Nikon Introduces D300s, D3000, New Versions of 18-200 and 70-200

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>All in all, good moves. The 70-200 seems a little pricey to me. The 18-200 seems like an awful minor refresh (a "bug fix" in my opinion with regard to zoom lock and lessened zoom creep) for more money... I would've left it alone. I think a 300 or 350-dollar 18-70 with VR would be a better addition to the line, but Nikon knows what they're selling.</p>

<p>The 300s is right on the money, and I think the 3000 is, too.</p>

[pete_harlan1]

<p>I love Nikon, so please don't read more into this than intended.</p>

<p>My feeling is that Nikon shot themselves in the foot with this one. (D-300S.)</p>

<p>The D-300 camera is intended for the prosumer and/or advanced amateur.<br>

The 300S is targeted to these same shooters.<br>

I can't see these people (including myself) buying one as there just isn't enough there to cause me to sell my D-300 or even desire any aspect of the D-300S.<br>

Perhaps I am different, but if you tell me the new D-300S will shoot noise free at ISO 1,600 and up, well; that IS a improvement. Or faster AF etc...<br>

Duel media slots is great..Love 'em on my D3; but SD AND CF? Hmmmm?<br>

D-200 to D-300..Now that was an improvement.<br>

Feature sets if properly implemented sell me to a point; image quality is what really sells me.<br>

Sorry Nikon..I think you missed the boat considering your target.</p>

[bmm]

<p>Shun - am now on my work computer (its late evening in Sydney) and the links work fine. Must be something with the cache on my work PC. Cheers and thanks for the great previews. How long were you able to play with the 2 new bodies before their announcement?</p>

[bmm]

<p>Sorry, I just picked something else up. Ilkka/Shun are you suggesting that the D300s has no M mode at all? (ie it only has P,S,and A)??</p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>Ilkka no manual mode on D300s? why would they do that ? :-(</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Photo.net's editor Hannah Thiem received advanced information on the new cameras and lenses from Nikon USA about a month ago, but of course we were all under the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) photo.net had with Nikon until midnight, July 30. I wrote the previews about 2 weeks ago and refined them in the last few days when more information became available.</p>

<p>Remember the so called "Nikon roadmap" that was all over the internet about 3 weeks back? <a href="../nikon-camera-forum/00TtHX">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TtHX</a> According to the roadmap, Nikon would introduce the new version of the 70-200 in October 2009 while photo.net already got information from Nikon USA that it would be announced on July 30, 2009. That was why I immediately knew the "roadmap" was BS. It was too bad that many rumor sites kept pushing that roadmap to generate traffic to their sites even though it was very clear that it was mainly nonsense plus some well known leaks such as the D300s.</p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>if no M mode I would never buy it. Maybe starting now all new Nikon cameras will lack M mode and will have green auto instead. :-)</p>

[Albins images]

<p><em>MUST</em> have PSAM.. <em>Must</em> be a mistake..<br />Even the simplest models didn't miss out on that one.</p>

<p>AH</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Bernard, what is going on with you? :-)</p>

<p>I have no idea why anybody is under the impression the D300s has no M mode. Of course it has all P, S, A, and M as usual.</p>

[marco_p1]

<p>Please Ikka clarify that you were referring only to the video mode, and that the lack of manual control is only an assumption. It seems you scared a few people here.<br>

Pete Harlan, as I see it, the D300s is not introduced to convince D300 users to upgrade, but to give one more reason to those potential buyers which might choose another system, to buy the Nikon product. If i would not have a D300 already I would be happy to buy the new model with video, I think it's a nice way to give some new feature to an already good model which has been on the market for a couple of years and does not really need a replacement yet.<br>

ciao<br>

Marco</p>

[jkiffmeyer]

<p>I'm sure the lack of Manual mode is for the video, not photos.</p>

<p>I really appreciate the dual slots, I use SD now so it will really help when moving up from my D90 to D300s or D400... I can get a few CF cards for when I need to write to two cards on an important shoot, and can continue to use all my SD cards instead of a huge switch to CF. Really a perfect transitional point for the future which I assume will be all SD.</p>

<p>I'm hoping the new 70-200 drives the price down on the old one... :) I could care less about corner sharpness, but I can't afford the price right now.</p>

<p>I'm also very interested in the frame rate of the D300s at 14 bit...</p>

[michaelkh]

<p>"Odd decision, to use a mixed combination of card slots."</p>

<p>Looks weird on the face of it, doesn't it, but a lot of printer devices have convenient SD slots, as does the new macbook pro. Plus you get the real convenience of being able to use a micro-SD card in an adapter, and thus be able to quickly upload a JPEG via any decent internet-connected mobile phone. </p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>The Canon 1D and 1Ds series high-end DSLRs have had dual CF and SD memory card slots for a few generations, but Nikon chose the dual CF option for the D3 family.</p>

<p>The thing about SD cards is that they are still a bit slower than CF cards. I wonder whether it'll take a little longer to clear the buffer if one uses dual CF and SD. In that sense I prefer dual CF for sports and action photography.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p><em>Please Ikka clarify that you were referring only to the video mode</em></p>

<p>Right, I was talking about the D-movie mode. While I'm only assuming the D-movie mode doesn't have independent manual ISO & shutter speed control, the fact that 1) it's a highly desirable feature, 2) it isn't available on the D5000 or D90, and 3) Nikon doesn't advertise manual control in the material available so far on the D300s leads me to make a fairly safe guess that since it's not mentioned, it's not there. Correct me if anyone has contrary information. Canon fixed this problem with a firmware update to the 5D Mk II and advertised it quite a bit, but Nikon has issued no such firmware fixes to their existing D-movie capable cameras.</p>

<p>The decision to go SD on the 2nd slot is understandable, but it's a little problematic for me. I don't own any SD card cameras so to get backups at events (assuming that I will use the D300s) I will need to buy yet more card space which I cannot then take advantage of on my FX cameras. Card space, no matter how much you have, tends to run out. Having two incompatible formats means that at some point I will need to turn off the backup feature on the D300s or switch to the D3 just to get backups while losing the DX reach and video feature. Ok, since I use FX for the majority of events anyway, it may be sufficient to buy one 16 GB SD card for use as a backup device on the D300s, but it's still an additional cost and frankly the D300s isn't that big - they could have made space for a second CF card slot. Without doubt though the SD card slot may make the D300s more attractive as an upgrade to people with existing SD card cameras.</p>

 

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>Shun, do you have information about when you'll have a D300s for testing? A local store in Finland advertises they'll have the D300s, including bod only and kits with either 16-85 or 18-200 v. II, from 28 August. The 70-200 II isn't available until September or October, according to this store's information.</p>

<p> </p>

[photo5]

<p>Ack, Nikon put the D700 style card door on the D300s. No thanks. That was opening up by accident nearly every time I took the camera out of the case. I do like the center OK button but on the D300 (and D200) the entire multi-controller can be depressed to do the same thing. And two CF card slots would have been preferable over a CF and SD card slot. Guess they're trying to make it easier for users to trade up. And reducing the rubber grip to put in a speaker for audio playback. Uh... The one button Live View is nice though, and if it can focus and shoot without having to drop the mirror, I'm impressed.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Ilkka, I wonder why you care about all of this at all. You are not buying a D300s anyway, are you?</p>

<p>One thing we need to keep in mind is that in order to share the same MB-D10 vertical grip/battery pack, the D300s' footprint is pretty much fixed. Therefore, it is not all that easy to make the D300s a bit larger to accomodate dual CF cards.</p>

<p>If you read Nikon's article about designing the D700, you'll realize that they spend a lot of effort to limit the D700's size so that it can also use the MB-D10, although the D700 needs a bigger mirror inside because it is FX. As a result, the D700 is taller than the D300 but Nikon manages to give it the same footprint.</p>

<p>As I mentioned earlier, Hannah Thiem has been talking to Nikon USA for a few weeks. It looks like they have no D300s or new 70-200 for us to test yet, but I should be getting a D3000 very soon. Except for the video mode and dual memory cards, I would say the D300s is 99% the same as the D300 (please don't take that percentage too literally). The many people with NAS in this forum not withstanding, I would imagine that most D300 owners will not upgrade to the D300s.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>Shun, for its capabilities in close-up photography, and for the video, I do care, and might buy one. While I generally prefer my FX cameras for people photography, for close-up photography I am currently limited to 1:2 when I use the tilt on the 85mm PC-E and on FX the corresponding objects are still quite large. I would like to photograph smaller objects while retaining the tilt capability: Hence DX. The D200 I had wasn't quite "it" as while the image quality in macro was very high, it doesn't have live view which I found very useful for focusing in close-up work. so I sold it with the idea that later on I'll get a DX model with live view. I am interested in the video feature for theatrical / concert / wedding photography in low light. Yes, you can argue that a proper video camera would be a more sensible choice - but in my experience the small consumer camcorders don't have adequate dynamic range even outdoors in the sun (looks quite harsh with easily blown highlights and pitch dark shadows), and give a noisy image in high contrast stage light. I would be looking at the 3000€ price category to get a mid-range camcorder that can give good results in these conditions if I went for a Canon XL H1 or something like that. With DSLR video I would not only get good low light performance, but also the option of video in the macro world, which I find intriguing. I have no illusion of being able to produce BBC nature films by myself. It's just something that I find fascinating and I happen to have the required lenses for my DSLRs, so all I'd have to do is plug in the camera and see what I can do. Macro is an area which hasn't conventionally been available to amateur video shooters.</p>

<p>My friends keep telling me that there's no way I will have time to edit video to produce a high quality result, so I should forget about it. Maybe they're right, but it's tempting. ;-)</p>

<p>I have a plan B also for the close-ups with tilt. A bag bellows with tilt along with a PB-4 for greater magnifications, together with specialized macro lenses, but that requires a lot of work in the design and implementation. No doubt this would result in higher quality results than using the 85 PC-E which seems to peak at lower magnifications, but the use of a bellows in the field is ... well, a challenge of its own.</p>

<p> </p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>To clarify, the bag bellows would be put into a smaller, home-made bellows device. The PB-4 is an existing solution though not always that easy to find, but it can't be used with very short extensions such as needed when operating the 85mm between 1:2 and 1:1.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>If you are only getting 1:2 macro on FX, it'll still be 1:2 on DX although the D300/D300s will give you denser pixels than the D3/D700 or even the D3X.</p>

<p>As I mentioned in the preview, one feature I really would like to have is a swivel screen, as it would be extremely helpful for any low-angle macro or landscape shots (or for that matter high-angle overhead shots). The trade off is that the screen will have to be a bit smaller to accomodate the frame around it. Hopefully some future so called "D700x" will have all of those features, including higher pixel density and the FX sensor, but expect to pay for all of those features should they become available.</p>

[StanleyBeck]

<p>I was hoping to see a D400 this Fall, not a re-packaged D300. All of this video mode is nice, I guess, but it doesn't turn me on - I don't need another Swiss Army knife. I would rather the effort and technolory go into improvements, such as noise reduction, sensitivity, tonal range, or such.<br>

The new 70-200mm f2.8 lens is something that interests me, however. If I can't afford it, maybe the old lens will come down a bit.</p>

[joe_a2]

<p>Goodbye D40....Gone are the days of a 1/500th flash sync choice. Anybody have any ideas as to why the more modern cameras are all limited to a slower sync speed?</p>

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

<p>I have one of those silly questions....<br>

What's a CFII card? There's thicker & thinner CF cards??? I've missed something. All I know is that I read that there's no comparability to the thicker cards. And what's this idea of putting in a slot for an SD card......<br>

I like the second slot - but for an SD card??? What a waste of space - -<br>

OK this is Nikon's way of bringing in/up the consumer buyers to make them move up - - but for me - - what a waste of time. :-(<br>

I'm not happy - - I was looking forward to a D400 with more MP etc. This is not what I wanted. :-( I'm disappointed.<br>

As for the 70-200VR - - well I better sell mine immediately before it loses it's value. :-( Well I was considering doing that anyhow..... :-( So I guess I'll be putting it on eBay before my sister arrives next week. :-( Ah well......<br>

I guess I'll be waiting on the D700x & skipping this round.</p>

<p> </p>

[benniehoff]

<p>Now it will be harder to sell my old 18-200...any idea what the price will be like on the new version? If they raised it significantly, maybe things are not so bad as I think.</p>

[oskar_ojala]

<p>I'm a D300 and can honestly say that there is no way that I will upgrade to the D300S, but that should not be surprise :-)<br>

Dual card slot is good, but having two card types does add a lot of hassle. Still, Nikon probably did the maths and figured that adding the SD slot costs so little that better go for it.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>It was too bad that many rumor sites kept pushing that roadmap to generate traffic to their sites even though it was very clear that it was mainly nonsense plus some well known leaks such as the D300s.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I work for a tech company and know that the vast majority of these "leaks" are rather dubious, so I share your frustration.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>My friends keep telling me that there's no way I will have time to edit video to produce a high quality result, so I should forget about it.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You are going to notice that high quality video is a huge time and money sink... people don't realize this. It's good to think about how many home videos does one see that are actually interesting? You could ask some of those contributors at YouTube who actually make their own videos and do it well how much time they put on it. Just trying to make sure you really understand what you're getting into ;-)<br>

It would be cool if photo.net would IR modify their D3000, but I bet Nikon would not like it. In my country Nikon actually says that they will not perform any IR mods, which I think is a bit ridiculous, since everyone taking such a mod knows they're voiding the warranty.</p>