Samyang AE 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC Aspherical lens now shipping

By [NR] admin | Published: December 28, 2010

Samyang AE 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC Aspherical lens with Nikon F mount is now shipping. The lens was initially delayed for further improvements. A full review can be found here. The US price is $512.99 with free shipping.

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Posted in Nikon Lenses| 45 Comments

The Nikon D800 book gets postponed again

By [NR] admin | Published: December 28, 2010

The Nikon D800 book listing on Amazon now has a release date of May 4th, 2011:

The previous listing was for March 9th, 2011:

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Posted in Nikon D800| 47 Comments

Weekly Nikon related news/links #90

By [NR] admin | Published: December 25, 2010

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. Here are the Nikon links from this week:

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Posted in Weekly Nikon News Flash| 35 Comments

Nikon patents a lens that can be zoomed manually and electronically

By [NR] admin | Published: December 23, 2010

The next interesting Nikon patent filed in Japan is for a zoom that can be controlled manually and through a zoom button on the camera body:

The idea is to use motorized zoom while video recording (for a smoother, controlled transition) and manual zoom for still photography. This patent could potentially be implemented in the upcoming Nikon mirrorless camera.

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Posted in Nikon 1, Nikon Patents| 38 Comments

Nikon D7000 firmware update 1.01 is out

By [NR] admin | Published: December 21, 2010

D7000hotpixel

Update: you may have to run the firmware update twice in order to get rid of all “bright spots”. Here are three examples: before the update, after the first update and after the second update (.mov files may take a while to load).

As previously promised, Nikon USA just published a firmware updated for the Nikon D7000. The update includes a single fix:

“Bright spots were sometimes noticeable with live view mode or movie recording of especially dark scenes or subjects. Occurrence of this issue has been reduced.”

The description says that the “bright spots” issue has been “reduced”.

If you had that problem before, I would like to hear you feedback on the new firmware.

Posted in Nikon D7000| Tagged | 176 Comments

Nikon patents interchangeable sensor for mirrorless camera

By [NR] admin | Published: December 21, 2010

Nikon filed a patent in Japan for interchangeable sensor solution in mirrorless cameras. According to the patent application, the interchangeable sensors will have different AF system, speed (fps) and pixel count in order to suite different shooting preferences:

AFRateImage qualityRemarks
Contrast AFSlowGoodAll pixels and therefore can be used for image output quality
Phase difference AF (center point, etc.)FastNormalAF phase is very small because the pixel is used, less quality degradation
Phase difference AF (sensors, etc. Cross)FastBadAF phase for a number of pixels used, interpolation is required and can lead to lower quality

Just few weeks ago Nikon filed another patent for an interchangeable sensor with more connection details:

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Posted in Nikon 1, Nikon Patents| Tagged | 45 Comments

Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED now discontinued also in the US

By [NR] admin | Published: December 21, 2010

Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED is now listed as discontinued at B&H as well. The scanner has already been listed as discontinued in Europe. I expect the prices to go up on eBay.

Posted in Other Nikon stuff| Tagged | 32 Comments

Weekly Nikon related news/links #89

By [NR] admin | Published: December 18, 2010

I will be out of town next week with limited Internet access and probably there will be few days without a posts (I do not expect any interesting news). Here are the Nikon related links for this week:

  • A new “Subjectiv” 4-in-1 lens kit for Nikon mount available at Photojojo. The kit contains five modules: pinhole, plastic, glass, zone plate, and aperture:

  • Duclos offers custom cinema conversion for the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 lens with extended focus throw, aluminum housing and even interchangeable mount.
  • Smart Shooter is another remote camera control and tethering solution for Nikon cameras (runs on both PC and Mac).

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Posted in Weekly Nikon News Flash| 60 Comments

New rumor wave is starting: Nikon D5500

By [NR] admin | Published: December 16, 2010

D5500

Nikon D5000 is already discontinued and a replacement is expected. The D3000 was released in July of 2009 (three months after the D5000) and it was already replaced in August of 2010. All that means that the Nikon D5000 should be updated any time now. The rumor is that the D5000 will be replaced by the D5500. Here are the D5500 basic specs:

  • Same metering and AF modules as the D3100
  • No AF motor.
  • 1080 HD video with manual controls
  • 16MP sensor
  • Large detachable screen, that can be kept attached like a fixed screen or detached and connected to the camera via a cable, or mounted on the hot shoe.
  • Some interesting alternative accessories for the detachable screen may be offered, namely an EVF for video shooting. Remember the Nikon Media Port? It was already demoed with the Nikon D90. Nikon has also filed numerous patents about various wearable displays (headset).
  • Similar to D3100 in shape, just a bit larger.

[NR] rating: 40% just because I want to hear those specs from few more places.

Posted in Nikon D5100| 133 Comments

Nikon AF-S 200mm f/2G ED VRII lens review

By [NR] admin | Published: December 15, 2010


I am continuing with the tradition to have a brief hands-on for every new Nikon lens. Next in line is the Nikon AF-S 200mm f/2G ED VRII lens which I got for few days from Borrowlenses. The lens was announced on September 15th, 2010 and is an update (VRII) of the previous version.

Size, controls and ergonomics

This lens is massive – it has almost the same length as the 70-200 f/2.8 VRII but twice the diameter and weight:

Nikkor 200 f/2 VRII compared to 70-200 f/2.8 VRII

Nikkor 200 f/2 VRII compared to 70-200 f/2.8 VRII

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Posted in Nikon Lenses, [NR] Reviews| Tagged , | 101 Comments