Nikon Japan has posted the official D300 sample photos. The photos were taken at ISO200. People have been anxiously waiting for a high ISO sample so they can find out the noise performance of the new CMOS sensor. The lack of high ISO samples for D300 have fueled some speculations that the performance might not be very good. Join the discussions at DPReview.
DPReview got their hands on a pre-production version of Nikon D300 and produced a detailed hands-on preview. Still no full size sample images though. The 922,000 pixel display looks great. The inclusion of the HDMI port may change the way people use the video-out port on the camera. Personally I have never used the video-out on my D70 or D200 due to its poor quality. Nikon paid great attention to details. No more tiny 10-pin connector screw cap to lose as it is replaced by an attached rubber cap. There is no need to remove the battery door to attach the vertical battery grip. On one down side, the exposure bracketing is still 1 EV maximum step size, just like D200. I wished they could make it possible to do 2EV/step, which is more practical for HDR photography.
Digital SLRs with APS-C sized sensors currently dominates the DSLR market. The smaller sensor size translates to lower cost and compact/light weight cameras for photographers. Macro/wildlife and sports shooters love the benefits of more DOF and reach, landscape and some former 35mm film photographers hate them because their wide angle lens is no longer wide enough.
In response to the market demands, many manufacturers have produced ultra wide angle lens specially for DSLRs with APS-C sized sensors. They include the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED, Tokina AT-X 124 AF PRO DX 12-24mm f/4, Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM, Tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]. The first two are for Canon and Nikon photographers, respectively. The other models offer versions that are compatible with various camera manufacturers, such as Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, etc. Read More…
No surprises here. Electronic giant Sony is now said to be number three after Canon and Nikon in global DSLR shipments. The aforementioned report quoted last year’s IDC analysis data saying Canon had 47%, Nikon 33%, and Sony 6% (once as much as 10%) of global DSLR shipments. With a strong offering in the new Sony Alpha DSLR-A700, we will see some more competition in the DSLR market, which is absolutely good news for consumers.
Imaging Resources has a very detailed coverage of the Nikon D3/D300 press conference. You can read about Nikon’s market share, the sensor technology in D3, Live View, active D-Lighting, some hands-on impressions of the high ISO performance, viewfinder, and the stunning LCD display, as well as the new lenses that Nikon will release. At the end, Nikon showed a impressive 4.5 stop improvement of shack reduction from the in-lens image stabilization technology compared to ~2.5 stop improvement of competitors’ in-camera image stabilization technology.
Wow…amazing. I cannot believe the heat in the DPReview Nikon forum. Hundreds of posts in a few hours. Finally the press releases have been posted on Nikon website. Please read the press releases for now. More update will follow.
DPReview has also posted the news and previews of the new cameras. Read them here:
I simply cannot believe what I have read.
Overall, the new releases by Nikon are truly remarkable. They will solidify the lead position by Nikon and expend its market share further. The wishful thinking by Canon may be declared a “bust” for now.
With strong sales performance from D40x/D80, Nikon has obtained the DSLR market leader position in Japan (Read the previous post titled Nikon is on top, in Japan) with market share of 47.5 percent vs. Canon’s 36.5 percent. With the recently announced two new DSLR products, the EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 40D, Canon expects (or just hoping?) to regain the lead in Japan for digital SLR camera shipments. Is Nikon quivering, or just busy preparing its new releases? Let’s just wait and see.
Although the reactions are mixed (some people are just very unappeasable), but majority of Canon fans on DPReview seem to be happy with the 40D feature sets. One fan rejoiced “Canon pulls ahead of Nikon“, and another one yahoo-ed “40D - weathersealed!!! yes!!!“. It is indeed a fine machine. However by comparing to the Nikon D200, which is in the same class as Canon 40D and almost two years older, Canon just did a lot of catch-up. Even CNet agrees (see Canon fights back with two SLRs).
Here is the comparison of the major features side-by-side on DPReview of Canon EOS 40D and Nikon D200. It basically showed a close match of feature sets when the photo-taking aspects are concerned.
Overall Nikon still wins in ergonomics and the attention to details, which is difficult to go into details in words. However I have to admire the fine machine Canon just introduced. I believe the competition is always good for consumers like you and me. It leads to cameras with better performance/price ratio.
10/26/2007: Canon EOS 40D review by DPReview.
