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Articles and Reviews
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A general consensus amongst those interested in Nikon is that the revised D2Hs is not being accepted very well. Everyone knew that something was up when Nikon suddenly slashed the price of the original D2H a couple of months ago to US $2000. It angered many people that had bought the D2H before the price slash, but it also set off the imagination as to what Nikon had in store. Speculation was rampant that an 8 MP chip upgrade was on its way and that this would be backwards compatible to original D2H cameras for a fee. Alas, no such luck. While the D2Hs certainly does make for a very compelling sports or PJ camera, the mindset of many is that it’s still only half the resolution of the Canon 1D Mk II, never mind that many Canon shooters don’t shoot at full resolution because large files make for slower workflow and transmission difficulty back to the editor’s computer. Rightly or wrongly, consumers and professionals are consumed by the megapixel race, a game that Canon has played brilliantly with no let up in sight (and this is a good thing IMO). The feeling is that while Nikon is still capable of producing great tools, they will now always be a step or two behind their primary competitor in getting those tools to market. If you like new products every year to upgrade to, Canon’s your marquee, because Nikon does not appear willing to play that game. Nikon seems to have a history of being mostly conservative with the occasional brilliant flash of innovation that takes the industry by storm, only to lose that edge and become conservative again while their competition catches up and then surpasses them. However, while Nikon has disappointed many with the D2Hs, what seems to have passed these people by is that the D2Hs is a camera targeted to a specific group of photographers, the PJs and more specifically, the sports PJ. It’s a fairly specialized camera even if more people than PJs and sports PJs will eventually purchase it. The D2X is still the more interesting camera for the majority of photographers, but of course, not every photographer that desires it will be able to afford it. Hence the other disappointment of no D100 replacement and as Thom Hogan has speculated, no entry-level SLR priced below the D70 to really seal the deal against the Digital Rebel. I guess for me, I’d like to see Nikon’s next generation offerings to really come out swinging with both arms. The Canon 1Ds Mk II is at almost 17 MP, so Nikon gains little in producing a next generation D3 camera at the same or similar resolution; it would just be another me-too product that won’t really impress. Nikon should go for the bullocks and come out with a full frame 35mm format camera that offers 24 MP of resolution at 4000x6000 pixels, and it should come out by no later than the 2006 Photokina Show. This camera should be loaded for bear with the ability to fire off 5 frames per second with a good buffer to cover at least a dozen RAW files, or two-dozen JPEGs. It should also be a dual-mode camera with an H mode to provide a 1.5X crop at half the resolution with double the frame rate, e.g., 12 MP at 10 fps with a 24 RAW or 50 JPEG buffer. And Nikon should price it at US $5000 J Beyond this, probably for the D6 generation and assuming that a 35mm sized chip can actually handle this, an increase in resolution to 54 MP or 6000x9000 pixels. Now, I’m obviously no engineer and I’m under no illusions about the kinds of design and technological challenges this would present to Nikon. If any company has the ability to produce such dream cameras, it’s probably Canon more than Nikon. Of course, I shudder to think of the computing power required to edit the monster files from a 54 MP camera and terrabyte hard drives will have to become the norm to handle the storage. Hmm...take one 54 MP image and start adding some Photoshop layers at 16-bits and we're probably at the point of fitting a whopping single image per 4.7 GB DVD disc (virtual evil grin). I’d also like to see a more intelligent and fully featured wireless flash system. While Nikon has received plaudits for the current i-TTL system, I’d like to see it go beyond this for usability. Nothing that I suggest is radical or new, it’s all been done before, or being done right now. Make the wireless flash system controllable by computer, Pocket PC, and Palm PDA. A computer controlled system would be excellent for the studio photographer to effortlessly assign wireless flash units which group they belong to and to dial in the exact output needed for their lighting needs. While a simple flash set-up might only see three or four individual flash units, a complex set-up could see dozens of flash units. Create some software that allows the photographer to bring up a virtual diagram of the studio layout and where each flash unit is located based on wireless communication between the computer, camera, and flashes. Allow the photographer to Ctrl-click each flash unit that should belong to say Group 1 for key lighting. The same for Group 2 fill lighting, Group 3 for background lighting, etc, etc. Or to simply mouse click, hold, and then move the mouse over all the flashes that the photographer wants to be in a particular group. A right mouse click would bring up the control parameters for the group, which would control their output. Modify the software to work in a simplified fashion, again wirelessly, with PDAs. Creo’s Leaf digital backs already have the ability to communicate with HP or Compaq PDAs via Bluetooth, so it’s nothing new at all. Better yet, make the Coolwalker digital wallet a fully featured PDA device that can control the flashes. It goes without saying that Nikon should revamp their lens lineup for this digital age. While Nikon has produced some very intriguing offerings in recent times, such as the 200-400 f4 VR and the 200 f2 VR, much of the prime lens range was designed in the glory days of film. Get all the lenses up to digital standards and for God’s sake, reduce the amount of plastic found in some lenses even if the price has to go up a bit. Market your absolute quality, make fun of the competition that make plastic lenses. The mass consumer market isn’t going to go for good prime lenses because they like the convenience of zooms. Keep those lenses built to a price point, but give the serious photographers and pros, lenses with quality build. We’re the ones that would appreciate the extra measure of quality that a prime can offer over a zoom and we want those lenses to be built like brick outhouses. For example, the highly regarded Nikkor 24mm f2.8 lens is roughly a CAN $500 lens, but it has a fair amount of plastic in its construction. I’d be willing to pay an extra premium of CAN $700 for an updated lens that would get the best out of digital, with metal build and an included lens hood that’s more than just a cheap piece of plastic Tupperware. And be sure to make it an AF-S lens. Yah, some of the user base will bitch and whine that it will be an aperture-less G lens, but time moves on and while the F mount should remain, everything possible should be done to make it a 21st Century lens mount instead of keeping it contemporaneous with the Edsel. Thom Hogan had a wonderful piece of speculation about VR capable teleconverters and I would love to see such become reality if it can work with lenses that already have VR, and boost the current average three-stop shutter speed benefit to five or more stops. As a standalone accessory, it should provide the same three-stop shutter speed advantage with non-VR lenses that the current VR lenses offer. And for goodness sake, where are the updated extension tubes? If Kenko can make a few bucks selling a set of three tubes, why can’t Nikon offer two or three tubes of its own that will finally mate fully with current lenses and allow auto focus and metering? Nikon has to work on capturing the imagination of the public by reemphasizing the fact that their origins were as an optical company. I know it wouldn’t make for much if any profit, but a few spectacular, tour de force statement lenses would let everyone know that Nikon never left the hotel. How about a 2000mm f5.6 lens? Who cares it’s going to look like a howitzer and cost a million dollars, it’s not about selling it as a profit item, but as a statement that Nikon can make super lenses and that the R&D and engineering prowess of building such lenses will trickle down into the more conventional ones. A super zoom or two wouldn’t hurt either and make sure that they’re hauled out and actually used at high profile events like the Olympics, the World Cup, and the Super Bowl. Think what Dave Black could do with an 800-1500 zoom lens J At the least, all lenses should be updated to AF-S standard with VR incorporated in more than just telephoto primes and zoom lenses. The 24-120 VR lens was a good step, but we need more to provide users with a real advantage over the other brands, especially since KonicaMinolta gave their users a huge IS/VR boost with the 7D camera and most of their lens range. The Coolpix lineup needs a shakeup and a return to that Nikon innovation not seen since the glory days of the Coolpix 900 series (the Coolpix 8800 and 8400 notwithstanding since they look pretty darn good). A real shakeup of the digicam market could be something like Nikon being the first to put an APS sized sensor in a fixed lens camera. I know that such quality would be wasted on the mass consumer market that seems perfectly happy with cheap 4 and 5 MP cameras that produce nice pictures at ISO 50 to 200, but generally produce crap from ISO 400 to 800. But again, it would be a statement product that would draw attention to the other products in the line. Olympus had some modest success with their E10 and E20 fixed lens SLR style cameras, but back then their chip size was too small, resolution was limited, and there were issues about quality at high ISOs. Imagine taking the D70’s sensor and putting it into a Coolpix 8800 chassis, along with some better ergonomics. Price it sensibly and get the margin back on volume. Or take a page from the Olympus book and produce a real SLR style camera, but with a fixed, high quality lens with a 28-200mm zoom, and APS sized sensor. Some of this will sound like I want Nikon to match Canon or other companies. Not at all, I want Nikon to surpass and blow Canon and the others out of the water J But, just as I have no illusions about Nikon actually producing a full frame 24 MP anytime soon, I’m under no illusions that any of this would ever come to pass and is nothing more than a pipedream. In end, I have to reiterate that it’s the photographer not the camera that counts, but having a company at the edge of the art in producing innovative products would be great fun. But I suppose the question that remains on the minds of many Nikon users is whether or not Nikon is bold enough, capable enough, innovative enough, and perhaps most importantly large and wealthy enough to do this. Remember that Nikon is nowhere near the size of Canon that has many other facets to its business to subsidize and/or borrow to support the photo division. |
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Correspondence & About this website Copyright © 1998-2008 Edwin Leong |
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Edwin's
Vignettes -
Personal Thoughts about Nikon as of February 17, 2005 (a
wish list)
