nikon

Nikon woos the pros with long-awaited D800

Because of its lack of video capabilities and its relatively low resolution, the Nikon D700 never attained the level of buzz the Canon EOS 5D Mark II did, despite being an excellent camera. With the D800, Nikon looks poised to catch up to, if not overtake, Canon in the hearts and minds of full-frame devotees.

With all the information about the D800 having leaked in advance, it's easy to tell what's been most attention-grabbing: the high-resolution sensor and the D800E sibling model, which incorporates a modified low-pass filter system that results in little to no antialiasing. There's no doubt that the combination should appeal to professionals like studio and wedding photographers.

However it's notable that the sensor's pixel size is 4.88 x 4.88 microns (compared to 6.4 x 6.4 for the 5DM2) and hits a comparatively low maximum sensitivity of ISO 25,600. That said, cameras for this target market don't need the really high, gain-pushing ISO sensitivities of more action-oriented models; they need the highest clean setting. And Nikon has a history of clean high ISO images for its pro models. But even if the D800 manages impressive video, I suspect that the D800E will be less video friendly--aliasing can be a real problem in video and it's much harder to correct in post-production, so you need that low-pass filter. Medium-format cameras and AA-filter-free models like the Fujifilm X100 usually don't support video or don't produce professional-quality results.

Here's how the current full-frame landscape looks for Nikon's product line and the competitive Canon:… Read more

Nikon's imminent D800 could offer high-sharpness option

It looks like Nikon's highly anticipated D800, a large-sensor SLR that supplants the three-year-old D700, will cater to photographers who want to leave behind that mixed blessing of digital photography, the antialiasing filter.

The job of that filter is to remove moire artifacts--wavy lines and other visual distractions that can occur when an image sensor's grid of pixels captures an image with repeating elements such as fabric patterns. The antialiasing filter works by slightly blurring the image, which is convenient when moire is a problem but which degrades sharpness in the many situations where it's not. … Read more

Nikon announces Coolpix S9300, S6300, S4300, S3300 cameras

And the updates are as exciting as my headline.

Not that the cameras themselves are boring, just that Nikon didn't do much to separate the new models from the old. For example, the S9300 is the new flagship compact megazoom, but it's still basically 2011's S9100, but with built-in GPS and a resolution bump from 12 to 16 megapixels.

Nikon also updated three other cameras in its S series. The 10x ultracompact S6300 is essentially the S6200, but with a 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, which is good, but hopefully Nikon improved the autofocus some, too. Then there … Read more

For those about to stalk: The 42x Nikon Coolpix P510

For those after the absolute longest lens on a compact camera, meet the new Nikon Coolpix P510.

At roughly the same size as its 36x 22.5-810mm predecessor, the P500, the P510 packs a 42x 24-1,000mm lens.

The P510 also gets a 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and built-in GPS for geotagging photos. Everything else looks to be the same as the P500, but I'm sure there's probably one or two new shooting options. And here's hoping Nikon used one hell of an image stabilization system, too.

In other news, Nikon's fast-lens compact, the P300, gets … Read more

Nikon ups the value on its entry-level Coolpix cams

If you're a fan of inexpensive cameras that run on AA-size batteries, you'll want to keep reading.

The Coolpix L810 is the refresh of the L120, getting a 16-megapixel CCD sensor (up from 14) and more zoom. Its lens starts at an ultrawide-angle 22.5mm and extends to 585mm, or 26x. Other things stay the same, like the 3-inch high-res LCD, and 720p HD movie capture.

I liked the L120 for its higher-end features at a reasonable price, and the L810 offers more (or at least higher numbers) for the same $279.95 price.

What I wasn't … Read more

SanDisk on new XQD memory card format: 'Meh'

In a decision inauspicious for XQD, SanDisk is skipping over the new memory card format for high-end cameras.

"At this time, SanDisk has chosen not to productize the XQD format," SanDisk spokeswoman Wendy Vlieks told CNET News late yesterday.

The ringing non-endorsement is particularly notable since SanDisk helped create the format in the first place.

The comment also means that XQD--developed by the CompactFlash Association (CFA) as a successor to CF cards--currently lacks support from the two top-tier flash card makers. The other, Lexar, was noncommittal about XQD last week: "As a leading CFA member, Lexar has … Read more

Point-and-shoots are dying, but photography is alive and well

Point-and-shoot cameras are getting elbowed out of the market by smartphones, Reuters reports. Canon, Sony and Nikon should be overjoyed.

History has never known a generation of such wannabe shutterbugs as this one. For the first 11 months of the year, retail sales of "entry-level cameras" fell 17 percent to 12 million units while makers of smartphones sold 95 million devices.

This is a great opportunity for the camera companies. So what if the public is rejecting point-and-shoots? Those were the near beers of the industry anyway. What is sure to happen now is that some of these … Read more

Sony launches first XQD cards. Step aside, CompactFlash

Just in time for the flagship Nikon D4 SLR, Sony has announced an XQD flash memory card--the first example of a new format developed with better speed and capacity than its CompactFlash predecessor.

Most devices these days use smaller SD Card technology, but high-end SLR cameras from Canon, Nikon, and Sony still keep CompactFlash alive for performance and capacity reasons. The new XQD format follows in the same direction, trying to keep ahead of SD by borrowing the PCI Express (PCIe) high-speed serial communications link interface from computers.

Sony announced two models of the card, the 16GB QD-H16 card for $… Read more

Lexar pushes CompactFlash speeds with 1000X cards

Lexar announced a 1000X-rated CompactFlash memory card line today that the company guarantees can keep pace with professional-quality video recording.

The 1X speed from days of yore meant 150KBps, and the new line of 1000X cards reaches sustained read speeds of 150MB per second. Write speeds are a smidgen slower--966X, or 145MBps--but still enough to keep up with the Video Performance Guarantee (VPG-20) "to enable professional-quality video capture at high frame rates with no dropped frames," the company said.

The cards are priced for professionals, too, with retail prices of $169.99 for 16GB, $299.99 for 32GB, $… Read more

My favorite point-and-shoot cameras of 2011

It's crazy just how many cameras were released in 2011 from the major manufacturers. According to camera site 1001 Noisy Cameras, the count stands at 203; the majority of those are point-and-shoots.

For us, a point-and-shoot is a fixed-lens camera (i.e. not interchangeable) that uses a 1/2.3-inch-size sensor. So, before you get all "Where's the Canon S100!" on me, we consider that and similar models enthusiast compacts because of their larger sensor sizes and target user.… Read more