Old News/Comments/Links

November 14, 2003
Nikon Ups Digital Camera Sales Figures
Along with their quarterly financials, Nikon recently made several adjustments to their predicted worldwide camera sales for the current fiscal year. Digital camera sales (compact and DSLR) are now expected to be 5.5 million units, up from the earlier prediction of 4.6 million. 35mm film SLR bodies are now expected to sell only 750,000 units, down from 1 million. And compact 35mm cameras are expected to drop to perhaps as few as 680,000 units from an earlier prediction of 1 million.

That means that while the overall camera sales are slightly higher expected (6.9m units versus 6.6m units, a 5% increase), the 35mm/digital mix has shifted (previously expected to be 69% digital, but actually now 80% digital). This kind of shift has implications for R&D and makes substantive new 35mm models less likely.

November 5, 2003
Coolpix 5700 Rebate
Besides lowering the price to US$899, there's now a US$100 Winter Rebate on the Coolpix 5700.

17-55mm DX Lens Delayed
The 17-55mm DX lens announced with the D2h will not be available until Spring 2004, according to Nikon.

Will They or Won't They?
Earlier this fall Nikon's Imaging Company president Makoto Komura was quoted in both the Japanese and American press as saying that "future [professional Nikon DSLRs] will be full frame." The source of that original comment appears to have been a private conversation with the Japanese press immediately following the D2h announcement press conference. Now, Popular Photography is reporting on their Web site that Komura-san has told them personally that full frame is "for study only," and that Nikon DSLRs will continue to use a smaller sensor size.

October, 2003
Coolpix 3700
Nikon has joined the brushed-aluminum shirt-pocket crowd with the latest Coolpix, the 3700. Less than 6 ounces and only 4 x 2 x 1.2 inches in size, this 3.2mp camera uses SD (secure digital) cards and has only one surprising feature: the Clapper. Yes, you can set the camera to self timer and clap to take a picture (any loud noise, actually). The 3700 should show up in stores in time for Christmas.

D2h Delayed
It's old news now (I was out of Internet range in the slot canyons of Utah during much of October), but the D2h has been delayed slightly due to part shortages. According to an email I received from NPS (Nikon Professional Services) "The shipping date is anticipated to be early November 2003."

Nikon View Update
Version 6.1.0 of Nikon View is available for update. This version fully supports the upcoming D2h and fixes a few bugs. File size = 38MBs.

Nikon Capture Update
Version 3.5.2 of Nikon Capture is available for update. This is a minor bug fix. File size = 5.4MBs.

Nikon Prices Drop
As of October 1st, a number of outlets are now selling NikonUSA official import D100's at US$1499, a reduction of US$200 from the previous street price. All current Coolpix models have seen an official price drop, as well. The MSRP for the Coolpix 5400 is now US$699 and the 5700 is US$899. Some of the rebates have been tweaked, and the MSRP of the N80 SLR has dropped slightly. Full details of the new lower prices and Fall 2003 rebate program are on Nikon's site.

Lenses Reappear
The popular Nikkor 12-24mm DX and 24-120mm AF-S VR lenses are starting to pop back into US stores due to a new round of shipments from Nikon. Rumors have it that Sigma is about to introduce a 12-24mm consumer lens shortly (i.e., f/4.5-5.6, no AF-S, but full frame).

September 15, 2003
Nikon Going Full Frame?
Herbert Keppler's column in the latest issue of Popular Photography quotes a Nikon spokesperson as saying future professional DSLRs from them will be full frame. Hmm. That seems to fly in the face of the recent DX lens development, doesn't it? (None of the DX lenses introduced could said to be intended for consumer markets.) Still, I have no doubt that Nikon's future consumer DSLRs will remain APS-sized (1.5x angle of view modification).

iView Update
iView MediaPro 2.0 was introduced for the Mac (Windows version to follow). This product has long been the catalog program of choice for many Macintosh Nikon users for its feature depth and NEF support.

August 10, 2003
Workshop Update
I've now posted all the info on all my 2004 workshops (and two new 2003 workshops). If you've taken a workshop from me before, check out the Returning Students workshop in May. If you were waiting for information on the Alaskan workshops, the blanks have been filled in and signups will now be accepted. Don't put off registering for a workshop. At the usual rate I receive signups, there will be no openings by October 1st.

Scanning Book Introduced
Those of you who are still shooting film and then using a desktop scanner to digitize will be interested in Taf Tally's new book, Silverfast: The Official Guide. Silverfast software is the software of choice for most desktop scanner users, and this book steps you through everything you need to know to get great scans from your slides.

Spring Clearance Sale #2
Only a few items left in this round of cleaning. Goodies are all first come, first served. Plus a free surprise in every box!

July 4, 2003
Olympus 4/3 Appears (in October)
Nikkei Weekly on 6/9 speculated that the Olympus/Kodak 4/3 DSLR is going to have a Japanese price point somewhere near 100,000 yen (which would probably translate to US$995), so why was the announced price for the body US$2195? Does Olympus really think that they can get a premium over the the Canon 10D, Nikon D100, and Fujifilm S2 Pro with fewer pixels and the requirement to buy new lenses?

Software Updates
CaptureOne DSLR version 1.1 is now out for Mac OS-X and there's a new version (1.2) with some fixes for Windows, as well. Photo Mechanic for Windows has been updated to version 4.0.3, which now includes color management.

June 10, 2003
Lens Update
A reader in Japan tells me that the "official" Japanese release date for the new 24-120mm and the 12-24mm DX lenses is June 28th, and that Nikon set that date there as being the date at which the lenses will be available everywhere. No word on the 20-200mm, though.

New Books
Since everyone keeps asking, the Complete Guide to the N75 is likely to be ready somewhere near the end of the month, with the F5 eBook slightly behind that.

Site Updates
The F100 errata page has been updated.

June 3, 2003
Rumor Mill
Rumor has it that Nikon USA may start bundling a storage card with the D100 shortly. Some retailers (B&H, for example) already do so (if you use the NY Times ad coupon), though I would expect Nikon's offer to be more substantive. Meanwhile, Hitachi, the new owner of the IBM Microdrive, has quietly told manufacturers that it will launch a 4GB Microdrive before the end of the year. Too bad our current Nikons can't use that extra storage. Remember, folks, these are rumors.

New Lenses Begin to Arrive
The 24-120mm AF-S VR and the 12-24mm DX lenses have begun arriving in stores throughout the world. As is usual with distribution of new Nikon products, today (6/2/03) you'll find them in the Asian markets (Japan, Hong Kong, etc.), by the end of the week we should see them in Europe, and the poor old US should see lenses in two to three weeks. Why do we get the raw end in the US? Partly due to the size of the market, the shipping methods used to deliver the huge quantity needed, and the requirement to sub-distribute so all stores receive initial shipments at the same time.

Software Updates and More
Photo Mechanic 4.0.2 now supports NEF browsing, though only using the image thumbnails, not by rendering the NEF. Fsoft has introduced a 24 Euro Photoshop plug-in for resizing, Resize Magic, that does indeed seem to do a better job on retaining detail on downsizing than Photoshop does.

Site Updates
I've updated my Fujifilm S2 and 70-200mm VR reviews. Also, I've added a short note about the Wein digital slave to the Wireless article.

May 30, 2003
D1x Now Comes with Upgrade.
Nikon USA is shipping all new D1x models to dealers with the expanded buffer upgrade and no price increase (i.e., you should be able to get a D1x with upgrade at the same price as the un-upgraded model was previously sold at). This appears to have started in early May. Also, a coupon for Capture is also now included. Nikon Canada is now shipping only D1x models with buffer upgrades, again at the same price, but without the coupon for Capture. D1x purchasers in North America should be careful to make sure they get models with buffer upgrades rather than the original buffer. How do you tell? Take a picture and scroll through to the info page that shows the firmware version. It should be 5.x for upgraded models.

Why'd I Get a Second D1 Report Issue #4?
As noted earlier in this space, I found a database error that precluded some people from getting their issues. I stopped mailing the remaining issues and fixed the error. Meanwhile, I had some more NEF/RAF converter info to impart, so I added that to the issue and remailed a copy to everyone. As of 5/12/03, everyone has been mailed a new Issue 4 and the database is fixed. For those looking to renew, add ".htm" to the link in the Report--the address I listed in the revised version was wrong.

Tokina and Sigma DB updates
Both companies announced a new lens at PMA, and I've finally gotten around to adding what I know about them to the lens database tables. Sigma. Tokina.

May 1, 2003
Nikon Production Numbers.
The Japanese industrial newspaper Dempa Shinbun published March 20, 2003 had an article that included some Nikon production numbers. Worldwide, ~1m Nikon 35mm SLRs and ~200k digital SLRs were sold in 2002 (it's unclear if this latter number is all DSLRs, or just Nikon's). In the Coolpix realm, about 3.3m units were sold (versus 1.3m compact 35mm models). This would give Nikon a 7-8% market share in consumer digital camera sales, using Nikon's total market figures. Expectations were of 36%+ growth in Coolpix sales in 2003. Nikon digital SLRs are made in Thailand, while the Coolpix units are made in Wuxi, China. Final interesting note: Nikon is more interested in dollar-based share than unit sales share.

Fujifilm and Canon Production Numbers.
From more recent issues (May 8) of Dempa Shinbun: Fujifilm's digital camera output isn't broken into SLR and consumer models, but claims are for a total of 4.6m units in 2002 and an almost 50% increase for 2003. Cameras are made in Japan, with a factory in Suzhou, China coming on line. Canon claimed 4.45m digital camera units shipped in 2002, with a goal of more than 7.5m in 2003. Low-end products are made in Malaysia, mid and high-end products in Oita, Japan, with another low-end plant coming on line in Zhuhai, China. Curiously, all three companies claim different totals for worldwide sales of digital still cameras, with Canon's being the lowest (for which they claim a 16% share). Elsewhere Canon has made the GE-like claim that they want to be #1 or #2 in market share in every market they enter. In consumer digital cameras they have yet to achieve that.

If you have seen a piece of Nikon news you think I might not have, send a URL pointer to me by email.

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