Category: Camera

27Feb

Nikon D7100 DSLR

Posted in Camera, Gear, Hardware, Manuals, News, Product / User Manuals, Sensor, Specifications | Leave a comment

The much anticipated Nikon D7100 arrived whilst I was on a long weekend wildlife shoot in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, South Africa with friends and family. Essentially an upgrade to the D7000 but not quite a replacement for the D300s most thought it might be. A D400 must still be on the cards.

Nikon’s D7100 – Front View

Nikon’s D7100 – Rear View

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The D7100 Specs are mostly what I expected with a twist or two, notably the 51 point AF and the lack of OLPF;

To quote Nikon:

The D7100 marks an exciting advancement in image quality for high-resolution DX-format cameras. Nikon specially designed its 24.1-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor without using an optical low pass filter (OLPF), resulting in the purest, sharpest images using D7100′s DX-format CMOS sensor.

which should be good news for a number of genres especially in my case; bird and BiF images, wildlife as well as jewellery and studio ‘togs where crispness is almost a total expectation now by viewers and critics alike. It remains to be seen just how sharp that is when compared with the results I’m currently achieving on a D7000 with Sigma glass (the Ultra Sharp Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX DG HSM):

Pied Kingfisher, Mankwe Dam, Pilanesberg © Harvey Grohmann 2013

Pied Kingfisher, Mankwe Dam, Pilanesberg Nature Reserve, North West, RSA © Harvey Grohmann 2013 (D7000 | Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX DG HSM)

 

LBJ, Monk's Cowl Forest, Ukhalhamba (Drakensberg), KZN, RSA

African Dusky Flycatcher, Monk’s Cowl, Ukhalhamba (Drakensberg), KZN, RSA. © Harvey Grohmann 2013 (D7000 | Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX DG HSM)

 

The new flagship of Nikon’s DX-format HD-SLR lineup. Achieve a thrilling new level of image quality and sharpness thanks to a specially designed 24.1-MP DX-format CMOS sensor. Enjoy speed, precision and convenience at every step, from shooting up to 6 fps to instantly sharing your shots with the optional WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter. Create dazzling Full HD 1080p videos and ultra-smooth slow-motion or time-lapse sequences. Unleash the power of Nikon’s nimble DX-format system.

Pre-Order yours at B and H Photo Video or wait for your local supplier to get stock, expected March 21st, 2013.

Get the Press Release PDF here.

Specifications (more…)

13Sep

Nikon D600 – Quick Report

Posted in Camera, Gear, Hardware, News | 1 Comment

Nikon has announced it’s latest model, the 24Mp D600, the smallest, least expensive ($2099-00) FX Full Frame DSLR on the market, aimed directly at enthusiast photographers but well capable for Photojournalists and Wildlife togs too. I’m drooling! The D600 has a new  24MP, 36x24mm, CMOS sensor and is loaded with many of the features of the pricier D800 into a body not dissimilar to the DX D7000. This makes the 4th Full Frame model released by Nikon this year. The others being the D4 (24MP), the D800 and the D800e (both at 36MP). It remains to be seen how effective it’s sensor is at maintaining low noise at high ISO shooting.

Nikon’s new Full Frame D600

It’s viewfinder features 100% coverage and a 39-point autofocus system, nine of which are cross-type points. It captures 1080p HD video at 30, 25 or 24 frames per second and can stream uncompressed footage out over the HDMI port. There is also an optional WU-1b Wi-Fi unit allowing the camera to be controlled remotely from an Android or iOS device. It uses an MB-D14 Multi-Power Battery Pack and EN-EL15 Rechargeable Li-ion Batteries. It also has a built-in flash which is uncommon in Nikon’s FX range.

24.3MP Full-frame CMOS sensor (10.5MP DX-format crop mode)
ISO 100-6400 (expandable to ISO 50-25,600 equivalent)
Maximum 5.5fps continuous shooting
39-point AF system with 9 cross-type AF points
1/4000s max shutter speeed
3.2in 921k-dot LCD screen
1080p30 full HD video mode with stereo sound recording
Headphone jack for audio monitoring in movie mode
Uncompressed video recording via HDMI
Dimensions: 141mm x 113mm x 82mm (5.5 × 4.4 × 3.2 in).
Weight: 760 g (1.6 lbs) (camera body only, no battery)

The D600 will list at $2,099 body only or $2,699 with the AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR lens and will be available from BandH New York from September 18th.

The D600 on Nikon’s web site.
D600 full specifications.
Sample images at Nikon’s web site.
Download the PDF brochure here and user manual here.
Here is a hands-on preview at DP Review.

Contact me for tuition, workshop tours as well as event photography!

Gear I use: Bodies: Nikon D-SLR’s / Lenses: Nikon, Sigma, Tokina, Vivitar
Filters: Hoya UV & Polarizing / Flash: Nikon Speed-lights / Bag: Lowe Pro
Tripods & Heads: Manfrotto / Grips, Triggers, Timers, Batteries: Phottix
Editing Plug-in: Topaz Labs Noise Reduction, HDR, B&W Conversion & more!

07Feb

Nikon D800 and D800E released.

Posted in Camera, Gear, Hardware, News, Specifications | 3 Comments

Nikon Press Centre. Feb 6, 2012: Expectations Surpassed: The 36.3-Megapixel Nikon D800 Is The Multimedia HD-SLR That Shatters Conventional Resolution Barriers For Maximum Fidelity

The New Nikon D800 Offers Unrivaled Resolution and Features Designed for a Variety of Demanding Professional Photographic and Multimedia Disciplines, Videographers and Filmmakers

Nikon's new FX DSLR, the D800 (and D800E)

Nikon D800/D800E

Exciting news indeed. After months of watching and wondering, and 3.5 years after the D700, it’s here! I’ll be brief. After my debate of “Are more Megapixels better?” the D800 now sports a 36.3Mp CMOS sensor in Full Frame (FX) 35mm (35.9 x 24.0 mm). That is rivalling Medium Format…but with the choice of f/1.4 lenses where nearly all MF lenses start at f/2.8! The sensor is also completely redesigned and engineered by Nikon, and with Nikon’s legendary FX Format Low Light Low Noise characteristics, this is a leap forward in the evolution of the digital camera, especially in this format. Not just a small Mp progression…It allows unedited A1 size pictures without needing Fractal Software and amazing cropping options without degradation of pixel/image quality.

That’s a pixel density of 42,131 pixels per mm² and to all appearances it’s not at the cost of IQ, sharpness or noise, keeping in line with the high ISO, low noise tradition of all Nikon full frame DSLR’s from the D700 on up, and specifically the D3s.

(Owners of the remarkable Sigma SD1 Digital SLR Camera with the FOVEON  X3 – 46Mp will no doubt be wondering what all the hype is about…except maybe the price tag, however the SD1 has an APS-C 24 x 16mm small frame sensor and thus a pixel density of 119,791! Yes I know it has 3 stacked sensors (layers), each 4800 x 3200px but thus needs no AA filter (such as the D800E) and no coloured jaggies but with a slight increase in colour noise in low-light.)

As a reminder here are the current FX per mm² pixel densities (from my 2009 500mm Vivitar mirror-reflex-lens report):

Nikon D800/E 36,3Mp CMOS

Nikon D800/E 36,3Mp CMOS

All of the FX DSLR’s use a Nikon designed and built CMOS

D700—14,063 pixels/mm² (12.1 Mp FX 36.0 x 23.9mm)
D3 -–- 14,063 pixels/mm² (12.1 Mp FX 36.0 x 23.9mm)
D3s –- 14,063 pixels/mm² (12.1 Mp FX 36.0 x 23.9mm)
D3x –- 30,113 pixels/mm² (24.5 Mp FX 35.9 x 24.0mm)
D4 -–- 18,850 pixels/mm² (16.2 Mp FX 36.0 x 23.9mm)
D800—42,131 pixels/mm² (36.3 Mp FX 35.9 x 24.0mm)

I won’t add more tech gumf, as no doubt thousands of other blogs and websites have done so already however you can download the PDF brochure here (3.6MB) / Full D800/D800E Specifications here.

Despite all it’s new bells and whistles, this is the most intriguing and interesting aspect to me:

What is the difference between the D800 and the D800E or the D800 vs D800E? (Note: Both have the SAME resolution and SAME sensor at 36.3 Mp)

(more…)

30Jan

Is (Digital) Medium Format all it’s cracked up to be?

Posted in Camera, Gear, General, Hardware, News, Sensor, Studio | 2 Comments

According to this MF photographer, there are limitations…

After receiving a newsletter from DP Review about the Phase One Mamiya – Leaf tie-up , one commentator, kb2zuz; (Kurt Heumiller)-USA, who shoots for the Yale Center for British Art, with a Hasselblad H3D-II 39 MS and H4D 50 MS, had this to say about the Medium Format  debate (added below for those without restricted internet access):

What are the mythical advantages of sensor size (or the often related larger pixels)? Less noise, better dynamic range, shallower depth of field. I work with an H4D every day, … I can tell you this, at anything over 50 ISO it has worse noise than any 35mm “full-frame” digital I’ve seen. It has only slightly better dynamic range (and again, that’s only at 50 ISO). Yes with the 120mm f/4 lens it will have a shallower depth of field than an 85mm lens on a full-frame at f/4, but you can get f/1.2 lenses for full-frame. Most MF lenses are f/2.8 or slower, there’s a couple f/2.2 lenses… so there goes the DOF advantage. I use medium format every day and there are reasons for it: multi-shot uninterpolated images, no AA filter, and high megapixels. That’s about it.

I’m no expert on MF, but I’ve long thought it would be better than FF or APS-C in all regards, at that sensor size, and I’ve seen jaw dropping images by MF photographers, but there are other factors I should have taken into consideration, (more…)

14Dec

Nikon D4

Posted in Camera, Gear, Hardware, News, Specifications | 1 Comment

Nikon D4Rumours have been flying around for a while. Thom Hogan’s logic about the life cycle of Nikon models and their launch times makes sense as is his question as to who will buy the D4 is also pertinent as it means that delivery will not be in the 100′s of thousands. The D800 (D700 replacement) and a successor to the D300s would be more important to Nikon. The only curve ball has been the Tsunami in Japan and the flooding in Malaysia which has set them back a few months. Expect an announcement at the PMA show in Las Vegas (January 10-13, 2012).

Here are a few specs gleaned from the web (scary right?) from sources that are generally on the ball. The D4 would be competing with the Canon EOS 1Dx.

16.2 MP (18Mp?)
11 fps
Shutter durability up from 150,000 to 300,000 (A real guess)
100 to 102,400 native ISO range, expandable to 50 and 204,800
Face detection/recognition function that will work in the viewfinder (Nikon has submitted several viewfinder patents)
Improved video, possibly 1080p/30/25/24 fps and  720p/60/30/25/24 fps similar to the expected Nikon D800
Uncompressed video out through an HDMI port
Ability to assign the two front body buttons to smooth aperture control during video recording
Compatible with a new Nikon WT-5 wireless transmitter to replace the 2007 WT-4a
Ethernet integrated in camera (wired tethered shooting?)
Expeed 3
USB 3.0
Improved 51 AF points
AF detection range will go down to EV-2.0 (the D3s went to EV -1)
Autofocus system: 9 cross-type sensors operational up to f/8
Compact Flash + XQD memory card slots.



Gear I use: Bodies: Nikon D-SLR’s / Lenses: Nikon, Sigma, Tokina, Vivitar /
Filters: Hoya UV & Polarizing / Flash: Nikon Speed-lights / Bag: Lowe Pro /
Tripods & Heads: Manfrotto / Grips, Triggers, Timers, Batteries: Phottix /
Editing Plug-in: Topaz Labs for Noise Reduction, HDR.