Digital Camera Information

According to Nikons Quaterly report, it looks like they will have a great year in 2008. So far they have grown market share, exceeded their forecast and are now trying to increase production to meet dermand.

Here are three supporting questions and answers mentioned in their financial results for the first half of the year ending March 31, 2008.

Question: What is the outlook for the digital camera market?

Answer: Nikon’s digital SLRs led the market during the first half of the year ending March 2008 in Japan. And they sold in other regions as well. October sales in the US exceeded our forecast, and while we as yet do not see any slowdown in consumer spending due to the subprime mortgage problem, we are paying close attention to how the Christmas selling season is going. Next fiscal year our competitors will develop their marketing to full extent in the digital SLR market, and we expect this will stimulate market growth and contribute to sales.

Question: What is the profit outlook for Imaging Products Business?

Answer: Robust digital SLR and interchangeable lens sales are being boosted by the appreciation of the exchange rate. We forecast an operating profit rate of 13.5%, higher than the 10.2% of the previous fiscal year. Currently, we are moving ahead with our manufacturing reform projects with the aim of achieving profit margins and cost efficiencies that rival our competitors.

Question: How are the new digital SLRs, D3 and D300, performing?

Answer: They have been extremely well received on the market since their announcement and we receive a great number of orders. In response, we are preparing to increase production of both models.

Just as soon as the Canon 40D was announced, Nikon has announced the release of the new Nikon D300 and from the specifications; the Nikon seems to come out on top.

Here are the specifications

Type of Camera - Single-lens reflex digital camera

Effective Pixels - 12.3 million

Image Sensor - CMOS sensor, 23.6 x 15.8 mm; total pixels: 13.1 million; Nikon DX format

Image Size (pixels) - 4,288 x 2,848 [L], 3,216 x 2,136 [M], 2,144 x 1,424 [S]

Dust-reduction System - Clean image sensor, image dust-off data acquisition (Capture NX required)

Sensitivity - ISO 200 to 3200 in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV with additional settings of approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1 EV (ISO 100 equivalent) under ISO 200 and approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1 EV (ISO 6400 equivalent) over ISO 3200

File System - Compliant with DCF 2.0, DPOF and Exif 2.21

Storage System

-NEF 12-bit or 14-bit (uncompressed, lossless compressed or compressed RAW)
-TIFF (RGB)
-JPEG: JPEG baseline-compliant

Storage Media - CompactFlash (CF) Card (Type I and II, UDMA compliant), Microdrive

Release Modes - 1) Single frame [S] mode 2) Continuous low speed [CL] mode: 1 to 7*1 frames per second 3) Continuous high-speed [CH] mode: 8 frames per second*1, 6 frames per second*2 4) Liveview [LV] mode 5) Self-timer [] mode 6) Mirror-up [Mup] mode

*1. When using AC Adaptor EH-5a/EH-5 or Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 with batteries other than Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e
*2. When using Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e

(When shooting in Continuous-servo AF (C), Shutter-Priority Auto [S] or Manual [M] exposure modes, at a shutter speed of 1/250 s or faster with other settings at default)

White Balance - Auto (TTL white balance with 1,005-pixel RGB sensor), seven manual modes with fine-tuning, color temperature setting, white balance bracketing possible (2 to 9 frames in increments 1~3)

Liveview - Hand-held mode, Tripod mode

LCD Monitor - 3-in., approx. 920,000-dot (VGA), 170-degree wide viewing angle, 100% frame coverage, low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with brightness adjustment

Playback Function - 1) Full frame 2) Thumbnail (4 or 9 segments) 3) Zoom 4) Slideshow 5) RGB histogram indication 6) Shooting data 7) Highlight point display Auto image rotation

Delete Function -Card format, All photographs delete, Selected photographs delete

Video Output - NTSC or PAL; simultaneous playback from both the video output and on the LCD monitor available

HDMI Output - Supports HDMI version 1.3a; Type A connector is provided as HDMI output terminal; simultaneous playback from both the HDMI output terminal and on the LCD monitor not available

Interface - Hi-Speed USB

Text Input - Up to 36 characters of alphanumeric text input available with LCD monitor and multi-selector; stored in Exif header

Lens Mount - Nikon F Mount with AF coupling and AF contacts

Compatible Lenses

1) DX AF Nikkor: All functions possible
2) D-/G-type AF Nikkor (excluding IX Nikkor lenses): All functions possible (excluding PC Micro- Nikkor)
3) AF Nikkor other than D-/G-type (excluding lenses for F3AF): All functions except 3D-Color Matrix Metering II possible
4) AI-P Nikkor: All functions except Autofocus, 3D-Color Matrix Metering II possible
5) Non-CPU AI Nikkor: Can be used in exposure modes A and M; electronic range finder can be used if maximum aperture is f/5.6 or faster; Color Matrix Metering and aperture value display supported if user provides lens data

Picture Angle - Equivalent in 35mm [135] format is approx. 1.5 times lens focal length

Viewfinder - SLR-type with fixed eye-level pentaprism; built-in diopter adjustment (-2.0 to +1.0 m-1)

Eyepoint - 19.5 mm (-1.0 m-1)

Focusing Screen - Type-B BriteView Clear Matte screen Mark II with superimposed focus brackets and On-Demand grid lines

Viewfinder Frame Coverage - Approx. 100% (vertical and horizontal)

Viewfinder Magnification - Approx. 0.94x with 50mm lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1

Autofocus - TTL phase detection, 51 focus points (15 cross-type sensors) by Nikon Multi-CAM 3500DX autofocus module; Detection -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100 at 20°C/68°F); AF fine adjustment possible

Focal plane contrast [in Liveview (Tripod) mode]

Lens Servo - Single-servo AF (S); continuous-servo AF (C); manual (M); predictive focus tracking automatically activated according to subject status in continuous-servo AF

Focus Point - Single AF point can be selected from 51 or 11 focus points

Liveview (Tripod mode): Contrast AF on a desired point within entire frame

AF Area Mode - 1) Single point AF 2) Dynamic Area AF [9 points, 21 points, 51 points, 51 points (3D-tracking)] 3) Automatic-area AF

Focus Lock - Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (single-servo AF) or by pressing AE-L/AF-L button

Exposure Metering System - TTL full-aperture exposure metering using 1005-pixel RGB sensor

1) 3D Color Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); color matrix metering II (other CPU lenses); color matrix metering (non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data; metering performed)
2) Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 6, 8, 10, or 13 mm dia. circle in center of frame or weighting based on average of entire frame (8 mm circle when non-CPU lens is used)
3) Spot: Meters approx. 3 mm dia. circle (about 2.0% of frame) centered on selected focus point (on center focus point when non-CPU lens is used)

Exposure Metering Range - 1) 0 to 20 EV (3D Color Matrix or center-weighted metering) 2) 2 to 20 EV (spot metering) (ISO 100, f/1.4 lens, 20°C)

Exposure Meter Coupling - Combined CPU and AI

Exposure Modes - 1) Programmed Auto [P] with flexible program 2) Shutter-Priority Auto [S] 3) Aperture Priority Auto [A] 4) Manual [M]

Exposure Compensation - ±5 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV

Auto Exposure Lock - Detected exposure value locked by pressing AE-L/AF-L button

Auto Exposure Bracketing - Exposure and/or flash bracketing (2 to 9 exposures in increments of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 1 EV)

Picture Control System - Four setting options: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome; each option can be adjusted

Shutter - Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal plane shutter, 1/8,000 to 30 s in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV, Bulb

Sync Contact - X=1/250 s; flash synchronization at up to 1/320 s (FP) adjustable with Built-in Speedlight or optional Speedlight (will reduce GN)

Flash Control

1) TTL: TTL flash control by 1,005-pixel RGB sensor, built-in Speedlight, SB-800, SB-600 or SB-400: i-TTL balanced fill-flash and standard i-TTL flash
2) AA (Auto Aperture-type) flash: Available with SB-800 used with CPU lens
3) Non-TTL Auto: Available with Speedlights such as SB-800, 28, 27, and 22S
4) Range-priority manual flash; available with SB-800

Flash Sync Mode

1) Front-curtain Sync (normal) 2) Red-eye Reduction 3) Red-eye Reduction with Slow Sync 4) Slow Sync 5) Rear-curtain Sync

Built-in Speedlight - Manual pop-up with button release

Guide number - (ISO 200, m): approx. 17 (manual 18)

(ISO 100 equivalent, m): approx. 12 (manual 13)

Flash Compensation - -3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV

Accessory Shoe - ISO 518 Standard hot-shoe contact with safety lock provided

Sync Terminal - ISO 519 standard terminal

Creative Lighting System - With Speedlights such as SB-800, SB-600, SB-400, SB-R200, supports Advanced Wireless Lighting, Auto FP High-Speed Sync, Flash Color Information Communication, modeling flash and FV lock

Self-timer - 2 to 20 seconds duration

Depth of Field Preview - When CPU lens is attached, lens aperture can be stopped down to value selected by user (A and M mode) or value selected by camera (P and S mode)

Remote Control - Via 10-pin terminal or Wireless Transmitter WT-4 (optional)

GPS - NMEA 0183 (Ver. 2.01 and 3.01) interface standard supported with 9-pin D-sub cable (optional) and GPS Cable MC-35 (optional)

Supported Languages - Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish

Power Source - One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 (optional) with one Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL4a, EN-EL4 or EN-EL3e or eight R6/AA-size alkaline (LR6), Ni-MH (HR6), lithium (FR6) batteries, or nickel-manganese ZR6 batteries, AC Adapter EH-5a (optional)

Tripod Socket - 1/4 in. (ISO 1222)

Custom Settings - 48 settings available

Dimensions (W x H x D) - Approx. 147 x 114 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.5 x 2.9 in.)

Weight - Approx. 825 g (1.82 lbs.) without battery, memory card, body cap, or monitor cover

Operating Environment - Temperature: 0-40°C/32-104°F, Humidity: under 85% (no condensation)

Supplied Accessories (may differ by country or area) - Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, USB Cable UC-E4, Video Cable EG-D100, Strap AN-D300, LCD monitor cover BM-8, Body cap, Eyepiece Cap DK-5, Rubber Eyecup DK-23, Software Suite CD-ROM

Main Optional Accessories - Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10, Wireless Transmitter WT-4, Magnifying Eyepiece DK-21M, AC Adapter EH-5a, Capture NX Software, Camera Control Pro 2

There seems to be some speculation that the Nikon D200 successor could be called either the Nikon D200x or the Nikon D300.

After recently reviewing the leaked pdf file on the Olympus professional camera called the E-P1 (yet to be announced), I have to say, the Nikon D300 seems the most appropriate choice.

You see, Olympus have somehow named the Nikon D200 successor as the Nikon D300 which is clearly indicated in the pdf file. Olympus has also provided us with some interesting inside information on how they view their future competition; namely the Canon 40D and the Nikon D300.

As you can see in the attached diagram (page 10 of 27), it indirectly points out the Nikon D300 will have a larger LCD screen (?3 inch), faster start-up time and higher mega pixels than the E-P1. There’s also other information you can gather from this diagram such as the absence of dust reduction and live view.

I’m sure more will be revealed soon. Once again, the 18 month product cycle is due again in September this year and it’ll be interesting to see how things develop.