New Nikon D780 trade-in program announced in the US


Nikon USA introduced a new trade-in program where for a limited time you can get an additional $300 toward a Nikon D780 purchase in addition to the camera’s trade-in value (similar program already exists in Europe). This program will start on February 3 – check Adorama and B&H for the details. Here is the full press release:

Read More »

Posted in Nikon D780 | Tagged , | 161 Comments

Topaz Labs DeNoise AI review



Topaz Labs DeNoise AI review by Jonathan Zdziarski (500px) – see the original blog post for more sample photos (DeNoise AI coupon code is available here):

Topaz Labs recently released DeNoise AI, a noise reduction tool for photographers, and so naturally I picked up a copy after reading about a sale on Nikon Rumors. After seeing the results turn out so good, I needed to take some time to talk about this tool. Noise reduction has been the bane of my existence ever since I started astrophotography. My wife and I have been chasing the Northern Lights for several years now, and trying to clean up our shots has always been a challenge. I’ll show you some comparisons to other NR techniques I’ve used in this post. You’ll want to click on the images to zoom in so you can see the dramatic difference this tool makes.

DeNoise AI claims to use machine learning as a means of identifying noise. They trained the software with several million images containing noise, along with several million clean images. Depending on which ML model they used, DeNoise AI likely developed a pattern recognition model based on neural nets or probabilistic models based on Bayes or Markov. It appears to use OpenCV’s ML library. In the end, DeNoise is probably a sophisticated pattern recognizer that associates noisy inputs with the most “learned” clean output, then maps the color back in. I’ve got somewhat of an ML background, and other than the use of “AI”, the product literature seems to describe a pretty straightforward, but novel approach to ML. It at least passes the sniff test.

A lot of eye rolling comes when terms like Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning are used. To prevent abuse of these phrases, I recommend following Hannah Fry’s litmus test, from her book, Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms:

Read More »

Posted in Other Nikon stuff | Tagged , | 115 Comments

TTArtisans 11mm f/2.8 fisheye lens now available also for Nikon Z-mount


The TTArtisans 11mm f/2.8 fisheye lens is now available also for Nikon Z-mount cameras. The lens is already available for sale on eBay and AliExpress for $219-$255 (Amazon should also get them soon):


The Z-mount version is not yet listed at ttartisan.com, but I got a confirmation that this lens does exist.

Additional information (MTF charts, specs, lens design) and sample photos from the M-mount version of this lens can be found here:

Read More »

Posted in Nikon Lenses | Tagged , | 74 Comments

Coupon code for 10% off Nikon gear at KEH


KEH is offering 10% off Nikon and Canon gear with coupon code CN1A. This promotion is valid through 11:59 PM EST, Thursday, January 30. Excluded are new and like-new graded items and digital photography starter kits.

The Nikon section at KEH can be found here.

All used gear sold by KEH comes with a 180-day warranty.

KEH is an authorized Nikon dealer.

Posted in Deals | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Nikon introduced new rebates on 28 different Nikkor lenses


Nikon introduced new rebates on 28 different Nikkor F-mount lenses – see the listings at Adorama and B&H Photo for more details (the new prices should soon be updated also at Amazon).

Here is the full list of discounted lenses (click for larger view):

Read More »

Posted in Deals, Nikon Lenses | Tagged , | 49 Comments

Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi wants to partner with Nikon, Canon or Hasselblad


The Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi posted a strange poll on the social media platform Weibo asking fans whether they should partner with Nikon, Canon or Hasselblad. The poll winner was Hasselblad, which is of course owned by DJI (also a Chinese company):

Read More »

Posted in Other Nikon stuff | Tagged | 168 Comments

Nikon D6: one stop improved high ISO


The Nikon D6 will be officially announced in the first half of February – it could be in the first week of February or around February 12. I am pretty sure the D6 will have a 20 MP sensor and no IBIS. One additional detail to the already reported (rumored) specifications – the D6 high ISO will be improved by one stop compared to the D5.

Read More »

Posted in Nikon D6 | 139 Comments