When Canon came up with their coffee mugs during the last Winter Olympics, I thought for a moment that they may really have better stuff than Nikon. Today I got my faith back – the Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 coffee mug is “now available for pre-order” on eBay 🙂
But wait, there is more – for all you caffeine addicts: the Nikon Lens AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Coffee Cup is also available:
Prices vary, to see all Nikon mug entries on eBay click here.
After the surge of Nikon patents application filed in the US last year, it seems that Nikon is very cautious lately – I can hardly find any interesting entries. Most of the patents are filed in Japan and I am starting to monitor the Japanese patents website on a regular bases. Please note that patents applications do not guarantee any future products announcements.
2009-282214 is a patent for a new, redesigned 80-400mm lens that was filed in December of 2009 in Japan:
f 81.6 to 200-392
FNO 4.6 to 5.4-5.8
2omega 30.0 – 12.0 – 6.1
For comparison, here is the design of the current Nikon AF 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR lens:
Update: Nikon D3s now in stock.
I started to get some good vibes from the rumor mill. The model numbers are really insignificant but I was always curious how Nikon will continue the D90 DSLR line. One very possible combination could be: Nikon D4000 (D3000 replacement) and D8000 (D90 replacement), both with full HD and 14-18MP sensors (the D4000 is probably going to be between 14-16MP and the D8000 will be between 16-18MP). The full frame body is still the big question mark – I continue to receive rumors that the D700 will be replaced in 2011.
The lenses situation also starts to resolve around the following lenses (nothing new here, but I want to emphasize that the same information is now pouring in from all over the world):
It is still not clear what will be the kit lens for the D8000.
The two DSLRs and the three lenses should be released between now and Photokina. Very soon I will be able to give a 90+% rating on some of those rumors but we are not there yet – I just need some more information.
BTW, many European Nikon websites were down again today – some of them were offline for more than 24 hours.
This Nikon rumor is from an Asian forum member with good previous track record (I briefly covered that rumor last week, but now I have some more details):
Supposedly, those are all scheduled for summer release. The DX body is probably going to be the D90 replacement, the FX body will be a D700 replacement or a new FX line. Initially, the 35mm f/1.4 lens was suppose to be announced in 2011, but as I mentioned already the new Sigma 85mm f/1.4 has caused some “waves” at Nikon and maybe they will do some last moment adjustments.
There have already been some rumors in the past for the 24-105mm and the 100-500 mm lenses.
After the Nikon D3s and the new 200-400mm f/4 lens now also the Nikon TC-20E III (2.0x) teleconverter showed up in stock at Amazon (via third party, overpriced). Expect the shipments to reach different US stores in the next few days (today was a holiday in the US).
This could be the future Nikon EVIL mount:
The Japanese patent website is a mess. I cannot link directly to the individual patents, in addition the text is computer translated. Here is the main description of Nikon patent 2010-044203 which defines an electronic mount contact system for an EVIL camera (electronic viewfinder mirrorless interchangeable lens):
[Field of the Invention]
This invention relates to the mount structure of an optical instrument, and an optical instrument.[Background of the Invention]
That by which electric contact for making electrical communication possible among these is provided in the mount mechanism which connects a camera and a lens barrel is known (for example, refer to patent documents 1).[Problem(s) to be Solved by the Invention]
In the conventional mount mechanism, electric contact is projected and provided from the support member which supports a point of contact, and may be contacted and damaged in other members. SUBJECT of this invention is providing the mount structure of an optical instrument and the optical instrument which can protect electric contact.
Here is another view of the Nikon EVIL mount (all drawings were part of patent 2010-044203):
And some more detailed drawings of the mount after the break (click on image for larger view):
Cool video after the break:
