Nikon Pure Photography

[mike_halliwell]

<p>Ray, for that kinda $$$, I'd expect to get a 'Special Edition' 24 f1.8, 50 f1.8 and 85 f1.8. </p>

<p>Maybe that's the plan? After-all, he's doing <em><strong>a lot</strong></em> of landscape shots, and a 50mm, even on FX, is a bit narrow.</p>

<p>And <strong>that</strong> would be a collector's, as-well as a user's, fun box for Christmas!</p>

[Albins images]

<p>Me too.. I am excited about these pre-announcements!<br />The retro looks of the '80's are glamourous.<br />A big bright MF oriented viewfinder is most welcome - the D800 is hard work.<br />A high resolution sensor is also most welcome - if this camera is not to be out-dated soon - especially considering the fears of a stiff price.. I did get addicted to the 36Mpx images of the D800.<br />If the camera would indeed be a retro-beautiful, simple (no video), robust, MF-friendly, 16Mpx camera, I would find a starting price of 2200 euro reasonable - going down towards 1600 in a year or so.</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>Another 36-mp camera? Not right now, I don't think. The rumored 16-mp sensor seems more likely.</p>

<p>For landscapes? A lot of the shots were made in poor light, everywhere from the city to the countryside. A versatile, all-around camera that is easy to carry around and fun to use with AF and MF lenses would be my guess.</p>

<p>I don't see it being aimed primarily at collectors. All those external controls and that HP VF point toward a camera that is likely to be used--a lot.</p>

<p>I still see a consumer grade D4 as the most optimal for myself--but with the capacity for various focusing screens for MF. That is what I would like to see--along with AF capacity when wanted or needed.</p>

<p>That is, I am seeing more of a concession toward the low-light, hand-held end of the spectrum here, not a big, bulky landscape camera. The D800 and D800E are holding down that end of the market pretty well right now.</p>

<p>"Pure photography"? I guess that it means whatever one wants it to mean. What does it mean for Nikon?</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[Stephen L]

<p>Just because the max setting on a physical shutter speed selector is 1/4000 does not mean the max shutter speed isn't 1/8000. It may be that you need to be in aperture priority mode to get greater than 1/4000 sec. I don't shoot in S mode much with my D700, but I don't ever "select" 1/8000 as a shutter speed when I do. When I shoot near 1/8000, it's because I'm using a fast lens wide open in bright light in A mode. I'm not a pro though.</p>

[mike_halliwell]

<p>I don't quite get the low-end, low-light version of a D4 idea. The D3S has better High ISO....and the D4 is primarily an action camera in the dark...it's DR is pretty old by now too, even the D7000 was better.!</p>

<p>There is no 'action' intended with this camera....quite the opposite idea is portrayed by the vids. In-fact I don't think he shot anything that moved....maybe the fishermen, maybe?</p>

<p>It's a retro 24 mpix D800E with dials and without video, and maybe interchangable VFs......waist-level anyone?</p>

[mark_loader]

<p>Lex, in his post about the behaviour on rumour sites ( greetings, Nikon & Fuji Rumors) was sadly spot on. Sugared-up is an understatement, ignorant, mean-spirited, cowardly and stupid are closer to the mark. I stay away now. You guys, on the other hand, are much more even handed and thoughtful, even in disagreement. Me? I'd love a stripped down, back-to-basics dslr. I've mostly been using Fuji X series gear this last year and have grown to love the "old fashionedness" of these models, not to mention the great IQ. I have also bonded with these units in a way I just didn't expect, short of buying a Leica RF. (Impossible at those prices). And I'm not alone there clearly. Now that Nikon look to be doing something similar I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Naturally some guys will be peeved because Nikon didn't make it specifically for THEM. Get over it, there are those of us who have been waiting for something like this for years, so cut us some slack please! The D4, D3X and D800 were not for me but I was a good boy and didn't complain ;-) Trouble is every time a company does something different they get bagged...and when they DON"T do something different they still get bagged! There's no pleasing some people...keep up that civil spirit and on release day we'll all meet up at Lex's palatial home in Beverley Hills and have a lemonade together..love from Downunder ;-)</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>From what I've seen so far, I'm interested, but unlikely to buy. The UI changes in the F5 vintage were there for a reason - the way most DSLRs are designed is more general-purpose and flexible than the previous approaches. For select types of photography, the older style works well, and I can understand why some people like it (and, incidentally, I'd like an X100s and am quite fond of my Bessa R), but I wouldn't want it to be my only camera. But we'll all have a better idea on, apparently officially, the 5th, so I may be raising unreasonable objections. Still, banging the same old drum, I wish if Nikon were going to mess with their interface they'd just move the ISO and AF mode select buttons to the right side of the camera. I certainly hope that, however popular whatever's going to be released might be, they don't roll out this interface across the whole camera range.<br />

<br />

The cynic in me says he's manual focussing because he wants an AF position not covered by the D610's AF sensor... (The cynic also says that Nikon's video on the 5th is going to say "just kidding!" and they'll release a compact.)</p>

[pge]

 

<blockquote>

<p>No screens or panels of any kind...<br>

These are my predictions.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hmmm, seems like I blew this one.</p>

 

[chuckm]

<p>Looks like it's grown to be physically larger than merely a digital FM.</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Phil: People have tried digital cameras with no screens, generally at the extreme budget end of the market. They really don't sell - live review is a killer feature for digital cameras, and screens aren't that expensive any more. Removing it would do more harm than good. (As would some of the other design changes, in general, but missing the LCD won't actually make things significantly better for many people. Y can always not use it, and even people who usually don't check their images in the field have occasional reason to do so.)<br />

<br />

Making a digital camera as thin as a film SLR is tricky - there's too much going on behind the focal plane (especially with a screen), so I doubt the DSLR will get to the size of the smaller 35mm options any time soon. Of course, you don't need film cannister space, so there can be less to the left of the sensor.</p>

[fedelucero]

<p>#5 is out!<br /> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_LV7qRCJyA&f">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_LV7qRCJyA&f</a></p>

<p>EDIT: my bad, it was covered on previous pages.</p>

[Didier Lamy]

<p>What is the blurred white text? Looks like there is more letters than in "Nikon". However Nikon does appear on the final photo (see insert).<br /><br />Also the viewfinder looks bigger than on a F3HP, imho there is more than just glass.</p><div></div>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Didier: I got the impression that the rest of the camera is small, which is making the prism look big. It does look like there may be no flash, though if Nikon have made the whole thing transparent to infrared and included a robust remote CLS trigger I won't criticize them for it. Allowing for the LCD and enhanced metering, I'd not expect the prism to be as small as on a much older camera (not that I have an F3 to compare with); on the other hand, it may just look taller because it's more tapered. Anyone know whether Nikon are still making their prism housings out of titanium, like the F5's?</p>

[Didier Lamy]

<p>actually, the F3 is much smaller than the Df, and looking at both cameras together, both viewfinders look quite similar.</p><div></div>

[donbright]

<p>I wouldn't say its much smaller, if scale is our friend in this case. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.</p>

[dianedh]

<p>I've just got to laugh at all you guys! <br>

239+ responses to a rumor :)<br>

When it is announced, no matter what specs it has, half of you are going to love it and half are going to be really disappointed..<br>

Just change and go with Sony! ::))</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>Well, it is on the Nikon website, Diane, and so it is no longer a rumor--hasn't been since these videos were released:</p>

<p><a href="http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/purephotography/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/purephotography/</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.nikonusa.com/nikon-video/nHbpDtaNRha/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.nikonusa.com/nikon-video/nHbpDtaNRha/index.html</a></p>

<p>In fact, <em><strong>this thread (which started on October 24) started only AFTER Nikon confirmed that it was NOT a rumor.</strong></em></p>

<p>Most posters here have been concerned not to propagate rumors, except to clarify what is known and what is speculation.</p>

<p>At this point, we still don't know the specs, but we do know from the Nikon videos what it looks like.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<blockquote>

<p>It's a retro 24 mpix D800E with dials and without video, and maybe interchangable VFs.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Mike, is that a prediction or simply what you are hoping that it might be?</p>

<p>I suppose that 24 mp might be a reasonable compromise between 16 and 36 mp. I sort of lean toward the 16 mp idea, but only in line with what I would want: a very good low-light, high ISO camera. I have the D800E and the D3s--the latter of which only has 12 mp. Something in between would be nice, in my opinion.</p>

<p>Given that the D610 with 24 mp was just announced, I still think that it could be a low-light camera, and for that the 16 mp of the D4 comes to mind--since there is not, at present, a consumer grade version of the D4. That's just my preference, of course. I'm not really making a prediction, just expressing a preference, since I love the D3s but sometimes want just a few more megapixels--but not so many as to interfere with the low-light, high ISO capabilities.</p>

<p>I can't quite see the point of a retro D610. I shoot landscapes and street and everything in between, but I do love the opportunities that I find when shooting the 12-mp D3s. High numbers of megapixels simply are not compatible with the very best low-light performance, and I want a camera that I can shoot in just about any light. Obviously, it is not going to have the AF and the FPS performance of the D4, but it might conceivably have the low-light, high ISO capabilities. Again, that is simply my preference: keep it simple, keep it fast (in every sense), and make it as versatile as possible. Post-processing the files from the D800E can be a <em>pain</em>.</p>

<p>I think that more megapixels are not what most of us need. Look at Canon--topping off with about 22 mp in the 5D III, if I am not mistaken. Anything above 16 mp is simply not needed for most shots or most prints, in my opinion.</p>

<p>Is there a new sensor out there that could be used, something with about 20 megapixels?</p>

<p>All of this is mere speculation on my part. (Is speculation the same as rumor?)</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>Well, it is on the Nikon website, Diane, and so it is no longer a rumor--hasn't been since these videos were released:<br>

<a href="http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/purephotography/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/purephotography/</a></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Actually, a large part of this thread is still rumors. Again, I haven't paid that much attention to the teaser videos on the Nikon web site, but clearly Nikon is planning to introduce some new FX body or bodies on November 5. Apparently some of the controls are retro style similar to those on the FM/FE, F3 and F4??</p>

<p>However, a lot of the details are still rumors. But then, November 5 is merely 4 days away.</p>

[ofey_kalakar]

<p>Kinda looks like a cross b/w an F#, F100 and F6<br>

Looking forward to this new camera.</p><div></div>

[RaymondC]

<p>An enthusiast's camera - to get the job done there are the D4 and D800, the common person has the D3200. A poor man's FX is the D610 and there is the D7100. But a true enthusiast with a love of retro would just shoot film and put this $2,000 or $300o into film and lab costs per product cycle (defined by each own). </p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<blockquote>

<p>to get the job done there are the D4 and D800, the common person has the D3200</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>The common man who could not afford the D3 could in many instances afford the D700. </p>

<p>The common man who cannot afford the D4 may be able to afford a prosumer version, analogous to the D700.</p>

<p><strong>THAT is the hole in Nikon's line-up: no PROSUMER VERSION OF THE D4.</strong></p>

<p>I am hoping for it, retro or not.</p>

<p>That would be my concept of "pure photography" in a discounted package. One can hope. . . .</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[johnw63]

<p>You know, if they don't price it high, they could sell quite a few of them, I think. Sometimes, I just want to shoot and not have to remember where in the menu levels something basic is hiding. Yes, I know. If I read the manual enough and got copy of the D7000 explained book, I could find all the bits and bobs quickly.</p>

<p>What I would HOPE this camera offers is simple controls, when that is all you need, and some of the new features of DSLRs in the menus when you want them. It's YOUR choice, so you don't need to think like the Nikon engineer to get a simple job done. </p>

<p> </p>

[raczoliver]

Looking at the pictures of it, by the button layout, there is no way that this camera is going to be priced below the D610.

Probably closer to or even above the D800. If many people are like me, the autofocus system will matter a lot in whether

this will sell. I used a friend's D600 briefly, and while it was fast enough, I found it highly annoying that the thirty-

something AF points were all pretty much at the same place. I just hope they don't take an otherwise high-end camera

and cripple it with such an AF system. If that is the case, I can see why our man in the videos seems to be focusing

manually all the time. When shooting portraits with large aperture lenses, I find it critical to be able to select an AF point

that is directly over the subject's eye so I do not have to recompose and shift the plane of focus. I just couldn't seem to

do that with the D600.

 

BTW, in that picture where you can see the camera from the side, isn't the lens cap on?

[lex_jenkins]

<p>I've been pondering this "Digital Fusion" moniker supposedly assigned to the "DF" label (I still say it's Dutchman, Flying, until it arrives in port), and what it might represent.</p>

<p>The prism appears to be relatively large, even by FX standards. I'm wondering whether it's a hybrid optical/EVF finder, and whether it includes the pre-AF focusing aids such as the familiar split image and microprism collar. The D700 prompted a small aftermarket demand for such manual focusing aids. It'd be clever of Nikon to anticipate that need.</p>