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Copyright 2010 Thom Hogan


Welcome to the site of writer and photographer Thom Hogan.
Here you'll find extensive information about Nikon photographic equipment and support for all of Thom's Nikon-related books. Click on the Nikon tab at the top of the screen to see an expanded table of contents for the Nikon section.

Major announcements on Twitter @bythom.


Last update: 2/8/2010


Recent & Popular


In Thom's Bag
Top 10 of the Decade
2010 Predictions
The Big Trip
Missing Lenses Redux
Shoot Less
Update Path

Nikkor 70-200mm II Review
Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D Review
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G Review
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Review
Sigma 55-200mm Review
Tamron 55-200mm Review
Nikkor 16-85mm DX Review
Nikkor 18-105mm DX Review
DX Lens Opinion Summary
New Lens Rating System
Nikon Zoom Lenses
Rational Lens Choices
Nikon Lens Naming

User Feature Requests
User Weather Experiences
User Repair Experiences
User Desert Island Lenses

Bosque del Apache
Compact Shootout

High Rez Nikon DSLR
26 Concise Reviews
Speedlight SB-900 Review

Current Nikon DSLRs

Magic Camera Settings
Getting the Pixels Right
Charging in the Wild
Tip of the Iceberg
Quick and Dirty Color
Sensor Cleaning
How Big Can You Print?
Film to Digital Transition
How to Get Better
Dressing the Part

For many more articles,
click on the Nikon tab
at the top of the window.

Camera Reviews


Nikon D40 & D40x
Nikon D50
Nikon D60
Nikon D70 & D70s
Nikon D80
Nikon D90
Nikon D100
Nikon D200
Nikon D300
Nikon D700
Nikon D5000
Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
Nikon D2h
Nikon D2x & D2xs
Nikon D3
Nikon D3x

Kodak Pro 14n
Fujifilm S2 Pro
Fujifilm S3 Pro
Fujifilm S5 Pro
Olympus E-P1
Panasonic GF1

Nikon N65
Nikon N75
Nikon N80
Nikon N90s
Nikon F100
Nikon F5
Nikon F6

Waiting for Nikon List


The following items are ones that serious Nikon shooters have been patiently waiting for (a basic month count from when it went on my list is in parenthesis after each item).

Any APS Coolpix (23)
Small High Res FX body (15)
17-35mm f/2.8 redesign (17)
28mm f/2G AF-S (or faster) (20)
35mm f/2G AF-S (or faster) (20)
85mm f/1.4G AF-S (or faster) (20)
80-400mm f/4-5.6G AF-S VR (21)
300mm f/4G AF-S VR (23)
400mm f/5.6G AF-S VR (23)
28-200mm for FX (20)
Any DX wide angle prime (29)
35-135mm f/2.8G AF-S DX VR (23)
200mm Micro-Nikkor AF-S VR (29)
Any FX f/4 zoom (23)
Post AI-S extension tubes (133+)

It seems only fair to apply the same standards to myself, so:

Revised Flash Guide (36)
Revised D3 Guide (13)
Web site redesign (23)
Numerous Lens Reviews (16)

However, how much do you want to bet I clear my list before Nikon? At least I know I've been working on all the above ;~).


Founding Member: NANPA
Lifetime Member: AHS
Member: APA
Member: PMA
Member: EP
Member: NPS

 


Self Portrait.
D3x NEF, UniWB, 400mm. A common question this time of year is "can I use my camera in the cold." Short answer: yes. The pro-level bodies I've used in conditions as bad as -20°F with high winds for hours at a time. There's been as much snow caked on the camera as on me, uh, the bison, in the picture above. Sometimes the LCD displays will get a bit sluggish, but that's about it. Likewise, the pro lenses survive such onslaughts pretty well, too. You don't need special lubricants or weather-modifications for the equipment, though if it's wet, having rain covers is useful. Generally the biggest problem tends to be that the gloves you need to be comfortable in such situations are so fat you can no longer control the camera through its tiny buttons. Again, the pro cameras are better at this, but when you're photographing subjects like the one above, the protection you've got on tends to be the limiting factor in your control of the camera. Obviously, the consumer cameras (D3000, D5000, D90) and lenses (DX zooms) aren't up to this same level of abuse. Still, I've managed to use a D90 and 16-85mm lens in conditions where I was far from comfortable. Use common sense. Keep a warm battery ready. Shield the equipment against blowing snow or rain. Be careful to not move between warm and cold quickly, as this promotes condensation. Dry everything off as often as possible.


Quick Links & Comments
News and commentary of interest to Nikon and Nikon F-mount users

Coolpix Announcement Aftershock: New FX Lenses
Feb 8 (news and commentary)
--After Nikon's business-as-usual Coolpix announcements last week comes a minor aftershock: two new FX lenses.

The first of the new lenses is the long-expected 24mm f/1.4G AF-S. This lens is expensive (US$2199), but this new lens opens up a new avenue for FX shooters looking for that wide but shallow focus look. Designed with a strong consideration for bokeh, the new lens is a lot larger than the existing 24mm f/2.8, but also produces out of focus areas with a very natural look. I am amused by one line in the press release: "Perhaps one of the most hotly anticipated lenses in recent memory." Well, sure. Nikon themselves began leaking information about this lens as far back as summer of last year. Most of that anticipation has been "where is it?" The lens will be available in March.

Second on the list is the first Nikon f/4 aperture zoom, and it's likely to be a best seller: 16-35mm f/4G AF-S VR. Yes, you read that right, VR (Nikon's recent II type). The addition of VR in this lens makes the lack of it in the 24-70mm f/2.8 even more curious. Indeed, I was slammed on many Internet fora when I chose the lack of VR on the 24-70mm as one of Nikon's worst decisions in the first digital decade. All I can say is that I stand by that statement even more now that we've got VR in a zoom lens that'll end up in most pro's kits and that needs the stabilization less. Not that VR in this lens won't be useful, it's just that you really ought to be able to handhold a 16-35mm lens at 1/30 second or slower on an FX body as it is. This lens will be available at the end of February for US$1259.

I predict that the 16-35mm will be a complete sellout, so get in line soon if you want one. The fact that it accepts filters, is smaller and lighter than the 14-24mm, and that it is at a lower price point will have most pros and D700 owners wanting one. If this is the start of an f/4 cycle of zooms for Nikon, look out, these are going to be tremendously popular.

I've updated my Nikon lens page with details on the two new lenses.

It may seem unusual to some that two lenses like this would be released via press release separately from their press conferences last week. This seems typical Nikon to me. They wanted the Coolpix announcements to stand on their own, plus they wanted something they could excite DSLR users with prior to PMA and other upcoming shows (PIE in Japan). This also means that a DSLR (or DSLRs) release is still a month or two away. The fact that there are other lenses that are known about likely means they're being held back for the DSLR announcement. Recently, the head of Nikon's marketing in Japan stated that there would be primes (plural) coming, so the 35mm and 85mm updates are likely waiting for a new body announcement.

D3s Bugfix
Feb 8 (news)
--Nikon has introduced a firmware update (1.01) for the D3s that fixes a handful of items, including one that stopped movie recording, errors in the Chinese menus, and an issue that caused CHA to appear when certain cards were used in the camera.

Website Updates
Feb 8 (news)
--I've added my review of the new 70-200mm (see link at left), and I'll be adding a review of the 80-200mm f/2.8 and updating my old 70-200mm review shortly. Note that I've decided to take a dual approach on ratings for reviews: I'm rating on both an absolute scale and a value scale now in response to user requests. I'm updated my Lens Rating article (also see left column) to reflect this.

I think I've also caught up to emails that pointed out typos or problems on a number of pages. I've updated the Current DSLR and cleaning the sensor pages, for instance, as well as the Flash comparison page. Let me know if I've missed anything.

Besides now using Twitter (@bythom) to do major book and workshop announcements, those of you wanting RSS feeds can use Google Reader to set up your own quasi-feed.

Are You Up and Coming?
Feb 8 (news)
--Photocrati has a US$5000 fund for grants to non-professional photographers working on important humanitarian and environmental projects. Deadline for applications is March 15th.

Software Updates
Feb 8 (news)
--Bibble 5.0.1 adds E-P2 support, newly calibrated lenses, and a new black/white point tool. DxO 5.3.7 for Mac adds Snow Leopard support. Nikon introduced a new version of the Nikon Message Center (update notifier within their software products).

Is it My Imagination...
Feb 8 (commentary)
--...or has Nikon marketing gotten lazier? It used to be that each new camera came with a short slogan (D90: "engineered for artistry") and that slogan ran throughout the marketing materials. Recently I got NikonUSA's email about the new Coolpix models, and instead of the usual slogans, we are down to one- or two-word descriptors: S8000: "Hi-Res LCD"; S6000: "Fast"; S4000: "Touch"; S3000: "Sleek". Boy, that didn't excite me. A tenth grader could have picked out those words.

The Web pages give the full marketing lines for the cameras. S8000: "Super Slim. Stunningly Close. Clearly Brilliant." S6000: "Need the Speed. Love the Style." S4000: "Touching Memories" (nice pun). S3000: "Style Setting. Image Making."

So Nikon is shorthanding their own shorthand. It's all starting to feel a bit old and recycled, and the shorthand to the shorthand just reinforces that. Time for Nikon to rethink how they differentiate their products. Hint: words aren't doing it.

Nikon Financial Results for Third Quarter
Feb 4 (news and commentary)
--Nikon's third quarter financial results have been announced, and the news, as expected, is mixed.

For the year so far, Nikon sales are down 16% from the year prior, and the company is now reporting a loss. Hidden in that bad news is that this year's third quarter is better than last year's (hard not to be, given that the Great Recession was hitting about its heaviest during that period last fiscal year). The Precision division (semiconductor equipment) continues to collapse, with year-to-year comparison now off 39%. That, of course means that the Imaging division (cameras and lenses) is doing better, with sales off 9% and profits off only 4% from the previous year-to-date (three quarters).

Indeed, one of Nikon's bullet points for the quarter was that DSLRs, lenses, and compact cameras all achieved their highest single quarter volume to date: 1.2m DSLRs, 1.75m lenses, and 4.1m compact cameras were "sold" in the last three months of 2009. For the full fiscal year (ends March 31, 2010) Nikon expects to sell 3.5m DSLRs (35% of the global market), 5.1m lenses (32% of the global market), and 11.5m compact cameras (11.7% of the global market). Japan is now down to 12% of Nikon Imaging sales, the US down to 34%, Europe holding steady at 32%, with the remainder being Asia (22%). Imaging's percentage of the overall company sales continues to grow, having risen to 76% in the three quarters so far (but expected to drop back to 73% for the full year).

R&D expenses as a percentage of sales is still increasing (and has been for most of the decade), though the overall spending has dropped a bit (about 4% year-to-year).

Nikon's current estimate for currency exchange is 90-94 yen to the dollar, 130-133 yen to the Euro (the actual rate is at about 91 and 127 as I write this).

Overall, Nikon's continued strong performance in Imaging is driving the company. The good news is that this performance currently shows little signs of weakening. On the other hand, Nikon can't afford to make significant mistakes with cameras and lenses in the coming months, as doing so would send the financial picture back into the red (they predict a profit for the coming year).

Looking beyond the numbers looking for clues to the coming quarter, Nikon did not change their estimates for camera, lens, or Coolpix sales in the current quarter. That pretty much means that nothing that's been announced (see next story) or will be announced shortly is going to have a meaningful impact on this year's financials. Despite selling 1.2m DSLRs last quarter, Nikon currently expects to sell only 700k DSLRs this quarter. Note the the Coolpix models announced below only have a couple that ship in March. If Nikon expects to beat their 2010 fiscal year numbers they just posted in 2011, and every indication is that they do, that means that we've got quite a few new products coming in the next two quarters.

Just a Reminder
The short articles on the front page of this site change as often as every couple of days, as little as once every two weeks. Right now, however, we're coming into a period where there's been rapid change. So if you're not checking the site often, be sure to check out the Archived 2009 link, below, as there may be a handful of items you missed. (Yes, I know about RSS. But I won't offer that until the site redesign is done.)

Archived Front Page News and Articles
Archived 2010 byThom comments and news
Archived 2009 byThom comments and news
Archived 2008 byThom comments and news
Archived 2007 byThom comments and news
Archived pre-2007 byThom comments and news
Nikon announcements summary 2001-2009


 

 

Books by Thom Hogan


Digital SLR Complete Guide eBooks
Nikon D40 and D40x, 2nd Ed
Nikon D50
Nikon D60
Nikon D70/D70s, 2nd Ed
Nikon D1 Series, 3rd Ed
Nikon D100, 3rd Ed
Nikon D200
Nikon D2h/D2hs, 2nd Ed
Nikon D2x/D2xs, 2nd Ed
Fujifilm S2 Pro
Fujifilm S5 Pro

To order updates, click here.

Digital SLR Complete Guide + To Go Guide
Complete Guide to Nikon D5000
Complete Guide to Nikon D80
Complete Guide to Nikon D90
Complete Guide to Nikon D300
Complete Guide to the Nikon D700
Complete Guide to the Nikon D3

35mm Film SLR eBooks
Complete Guide to the Nikon N65
Complete Guide to the Nikon N75
Complete Guide to the Nikon N80

Complete Guide to the Nikon F100
Complete Guide to the Nikon F5

Complete Guide to the Nikon F6

Other Books
Nikon Field Guide out of print
Nikon Flash Guide out of print

Note: Orders received by the end of business each Tuesday are shipped on Wednesday and email confirmations are sent to that effect as they're shipped.

Errata pages for books are at www.bythom.com/XXguideerrata.htm where XX is the camera model (e.g., D100, D1, S2, etc.)

Recommended Books



Thom's Workshops

Thom's Extended Workshops

* South Africa August 21-Sept 2, 2010
* Botswana Sept 4-19, 2010
* Patagonia Dec 27, 2010-Jan 13, 2011

These are long-form workshops are taught with my assistant (max 6 or 7 students per instructor). They are not inexpensive, but they are meticulously planned, intensive, and as engaging as any workshop you've ever encountered. At present, these are the only workshops I plan on doing through the end of 2010. If you're interested in any of these workshops, click on the link for the workshop to get the PDF file describing it. Follow the directions in the PDF to sign up for the workshop. At present, the Botswana and Patagonia workshops are full and wait list only signups are being taken.


Caring and Sharing


Two Percent to Charity. This site contributes a minimum of 2% of its annual sales to non-profit organizations:

2004 recipient--Galen Rowell National Trails Trust Fund at American Hiking Society. This fund continues to provide small yearly grants to trail associations.

2005 recipients--Bird Migration and Wolf Tracking programs at Denali Institute. Big City Mountaineers.

2006 recipient--NANPA Foundation (scholarships for future nature photographers).

2007 recipients--Big City Mountaineers. Masai Mara carnivore monitoring station (Michigan State Univ Dept of Zoology).

2008 recipients--Masai Mara carnivore monitoring station.

2009 recipient--Donald E. Agostino Scholarship at Indiana University School of Telecommunications.

We continue to look at our systems and try to reduce our energy and consumable usage. For example, we use local production for both printing and disc creation, use virtual proofing instead of hard proofs where possible, and recycle all packaging materials. We use on-demand techniques for most products to keep from creating unwanted inventory. We continue to look at how best to mitigate the remainder of our carbon footprint.


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