The All New Nikon D60 10.2MP

Extraordinary 10.2-Megapixel DX-format Nikon Picture Quality: Nikon's high-performance, 10.2-megapixel DX-format CCD imaging sensor and exclusive EXPEED image processing concept provide added cropping freedom and the ability to make larger prints.

Includes AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR (Vibration Reduction) Image Stabilization Lens: NIKKOR lenses are famous for breathtaking sharpness and faithful color. With Nikon's fast, accurate autofocus and Vibration Reduction (VR) image stabilization technology built in, pictures are even sharper, free from blur caused by camera shake when shooting hand-held.

Fast Startup and Split-Second Shutter Response: With fast startup and split-second shutter response, the D60 eliminates the frustration of shutter delay, capturing moments that other cameras miss.

Shoot Continuously at up to 3 Frames per Second: Capture sports action, precious moments and fleeting expressions at up to 3 frames per second, for as many as 100 consecutive JPEG images.

Active Dust Reduction System with Airflow Control: Nikon's Active Dust Reduction System activates automatically, along with Airflow Control technology to reduce the amount of dust that reaches the sensor.

Easy Operation with Intuitive Controls: Intuitive controls and an onboard HELP Menu System with Assist Images make the D60 truly easy to use, enabling everyone to capture beautiful memories perfectly.

Nikon's EXPEED Image Processing Concept: Nikon's original digital image processing concept, EXPEED, comprehensively optimizes pictures, shot after shot.

8 Digital-Vari Program Automatic Shooting Modes: Eight Digital Vari-Program Modes include: Auto, Auto Flash-OFF, Portrait, Landscape, Child, Sports, Close Up and Night Portrait; each of which adjusts automatically for optimal results for everyday shooting situations. Each mode considers lighting conditions and possibilities, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, hue, tone, sharpening and more to make creative photography as simple as rotating the mode dial.

Nikon's Smallest Digital SLR Ever! Beautifully styled, the D60 makes high-performance digital SLR photography easier and more convenient than ever. You'll be amazed at the power packed into a camera that weighs just over 16 ounces.

2.5-Inch, 230,000-Dot Color LCD Monitor with 170-Degree Wide-Angle Viewing: Playback images are easy to see and function menus are easier to use with a larger and brighter color LCD monitor. The large 2.5-inch LCD monitor enables image preview at up to 19 times magnification and has large type fonts with easy-to-view menus. Auto rotating LCD display provides automatic horizontal and vertical graphic display orientation.

Advanced HELP Menu System with Assist Images: The D60's Assist Images help you select the appropriate settings for many camera features by showing an example image typical of that setting, as well as an advanced HELP Menu for the current item selected. The D60's Question Mark icon (?) indicates that help is available for the currently selected item; just press the HELP button beside the LCD monitor to see a context-sensitive HELP page.

Nikon 3D Color Matrix Metering II: The D60's 3D Color Matrix Metering II evaluates each scene for brightness, color, contrast, size and position of shadows and highlights, selected focus area and camera-to-subject distance, comparing that information against an onboard database of more than 30,000 actual photographic scenes. The result delivers instantly and precisely determined exposures for each scene, even in challenging lighting conditions.

Image Optimization Options: The D60's Optimize Image setting lets photographers adjust color, contrast and sharpening, as well as other image settings, according to the type of scene or output desired. Settings include: Normal, Softer, Vivid, More Vivid, Portrait, Custom and Black and White, each of which are automatically adjusted based on sophisticated Nikon algorithms or user-selected settings for optimum results.

Built-in Speedlight with i-TTL Automatic Flash Control: Nikon's innovative i-TTL flash control evaluates flash exposure with incredible precision to achieve better automatic flash balance and deliver outstanding results. The built-in Speedlight is always at the ready and brings beautiful exposures in darkened conditions, as well as adding sparkle for fill flash in outdoor situations for enhanced twilight shots or an added impact to daylight images. In low-light or back-light situations, added illumination from the built-in Speedlight can make the difference between an average snapshot and a dazzling picture.

Fast, Accurate 3-Area Autofocus: The D60's advanced 3-Area AF system and the refined algorithms inherited from more advanced Nikon digital SLR cameras deliver fast, efficient and precise Autofocus. AF refinements deliver greater precision with fast, more consistent subject acquisition and improved focus tracking for consistently sharper pictures.

In-Camera Image Editing and Enhanced Retouch Menu: Highly versatile in-camera editing features through the Retouch Menu include Nikon D-Lighting, Red-Eye Correction, Image Trim, Image Overlay, Monochrome (Black and White, Sepia and Cyanotype) along with Skylight, Warm Tone and Color Balance filter effects. New effects and controls include Quick Retouch, NEF (RAW) Processing, Cross Star and Color Intensifier filters. This provides greater creative freedom without the need for a computer for those who prefer to send pictures directly to a printer.

Stop motion video: Creates a stop-motion animation from a sequence of images for added creative fun to your pictures.

Up to 500 Images per Battery Charge: The supplied EN-EL9 rechargeable battery will allow for shooting up to 500 images per charge based on CIPA battery testing standards.

Supplied accessories (may differ by country or area): EN-EL9 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, MH-23 Quick Charger, UC-E4 USB Cable, DK-20 Rubber Eyecup, AN-DC1 Camera Strap, BF-1A Body Cap , DK-5 Eyepiece Cap, BS-1 Accessory Shoe Cover, Software Suite CD-ROM

Nikon D40

This well-crafted digital SLR offers high-end features and very good image quality at a low-end price.

A few years ago, $1000 was a critical price barrier for digital SLRs. Now, as interest in SLRs has grown among casual photographers, vendors have been racing to produce a $500 model. Though no camera has reachede that goal yet, Nikon's new D40 comes close. For $600, you get a very capable digital SLR camera with impressive image quality.

The D40 kit includes the small, lightweight camera and a separate 18-55mm lens (not available in a body-only configuration). Even at this low price, the build quality on the D40 is excellent. The rubberized grip and pebbled finish make it feel like a professional-level device. Nikon has done an excellent job of crafting a petite camera that is easy to hold steadily and isn't too cramped.

The D40's 6-megapixel sensor is low compared to the 10-megapixel sensors on today's point-and-shoots, but it offers plenty of pixels for comfortably printing up to 8-by-10-inch images. The D40's image quality is very good because the camera includes the same image-processing circuitry included in Nikon's more expensive D80 and D200. In our lab tests, the D40 scored only slightly below those cameras in image quality.

Like its small-bodied competition, the D40 achieves its diminutive size by eliminating the top-mounted status display in favor of using the camera's rear LCD for status readouts. The top of the camera has a mode dial for selecting shooting mode, as well as buttons for exposure compensation and information display. You set all other options via the camera's menu system.

The 2.5-inch LCD screen is bright and fairly easy-to-read even in direct sunlight. It provides a detailed readout of current camera settings and is easy to toggle on and off by pressing the Info button, which is located just behind the shutter button. The info display includes a feature that is so handy and so useful for beginning photographers, that it's hard to believe no one has thought of it before: As you change aperture, the display shows an animated iris that opens and closes, so you don't have to try to remember whether a bigger number means a smaller or larger aperture. This is a great feature for novice shooters. The camera also includes a built-in help system that explains what each feature does, and shows an example of how the feature will alter your picture.

The D40 comes with every feature that most users in this market will want, including adjustable ISOs, raw mode, scene modes, and all of the image-processing features built in to the D80. Nikon's excellent D-Lighting feature for brightening images--plus in-camera red-eye correction, monochrome conversion, and more--is readily accessible from the camera's menus. The only conspicuously missing feature is a depth-of-field preview option.

At $600, the D40 is a great value, and a great tool for photographers who want to grow. The included help system and aperture displays are fantastic learning tools, and the fact that the camera provides full priority and manual modes, as well as RAW, ensures that you won't have to compromise as your shooting prowess grows.

THE ALL NEW NIKON D60?

The rumor started in the DPForum early this morning - a Nikon D60 & an AF 16-85mm VR lens are on their way… or so the rumor is!


It would be a 10.2MP but here is more about the Nikon D60 :

” Nikon D60 DSLR camera - 3D Color Matrix Metering II

Many cutting-edge Nikon features enhance your picture-taking experience. Nikon’s advanced 3D Color Matrix Metering II ensures consistently balanced exposures for images with natural color and contrast, while Nikon’s new digital image processing concept, EXPEED, makes it possible to deliver smoother tones and more accurate colors. Nikon’s fast, quiet and precise autofocus system adds significantly to the performance of the D60, capturing exact moments with astounding clarity.

Nikon D60 - Dust reduction & Image Sensor Cleaning function

Such clarity is reinforced by Nikon’s dust reduction countermeasures. To avoid picture-degrading dust particles accumulating near the imaging sensor, the Nikon D60 comes equipped with the innovative Image Sensor Cleaning function and Nikon’s exclusive Airflow Control System. These functions both reduce dust accumulation to give you even better picture quality.

Nikon D-60 reflex camera - Retouch menu

In addition to new dust reduction features, the Nikon D60 offers a variety of ways to experience more fun and creativity when taking pictures. Users can easily capture dynamic images in different shooting situations with a simple turn of the mode dial. The Retouch Menu offers even more creative excitement, letting you change your pictures into even more striking images – all fast, all simple and all without the need for a computer.

Nikon D60 body - Integrated Dust Reduction system

Compact and comfortable, the Nikon D60 has so much to offer: amazing picture quality, simple operation, an Integrated Dust Reduction System for clearer pictures and an extensive selection of creative features. The result: fun, fantastic and inspired pictures. The world of stunning photography is just a step away, with the Nikon D60.

Nikon D60 sensor - 10.2 Megapixels

The Nikon D60’s image sensor utilizes 10.2 megapixels to produce superb, high-quality images with incredible resolution, allowing you to make large prints, even if you only use part of an image. And thanks to EXPEED, Nikon’s unique digital image processing concept, your pictures will contain fine detail and smooth, natural tonal reproduction.

Nikon D 60 SLR - Integrated Dust Reduction System

The Airflow Control System used in the Nikon D60 leads air within the mirror box towards small ducts near the base, directing dust away from the image sensor. The Image Sensor Cleaning function also reduces dust accumulation near the sensor using specifically determined vibrations, which activate automatically or whenever the user chooses. This team of dust reduction countermeasures lets the user switch lenses confidently, taking advantage of the extensive lineup of Nikkor interchangeable optics while worrying less about the effects of dust in the camera.”

Now let’s wait and see!!

Nikon D300 Preview

Today is a very good day for Nikon fans. If you've held on to your Nikon gear while others defected to other brands, your day has come. Though Nikon has long since re-established its prominence in the digital SLR market, today's announcements of the D3 and D300 take the battle to a new level. If the D80, D40, and D40x were a shot across the bow of their largest competitor, the D3 and D300 are a broadside, point-blank.

Both the D3 and D300 are pro-grade cameras, and share many of the same revolutionary features. While the D3 breaks new ground for Nikon with a full-frame sensor (called FX) at 12.1 megapixels, the D300 nearly matches that resolution at the old DX-size recording a 12.3 megapixel image with a 1.5x crop factor. They share so many features, we've come to think of the D300 as the build-it-yourself Nikon D3. You can almost achieve the D3's performance by adding accessories to the D300; all but the larger frame size.

Nikon's D300 displaces the D200 at the top of the prosumer DX lineup, but it does not replace it. The D200 will live on. But D200 owners in particular will be especially drawn to the D300's new features. The camera's increased resolution, 14-bit A/D conversion, and a frame rate of six frames-per-second will pique their interest. The new Scene Recognition System that merges data from the AF system with data from the 1,005-point metering system for greater accuracy and better tracking will draw them closer; the new 51-point AF system that fairly dominates the DX-sized frame and includes 15 cross-type sensors will make them chuckle with joy; and the 920,000 pixel, 3-inch LCD will make them check their bank balance for available funds.

They won't know whether they care for Live View, in-camera Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, a self-cleaning sensor, or optic-by-optic autofocus fine-tuning until they have the camera in their hands; but the ability to upgrade to eight-frames-per-second with the purchase of a battery grip will set their resolve.

The only disappointment is the Nikon D300's November 2007 shipping date. That's a long time to wait for something that so whets the appetite. With an expected retail price of $1,800, D200 owners will be on familiar ground, investing a little more money for a lot more camera. Here's hoping that the legacy of the D200's supply shortages -- which we're told persist to this day -- won't be a problem with the D300.

Why Photography and Digital Photos Are An Important Art Form

Photography can't get no respect when it comes to fine art. The painter painstakingly adds paint to every tiny piece of the canvas, slowly building areas to create just the right effect. It might take weeks or months!

But a photographer comes upon a scene, clicks a shutter and bingo a complete picture has been created. The assumption is that a photographer simply goes into the darkroom, processes the negative or downloads the digital file, then tweaks the picture slightly to create a finished print or image. Photography can't get no respect.

Like all popular conceptions there is a little truth and a lot of misunderstanding. My point of view is that photography is a completely different way of approaching art and imagery.

The reason is simple. Photography deals in wholes and not in pieces. When a photographer takes a picture, he/she takes a complete pictures all at one time. If the photographer does not like that image the choice is NOT to rework the picture in the darkroom (probably) but rather to retake the whole picture again from a different angle, or distance, or with a different lens, or at a different moment, or with different lighting, etc. But the photographer is dealing (generally) with a complete image.

Anyone who has done any darkroom work knows that trying to radically change an image is a lot of work that often fails. To say it another way: painting builds an image from the bottom up; photography works from the top down.

The really professional photographers capture their images at the moment. This moment in photography is so important, Cartier-Bresson (perhaps the greatest photographer) labeled it the "decisive moment," the moment when all the picture elements come together to make a whole and complete image. Photographing an image at the moment also creates an indefinable sense of reality, that a real moment in time was actually captured. It can take hours and/or a number of sessions before the right whole picture is achieved. This is the way a photographer works an image (vs. the painter): shooting and editing from perhaps hundreds of whole images, looking for the right one to select and display.

Thinking in wholes instead of pieces is a quite different way of thinking, especially in the West. We are taught to break things down into pieces (Descartes), to dissect things, to analyze situations and conditions, to think like a production line, but not to think in wholes. This makes photography unique in many ways not just as an art form but as a way of seeing and thinking. Thinking in wholes instead of pieces is a quite different way of thinking, especially in the West.
While the digital age allows more manipulation than ever before in photography, those who choose to think in wholes and work in wholes can still do so. And let me be clear. I am not saying you should not think in parts and pieces, rather that photography gives an artist the ability to think in wholes, an ability which is rare today.

I have generally emphasized a photography that is unmanipulated other than a few traditional photographic techniques. Virtually all of these photographs were not cropped and a digital paint brush, spray can, or eraser was never applied.

Recently I have created a series of more complex digital pictures that were processed using a number of traditional photographic techniques translated into the digital framework. I used solarization, adjusted brightness and contrast, changed lightness, hue, and saturation, and bumped up shadows and highlights. All of these are traditional darkroom techniques in a digital form.

However, I let each effect transform the ENTIRE image. I was still thinking in wholes. I tried to bring out outlines when an outline was barely visible. Yet I did not go in and add a line that was not there or emphasize an area with a brush.When I work with a picture I see the whole image at all times.

This distinction may seem unimportant to some, but to me it is like night and day. When I work with a picture I see the whole image at all times. The pieces and details must work together to create a whole image, and no whole image can be strong if the details are weak. Yet the whole is my point of reference. It is why I love photography and why I keep finding new visions in the most ordinary places for these past years.