Fabio Blanco posted his finding on Nikon D200 sample photo taken at iso 800 with Nikon AF-S 600mm f4 at Nital.IT. Noise reduction was also deactivated and the photo was taken in jpeg as the D200 raw cannot be read by current nikon capture version

Click to enlarge (original - 1.75MB)

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Nikon has recently issued a service advisory for EN-EL3 rechargeable lithium ion battery packs due to the possibility of a short circuit causing the battery to overheat and possibly melt, posing a potential hazard to consumers.

The Nikon EN-EL3 battery pack is provided as a supplied accessory with the purchase of Nikon’s digital SLR D100, D70, and D50 cameras. It is also sold separately at retail under Nikon’s model number 26265. The EN-EL3 battery pack involved in this recall was first distributed by Nikon in May 2004 and is still being sold at retail.

Service Advisory: Nikon USA | Nikon Europe

Nikon Japan has recently updated their firmware for Nikon D2X and D2Hs DSLR.

Issues addressed with D2X Firmware Ver. 1.01

- Autofocus performance has been increased.
- An issue that prevented the AF-assist illuminator from firing when the Speedlights listed below were used has been corrected. SB-29S, SB-29, SB-23, SB-22S, SB-22, SB-20.
- In images captured at a shutter speed of 1/250 s with a Speedlight SB-800, set to Distance-priority manual flash (GN), or Manual flash (M) with flash output set to full (M1/1) mounted on the camera, the top portion was often dark. This issue has been addressed. However, under the circumstances described above only, the guide number is reduced from that of full flash output level by approximately 0.6 EV.
- Images captured at white-balance settings of Incandescent, Direct sunlight, Cloudy, Shade, and Choose color temp. tended to have a reddish tint. This issue has been addressed.
- Errors in Dutch menus have been corrected.

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DCViews has recently compared the Sony Cybershot DSC T7 to Nikon Coolpix S3 and wrote:

The Sony Cybershot T7 and the Nikon Coolpix S3 are both ultra compact digital cameras, which perform, despite their small dimensions and weight, above average. The Coolpix S3 is a real ‘point-and-shoot’-camera with little manual control, but handy automatic features. The Sony T7 works mainly automatic, but gives you more control if necessary. Colors and exposure of the pictures of the Sony T7 are better than with the Nikon S3. On detail and noise the cameras perform the same. The Sony Cybershot T7 and the Nikon Coolpix S3 are both good travel partners in back pocket or handbag, with the T7 as a winner on image quality and ‘looks’. But then again, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder…

Sony Cybershot DSC T7 sample photos

- Samples posted @ DCViews
- Samples posted @ Imaging Resource
- Samples posted @ Photoxels

Nikon Coolpix S3 sample photos

- Samples posted @ DCViews

One of the FredMiranda forum members has posted pictures of Nikon D200 shot with Nikon 12-24 @ ISO 1600. Here are some details:

Nikon D200
12-24mm f/4 DX @ 22 mm
jpeg fine, 3872 x 2592
programmed auto
1/60 @ F8
0 EV
iso 1600
wb auto
front curtain flash (sb800 angled a bit up)
srgb mode 1, saturation and sharpening auto
noise reduction off

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Quesabesde.com has just recently published an interesting interview with Carlos Ormazabal, Professional Product Manager of Nikon’s Spanish importer Finicon. One of the interview questions was discussing Nikon’s decision on choosing CCD for their Nikon D200 instead of CMOS, which Nikon has used it for the D2x.

“The D200 incorporates a CCD, but the D2X, the most professional of the make, uses a CMOS.

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Nikon Imaging.com has recently published the new Nikkor 18-200mm page with its main features, specifications, MTF chart and lens construction. The page also has sample photos of Nikon 18-200mm shot with Nikon D200 @ 95mm, 1/8 secs, f/5.3, ISO100

>> RELATED POST

- Nikon AF-S DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR IF-ED Review Roundup & Sample Photos

Ken Rockwell has just posted his test review on the new Nikon D200, a DSLR camera with 10.2 megapixels, 5frames per second, 2.5″ LCD, and 11 AF areas. He wrote:

“Ergonomics: Superb! You really have to pick up and try the D200 to appreciate it. It’s even better than my beloved D70 since the ISO, WB and QUALITY controls have been moved to their own dedicated buttons. The D70, D70s and D50 share these record functions with playback function buttons, so the older cameras required you to tap the shutter button to get the camera back to the shooting mode before hitting them, otherwise you’d tweak a playback function by accident instead of your ISO. The D200 is brilliant!”

Beautiful astronomy photos have been posted to Pbase gallery. The photos are shot with D2x @ ISO 640, 5 x 4 min exposure time with Flat-Field Lichtenknecker 190/780mm f/4

Please click on the link above to enter the gallery

Rob Galbraith just posted his preview on the new Nikon D200. He wrote:

“If the image quality is solid (managing noise at ISO 400 and above has been a challenge for Nikon in recent times) and the new autofocus system is reasonably capable, then the D200 may well be one of the most interesting digital SLR models the company will release in some time. At first glance, it looks to be an effective response to Canon’s slightly less expensive entry-level pro camera the EOS 20D, because the D200 will almost certainly have a more-capable flash system, it produces a higher-resolution photo and most of its other main specifications meet or exceed those of the Canon model too. We’ll wait to view the pictures produced by the D200 before declaring it the superior of the two, however, since the image quality from the 20D is really good, and it’s especially impressive at the higher ISO settings where Nikon’s other double-digital megapixel camera, the D2X, falters.”