Does the D700 obviate the more expensive D3? Not for high-end pros: Hardcore types who find themselves shooting in the Arctic one month and the desert the next will prefer the D3’s extraordinarily tight level of weathersealing. For paparazzi, who shoot lots of vertical images and so prefer a built-in vertical grip to a bolt-on battery grip, the D3’s better. And pro sports shooters blasting off frame after frame need the faster native burst and extra CF card slot of the D3.
Meanwhile, the rest of us will be more than happy with the D700 fulfilling our full-frame fantasies.
Of course, if all your Lenses carry the DX moniker of Nikon’s APS-sized format, you should stick with the D300. After all, it basically mirrors the image quality and performance of the D700, and your DX Lenses will yield only 5.1MP images on the Nikon D700. In other words, those digital-only lenses will fit this full-frame camera, but at a cost of massive cropping — a sacrifice that hardly seems worth making on a regular basis.
But if you have some full-frame lenses or want to move toward Nikon’s FX glass, the D700 is money well spent.
The success of the Alpha 900 amongst the Minolta, Konica Minolta and Sony faithful seems assured; at a launch price of just shy of $3000 it offers a lot of ‘bang for your buck’ and there is undoubtedly a significant number of Minolta film SLR users who’ve been waiting years for a full frame digital body on which to use their existing lenses. The challenge for Sony, however, is to generate some interest from people without an existing investment in the Minolta (or subsequent Alpha) system. And on paper the Alpha 900 looks promising - and we’re already impressed with the build, handling and viewfinder, so let’s find out how well the latest addition to the small but growing ‘full frame club’ performs.
Nikon has the latest NEF RAW Codec, version 1.5, available here for download. This codec is for Windows only (XP and Vista) and supports NEF (RAW) images captured with the recently released Nikon D90 dSLR Camera. After installing this Codec, you will be able to easily view and work with Nikon’s NEF RAW images as you do JPEGs.
Almost exactly two years after the D80 was announced comes its replacement, the rather predictably named D90. The D80 has been one of Nikon’s quiet successes, and even today, despite being positively Methuselah-like in digital camera terms it continues to sell and often makes its way into our top 10 most clicked on cameras. Because it looks so similar to the D80 the D90 appears at first glance to be one of those rather subdued incremental upgrades, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find there’s plenty to keep Nikon fans happy.
Lurking inside the Live View mode is video capability. Oh your say. That’s interesting. Nikon announced their D90just last week. Must be a trend.
Well, yes. It’s a trend alright. In fact I’ve been forecasting the convergence of stills and video for quite some time now, as anyone who reads this site regularly knows.
So – let’s see – how does it work and what are the specs?
When we reviewed Nikon’s first full-frame DSLR, the D3, in April this year we said it was ‘possibly the most compelling, capable and well-rounded professional digital SLR ever made.’ Only three months later Nikon announced another full-frame camera with the D700. The new model’s ‘compact’ dimensions and much more affordable price tag make it a more appealing proposition than the D3 to many professional photographers and serious amateurs alike but can it keep up the high standards that have been set by its bigger brother?
This is clearly a first generation product. Nikon saw an opportunity to add video capability to the DSLR and did so in a simple manner with little intention of creating a new type of hybrid camera. The D90 is a stills camera (and a very good one) at a very reasonable price, that happens to also shoot moderate quality video.
There’s little doubt that stills / video convergence is on the way. The Nikon D90 though is simply a harbinger, and shouldn’t be seen as much more than that. As discussed above, while it is no replacement for a camcorder (even a consumer grade one), in the hands of Indy film makers it will likely turn out to be a productive tool, filling in when shallow DOF or special lens use is required.
Rob Galbraith has updated his endless odyssey on the Canon EOS 1D Mark III autofocus issues. While this may be his final installment, the questions remain the same:
This entry in our ongoing analysis of EOS-1D Mark III autofocus recaps and updates our experience with the camera and firmware v1.1.3 loaded, compares that to the camera’s autofocus performance with firmware v1.2.3 installed and answers some of the most commonly-asked questions we’ve received in the past few months, including this one: after more than a year, three firmware updates and a hardware fix, does the Canon EOS-1D Mark III now offer reliable autofocus?
It has been quite an interesting three years since Canon first released the original EOS 5D. At the time, it was the first full-frame, compact digital SLR that sold at a somewhat affordable price of $3,299 at launch. It proved popular with dSLR Dads who required really big pixels for their landscape and portrait work. Remarkably enough, it is only recently that Canon has faced competition in the space it created with the introduction of Nikon’s D700 and Sony’s Alpha A900. And while those are some mighty fine cameras, Canon has once again decided to set itself apart from the crowd. With the introduction of the 21.1 Megapixel full-frame EOS 5D Mark II, Canon is also the first to introduce 1080p high-definition video recording in a digital SLR Camera.
Popular Photography Magazine has published their review of the Nikon D90 dSLR Camera:
Borrowing its 12.3MP APS-C sized CMOS sensor from the higherend D300, the D90 is the fourth successive 12MP Nikon DSLR. Clearly, the company has eased off the megapixel race, instead focusing on other areas of image quality, such as low noise at high ISOs and convenient features. And the results are impressive. In our lab tests, the D90 scored Excellent in overall image quality right up through ISO 3200….
Given the announcements and release of still cameras from “others” that now shoot video, RED is excited to enter this game. From our vantage point, it is a lot easier to enter the still market from a motion background than visa-versa. The biggest issue that needs to be solved by the still capture group is skew… slow read-reset of CMOS imagers. This “typical” CMOS issue shows itself by moving the camera during motion capture. It is seen as “jelly movement”. Red has overcome this issue with a rapid read-reset CMOS sensor program. The Monstro Mysterium sensor is the fastest read-reset CMOS known to man enjoying the same motion characteristics as a film camera.
Red Digital Cinema to Release Digital Still & Motion Camera in 2009
Jim Jannard is the founder of both Oakley and the Red Digital Cinema Company. If you have not heard of RED, they are responsible for flipping the entire digital cinema industry upside down. By shipping a camera with the best digital sensor in the industry while still offering a system whose components are entirely upgradable in the future. After focusing all of their energy at the Cinema industry, Jim Jannard has dropped quite the bombshell on the Camera industry:
We believe, and are developing for late 2009, a replacement for DSLRs. Currently, we call it a DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera).
While (insert code name) is not a replacement for Epic or Scarlet, it is strategically targeted at the DSLR space. As Nikon and Canon release their 720P and 1080P, respectively, DSLRs with video capture… RED has a more advanced view of the future. We look forward to rapidly pushing the “big guys” along in feature sets and capabilities.
RED firmly believes in higher resolution, higher S/N, higher DNR, higher frame rates, smaller bodies, more system flexibility, and many more options as we move forward in camera development.
The strength of RED is in our sensor development program, REDCODE, and having no legacy platforms to deal with. That left us free to explore, develop and prepare to deliver a new platform. DSMC.
We think all our customers already know what the future will bring. They are just afraid to wish for it for fear of disappointment. Fear not. Sleep tight. RED is awake…..
…..If people are not stunned by the specs and design, I will retire… truly.
You can now buy the 10.2-megapixel Nikon D80 for just $699 at Amazon.com! At that price, it still offers many features that make it a better choice for a dSLR Dad compared to the Nikon D60. Features such as:
11-area Autofocus system with wide-area center segment and auto-area AF functions. This AF system features a center cross-type sensor and excellent low light detection (inherited from the Nikon D200).
A lens mount with the built-in focus drive motor. Allowing you to use more than just AF-S lenses.
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obviate the more expensive D3
? Not for high-end pros: Hardcore types who find themselves shooting in the Arctic one month and the desert the next will prefer the D3’s
carry the DX moniker of Nikon’s APS-sized format, you should stick with the D300
. After all, it basically mirrors the image quality and performance of the D700
:
. After installing this Codec, you will be able to easily view and work with Nikon’s NEF RAW images as you do JPEGs.
:
was announced comes its replacement, the rather predictably named 
and it’s 1080p video prowess:
. At the time, it was the first full-frame, compact digital SLR that sold at a somewhat affordable price of $3,299 at launch. It proved popular with dSLR Dads who required really big pixels for their landscape and portrait work. Remarkably enough, it is only recently that Canon has faced competition in the space it created with the introduction of 
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. Features such as:
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accessory for those who enjoy using such options.
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