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All posts tagged "nikkor"


Friday, September 14, 2012

Nikon Announces D600 FX DSLR Camera, 18.5mm f/1.8 Nikon 1 Lens

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 11:46 AM

Well, after months and months of leaks, here it is. The Nikon D600. It is basically a D7000 with a 24 megapixel FX sensor, and the video functionality from the D4 and D800. So basically the rest of the camera almost reads like a D7000 spec sheet, with a 39 AF point system, 2016 pixel colour meter, a 5.5 FPS frame rate, a new 3.2" VGA LCD, a 100% viewfinder with 0.7x magnification, 1/200 flash sync speed, and a whole raft of manual features. On the video side, it does 24, 25 and 30 FPS at 1080p, and it can stream uncompressed video over the HDMI port. Nikon seems pretty confident that they will be able to deliver on September 18th (a local Nikon employee mentioned their Thailand plant has been fully restored), and the camera will be available for US$2100 for the body alone, or US$2700 with the AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 VR lens. Check out the DPReview link for more photos, and a preview of the D600. On a personal note, I am somewhat crushed that there is no D400 - I have been waiting for a D300 replacement for a very long time. Even if I were to not buy it, I wanted to see Nikon's continued dedication to issuing a pro-level DX body. I guess Nikon has given their intentions here.

On the Nikon 1 side, there is the new 18.5mm f/1.8 lens, which brings a fast prime to the 1 Series. On paper it looks like a decent lens, but there is still the issue of having some cameras that are decidedly not targeted at photographers who like to be in control of their camera. Ships in November for US$190. Photo of the lens at the link.

DPReview.com: Nikon D600

DCResource.com: Nikon 1 Nikkor 18.5mm f/1.8


Friday, June 15, 2012

Nikon Announces AF-S 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR DX and AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G VR Lenses; Reaches 70 Million Lenses Milestone

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 11:00 AM

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/14/3...ce-release-date

Well, Nikon just announced that they have produced 70 million lenses, and they are celebrating it by releasing a couple of new lenses! The first is the fairly large AF-S 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens (27-450mm equivalent). I was not expecting anything like this, especially with a f/5.6 aperture at the long end. This means that this is not a small lens, with lens weighing in at 29.3 oz (or 830g) and using a 77mm filter thread. The lens boasts the largest zoom factor, outclassing the previous champ, the Tamron 18-270 lens. Ships in late June for US$1000.

The second lens is an update of an old favourite, which is the AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G VR. The new lens gains VR, but other looks very similar to the previous lens. The lens will ship in late June for US$600. The privilege of VR is quite a bit, it seems.

Read more...


Thursday, April 19, 2012

Nikon Announces D3200 DSLR Camera and AF-S 28mm f/1.8G Lens

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 08:38 AM

Nikon today unveiled the D3200, the replacement for the D3100 DSLR. What is most surprising is the sensor: It is a 24 megapixel CMOS sensor, in APS-C size. It appears to be similar to the one found in Sony's NEX-7 and SLT-A77, which also makes me wonder if the next refresh of all their DX-based DSLRs are going to use the same 24 megapixel sensor. If it is, I am going to be a little disappointed, as I was hoping that the D300/D300s replacement would use something like the awesome FX-challenging (in the high ISO noise department at least) 16 megapixel sensor found in the Fujifilm X-Pro 1.

The rest of the camera has a few upgrades, like a new 3" VGA LCD, 1080 video at 24 or 30 FPS (previously only 24 FPS) with manual exposure controls, a 4 FPS continuous mode (up from 3), and the ability to add the new WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter that lets you send images to your smartphone. In a first, Android support will come first, with iOS support coming later this year. The adapter looks rather clunky, being a small dongle that sticks out awkwardly from the side of the camera. Camera manufacturers, this is not how you build a connected camera. Until you get it, your compact camera sales will continue to dwindle in the presence of crappy smartphone cameras. The D3200 will ship in late April (isn't that a week away?) with the 18-55 kit lens for US$700, and the WU-1a for US$60.

In other news, Nikon also released a potentially nice lens for FX users: The Nikkor AF-S 28mm f/1.8. Given the FOV equivalent of a 42mm on a DX body, its neither here nor there status means it is better to use the cheaper AF-S 35/1.8 on a DX body, as the 28mm is going to be US$700. Ships in end of May.

Press releases and photo of the Nikkor after the break.

Read more...


Friday, January 6, 2012

Nikon Announces D4 Flagship DSLR Camera and AF-S 85mm F/1.8G Lens

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 08:30 AM

So here it is. I hope the rumours have not totally spoilt it for you. The Nikon D4 is the latest flagship, and will replace the D3S. The specs look good, but most of the upgrades seem geared towards video. Let us take a look!

On the photo side of things, there is a new 16 megapixel FX sensor that does ISO 100 to ISO 12k, with ISO 50 on the low end and ISO 200k on the high with boost (I feel silly saying ISO 204,800; does this kind of precision really matter?), an upgraded CAM 3500 module that boasts fifteen cross points out of the 51 AF points, and nine that will work with the Nikon 1.4x and 1.7x teleconverters, and one (just the one?) point that will work at f/8 with 2x teleconverters. I distinctly remember my F100's AF working with a third party lens and a third party teleconverter at f/8, so this does not feel totally new, but I could be mistaken. The camera boasts a frame rate of 10 FPS, with 11 FPS if the AF tracking is disabled. The 1005 pixel RGB Matrix meter is now a 91000 pixel sensor, and is also used for other tasks like face detection and dynamic range manipulation (what Nikon calls Active D-Lighting).

There is a new bigger VGA LCD at 3.2", along with a few upgraded controls. The buttons are now backlit, which is a very nice touch, coming a few years after Olympus did that with the E-620 (a consumer DSLR, no less!). The AE-L/AF-L button is gone however, replaced by a joystick nub that looks suspiciously like Canon's one, which is also replicated in the vertical grip. Also, get ready for a new battery: the new EN-EL18 is rated for 2600 shots. Err, that does seem lower than the D3S's 4200 shots. Change in methodology? XQD support is now added, with one slot for it, and the other for the old standby CompactFlash. There is also an Ethernet port, along with a new WiFi transmitter for connectivity, which also allows remote access via the Internet. Yes that's right, the D4 can be controlled from a tablet!

Most of the big upgrades however, are in the video portion. In fact, Nikon bills this as a "multimedia SLR". See that little record button behind the shutter release? The D4 does 1080p video at 24/30 FPS at 24 Mbps bitrate, but also allows uncompressed video to be streamed out of the HDMI port. This allows a monitor with a recording device daisy-chained to it if maximum quality is desired. B frame compression is now supported, along with microphone and headphone jacks. No word if gain on the microphone jack can be controlled. Both AF and exposure can be controlled while recording, and there is a neat trick to use the FX, DX or CX (that's 1x, 1.5x and 2.7x respectively) crop for videos.

It is a nice upgrade in all, but I am not sure if current D3S owners who use their cameras for stills will be upgrading. I think most might still stick with the D3S. The D4 will be released in February 2012 with a price of US$6000. More photos and press release after the break.

There is also a new lens, the AF-S 85mm f/1.8G lens. It is, depending if it is mounted on a FX or DX camera, a nice short or medium telephoto, and an AF-S update to the older AF 85mm f/1.8D lens. Good for those using cameras like the D5100, which lack the internal AF motor. If this is like most of the AF-S primes released so far, expect the AF-S motor to be more on the slower side of fast. The lens will be available for US$500 in March 2012. Photo and press release after the break.

Nikon D4 Overview - DPReview

Nikon D4 and AF-S 85mm f/1.8G - DCResource

Read more...


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Nikon Announces Four Lenses for Nikon 1 Cameras

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:59 PM

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1109/1...nikonlenses.asp

Nikon has announced the three lenses for the Nikon 1 cameras. The three lenses are the 10-30mm (27-81mm equivalent) f/3.5-5.6, the 10mm (27mm equivalent) f/2.8 pancake, the 30-110mm (81-297mm equivalent) f/3.8-5.6mm telephoto lens, and the 10-100mm (27-270mm equivalent) f/4.5-5.6 VR power zoom lens. Looking at the designs, they will be similar to the Micro Four Thirds lenses, in having purely electronic focusing, with the zooms doing away with a dedicated focus ring altogether. The zooms also appear to be collapsible lenses, like some of the Olympus lenses. More images at the link.


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Nikon Releases AF-S DX Micro-Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G Lens

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 07:00 AM

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1107/1...or40mmmacro.asp

Talk about an absolute surprise: After releasing the Micro Nikkor 85mm f/3.5, I thought that would be it for DX Micro Nikkors. Today Nikon proves me wrong by releasing a 40mm f/2.8 Micro Nikkor. Does Nikon think that DX users lack options for macro lenses? (Hint: They probably don't.) The lens offfers a 1:1 reproduction ratio (meaning it can capture an area equal to that of the sensor, which translates to 24mm by 16mm on a DX camera), but the cost of having such a short focal length results in a 5cm working distance from the front of the lens. The lens will be available from the 25th of August at a fairly low price of US$280, but I wonder if Nikon should concentrate on other lenses. Is anyone interested in this lens at all?


Friday, July 8, 2011

Nikon Lenses on the iPhone 4 Becomes Reality

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:00 AM

http://nikonrumors.com/2011/07/07/y...-an-iphone.aspx

The ultimate camera is now here: Attach legendary Nikkor lenses to the iPhone 4! For US$250 you can buy kit that has a casing to allow a converter tube for F-mount lenses. Time to sell that D3S and D3X?


Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Nikon Announces AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G Lens

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:30 AM

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1104/1...kon50mmf1p8.asp

Nikon has updated their 50mm f/1.8 lens with a Silent Wave Motor, but to me, the only advantage this lens has over the incumbent is that it will auto focus with cameras that have no built-in AF motor. It is more expensive by 60%, loses the aperture ring, uses the awkward 58mm filter ring (though that might change), and if the AF-S 50/1.4G is anything to go by, it will focus slower as well. At least this has a focus distance indicator, unlike the AF-S 35/1.8G. Expect this in June for US$220.


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Nikon Pulls AF-S 50mm f/1.8G Lens From Website

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 11:00 AM

http://nikonrumors.com/2011/04/13/c...f1-8g-lens.aspx

I think we can safely conclude that this is pretty much real. AF-S will be welcomed by those on cameras without the screw drive motor, but I'm not liking the loss of the aperture ring (again) and the 58mm filter thread. Get those old AF-Ds when you still can, because if past trends are any indication, the new lens will cost more and focus slower. More details at the source.


Thursday, January 20, 2011

More Glass for Less: A Simple Guide to Inexpensive Lenses

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 08:00 AM

As more people get into photography as a hobby, a common refrain heard is that it is an expensive hobby. It is not without some truth, as hobbies by their nature can involve spending large outlays of money since it is human nature to delve deeper into our interests, and hobbies that involve any kind of gear will have many opportunities for the hobbyist to spend their hard-earned money on. Not helping is today's world of marketing departments' promises of being better at what you do if you buy their companies' products or services.

Even if you ignore the messages from marketing, you still need some basic gear to take a photo, like a lens, and lenses can be very very expensive. Lenses can range from the popular f/2.8 zooms (as much as US$2,000+) to the super telephoto lenses (too much). Thankfully, there are cheap options out there, some good, some downright awful. So what does a budget (and budding) photographer buy? Well, here's a short roundup of some lenses that can be considered to be not too expensive.

Read more...


Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Gizmodo's List of "Budget" Lenses

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 11:38 AM

http://gizmodo.com/5707140/the-best...t-camera-lenses

"If you're shopping for a new lens of some sort, you've come to just the right place. Here's ThePhoblographer's list of the best lenses you can get your hands on without breaking the bank."

Defnitely a budget lens: Nikkor DX AF-S 35mm f/1.8G

Alright, I know it's hard to write articles (else I'd do some more myself), but I wish some writers would write more for their target audience than for themselves. While some of the lenses in the list are indeed budget (normal lenses are usually not expensive), they're all prime lenses. I'm thinking a general techblog on this topic should include some budget but quality zooms in the list (Tamron's 17-50 comes to mind). Also, when going through the list, note that there's no distinction between the use of the lens on APS-C-sized and 35mm-sized sensors for Nikon and Canon systems. There's no mention of other systems, but hey, I guess they don't count in today's market.

And really, the Nikkor AF 28mm f/2.8D? The neutered version from the manual focus version that drops two elements and CRC (Close Range Correction System) is hardly what I call legendary. Budget certainly, but not my favourite wide angle Nikkor, which is hardly wide once you mount it on a DX camera; see my point on not making distinctions on sensor sizes when discussing lenses.


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Make Way for Some Expensive, Awesome Glass: The NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G and the NIKKOR 200mm f/2G

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:04 PM

http://www.nikon.ca/en/Newfromnikon.aspx

"Mississauga, ON, September 15, 2010 - Nikon Canada today announced the addition of two new pro-level lenses to its legendary NIKKOR line. The new AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G and AF-S NIKKOR 200mm f/2G ED VR II deliver the performance, reliability and stunning image quality that photographers come to expect from a NIKKOR lens. The AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G and AF-S NIKKOR 200mm f/2G ED VR II produce sharp results with excellent clarity and colour reproduction whether capturing still images or recording HD video. In 2010, Nikon introduced a total of nine new NIKKOR lenses, reinforcing its role as the world leader in optics."

I've spent some serious green on lenses over the past two years, so I feel like I've got a decent array of lenses to chose from, but Nikon keeps tempting me with interesting lenses. The 35mm f/1.4 looks like a great lens, but the $1999 CAD price tag will keep most people away - never mind the $5999 CAD price tag on the 200mm f/2 lens! Anyway, if you're a fan of great glass and a Nikon shooter, these lenses are worth a look.

Full press release after the break. Read more...


Monday, August 16, 2010

Rumour: Nikon D3100, New Coolpix Cameras, Lenses

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:30 PM

http://nikonrumors.com/2010/08/13/f...new-lenses.aspx

I missed some neat Nikon rumours last week while ill, so here's a quick round-up:

Nikon D3100: Nikon's never been fast to replace their DSLR cameras, save for the lowest rung. First we had the D40, then the D40x, D60 and D3000 in fairly quick succession. Now with the D3100, here's to looking to Nikon to doing something different with the low-end (or at least improve on what feels like a really dated line). With a rumoured ISO range of up to 12,800, I'm hoping it's using a new CMOS sensor based on the D300/D90's. That'd be a nice improvement over the half-decade old 10 megapixel CCD sensor used in the D3000. Lenses next!

Read more...


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

My Preciousssss Has Arrived: The Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Talk" @ 12:00 PM

After saving my pennies for many months, and re-directing incoming birthday and Christmas presents into the "Lens Fund", I'm thrilled to have finally purchased a lens I've had on my want list for two years: the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR II. It's a beast of a lens, a full 209mm (8.2 inches) long, and weighs in at a hefty 1504 grams (3.4 pounds). I adore my 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and shoot with it 90% of the time, but the occasions when I need more reach mean I have to grab my 18-200 Nikkor lens or my Tamron 28-300mm. In the case of the Tamron, a lens I used earlier this week at an indoor pool where the light was awful, at maximum zoom it's an awful f/6.3. The Nikkor isn't much better at f/5.6. Read more...


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