The latest rumors suggests that Nikon will reduce the price of the D800/D800E DSLR cameras in the US on December 15th, 2012. I am not talking about an instant saving when you buy a body and a lens, but a direct price drop – just like the D600. I was told that Nikon is making this move in order to match the recent $200 instant rebate on the Canon 5D Mark III. I expect the D800/D800E price drop to be also $200.
Update: the price of the Canon 5D Mark III now dropped to $2,999.
Meike released their new MK-D600 battery grip for Nikon D600. The original Nikon MB-D14 grip costs $274.95. You can get the MK-D600 for around $70 on eBay.
Nikkor-S 5cm 1:2 on a Nikkormat FTn
Today’s guest post by Benjamin Ang is on the Nikkor-S 5cm 1:2 lens (click on images for lager view):
Nikkor-S 5cm 1:2 lens
Released along side the Nikon F in 1959, the Nikkor-S 5cm f/2.0 was the first normal lens produced for the F-mount. It was quickly replaced by the Nikkor-H variant just 5 years later making it a bit of a difficult lens to find. While the 2 cousins resemble each other cosmetically, the ‘S’ has an optical formula of 7 elements – one more than that of the more ubiquitous ‘H’.
As can be seen, the 5cm is a good bit smaller than the 50/1.2 AIs: the other 50 I use frequently. It has the black and silver finish typical of early non-AI lenses and is similarly made exclusively of metal and glass. While not very dense, it feels solid and gives the impression of a serious piece of equipment. Its scalloped focus ring is precise with no play whatsoever, as is the aperture ring.
Notice the 9-bladed aperture on the 5cm; a unique point among slow 50s
Sadly, I dented the filter thread when I dropped my F3 awhile back. I brought it in to a Nikon Service Center but they informed me the metal was too thick for their technicians to straighten out (I thought that was kinda funny).
A closer look at the 9-bladed aperture. The rim is shiny due to the modifications
stated below. Also note the lack of screws, a norm for early F-mount lenses.
The earliest 5cms had 9 aperture blades, and came without ‘click stops’ relying instead on ‘tick marks’ on the aperture ring. These are considered extremely rare and fetch terribly inflated prices on the market (as do all other ‘tick mark’ lenses). Later on, the usual click stops were incorporated, followed by a shift to having 6 aperture blades. The optical formula remained the same for all versions. The version I have has 9 blades, but no ‘tick marks’.
To mount this on my D700, I had to thin down the aperture ring by just a bit, and remove the ‘rabbit ears’. In its current configuration, it doesn’t communicate with the camera and you need to dial in compensation when stopping down. I’m working on adding a prong to connect to the AI tab, but I shoot the lens wide open most of the time and it hasn’t been too much of a bother as it is. The latest versions don’t require any work on the aperture ring.
The price of the compact Nikon Coolpix P7700 camera went down 14% three months after its announcement – currently listed for $426.95 – down $72 from the original price of $500.
Last year Nikon released this limited edition f/1.4 lens case/kit (24mm, 35mm and 85mm lenses) in several European countries. After the recent announcement of three new f/1.8 lenses, Nikon is now offering the limited edition Nikkor f/1.8 case. Made out of aluminum, the kit contains the latest Nikkor 28mm, 50mm and 85mm f/1.8 lenses and will probably be available only in few European countries (Belgium, probably Sweden). The price of the kit is not known at that point is €1245 (around $1600).
More images of the new Nikkor f/1.8 case and an unboxing video after the break (click on images for larger view):
Steve McCurry (bibliography) shot the 2013 Pirelli calendar with Nikon (and Hasselblad) cameras. The big surprise this year was that the models are actually wearing clothes:
The user manual for the Nikon 1 V2 mirrorless camera is now available for download from Nikon support site. The camera is already shipping in Japan and is expected to be in stock in the US by the end of this week.
A quick look at what to expect from Nikon in 2013:
Nikon D300s/D7000 fusion
One of the possible scenarios is that in 2013 Nikon will merge the D7000 and D300s product lines. There is a good chance that only one high end DX DSLR camera will be announced (D400 or D8000?) that will replace both D7000 and D300s models. The camera will have a “pro” body similar to the D300s and most likely come with a 24MP sensor and 8fps. The D3200 and D5200 should be sufficient to cover the entry level needs. The new DX camera will be the “transition model” to the full frame category (D600). Expected announcement: January/February 2013.
Nikon D4x
The Nikon D4x (not sure about the name) will not be a direct replacement of the D4 and is expected to have a high MP sensor – either the 36MP from the D800 or a new 52MP with 4 fps. Expected announcement: end of 2013.
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