Two weeks ago I posted online a leaked Nikon USA press release about a new “I AM ADVANCING” program for Nikon DSLR owners where photographers will be able to download advanced firmware updates and add new functionality to their cameras. The official announcement was supposed to be on January 19th but it did not happen. Here are the reasons why I think the press release is legit:
- The leaked text was obviously received from an email with an IP address (66.11.133.41) that can be geo-traced to the Nikon office in Melville, NY. The email server is also listed as srvmailbox1.nikonimaging.net.
- The content and length of the press release is consistent with previous Nikon announcements. I seriously doubt that this was a hoax created by a prankster. Over the past 8 years I have seen many fake press releases and this is not one of them.
- The people quoted in the press release (Kazuyuki Kazami and Jay Vannatter) are real Nikon employees.
I think the press release was real and for some reasons Nikon decided not to publicly announce it or possibly delay it till the CP+ show in February. On Tuesday Nikon released the official D750 service advisory and maybe they thought that any other “positive” announcement on the same day will not be perceived well. We may never know, but I still believe we will see the new firmware program in the next few weeks.
