dSLR Dad

Nikon D3x Specs and Images Leaked in Own Pro Magazine

Well, I guess all of the Nikon D3x rumors have been ramping up for a reason.  Nikon’s own Pro Magazine has been mailed out and feature one very interesting feature, the new Nikon D3x.  Seb Rogers seems to be the first to publish all the details over on his blog:

• Same Pro-style, weather-resistant, Mg-alloy Body as the Nikon D3.
• 24.5 Mega-pixel FX-format, 35.9 x 24mm CMOS sensor with 5:4 and DX crop modes.
• Framerates of Five FX images-per-second or Seven 10MP DX images.
• 51-point MultiCAM3500FX Autofocus System (same as D3).
• 16-bit EXPEED Image processor, an industry first.  Helps to produce 75MB RAW files.
• ISO 100 to 1600, expandable to ISO50, ISO3200, and ISO6400.
• 3-inch, 920,000 pixel LCD Screen with Contrast-detect Live View
• Dual Compact Flash card slots written to at 35MB/sec. (more…)
  

  Popularity: 5% [?]

  Tags: full frame dSLR, full frame FX, full frame sensor, FX, Nikon D3x, Nikon dSLR

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.

…..We believe it marks the end of DSLRs.

In a prior topic he states:

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Popularity: 10% [?]

I’m sure the press release will be out soon, but the USA Today has already published an article on the new Nikon D90:

Nikon hopes to hammer that point with the release of its latest digital single-lens reflex camera, the D90, expected in stores next month for $1,299 with a lens. Nikon is billing the D90 as the first SLR with video capability…

……”The big plus is that you can now shoot video with a great lens,” says Steve Heiner, Nikon’s senior technical manager.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Kamera&Bild, one our Scandinavian brethren, has a video interview with Chuck Westfall of Canon from PMA 2008 (in English). In it he discusses the new Canon Rebel XSi (available at Amazon and B & H Photo), the lack of a Canon EOS 5D update, his thoughts on the new Nikon D3, and if Canon’s APS-H sized sensor in the EOS 1D Mark III is properly positioned in the marketplace.

Some notes, for you dSLR Dads on Canon product cycles. They have now stretched things out to where the Pro level cameras have moved to a 3 year product cycle. Consumer grade cameras are shifting to roughly a 2-year span between releases. The Canon EOS 1D Mark III (Amazon, B & H Photo) was announced last year before PMA on February 21, 2007. While the Pro Sports Photographer market has finally seen some worthy competition with Nikon’s introduction of the D3 (Amazon, B & H Photo), the 1D Mark III is still early in it’s life cycle. True, it has had a disastrous release so far, but it still remains in the drivers seat. Unfortunately, the impact of a somewhat-unreliable, professional camera in it’s first year of production will not truly be understood until we see the launch of the next 1D and D3.

Will all future Canon 1-Series be full frame? I think the Pro market is clearly showing that is becoming the standard. The only real question is will the 1D Mark III replacement ship in 2009 or 2010? My guess is it depends on how much black Nikon glass you see at the Olympics this summer.

You can watch the entire video interview here.

via Slash Gear.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Today, Sony Corporation has announced a new 35mm full size CMOS Image Sensor with a 24.81 Effective Megapixel resolution. The importance of this announcement is significant. Specifically, which manufacturer is going to release a 24.8 Megapixel, Full Frame dSLR at PMA2008 on Thursday?

Last year, Sony showed a prototype Flagship Alpha dSLR at PMA 2007 along with a prototype of the Alpha A700. The details were few and far between, but the Flagship Alpha was not expected to ship until after 2007. Now Minolta dSLR Dads are hoping that Sony will finally introduce a Full Frame Alpha dSLR, but I’m not so sure. I would put the probability at 60% for a new Alpha. I only remain reserved because 24 Megapixels requires excellent optics, something that Sony must show it can deliver with the Alpha brand.

The higher probability is for Nikon to introduce a new Full Frame dSLR flagship above the D3. Nikon has used Sony almost exclusively for their CMOS production in the DX00 series and D3. In fact, the Sony Alpha A700 shares the same sensor with the Nikon D300. If you go back in time to the announcements of both the Nikon D300 and the Nikon D200, you will notice that they were preceded by a Sony CMOS press release just a few days prior. Finally, Nikon’s own corporate messages have hinted at a potential D3X dSLR to compete with the 21.1 Megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III. The dSLR Dad puts the probability of such a D3X announcement at 80%. Of course, don’t expect it to ship until the second half of the year. Maybe production units could be available by Photokina in September?

Either way, 2008 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for all dSLR Dads.

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Tags: exmor, full frame sensor, Nikon dSLR, rumor, Sony dSLR, Sony DSLR-A900