Wow now even though the rumours were rife recently, no one expected to see this come out! Nikon has pulled out not one, but 2 full frame FX format cameras within a year!

After the superb Nikon D3, now comes the well specced Nikon D700 a full frame camera in a D300 body. This will be making all of those waiting for the elusive Canon 5D MKII cry.

It’s a great move by Nikon and gives a lot of pro shooters a backup body without having to carry another heavy D3, for wedding shoots and those who don’t need the rugged build and high-speed of the D3 this is the perfect choice.

With the excellent new FX lenses from Nikon as well they are really leading the market now.

• 12.1 megapixel full-frame sensor
• Image Sensor Cleaning (vibration)
• ISO 200 – 6400 (with boost up to ISO 25600 and down to ISO 100)
• Also supports DX lenses, viewfinder automatically masks (5.1 megapixels with DX lens)
• 14-bit A/D conversion, 12 channel readout
• New Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 150,000 exposure durability
• Multi-CAM3500FX Auto Focus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage)
• 95% coverage, 0.72x magnification viewfinder
• Auto-focus calibration (fine-tuning), fixed body or up to 20 separate lens settings
• 5 frames per second continuous with auto-focus tracking
• Optional MB-D10 Battery Pack (same as D300), increases burst rate to 8 fps
• 3.0″ 922,000 pixel LCD monitor
• Live View with either phase detect (mirror up/down) or contrast detect Auto Focus
• Virtual horizon indicates if camera is level (like an aircraft cockpit display)
• ‘Active D-Lighting’ (adjusts metering as well as applying D-Lighting curve)
• Magnesium alloy body with connections and buttons sealed against moisture

It adds sensor cleaning and the horizon tilt in Live View over the D3.

You can find a full Preview of the Nikon D700 here:

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/nikond700/

Some hands on testing from Joe Mcnally here:

http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2008/07/02/rollin-with-the-pride-of-midtown/

Some Extreme Weather shots from the D700 here:

http://www.jimreedphoto.com/gallery.html?gallery=New%20Nikon%20D700

And some official test shots from Nikon here:

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/digitalcamera/slr/d700/sample.htm

Now this is somewhat unexpected, everyone was thinking the next thing from Nikon would be the heralded (and already much leaked) Nikon D3x with the Sony 24.4 megapixel full-frame (FX) sensor.

The latest rumour on the block is a mid-range FX sensor body, something like the Nikon D300 body with the same sensor as the Nikon D3! This would be a direct competitor to the Canon 5D and whatever replaces it (7D or 5D MKII).

• 12.1 megapixels
• 14 bit A/D conversion
• 16 bit image processing
• 51 focus points
• A single Compact Flash slot
• Tough magnesium body.
• Compatible with MB-D10 Battery Grip

The big question is, is it real and will it come out before the much talked about Canon 5D MKII, which should be coming out soon too.

And people are still wondering about the Nikon D90 (the D80 replacement).

According to the rumours the D700 should be priced at US $ 2999.

Canon is hitting the market with a new entry level dSLR to compete with the Nikon D40x and Nikon D60 offerings from Nikon and other entry level models like the Sony A200 and the Olympus E-420.

Features:

• 10.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• 7-point wide-area AF system with f/5.6 cross-type centre point
• Up to 3 frames per second
• 2.5” LCD with Live View shooting
• DIGIC III image processor
• Compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards
• Compact and lightweight body
• Digital Photo Professional RAW processing software
• Fully compatible with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites

It looks like Canon might be shifting their line-up a little to compete more evenly with Nikon.

This camera is lower spec than the 450D, means the next 4xxD series might be more in line with D80/D90 when it comes out and the next 40D/50D will shift up a gear to be more in line with the D300.

That leaves the 1000D series to compete with D40/D60/E-300/A200 etc.

It’s certainly an interesting development.

If they can someone hooked on the Nikon or Canon system by offering a competitive dSLR at only slightly more than a high end prosumer compact or bridge camera….they will make a lot more in the long run selling lenses, accessories, upgrade bodies etc.

It’s a slippery slope once you’ve started and now they’ve realised that they are pouring resources into the very bottom of the market.

This is good for us too in the long run, the more people using low end cameras means cheaper sensors for us and more money for R&D, whatever new tech they develop will go in the high end cams first.

The main contention a lot of people had with the new Nikon D3 was the fastest shutter speed available for Auto-ISO use was 1/250 seconds. This sounds reasonably fast…but if you are shooting sport or action it’s way too slow, you may need at least 1/1250 or 1/2000. Nikon has released an updated firmware for the D3 which fixes this issues and various other small issues.

The range of settings available for ISO sensitivity settings>ISO sensitivity auto control>Minimum shutter speed in the shooting menu has been increased from 1/250–1 s to 1/4000–1 s.

It also adds vignetting control for most G and D. The firmware is available immediately from Nikon’s website. A pdf explaining the changes is available here.

Please visit the links below to access the firmware updates:

PC users can download here.

Mac users can download here.

The original Canon EOS 5D is still one of the best cameras around for pure image quality and high ISO performance, it can’t cut it on ergonomics, features or speed however. That was of course until the Nikon D3 came out and blew everyone away with it’s performance, image quality and high ISO performance.

But for many portrait shooters it’s great, the new EOS 1Ds MKIII is of course better, but also WAY more expensive.

Recently specs for the 5D replacement have been leaked, these have not been confirmed, but we expect to see some kind of preview by April/May as it’s well due for an update.

• 15.3 MP full frame CMOS sensor
• Weather sealing same as 1Ds Mark III
• Dual Digic III with all-new “CXR” NR system reported to best 3rd party NR software.
• 14 bit A/D conversion
• ISO 12800 (C.F. up to 25600)
• Reported 1 2/3 stop sensitivity improvement
• All-new 29-point TTL CMOS sensor with 12 cross-type for F/2.8 or faster lens
• Micro lens fine adjustment for up to 14 lenses
• 300,000 exposure shutter durability
• 6.0 / 3.0 fps
• 3.0″ LCD 922,000 pixels
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• Live View (improved from 450D; latest generation)
• MSRP $3499, available June 2

Pretty interesting eh? That will put it at around RM11,000 over here! Street price of RM9,000 maybe is it really worth it over the D300? Or pay a little more for the superb D3.

We will have to wait and see, the name hasn’t been finalized yet, but it should be announced within the next couple of months if this info is accurate.