D3/D300 officially announced today

Hi,

D3 (FX sensor- Full Flame) & D300 (still DX sensor) announced in Asia

today. More spec will be followed...

Sam

Here are photos of the bodies from a Korean site. No official specs yet.

It's almost like there's a new baby in the family, I'm so excited.

Well the prism is a lot bigger so that's a good start. :-) It just says D3 - no h or x - that's interesting.

Can't wait for more official announcements and details to roll out as Nikon in the USA and EU go live. Cool!

Cheers

James

Well the prism is a lot bigger so that's a good start. :-) It just says D3 - no h or x - that's interesting.

 

Can't wait for more official announcements and details to roll out as Nikon in the USA and EU go live. Cool!

 

Cheers

James

Would somebody please wake me up when the D200 gets a price cut? I want to upgrade my D70 this year!

Dang, I think these pix may be fakes too - we'll just have to wait and see.

Cheers

James

Dang, I think these pix may be fakes too - we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Cheers

James

Nope, looks like they are real. The cameras were offically announced in Asia a few hours ago.

Dave,

Can you post a link to one of the Asian Nikon division websites? I'd like to check it out.

Here's the translation from the Korean site:

"Nikon has revealed new DSLRs.

Nikon revealed 2 Digital SLR cameras at their 90th Anniversary Event at the Millenium Hilton Hotel on the 23rd.

These 2 DSLR cameras are the semi-professional model 'D300' and the professional model 'D3'. They are successors to the current 'D200' and 'D2H'.

Nikon explains that the 'D300' is positioned at the top level of their DX format lineup, and it is closer to perfection than before.

It has an effective pixel count of 12.3 mega pixels and has a brand new image processing engine based on their own comprehensive image processing engine called 'exspeed(I don't know the exact spelling for the name)'. It has many new features such as the 'Picture control system' that allows users to edit their pictures, and a viewfinder that has a frame coverage of approx. 100%.

The 'D3' is equipped with Nikon's newly developed large CMOS image sensor that is equivalent to the size of a 35mm film frame. It is aimed at professional photographers with high image quality, high ISOs, and high functionality that exceeds current DSLR cameras.

Nikon is planning to be more aggressive at capturing the Korean market. Nikon's 'D40' has been extremely successful last year and has allowed them to win the No. 1 spot in Korea's DSLR market(I'm not really sure if this is the case).

Reporter Kwon, Sun Yung(kong@heraldm.com)"

James

I heard from my source that it is going to be full frame 12 megapixels, 9 fps camera. However, the body is almost but not quite identical to D2X so housing may or may not work out. One useful feature will be live view so even if viewfinder does not quite fit perfectly, that might not be too much of an issue.

However, I am more excited about the new lenses. Supposedly there will be a new 14-24mm full frame, f2.8 rectilinear lens. Which then for underwater use would beg a question whether I will really need a D3 as D2X with 14-24mm F2.8 and 10.5mm will give me pretty much all I need for wide angle. I suppose if I ever get to dive with a whale, a 14-24mm on full frame camera might be fun.

Otherwise, there will also be 24-70mm lens, 400,500, 600 VR , I believe all F2.8 as well.

Here it is, the closest to official that I could find:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_p...cid=7-8742-9083

Three minutes after the press conference starts

Galbraith front page

Hey Rocha, SNAP

I also was told that I have till December to put money into my D3 fund

That's it Luiz - if it's on Rob's site it's official. The press conf. is supposed to have started at 1pm in Tokyo - 8 mins ago.

Cheers

James

Hey Rocha, SNAP

Here is the direct link to the D300 specs:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_p...cid=7-8742-9084

According to Rob, both have 14-bit A/D conversion!

Luiz - what time zone are you in? If it's not too late there can you make a front page post? This is great big news. :-)

Cheers

James

They're up on the Nikon Japan front page ...

Yep, just went up on DPreview at 15 mins after the hr. Phil also has a preview of the camera and info on the new 14-28mm and 24-70mm lenses.

It looks like Nikon's embargo worked pretty well this time.

Cheers

James

RE: D3. One word: WOW

Hey James, it is only 6pm here I will make the front page post ASAP. In the mean time, check these D3 specs:

1. All-new processing circuitry that features 14-bit analog-to-digital conversions and a 16-bit processing path.

2. An ISO range of 200-6400 in 1/3 step increments, plus L1 (100), H1 (ISO 12,800) and H2 (ISO 25,600).

3. A 51-area autofocus system called Multi-CAM 3500, featuring 15 cross-type AF areas positioned around the centre.

4. A huge viewfinder.

5. A 3-inch (diagonal) rear LCD that is so crisp and clear you'll never want to use another rear LCD to review your pictures again. Its 920,000-dot resolution makes it possible to judge critical focus when zoomed in to nearly full magnification.

6. LiveView with autofocus. When enabled, the rear LCD displays a real-time view through the lens.

7. An AF fine tune option for compensating for autofocus miscalibration with certain lenses or all lenses.

Very, very exciting indeed!