Nikon D700 discontinued, price going up in China?

By [NR] admin | Published: November 24, 2009

Update: Translation by a native Chinese speaker (thanks Pat):

“Facing the strong competitive pressure of Canon 5D Mark II, Nikon finally ceased production of their entry level full frame camera D700. At present D700 (body only) goes for 15300 in Chinese yuan, and further price hikes would be inevitable.”

credit: Nikon USA

credit: Nikon USA

This rumor is coming from www.sina.com.cn. The Google translation as aways doesn’t make much sense, but the article is about the price of the Nikon D700 going up in China as a result of the “announced cut-off”. It is not clear (at least to me) what this “announced cut-off” is. It could be that the D700 production is suspended or maybe even the D700 is about to be discontinued:

“Beijing Quotes face of strong competition Canon 5D Mark II’s strong pressure from the entry-level full-frame Nikon SLR Nikon D700 has finally announced cut-off, the price has also risen. D700 body is currently priced at 15.3 thousand yuan, and further increases have become necessary.”

Posted in Nikon D800| Tagged | 118 Comments

Black Friday deals

By [NR] admin | Published: November 23, 2009

Few readers have asked me about Nikon deals for the upcoming Black Friday (US only). This is what I found:

BTW, nikonrebates.com web site has been down for over a week now.

Posted in Deals| 9 Comments

New Nikon lens(es) in December?

By [NR] admin | Published: November 22, 2009

Over a year ago I received a report about a new, upcoming lens (it was the AF-S 50mm f/1.4). The lens was listed as “new” in a photo store in Germany before it was announced. This is the first post I wrote and the second one just few days later. After a month the AF-S 50mm f/1.4 lens was official and available in stores. The point of this intro is that some German stores get updates in their inventory system before an official announcement.

What do we have today? This is the translated report from a dslr-forum.de member:

He went to large electronics store and asked for the price of the AF-DC 135mm f/2. When the clerk came back he was told that they can’t order the old one any more. But there seems to be one announced for December, tagged as “new”. Price was 1399 Euro, 200 above the current. He also says that he will go back there next week to get more information, and report back.

nikon-135-f2-AF

Nikon AF-DC 135mm f/2

Déjà vu? I have no other indications/rumors about another Nikon announcement in 2009, but if there is one, I guess it will be during the first week of December and we will be talking about new glass.

The same lens (AF-DC 135mm f/2) was reported as discontinued in Canada few months ago.

Nikon currently has a lot on their hands: D3s, 70-200mm f/2.8, 85mm f/3.5 – all are scheduled to be available in stores at the end of this month (November). So far this year Nikon has released 4 DSLRs and 5 lenses.

Quick check on the availability of the AF-DC 135mm f/2 lens in the three major US stores: Amazon, Adorama and B&H are all out of stock.

Posted in Nikon Lenses| Tagged | 91 Comments

New TTL flash gun trigger for Nikon

By [NR] admin | Published: November 22, 2009

nikon-flashgun-trigger

Strobist reports about a new TTL remote for Nikon and Canon DSLRs. The “speculations” came from the Strobist flickr group. Here are specs:

  • TR-331 is using FSK 2.4GHz frequency channel, 15 specific channels .
  • Operating distance range is 65M or above.
  • The display is protected by coating; it’s not easy to get scratch.
  • LCD is showing “Channel”, “Battery life” and “Function mode”.
  • Multi-control is available.
  • Through the camera to send the data
  • Compatible with all Nikon DSLR cameras.
  • Compatible with Nikon SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, SB-400 flash gun.
  • Support all of the shutter speed, up to 1/8000 sec.
  • Available to use on the studio light through PC socket.
  • Transmitter stand-by time: 1000 hours above (CR2 lithium battery)
  • Receiver stand-by time: 400 hours above (CR2 lithium battery)

This is the manufacturer’s website. I think they will be selling those through eBay, since they have already setup a brand new eBay online store. The expected price will be less than $200.

More product pics after the break:

Read More »

Posted in Nikon Flashes| 26 Comments

Nikon related news/links

By [NR] admin | Published: November 22, 2009

“Nikon Transfer v1.5.1* + View NX 1.5.0* – We have confirmed that there are no problems with the basic operation under 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7. We plan to make compatible versions available for download by the end of January 2010.

Capture NX2* – We plan to make a compatible version available for download by end of December 2009.

Camera Control Pro 2* – We plan to make a compatible version available for download by end December 2009.”

  • Photosynthesis – this site is a good source for Nikon lenses (inlc. serial #)
  • Nikon Podcast #28 – Travel and documentary photographer Ami Vitale talks about the benefits of stills and HD video when photographing a captivating culture.
  • Nikon CEO Selected as PMDA (PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association) Person of the Year.
Posted in Weekly Nikon News Flash| 5 Comments

Nikon deals

By [NR] admin | Published: November 21, 2009

Update #2: Nikon Denmark is doing a special Christmas sale on Nikon D5000 kit with 18-55mm VR and get a SB-400 for free.

Update: the Flashback deal in the UK is valid only for registered Nikon costumers who have received a voucher from Nikon UK via email. Not sure what criteria was used to determine the recipients of those vouchers. The vouchers are non-transferable. The promotion support line phone number can be found here.

The first deal is from the UK – free SB-900 flash when you buy a D300s. Wow! More info available here (fyi SB-900 is currently selling for £319.00 at Jessops, the D300s goes for £1249.00):

nikon-flashback-deal

I also compiled a list of few other Nikon deals:

  • In Italy you will get a free CoolPix S640 when you buy a D300s

I will have another post for Black Friday deals next week.

Posted in Deals| 49 Comments

Nikon’s pro DSLRs outsell Canon’s big time

By [NR] admin | Published: November 19, 2009

This chart was shown at the official NikonD3s launch event in Beijing – you can see the Nikon logo at the top right corner:

nikon-vs-canon-pro-dslr

click on image for larger view

Not sure if this data is only for China or worldwide. I am surprised by the large % of D3x sales (dark blue bars). I think in few months the D3s will make this graph look even worse (for Canon that is).

Source: jeff-c on dpreview

Posted in Nikon D3s| 105 Comments