Nikon patent for ON/OFF optical low-pass filter (OLPF)

By [NR] admin | Published: May 21, 2011

Nikon filed a patent application in Japan (2011-97288) for an optical low-pass filter OLPF (aka as anti-aliasing filter) that can be turned ON or OFF depending on the need of the photographer:

“The imaging device by the invention according to claim 1 receives object light via a photographing optical system, The low pass filter component which is arranged in the optical path between the imaging means which outputs image data, and a photographing optical system and an imaging means, and contains the birefringence optical member of a couple.”

"The figure showing the important section composition of the electronic camera by an embodiment of the invention"

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Posted in Nikon Patents| 43 Comments

Speed Magny: “The Instant Nikon F camera”

By [NR] admin | Published: May 20, 2011

In addition to the Kodak DCS100 digital back, here is another way you can get “instant results” from an old Nikon film camera: the Speed Magny 100 Back can turn your Nikon F into a instant Polaroid machine. KEHblog has a detailed description and they even have two pieces in stock (price: $225–$235):

“The Speed Magny back attaches like, and in place of, the regular back. The accessory comes down from under the camera and takes instant pack films like Polaroid 107 and 108. The device takes the light and image coming through the lens and basically bounces it around a series of lenses and mirrors inside the unit and then magnifies and projects it, creating a full-frame pull-apart image (3.25 x 4.25”) instead of a “small format” 35mm image on the film.”

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Posted in Other Nikon stuff| 45 Comments

The history of Nikon’s first digital camera (QV-1000C)

By [NR] admin | Published: May 19, 2011

NikonWeb has another excellent article on the history of the first Nikon digital camera (the QV-1000C) with many interesting stories, including this one from Kenji Toyoda (the planning manager in charge of the QV-1000C):

“It was in 1988. Just before my visit to Photokina, I talked with a chief editor of a Japanese photographic magazine, a friend of mine, and made a secret plan that I would take pictures of Photokina exhibition with the QV-1000C and immediately transmit them to Japan to put them on his magazine with my brief report.

But when I arrived at Cologne, I was told we are prohibited from transmitting any pictures with QV-1010T because we had not got the certification of German regulation for communication equipments.

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Posted in Other Nikon stuff| 69 Comments

Nikon Japan announced the release date of the Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G lens

By [NR] admin | Published: May 19, 2011

Nikon Japan announced the release date of the new Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G lens as June 2nd, 2011. The US press release indicated a release date of June 16, 2011. Maybe this time the shipments will start earlier than previously expected. See all available pre-order options here.

Posted in Nikon Lenses| Tagged | 72 Comments

Interesting Nikon lens patents (incl. 10mm f/4 FX lens)

By [NR] admin | Published: May 18, 2011

Three interesting lens patent applications were just published. The first one 20110109974 is for a 10mm f/4 full frame lens:

  • Example 1 is for a 17 mm f/4. Interestingly the image height is 33mm. This makes sense for a tilt-shift with +-12 mm of shift:

F0 = 17.11 FNO = 4.08 .omega. = 63.03.degree. Y = 33.00 TL = 188.30 BF = 53.036

  • Examples 2 – 10 are for a 10 mm f/4 FX rectilinear lens. The images are from example 2. The field of view angle is an incredible 130 deg:

F0 = 10.3 FNO = 4.17 .omega. = 64.84.degree. Y = 21.6 TL = 132.78 BF = 38.10

Patent application 20110109979 is for a collection of full frame macro lenses. Note β, “where β (negative) denotes an available shooting magnification“. All these have a maximum 1:1 (β = -1). This also explains why so many elements. The current 105 micro is a 14/12 design.

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Posted in Nikon Patents| 126 Comments

Nikon D5100 body only now shipping in the US

By [NR] admin | Published: May 17, 2011

It seems that the Nikon D5100 body only is now shipping in the US. Some stores on Amazon are slightly overpriced (the original price should be 799) but if you have pre-ordered already, you should be getting yours within the next few days.

The 35mm f/1.8 DX lens is also in stock for the regular price of $199 (other online stores are still selling it for $279).

Posted in Nikon D5100| 34 Comments

Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.7 now supports Nikon D5100

By [NR] admin | Published: May 17, 2011

Apple released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.7 with Nikon D5100 support:

Posted in Nikon D5100| 1 Comment