space on a memory card, the length of movie-recording time may decrease after the adjustments.

Q6：Under what conditions does this issue occur?
A6：We have confirmed that it may occur when movies are recorded at a frame size of 320 X 216 with external microphone.

Can someone confirm if such warning was sent from Nikon to distributors?

Nikon D300s in stock @ Calumet, Ritz

[NR] admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:24:22 +0000

Nikon D300s (both body only and the 18-200 kit) are now in stock @ Calumet

Ritz just got them in stock as well

Nikon D300s @ Best Buy today

[NR] admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:18:45 +0000

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A birdy told me that my local Best Buy will get the goodies today (Thursday, August 27th). The Nikon D300s and D3000 just came out of the box when I got there - they were still charging the batteries and I did not have a lot of time to change the settings - the videos were shot with whatever the default setting was right out of the box.

Nikon D300s and D3000 @ BestBuy:

This is how 7 fps looks/sounds like:

This is how the AF-On function works during video recording - basically you hit the AF-ON button during video recording and the camera autofocus automatically based on contrast-detect (a feature that the D90 doesn't have):

The jelly effect is still there:

Nikon D300s updates

[NR] admin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:38:17 +0000

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Those are the Nikon D300s reports I have been receiving in the past few days:

Nikon D300s digitutor is now online.
Amazon will start shipping the D300s body only on August 28th (Friday). No date is given for the body+lens combo.
Some Best Buy stores will be getting the Nikon D300s and the D3000 in stock tomorrow (Thursday).
Henrys.com (Canada) will start shipping the D300s on September 2nd (next Wednesday). Another report from Canada mentions the end of next week for all Canadian Nikon resellers (for more info on Canada availability click here).
South African suppliers already have the D300s in stock (Cape Town).
Few readers from Germany and Switzerland already have the D300s in their hands. Sample shots available here and here (fore more reviews hit the Nikon review section).
Nikon D300s video samples.
All Nikon D300s pre-order options.

New Nikon products availability in Canada (Nikon D300s, lenses, p&s cameras)

[NR] admin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:54:57 +0000

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This is the product availability for the latest Nikon products in Canada (this sheet was sent to retailers by Nikon Canada; prices in Canadian Dollars) - it is also good to know the dealer cost on those lenses:

Nikon pre-order options.

Nikon D300s starting to show up in stores

[NR] admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:09:39 +0000

A dpreview member from Germany had a chance to play with the Nikon D300s in a local Nikon dealer (no virtual horizon in the viewfinder?).

Electricpig has D300s unboxing pictures.

NPS Nikon D300s pre-orders will start shipping in the next few days (more pre-order option available here).

...and three new Nikon D300s videos after the break:

Videos via PhotographyBay