The Online Photographer rates D700 as best camera

Mike Johnston over at T.O.P. has finally revealed the top spot in his list of ten recommended cameras – and the award goes to the incredible D700.

top_no1_d700 But the D700 isn’t just a "D3 lite." It’s a different species of camera because it's got 97% of the image quality of the D3 and much of that camera's functionality in a more nearly camera-sized and half-as-expensive package. The more reasonable size and more favorable value equation actually make the D700 far more appropriate for, and (dare I say it) more useful to a much larger group of potential purchasers. And although it's expensive for most people, that really is a relative term. You could just as easily make the argument that it's very high-value, and I think you'd be right.

So his top ten list – which covers all cameras, not just DSLRs and not just digital - includes Nikons, Sonys, a few Panasonics, and a couple of Canons propping up the bottom.  Pop on over to The Online Photographer to read more, and why not subscribe to the excellent blog whilst you’re there?

[ The Online Photographer ]

Nikon D5000 DSLR to ship April 27th?

Amazon.com are showing that the D5000 is expected to ship this coming Monday, April 27th:

amazon_d5000_preorder

The price for the kit including the 18-55m VR (?) is $849.99.  We will have a full review up as soon as ours arrives!

[ Amazon ] via [ Engadget ]

LetsGoDigital review the Nikon P6000

P6000_front_loIf you’re looking for an advanced point & shoot pocket camera, no doubt the CoolPix P6000 is somewhere on your list.  If so, then check out DIWA member website LetsGoDigital’s latest review.

Nikon is close, the concept is there. The only hurdles that have to be taken are to apply a larger buffer and to avoid increasing the pixel amount. The message for the next generation should be to focus on pixel quality. If you have enough patience, you will find the Nikon Coolpix P6000 an all-round digital camera that provides high quality pictures. 

[ LetsGoDigital P6000 Review ]

Moose Peterson’s Nikkor 200-400 f/4 VR Commentary

MoosePeterson Acclaimed wildlife and landscape photographer Moose Peterson has posted a video commentary on one of his favorite lenses, the Nikkor 200-400 VR AF-S f/4.

I depend on this lens for so much of my photography, I have it with me no matter what it takes. It is wicked sharp at all focal lengths. It focuses down to within 6.6″ , incredibly well balanced for handholding and is just one sweet lens.

[ Moose Peterson ]

Discover the History of Nikon

nikon_nasa In one of these promotional moves that I’ve never quite understood, Nikon have published a flash “game” based around the history of the company.  Complete various “missions” and you can “win” wallpapers and a screensaver.

New facts come to light from our long history.

These true stories have been passed down through generations to this day.
Enjoy learning about Nikon's long history as you set out to complete the missions.
There are lots of amazing facts and fascinating episodes!
This experience will give you insight into the depth of Nikon's history.

The “games” include a sliding-block puzzle, a fill-in-the blanks test, and more – but beware, one or two of these can be quite hard.  Post your answers to the questions in the comments please!

[ The History of Nikon ]

Dave Black publishes part 2 of D3x review

2009-March-WATR-2A

One of my favourite photographers, Dave Black, has published his latest “Workshop at the Ranch” article which features the second part of his Nikon D3x review.

The subjects eyelashes are still clearly defined and there is no sign of jagged pixilated edges anywhere. Her edges of her eyes show no sign of pixilization. The weaving of her cotton top looks beautiful and the metal texture of the guitar strings are clean and detailed. This kind of quality is standard in the commercial business, but what's more important is that it can be achieved with a 35mm camera and not a mid-format system

The layout of the article is a little painful to read, but there’s plenty of eye-candy in there for anyone who’d dearly like to get their hands on one of these fantastic DSLRs.

[ Part 1 ]
[ Part 2 ]

Image ©2009 Dave Black Photography.

D-Town TV #3 – Color spaces, tripods and more.

nikon-dtown-logo The Nikon-sponsored weekly internet TV show, D-Town, this week covers color spaces (sRGB and AdobeRGB), tripod shooting tips (some useful information), some shameless accessory promoting (add a battery grip to make your camera look more expensive!), and finally some D90 video-shooting tips.  The show is presented by Matt Kloskowski and Scott Kelby.

Pretty basic stuff at the moment, but it’ll be interesting to see where this slickly produced series goes.

[ D-Town TV ]  [ Subscribe in iTunes ]

DxO Optics Pro adds support for D3x

PackOP5_elite_us.indd DxO have updated the Elite Edition of Optics Pro to add RAW support for the Nikon D3x.

Optics Pro is a well-received software package that attempts to automatically enhance your images, correcting for lens faults, converting RAWs, optimizing exposure and more.

The Elite Edition is available now priced at £189 / $299 / 249.

[ DxO ]

Nikon Novelty: Universcale

This is fairly old news now, but I missed it, and it’s kind of neat.universcale2

We are able to view all entities, from the microworld to the universe, from a single perspective. By setting them up against a scale, we are able to compare and understand things which cannot be physically compared.

Today, using the electron microscope and astronomical telescope, we can see the objects which we have not been aware of its existence before. Are you able to fathom, or even roughly grasp, these sizes?

See our Universcale and experience the sizes of various objects.

Explore the universe, from the micro to the macro, with a swish flash interface.  It’s hard to explain, but can be a fun time-waster if you have a few minutes to kill.

[ Nikon Universcale ]

Nikon Podcast: Behind-the-Scenes with Rob Van Petten and the D3X

nikonpodcast16 Did you know that Nikon publish a regular series of video podcasts?  In the latest, issue #16, they takes a look at the D3x with professional photographer Rob Van Petten during a fashion shoot.

Sure, it’s a Nikon promotional piece, but well worth a watch.

nikonpodcast16_grab2

[ Podcast page ]  [ High-res m4v file ]  [ iTunes ]