Two weeks ago I reported about the Paris Expo on October 15th – Nikon will be one of the exhibitors with a busy schedule. Today Pixelistes (Google translation) got the insider scoop: 3 pictures from the Nikon booth and guess what is hidden under the black cloth? A D3s sign…
The latest rumors on the Nikon D3s specs:
There is also a chance that only the Nikon D3s will be released – no new lenses. This one is still very hard for me to believe, but those are the latest rumors folks.
Warning: let’s don’t turn this into a “Nikon sucks thread” – this time I will be closely monitoring the comments and there will be some censorship. Those are just rumors and may or may not turn out to be true – no reason to complain on information that is not final yet. Please, let’s have a constructive conversation and keep the whining for after the product is officially announced.
UPDATE: Nikon Germany and Nikon Sweden websites are/were down today. The “Presse” link has some serious errors on nikon.de & nikon.se. Same on nikon-europe.com. Problems with the new press release(s)?
not exactly a D3s, but close enough (source: Nikon USA)
Nikon D3s should be a sure thing. This is a collection of the rumored Nikon D3s specs:
Nikon AF-S 24mm f/1.4 lens: there were some rumors on dpreview and Thom Hogan also thinks that this lens will be released next week (see his comment here). I have not received any reliable information yet but this doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Spring 2010 is when I expect this lens to be announced based on a previous tip.
Nikon AF-S 85mm lens: I strongly believe that this lens will be announced next week. Nikon have filed two patents: one for 85mm f/1.4 and another one for a Micro AF-S 85mm f/3.5 DX VR. It doesn’t make sense to announce a DX lens with the D3s, but this is still a possibility.
Nikon AF-S 100-500mm f/4-5.6 IF-ED VR lens: this lens should be released first or second quarter of 2010. If announced next week, the availability will be few months from now.
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR: this rumor came from a Japanese forum. I have no other info on this lens.
Nikon mirrorless camera with a DX sensor: this is the wild card. I received multiple tips on that camera (see here and here), but I am afraid that they may all be based on the initial report from C-Net. I hope I am wrong but by know we should know at least the model name, have some specs and a spy shot. We got nothing. This could be one of those cases where there is smoke without fire but there is still hope.
There is a very low chance that we will see all of the above mentioned lenses next week.
Sorry, there will be no D700x/D700s next week.
Let’s don’t forget that all those are just rumors – if you have a weak stomach, wait for nikon.com to get updated.
I will have another live blogging session on Tuesday evening (US Eastern time). Hopefully the server will be able to handle the traffic.
The new PocketWizard Mini for Nikon
Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens on a Nikon D3x
Nikon D3 can already shoot video. Stop motion video that is and the results are worth seeing. I wanted to publish this post before the Nikon D3s is released next week. Here is the explanation from Andrew Kornylak (blog):
I’ve been doing this over the last couple years with an off-the-shelf D3 and D2X. It’s basically stop-motion. The D3 in particular shoots at up to 11fps of course, and with different settings you can get different buffer depths, up to about 12 seconds shooting in cropped jpeg mode. Being careful with the clips, you can shoot short videos like this, and convert them to 24 or 30fps, depending on your original frame rates. The color correction, or grading is done in Adobe Camera Raw, and then everything is edited in Final Cut.
It is pretty close to a video look, but a little different. I can shoot with strobes (like in the Nikki Blue commercial), and the color depth of even a cropped jpeg is better than the best HD video frame. I can make 11×14 prints from a frame grab, which sweetens the pot for a client looking to do a still and motion shoot without an outrageous production. And the videos:
Controller – the second part of the climbing footage was shot on the D3. Everything else including the interviews were on the D5000 video mode:
The Beta – Controller from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
Six Feet Under – All the climbing/sitting in cave footage was shot on the D3. D5000 in video mode for the interviews:
The Beta – Six Feet Under from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
Brutus – All the climbing footage was shot on the D3. D5000 in video mode for the interviews:
The Beta – Brutus from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
Other videos on the Stillmotion vimeo page: Parkour – All footage and ambient sound are from the D2X save for the first few seconds where he is breathing and voiceovers, which was on a Sony EX1 video camera. This was my first experiment with stillmotion. All the rest are 100% shot on the D3: O-At-Ka, A Day in the Open, One in a Million, Superstitious, Inline and Nikki Blue:
Nikki Blue from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
I was surprised overall at how well the stillmotion footage integrates with HD video. It’s seamless but at the same time has a richer look. You can also see Scott Kelby’s blog featuring Andrew Kornylak. Andrew Kornylak will be doing a detailed walk-through for the ASMP Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar in December.
It was a busy week. The weekend is almost here… time to have some fun – this is the new Nikon EOS-1 (even the strap is yellow):
Thanks to Ron Chenoy for sending me this photo.
