dSLR Dad

Digital Photography Review has also published their review of the 720p HD Nikon D300s dSLR:

The Nikon D300 made quite an impact when it was first launched – enough to prompt us to conclude: ‘There’s simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market.’ And, in many respects, it is still the camera to beat in that class – nearly two years later and it is still able to command essentially the same price as at launch (though the strong Yen has pushed all prices up). And this success appears to have left Nikon unsure how to improve on its APS-C flagship.

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Adobe has upgraded Photoshop Lightroom to version 2.5. You can download the free updates for both Windows and Macintosh from Adobe. Support for the following cameras has been added from Lightroom 2.4 to 2.5:

• Nikon D300s
• Nikon D3000
• Olympus PEN E-P1
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1

Further Windows and Macintosh software enhancements in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.5 include:

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Nikonian dSLR Dads have a little extra spring in their step today. Nikon has introduced the D300s dSLR Camera. Taking what was already a great camera:

• 12.3-Megapixel APS DX-format (23.6 x 15.8 mm) CMOS image sensor. Photo resolution will be 4288 x 2848 pixels.
• 3-inch, 920,000 pixel LCD monitor
• 51-point MultiCAM3500FX Autofocus System (same as Nikon D3, D3x, and D700).
• 16-bit EXPEED image processing with 12 or 14 bit A/D conversion.
• extended ISO range of 100-6400.
• Active D-Lighting for complete control over highlight and shadow detail.
• HDMI video output. Although it’s now a smaller Type C port.

Nikon went ahead and added some additional features to make it better:

• 720p High-Definition video recording at a cinema-friendly 24 frames-per-second. Maximum recording length of 5-minutes.
• Motion JPEG encoding – which is a shame. Nikon really should have upgrade their processing engine to handle h.264.
• Built-in 16 bit/11.025kHz mono mic.
• External stereo sound input will capture 16 bit/44.100kHz stereo audio. A must for any dSLR Dad who also shoots with a AF-S VR lens. Even those silent waves come up loud and clear on an onboard microphone. It will capture 16 bit/44.100kHz stereo audio.
• Dual Memory Card slots – Compact Flash and SD/SDHC, living in harmony. Configuration logic is similar to the D3.
• Continuous shooting of a fantastic Seven images-per-second or Eight with the optional Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10. Unfortunately, 14-bit RAW frames are still limited to a slow 2.5 fps. At this price, a dSLR Dad shouldn’t have to choose.

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