Nikon Rumors

Nikon’s EVIL camera may have DX size sensor

[NR] admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:00:39 +0000

Based on previous Nikon’s patent applications, the initial estimation of the sensor in the upcoming EVIL camera was 17mm in diagonal (image circle). For comparison the m4/3 sensor is 21.6 mm. This news was a bit disappointing, but now there is hope. Few weeks ago Thom Hogan and [NR] forum member JonnyApple suggested that the Nikon may be obfuscating their designs in some of their patent applications. For example: look at figure 35 (page 36) from patent application 20090257125 (filed in the US) for the 14mm f/2.8 EVIL lens:

If you compare the above lens design with drawing 19 from patent 2010-072276 below (filed in Japan, no direct link available) you will notice that they are identical:

The interesting part is that the Japanese patent is for a 23.65mm DX lens (28.4mm in diagonal). It’s basically a 1.65x scaled up version of the lens patent filed in the US. Which are now the correct numbers? Is Nikon really obscuring the real calculations? I don’t know, but a DX size EVIL camera sounds much better and may explain why Nikon is taking their time on that project.

If we assume that the EVIL sensor will be DX, we have to revisit also all previously discussed EVIL lenses and re-calculate the focal length (after the break, updated):

Patent 20090257125: 23.5mm f/2.8

Patent 20090225444: 30mm f/1.4

Patent 20090147376: 50-180mm f/4-5.6

Patent 20090135498: 17-180mm f/3.3-6

Patent 20090116121: 17-180mm f/2.8-6

Patent 20090086334: 15-70mm f/2.8-5.6

Patent 20090086333: 17-180 f/2.8-5.9

Patent 20090273851: 52mm f/1.2

Based again on previous patent applications, the Nikon EVIL camera is not expected to have a F-mount, but I am sure there will be adapters that will allow the use of F-mount lenses.

Follow this [NR] forum discussion for more info on this topic.

Read more on sensor sizes here and here.

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Nikon talks about “The birth of the COOLPIX design”

[NR] admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:50:23 +0000

I know, you are not interested in Coolpix cameras, but this new article on Nikon’s website gives an interesting inside look of how Nikon designs a camera (ok, a Coolpix camera in this case). Some quotes:

“First, our marketing department constructs a product lineup and then they create the concept for each individual model. Naturally, camera designers actively participate in the development of product concepts. Once a general product concept has been determined, a team of designers is selected from the design department and serious work to come up with a design that satisfies the determined concept begins.”

“The first step is to create mockups from those sketches. This happens more than a year before the product is released. At this stage, we examine a wide variety of possibilities.”

“Each design team is comprised of two to five designers.”

And finally a quote from the last question about the future of the Coolpix design:

“As advances in mobile devices such as cellular telephones continue, we are beginning to see the fusion of digital cameras and such devices on the market.”

Did they say again “mobile devices” and “cellular telephones”? Remember this quote from Nikon’s president Makoto Kimura?

“Nowadays digital cameras take movies, performance of cameraphones is rapidly advancing and demand for simple movie cameras for uploading video on the Internet is on the rise. Redefinition of photography may become necessary.”

How about the news that Nikon is looking for partnership with online and mobile device companies?

Do you see a pattern here?

BTW, yesterday Samsung announced a new Wi-Fi point and shoot camera that can upload pictures and video to social networking sites, send emails, etc.

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Rumor: Sony to announce 4 new cameras with 14MP and 16MP APS-C sensors

[NR] admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:14:07 +0000

Today Sonyalpharumors reported that Sony will release four new cameras with 14MP and 16MP APC-S sensors and guess what? One of the expected new feature is AF during video recording. Sounds familiar? The rumored Nikon D3100 DSLR is also expected to have continuous AF during video recording. My initial report about the D3100 having a 10MP sensor is probably wrong and Nikon may use this 14MP sensor from Sony.

The good news is that the Nikon D90 replacement was rumored to have a 16MP sensor and this could be the new 16MP sensor from Sony (tweaked by Nikon of course – this is the first 16MP sensor from Sony). Another description of the new Sony sensor is that it has a “very good high ISO” – the Nikon D90 replacement is also expected to have improved high ISO.

More details on the new Sony cameras after the break:

Sony A55 16MP 10FPS EVF-1.44M 1.1X magnification 95% AVCHD full HD

Sony A33 14MP 7FPS EVF-1.44M 1.1X magnification 95% AVCHD full HD

SonyA560 14MP 7FPS MF recording AVCHD full HD

Sony A580 16MP 7FPS MF recording AVCHD full HD

Announcement is expected in August, in stock in September.

The A33 and A55 models are rumored to be Pellix cameras.

All new models are expected to have DOF preview, panorama/3D, ISO 100 (base), 15 AF focus points and AF during video recording.

The question is who will release the first DSLR with continuous AF during video recording. I bet it will be Nikon.

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Much better deal on that Nikon lens coffee mug

[NR] admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:17:40 +0000

The first time I wrote about the Nikon lens coffee mug, the prices on eBay were too high. Now you can get it for $23 here (plus $6 shipping and handling):

Via PDNPulse

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Details on the upcoming Nikon announcement

[NR] admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:48:30 +0000

I have some more details on the upcoming Nikon announcement. There will be two dates: August 17th, 2010 will be for the Coolpix models and August 19th, 2010 will be for the four new lenses and the Nikon D3100. Those dates are European time – the announcements in Europe should happen early in the morning, around 6:00 am. For the US readers this will mean that the announcements could happen around 11pm or midnight EST on August 16th and August 18th, 2010.

I seriously doubt that something else will be announced on those dates or before. There will be probably another announcement before (or during) Photokina.

I have no dates or any new info on the potential D90 and D700 replacements.

See my recap for all the details.

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Weekly Nikon related news/links

[NR] admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:53:46 +0000

I changed PhotoRumors and LeicaRumors to a white background. Stop by and tell me what you think (there is a poll on both sites).

Nikonprogear website updated – you can get Nikon branded T-shirts, jackets, hats, etc. I like this T-shirt for $9!

Refurbished Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5 – 5.6G VR for $399.95.

Recently 3d-display-info.com discovered this 3D lens, which is also available for Nikon mount on Amazon:

Some more Nikon 3D setups – the first one is from this year’s Tour de France, screen captured by Mark Stothard:

The next 3D rig was captured on the USATF Track & Field National Championships in Des Moines, IA (June 26th). Both cameras are attached to a bracket and one is upside-down (images after the break):

Credit: Ezmeets

Check also this previous 3D post form more technical background (a lot of helpful info also in the comments section)

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Recap

[NR] admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:31:56 +0000

Every once in a while, I have to remind everyone that this is a rumor site. Everything written here should be considered as fiction and you should not make any decision based on the information provided on this blog (selling/buying equipment, changing schedules to accommodated potential new product, etc.). I am trying my best to give a numerical ratings for most of the information I post, but this is not really an exact science – in other words: I can be wrong. If you are not sure what and when to buy, consider renting until the sky clears (where there’s smoke there’s fire). Don’t stay without a camera!

Now back to the recap – this is what I think I know so far:

Potential announcement of new Nikon products between August 17-19, 2010. There could be another press event before or after that date – Nikon has too many products to announce and I doubt they can do it all in one day. This is a list of what I think will be announced in the next two months prior to Photokina:

Nikon D3100 – the big question mark here is the sensor MP count. I believe it will be 10MP, but many readers think it should be more.

Nikon D90 replacement – the question mark here is the high ISO performance. I do not have an exact number, but the way it was described to me “same noise performance like the D700″ could have different interpretations.

Lenses – the Joker here is the 18-200mm FX lens. This could be a 28-300mm FX lens and the f stop could be 4.5-5.6 instead of 3.5 -5.6.

- Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G N

- Nikkor 24-120 f/4 ED VR N

- Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR (or 28-300mm)

- Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ED VR DX

Nikon Coolpix 1000pj replacement.

Nikon mirrorless prototype and lenses for Photokina.

What I don’t know:

A high end Coolpix camera is in the works – not sure if it will see the light of day before Photokina.

Nikon D700 replacement – nobody has a clue about this one. Many speculations, nothing worth writing.

Also, no word on any Capture NX, teleconverters or flash updates.

Nikon D90 slowly fading away

[NR] admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:20:43 +0000

Nikon D90 was removed from the employee purchase plan for Best Buy employees as of July 21st, 2010.

Amazon lists the Nikon D90 as “Usually ships within 1 to 2 months”:

The D90 kit is still available.

Nikon UK is out of printed brochures for the Nikon D90 and D700:

I got multiple reports that dealers (mainly outside US) cannot order any D90 cameras from Nikon (and in some cases, D700). Nikon D90 must be running really low on stock right now.

Target and BestBuy also don’t have the D90 for sale online (they used to).

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Expected prices of upcoming Nikon lenses

[NR] admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 04:33:02 +0000

Those are the expected prices of the rumored lenses from Nikon. Please note that the prices may vary in different countries and may not be 100% accurate due to the different exchange rates and price policies:

Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G N: around $1600

Nikkor 24-120 f/4 ED VR N – around $1300

Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR (or 28-300mm) – around $1000

Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ED VR DX – around $300

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Questionable Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.2 ED VR listing spotted in China

[NR] admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:32:37 +0000

Update: here is a better screenshot from xitek.com (click on image for larger view):

A Chinese forum has a screenshot from July 20th of Nikon China website displaying a new AF-S 85mm f/1.2 ED VR lens. According to the text, the image was removed the next day – here is the before and after shot (click on image for larger view):

This type of manipulation can easily be done on a website offline, for the purpose of taking a screenshot. Unless someone can confirm that they saw this new listing live online, I say this rumor is busted.

I do expect however a new Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G N lens to be released before Photokina.

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Nikon instant rebates now extended till end of July 2010

Nikon planning an August press event in Europe

[NR] admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:05:03 +0000

The word from Europe is that Nikon is planing a press event in at least one European country during the week of August 16th-20th, 2010. We can eliminate Monday and Friday, since those are not preferred days for new product announcements, which leaves us with August 17th, 18th and 19th as a potential announcement dates.

I do not know if this is going to be the first, the second or the only press conference Nikon will have before Photokina (two years ago, the AF-S 50mm f/1.4 lens was announced on the first day of Photokina and yes, it was a Monday). I also don’t know what will be announced in August – for now, the candidates are new Coolpix cameras, new lenses, D3100 and D90 replacement (the Nikon EVIL system should be announced at Photokina). No word yet for a D700 replacement.

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Nikon D90 listed as “New!” at BestBuy

[NR] admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:30:32 +0000

For some reason BestBuy decided to list the Nikon D90 as “New!” on their website, while the camera is currently sold out online:

Maybe testing a new product template? Just a reminder that two years ago, the Nikon D90 leaked on Circuit City and Target websites few days before the official release.

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Nikon USA releases statement on the 24-70mm f/2.8 distance panel light leak

[NR] admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:31:55 +0000

This is the official statement from Nikon USA on the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 light leak problem, previously described here:

“We have received indications that when extremely bright light strikes the lens while shooting at high sensitivities, light other than that passing through the front of the lens may be reflected. This is not a problem with normal shooting and occurs very rarely under very specific conditions.

We value our customer feedback, and if a user is inconvenienced by this issue, they may request an inspection of their lens. If deemed necessary Nikon will take the appropriate steps to address the issue.”

Via rg

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First word on the Nikon D90 replacement

[NR] admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:32:02 +0000

I just got some basic description of the Nikon D90 replacement:

16MP DX sensor
same noise performance like the D700!
full HD
8p/s
new video AF and performance
parts of the body will be aluminium

Stay tuned for more.

[NR] rating: 90%

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Jay Maisel also thinks the Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR full frame lens is coming

[NR] admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:39:53 +0000

Many readers do not believe that Nikon will announce a new 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR full frame lens, some even think it’s impossible to produce a lens with such focal length.

Here is another rumor for you: Kelby Training (paid subscription required) has a series of videos online called “A Day With Jay Maisel” where he walks around NY with Scott Kelby talking about the way he works. Kelby was asking Jay Maisel about the 70-300 VR he shoots all the time on a D3. He was saying how much he liked it and then out of the blue mentioned that he had heard about an 18-200 FX lens Nikon was possibly going to make, and that he was excited about it.

Unfortunately the video is not freely available, but maybe some readers that have subscriptions can confirm and quote the exact line.

Jay Maisel website can be found here, I know what you are thinking… I could not find any EXIF data on his images.

Jay Maisel is no stranger to Nikon – check out this link.

Update: Here is the transcript of the proper portion of the Kelby video “A Day with Jay Maisel – Lunch”, Part 1 (at 5:28):

“Scott: You’re overseas on a project, how’s that.
Jay: Yeah.
Scott: You have to use one lens for the whole project, what is it?
Jay: It changes, right now it would be the 70 to 300.
Scott: You’re really loving that lens aren’t you.
Jay: Oh yeah. I like the 18 to 200 but it’s not a full frame lens.
Scott: No it’s not. That’s what’s interesting for $500 that it works on the full frame cameras.
Jay: Now I think… and you know how free Nikon is with prognostication of the future, they would lie just to keep in practice. But I think there may be an 18 to 200 full frame, and if that happens I’m buying it.
Scott: Oh that would be the first lens I would buy.
Jay: But the 70-300 is still terrific.”

—
BTW, Nikon D3s and 24mm 1.4 (higher price) are currently in stock on Amazon.

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New Nikon lenses to be announced

[NR] admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:13:33 +0000

Since rumors for most of those lenses have been circulating for months (and in the case of the AF-S 85mm f/1.4 – for years), this list should not really be a surprise to anyone:

Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G N – not sure about VR yet, but the Nano coating will be added to this lens (previous Nikon patent indicated VR on this lens).

Nikkor 24-120 f/4 ED VR N – no surprise here either, except for the Nano coating (this lens was reported with 75% release probability back in February).

Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR – now this one is weird because it’s a… FX lens… yep, full frame! Previous rumors indicated a 28-300mm zoom, to compete directly with Canon, but it seems that Nikon decided to do this one differently (Nikon already has a 18-200mm lens for DX). Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this will be the first full frame 18-200mm lens in the world.

Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ED VR DX – this should be an upgrade of the current 55-200mm lens for DX format.

Future plans for a new set of lenses for the upcoming Nikon EVIL system should also be announced. Expected is a general zoom lens (maybe something in the range of 18-55) and a pancake lens (probably 35mm f/1.8). Note that those lenses will not be available for some time and the final production version may vary from the initial prototypes.

I do expect those lenses to be release between now and Photokina (September, 2010), not sure if they will come all together or in two separate announcements.

The above list was compiled over time from various tips, mainly from Asian forums and some small details could be wrong or lost in translation. I am also not sure if this is the complete list of lenses to be released prior to Photokina. The initial rumor was that Nikon will release 8 new lenses in 2010. So far they have released 3 (16-35mm f/4, 24mm f/1.4 and 200-400 f/4 VRII) and now we will have four more, which leave us with potentially one more lens announcement towards the end of the year. As previously reported the 35mm f/1.4 seems to be postponed till 2011.

[NR] rumor probability rating for the four lenses: 95%

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Weekly Nikon related news/links

[NR] admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:28:02 +0000

Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM now officially available in US market (press release).

Russian astronaut shooting Earth with Nikon D3/D3x (based on EXIF data).

New full test results and scores for Nikon D300s and 21 lenses are now available on DxOMark.

Official press release: Nikon supports Whitney Museum of American Art’s Youth Insights arts project.

Hands-on with the Quad-Sync LumoPro flash.

5 (or more) things you didn’t know about Nikon.

Wireless DSLR external monitor for Under $200.

Shooting tethered with the Apple iPad.

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Nikon Coolpix 1000pj replacement ready for release

[NR] admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 01:56:47 +0000

The Nikon Coolpix 1000pj replacement may look like this

The rumor of a Nikon Coolpix 1000pj replacement started last month (see previous posts here and here plus related patents). The new version will allow the camera to be connected to a computer and serve as an external conventional projector. Two new details surfaced up for this camera: the connection to the computer (when used as projector) will be via USB and the camera will have a touchscreen display (the previous model was not touchscreen).

FYI: Nikon was first on the market (and as of today the only manufacturer) to introduce a camera with a built-in projector.

Announcement date: few weeks away.

[NR] rating: 99%.

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Nikon D3100 is fine, but how about the D90 and D700 replacements?

[NR] admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:00:14 +0000

Reports are pouring in from all over the world that D90 is hard to find – here are some of the emails I have been receiving in the past few days:

“I work in *** and it seems that the Nikon D90 is extremely hard to get hold of in the 18-105 kit. The only kit we can get in is the 18-55 kit.”

“D90 out of stock
Got a 100% confidence that Nikon distributor here in Italy, Nital, is in “rottura di stock” (stock breaking) for the D90.
My source also added that it will become available briefly again in the middle of the next week.”

“Just wanted to share what has been going on in Slovenia for the last few weeks.
When Nikon D90 came out, it was all over the place. 2 years of silence, now it’s back again, extra cheaper. Also, a very big electronics site at us doesn’t have them anymore and usually when something like this happens at us (50D was also advertised), a new model gets out soon.”

“Our store owner is on the buyers group for a large chain in ***. He has said the D90 is about to be replaced. Also the D5000 and D3000 are going to be replaced with a camera that would be between them.”

“Nikon D90 Removed from Sams Club
The Nikon D90 lens and camera kit has been removed from Sams Club’s website. A store employee told me today that a refresh is coming soon.”

Now, about the D700 replacement: I do not have any credible information that the Nikon D700 will be replaced in the next two months. This doesn’t mean that it won’t happen, I simply don’t know yet. Here are some related tips I got in the past few days:

“I was chit chatting with a friend who work in a camera store last Friday, and he told me that the Nikon sales person has told him that there will be no D700 replacement this year but a D90 replacement and expect to be announce soon.”

“I just wanted to buy a Nikon D700 but on most big web shops it’s out of stock. Also the combination kits aren’t going to be restocked. Only the body has a ‘in delivery at supplier’ status.”

The Australian retailer ECS has a note on their front page that Nikon Australia has assured them that there will be no D700 replacement in 2010. Quoting the local Nikon headquarter on their main page should give some credibility to this statement:

European Nikon reps have been repeating the same story for months now (see here and here). If Nikon introduces a D700 replacement in addition to the Nikon D3100 and the new Nikon D90, then we will have three new DSLR in short period of time. Not to mention the upcoming new lenses, Coolpix cameras and EVIL system. Not impossible, but questionable.

More rebates in Sweden: buy a D700 and get a free SB-900.

Unless I post a [NR] rating above 90% for a given rumor, everything else should be considered only as informational posts.

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Continuous AF in video mode/live view patent (used in the upcoming Nikon D3100)

[NR] admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:14:48 +0000

As some readers already noted, this previously covered patent application could be the base of the new continuous AF in video mode/live view feature which will first be implemented in the new Nikon D3100 DSLR camera. As you can see from the drawings, Nikon produced various camera configuration as a possible implementations of this patent, which could indicate that this solution will spread across all future Nikon cameras, including the EVIL system.

Nikon patent application 20100150539 is for a focus adjustment solution (see wikipedia’s explanation of the two different passive focus solutions: phase detection and contrast measurement). Different implementations are shown in this patent application: the first drawing is a camera with a half mirror, the second is mirrorless (EVIL) camera, the third implementations is without a prism (Pellix camera?) and in the last drawing the sensor is located under the mirror (instead of behind the mirror):

Quotes from the patent application after the break:

“Field of the invention: The present invention relates to a device that adjusts the focus of an imaging optical system, an imaging device equipped with the focus adjustment device and a focus adjustment method.

Abstract: A focus adjustment device includes an image sensor that includes imaging pixels for capturing an image formed via an imaging optical system and focus detection pixels for detecting a focus adjustment state at the imaging optical system through a first pupil division-type image shift detection method, a focus detector that detects a focus adjustment state at the imaging optical system through a second pupil division-type image shift detection method different from the first pupil division-type image shift detection method, and a focus adjustment controller that executes focus adjustment for the imaging optical system based upon the focus adjustment states detected by the image sensor and the focus detector.

Description of the related art: There is a digital camera known in the related art (see Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2001-281530) that includes a focus detection sensor adopting a phase difference detection method and an image sensor. This digital camera first drives the imaging optical system to a point near the focus match position based upon the results of detection executed by the focus detection sensor, then detects the focus match position through a contrast detection method by using the output from the image sensor and executes fine adjustment to the focus match position. However, the contrast detection method and the phase difference detection method adopted in the camera in the related art described above are not perfectly compatible with each other since their focus detection principles are different and, for this reason, the correspondence of the focus detection results obtained through the two methods tends to be poor. For instance, there may be a photographic subject for which the focus can be detected successfully through the phase difference detection method but the focus detection cannot be executed successfully through the contrast detection method. In addition, while the focus may be detected with a high level of accuracy through the phase difference detection method for a given photographic subject, the accuracy of the focus detection for the same photographic subject executed through the contrast detection method may be poor. Under such circumstances, the imaging optical system may hunt for, and fail to reach the focus match point, the imaging optical system may be driven to an unexpected position or the imaging optical system may not move at all when the camera attempts to fine-adjust the position of the imaging optical system through the contrast detection method after driving the lens to a point near the focus match position through the phase difference detection method.”

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