This is my effort at the channel mixer conversion with the red channel boosted up after taking a blue sky with a CPL.

From the top of the Malvern Hills, you can see the rest of the series at my blog.

Ah finally, Nikon have unveiled the new camera with full specs.

It’s not a great jump from the D70s but there are some nice minor refinements, I don’t regret getting my D70s though as I doubt there will be any stock for this cam until 2007.

We posted our first thoughts after the leak here: D80 leaked shots and thoughts

The major changes are:

• New 10.2 effective megapixel Nikon DX Format CCD image sensor with the power to capture exceptional sharpness and faithful colour at 3,872 x 2,592 pixels size.
• Inherits the industry-leading advanced imaging processing engine of Nikon professional D-SLR cameras. Colour-independent pre-conditioning prior to A/D conversion works in harmony with high-precision digital image processing algorithms to produce natural-looking images that benefit from faithful colour and tone reproduction.
• 3D Colour Matrix Metering II automatic exposure control ensures ideal exposures in most lighting conditions. It evaluates brightness, colour, contrast, selected focus area and camera-to-subject distance. The system references the data against an expanded onboard database created using data from more than 30,000 actual photographic scenes to instantly and accurately calculate the final exposure value for the shot. Variable centre-weighted metering and spot metering centered on the active focus area are also available.
• Refined 11-area AF system packs the same number of focus areas available for the professional D2 series into a space-efficient system that features fast, precise operation. Each of the 11 focus areas can be used individually, the centre sensor can be switched to wide-frame operation for broader coverage and new Auto-area AF mode measures all 11 focus areas. The system automatically determines which are on the primary subject and activates only those areas.
• ISO AUTO mode automatically adjusts sensitivity between ISO 100 -1600 to maximize available light and achieve optimal exposure. Sensitivity can also be set manually between ISO 100 – 1600 in steps of 1/3 EV, plus HI-0.3, HI-0.7 and HI-1. Three levels of High ISO Noise Reduction are available when shooting at high ISO settings. Long Exposure Noise Reduction is also available when shooting at shutter speeds of 8 seconds or slower.

The full specs and press release/pics can be found here.

The preview looks good so far, I’d like to see some sample shots though.

Two and a half years ago Nikon announced the six megapixel D70, their first affordable enthusiasts digital SLR, it proved to be a very popular camera and strong competitor to the Canon EOS 300D (Digital Rebel). Just fifteen months later Nikon revealed the D70s which was essentially the same camera with a some subtle tweaks (improved AF, wider flash coverage, higher capacity battery, larger LCD monitor). And so just over fifteen months on from the D70s Nikon present the latest incarnation of their ‘enthusiasts’ digital SLR line, the ten megapixel D80.

The D80 slots nicely between the entry-level D50 and the semi-professional / professional D200, clearly based on the D70 design but also different enough to be seen as a completely new model. It features a ten megapixel DX format CCD (the same we presume as used by Sony in the DSLR-A100), the metering sensor from the D50 and numerous other items taken or modified from the D200.

The full hands on preview is here.

They also announced another couple of AF-S lenses to go with the launch of this cam an 18-135mm as the new optional kit lens with more focal range (AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED) and another which I might add to my shopping list after I see some reviews as it’s the exact range I’ve been looking for and it has VR!

The AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED, it’s not f/2.8 but with VR it gives you that couple of extra stops anyway and it’s much more affordable. It’s equivalent to 450mm on a 35mm camera. It should be about RM1500 where as the f/2.8 version is RM6100, a huge difference, but is it really 4 times better? I shall test it out.. but if it’s anything like the 18-200mm VR it’ll be impossible to get hold of.

I’ll talk more about the lenses later.

Date/Time: 25th August 2006, time of attendance most probably follows as the 2nd TT

Venue: Nasi Kandar Sedap@Aman Suria (next to Dataran Prima), Petaling Jaya

There could be representatives from Canon, Nikon and Sony to join us for the DCM 3rd TT Gathering; hopefully they can demo to us their EOS 30D, D80 and Alpha A100 DSLR cameras.

Directions:

If you come from Motorola, use the LDP highway and turn left after the St Ignatius Church into Jln SS25/23.
Drive straight turning left at the mini round-about.
Drive straight on coming to a sharp right turn on what will be named “Jln Bt Mayang Emas” now.
Continue driving straight on up the hill, taking a sharp right corner.
Turn right at Jln SS1/45.
Nasi Kandar Sedap will be on your left hand side.

Latest info here.

If you’ve been frequenting the usual photography / camera forums and blogs, you may have bumped into pictures of this camera:

Last week, Nikon had posted a teaser on its websites worldwide about a new, upcoming 10.2-megapixel DSLR (Click here for the DPreview article).

These leaked shots (if they prove to be real) reveal the camera to be the Nikon D80 – the successor of sorts to the highly popular Nikon D70. I believe that these shots are real. Even if they aren’t, the D70 is due for an update anyway – although it’s still a great camera by today’s standards, it is over two years old.

But what does this mean to existing D70 owners? Should you upgrade? Is this camera as good as a D200 (which has the same megapixel count)? How is it different from the D70?

I’ll try to answer these questions, but bear in mind that they’re completely based on assumptions made from these pictures, which I also assume to be true. With these disclaimers out of the way, let’s have a closer look.

FRONT

From the front, the camera looks a lot like a souped-up D50, with more rounded lines and a smaller appearance than the D70. However, it does have the D70′s front command dial on the hand grip – something which was sorely missing from the D50.

Unlike the D70 (and like the D200), the pop-up flash release and flash mode/exposure selector have been separated into two separate buttons. No big difference in operation here.

However, there seems to be a custom button located below the AF-assist lamp, which is good. Custom buttons are always good – maybe it’ll let you select your ISO settings or to an AF lock or more. I dunno, but it’s a good sign.

BACK

The back of the camera reveals quite a number of changes. Firstly, there’s a new 2.5in LCD (bigger than the 2in one on the D70s and 1.8in one on the D70). The button layout is largely the same as the one on the D70, although the ISO and white-balance buttons (with their corresponding playback functions) have been swapped. The trash button has also moved to the top left (where the bracketting and drive-mode buttons used to be)while a new ‘OK’ button has appeared where the trash button itself used to be.

However, the fact that the ISO, white-balance and quality settings are still shared with playback buttons isn’t good news – especially if you normally enable instant review. The problem is: if you want to change you ISO settings right after a shot, you may still be in image playback mode and end up switching to thumbnail view. Not a serious problem, but it’s annoying (and is one very good reason to buy a D200 instead).

More shocking, though, is that the CF card door has now moved to the side of the camera (it used to be at the back, which was perfect ). In fact, the shape and dimensions of the door seem to suggest an SD card slot instead (just like the D50). I can’t tell for sure, as it may just be a notch that leads to a much bigger CF card door. Only time will tell, unfortunately. In the mean time, hold off those CF card purchases if you’re planning to upgrade to a D80!

TOP

Now this is interesting… The drive-mode button is now located to the right of the monochrome LCD panel, along with a new AF button. My guess is that this AF button lets you select either between single- and continuous-autofocus, or between different autofocus dynamic/spot modes. Or all of the above! This may also see the introduction of a new AF module, although there’s nothing wrong with the one on the D70 to begin with. AF mode selection was one of the weaknesses of the D70 (you could do it, but it required going through the menus, which is very *yucks!*) – nice to see Nikon doing something about it.

The more observant may also notice the disappearence of the bracketing mode button. Well, I never used the one on the D70 much anyway, so Nikon probably listened to customer suggestions here as well.

VERDICT

Well, the D80 looks to be an incremental update over the D70/D70s. The only reason I’d ever buy one is if the D80′s viewfinder offers much higher magnification (maybe closer to that of the D200′s) – so I can actually keep an eye on the depths of field while I’m framing a shot. It’s a problem for me, personally – even after jamming a DK-21m magnifying eyepiece to my D70.

I doubt the D80 will have the D200′s 5fps continuous drive or weather sealing either. Only time will tell, of course. Until then, wait for the official announcement from Nikon.

A friends son at the recent polo match, he was trying to get out of the sun, shy but cute little boy.

I like the black and white effect with the grainyness, gives it a old vs new kind of feel. I tend to like B&W for youngsters.

I used lanatirs method of effective black and white conversion rather than just desaturating

Exposure: 1/1600 Aperture: f/4.5 Focal Length: 70 mm Exposure Bias: 2/3 EV ISO: 1250

Also recropped with space at the right to give the little fella somewhere to roam in. Cropping kids very tightly makes them seem rather too stationary.