Photicious All Photography

Heck, things are moving FAST for Nikon!!

The “problem”:

Checking out Sony’s A900 with 24.6 Megapixels I guess Nikon’s strategy department is in a bit of fix.

It’s D3x was supposed to have this resolution, but the long delay in it’s “imminent” release - which still hasn’t happened yet - is now clear. Sony is keeping the first-mover advantage to itself by presenting a 24MP camera in the D700′ish price range. Wow!

Since Sony is Nikon’s sensor supplier and any D3x will probably have the A900’s sensor, the A900’s price-point will have a hard time convincing anyone to buy a D3x for probably double the price. Heck, the 12MP D3 sells for more than the A900! (sure, it may be faster but that’s about it).

What can Nikon do?

Plan A:

- Let the D3 go it’s own way, reducing price significantly while not infringing D700 territory

- Replace it with the D3X with a lower price point than the D3.

- Eventually or simultaneously (sooner rather than later -  the Sony is already out!)  release a D800 with a slightly higher price point than the D700 (similar to the Sony)

Plan B (more probable):

- Introduce a D800 competing with the A900 sooner rather than later at a A900 price-point. This will also serve to blow some wind out of Canon’s 5D-II offering with it’s 21MP sensor. It will/must have a movie mode - never mind that everyone says they don’t need it. Also never mind that spectacular Canon-sponsored short movie taken with the 5D-II. It could have been taken with the D90’s movie mode as well, but then Nikon is all “features” while Canon is “benefits”.

- Sit back and think up a feature-set for a D3X which will convince people to shell out a premium for it.

The target of the D800? Pixel-hungry commercial, landscape and surveyor photographers. Us wedding photographers won’t be letting go of our D700’s just yet: The A900 is only rated at 3200 ISO with additional boost modes - same as the D300. The killer low-ISO-capability of the 12MP sensors is missing.

Whew, and I just thought my D700 would soon be obsolete!

Ok, so I caved in.

This is what I got a few weeks back

I’d been holding out because the Nikon D3 hadn’t impressed me too much. I used a pair of D300’s and was satisfied. 1600 ISO was good and 3200 not bad either. Sharpness was down, but - ah well.

But the D700 is truly life changing.

No, I don’t use that term lightly.

But having been used to maxing out at ISO 1600, being able to crank up to 6400 and higher is just so much FREEDOM!

The pics at those ISO’s are sharp and the noise is negligible (the pic above was taken at 6400, of course).

What else is new and different (compared to the D300)?

The crop factor of 1 is either good or bad, depending if you want to be wide or close with your lenses. Not being able to really use DX lenses at full resolution is a downer.

The artificial horizon is great!

The lightweight strap a-la the D3 is great!

The greatest bonus which no one is talking about is being able to use the year-old 24-70mm/2.8 lens!! This amazing piece of glass is soooo sharp and yields such great colors and contrast it’s frightening! If you thought the 17-55mm/2.8 DX lens was sharp, this is something else. I would almost buy the D700 just for this lens!

Holy smoke: Look at these images from the new Lavazza calendar shot by Annie Leibovitz. You can download the images with a calendar app from the link after answering some demographic questions thinly veiled as a “quiz”. You don’t get the images in a higher resolution though, so it’s a waste. Wow, Lavazza sure splurged on this PR stunt and has easily surpassed Pirelli’s yearly calendar offering.

The cover:

January/February:

March/April:

May / June:

July / August (ha, we’re on home turf here. Although a nice image, the guy’s pose is awkward with his legs apart and his hips so far away from the woman. His jeans are completely out of place! Although the cool color balance enhances the blue of her dress, the image would be noticeably improved with more warmth like the image below it. Annie should have hired my wedding photography consulting services :-))

September / October:

Novermber / December:

Also the interesting “Making-Of” videos. Part 1:

Part 2: