August 30
What's Up With DX, Redux. I'll just say right up front, I don't have the answers you're looking for. Here in the US, the D3400 is Nikon's best selling ILC, by far. It also tends to produce the most sales dollars overall from any model. Thus, it's an important product. And today Nikon "updated" it to the D3500, to be sold at the same price as the D3400 was (US$499 with kit lens). Article on dslrbodies.com. D3500 data page.
August 28
DSLRs: Dead, In Transition, or Forever? For many years now I've been writing that it is inevitable that ILC (interchangeable lens cameras) will transition to mirrorless. Ten years ago ILC was basically 100% DSLR, ten years from now ILC will basically be 100% mirrorless. I may be off by a bit on the future date, though, as transitions are always difficult to predict. Article on dslrbodies.com
The Nikon Marketing Fail. I've been hard on Nikon's marketing and messaging in the past. Today isn't going to be any different. So let's drop down into a couple of examples and see where the problem lies. Article on sansmirror.com
August 27
Make sure to check out recent articles, down below the B&H advertisement. I've written a lot on the new Nikon Z system, and it's going to scroll down the page very fast as I keep adding to that. Also, many of those earlier articles are getting updates as I learn more.
Conspiracy Theories and the Nikon Z. Among all the it does/it doesn't, it is/it isn't posts are plenty of conspiracy theory entries. Let me just say this up front: if there were any real conspiracy going on, you wouldn't know about it until it is far too late, and you wouldn't learn about it on the Internet. Article on sansmirror.com
Reader Questions About the Nikon Z6/Z7. Updated.
I've got answers. I will add to this page as I get new questions where public answers provide a benefit to site readers. Article on sansmirror.com
August 25
Drowning yet?
The Card Failure Issue. Updated The fact that the new Nikon Z cameras have only one card slot seems to have precipitated a massive wave of negative commentary. I have a completely different view, apparently, than most of the folks bemoaning the loss. Article on sansmirror.com
The Z Lenses. Nikon published a roadmap for lenses on their new Z system, and they strongly hinted at quite a few changes in optics coming down the pike. It seems that rather than getting a marketing message clear from the start, Nikon preferred to just drop a lot of clues. Article on sansmirror.com
Reader Questions About DSLR Versus Z. I've been doing a series of reader email questions and answers. On Thursday, as you might expect, came a slew of questions that dealt with the DSLR versus mirrorless future. So I'll tackle them here so you can all see my responses. Article on dslrbodies.com
August 24
Someone forgot to turn the firehose off...by the way, the Z6 has a low pass filter over the sensor according to Nikon. Will add that to the database along with a few more tidbits soon.
Sony Versus Nikon Mirrorless. Updated The brand wars are heating up now that Nikon put two models directly against two Sony models. Lots of discussion about "which is better?" Article on sansmirror.com
A Few More Thoughts on Nikon Z. I hope I can return to writing about all mirrorless cameras soon, but Nikon's new mirrorless launch, much like some earlier Sony launches, is dominating the news, the Internet discussions, and my In Box. Article on sansmirror.com
Nikon's Slightly Muddled Marketing. “Two industry-leading camera systems to choose from.” That’s the line in Nikon’s original press release about the upcoming Z system that implied that Nikon believes that they’ll have both state-of-the-art mirrorless and state-of-the-art DSLR systems for people to choose from. Article on sansmirror.com
August 23
Welcome to the firehose. I'm going to be firing the gatling gun quite a bit for the next few hours, so keep checking back. One thing: because this site is static HTML on the server for security purposes (it's dynamic on my machine), sometimes a linked article might not show up immediately as the site is being repopulated. Give it a few minutes.
The Post Z Discussion Begins. Now that Nikon has officially introduced the Z system, the emails and Internet discussion has taken off. There are highs, there are lows. There is ecstasy, there is dismay. Reactions are all over the board, and probably overshoot reality. Article on sansmirror.com
Nikon Re-Enters Mirrorless Market. Nikon today their new Z mirrorless system, comprised initially of two cameras, the 24mp Z6 and the 45mp Z7, plus three lenses, 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.8, and 24-70mm f/4. Article on sansmirror.com
Nikon F-Mount Adapter. Okay, let's step through things here. If you haven't already read my oft-updated article on dslrbodies.com about Nikon lens terminology, now would be a good time to do so. Article on sansmirror.com
It’s All in the Name. Nikon has chosen Z for their new camera line. Let's drop back into the past and see what they've previously used. Article on sansmirror.com
What Were Nikon Users Looking For? In anticipation of the new Nikon mirrorless launch, I long ago began doing research on what Nikon DSLR users’ expectations might be for such a new product. Article on sansmirror.com
The Fight at the Top. A term that comes up a lot in both high tech and in overall market transitions is this: first mover. Article on sansmirror.com
We’re Number One. No, not me. I don’t care much about my own market share, in case you haven’t noticed. It’s Sony. They’ve once again launched a press release claiming being “first” at something, this time full frame interchangeable lens camera volume and dollar volume in the United States for the first six months of 2018. Article on sansmirror.com
XQD Cards. Originally, we had two sources of XQD cards, Lexar and Sony. As I write this, we have two, Delkin and Sony, while Lexar has indicated that they’ll return to the XQD market sometime in 2018. Article on dslrbodies.com
The Nikon 500mm f/5.6E PF Lens was introduced.
Yongnuo 50mm f/1.4 II for Nikon F-mount, Samyang 14mm f/2.8 autofocus for Nikon F-mount have both been introduced.
The Panasonic LX100 got Mark II status with a new camera announcement that got buried behind the Nikon PR machine’s massive engine. The big change is the sensor is now 20mp (providing 17mp images in any of the aspect ratios). The new version also gets the latest Panasonic touchscreen tech, plus basically the image processing and video innards from the GX9. Is that enough to make the LX100 current again? Given that the price point resets back up to US$999, I’d make that a qualified maybe. Panasonic didn’t fool with the controls, which were near perfect. But they also didn’t update a few things, like the sequential EVF.
August 15
What's Up with DX? Up through 2010, DX was pretty much on a very predictable and regular schedule: D3xxx type bodies every year, D7xxx and Dxxx type bodies every two years. Which means, here in 2018 a new D3500 and D5700 should show up, and if the Dxxx bodies had returned to a "normal" schedule, we'd probably get a D510, too. Article on dslrbodies.com
August 9
Sunk Costs and Mature Markets. In doing my usual reading of other media this morning, I came across two short phrases that I find apply to the photographic gear market. Article on dslrbodies.com
August 7
Tamron announced a new 17-35mm f/2.8-4 OSD lens for Canon/Nikon mounts for just US$599. Those of you looking for the spiritual replacement for the Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 may have just found it. This is a small, light, and supposedly quite sharp lens that takes 77mm filters and covers the full frame. I've added it to my list of products to review.
Site Changes for 2018. As you know, I've been puttering in the plumbing of all the sites. Sansmirror was completed last month, and dslrbodies.com is now almost complete, as well. Check out all the changes made so far on dslrbodies.com.
Nikon's First Quarter Financial Results. It's all starting to sound like a recording: sales down, profits up. In terms of the Imaging business, that's been the trend and the first quarter of the new fiscal year is no different: revenue down 13%, profit up 63% when comparing this year's quarter to last year's. Article on dslrbodies.com
Choosing Gear for Landscape Photography. Landscape is the type of photography I've been pursuing for decades now, and probably have the most training and experience at. I'll warn you also that it's an area in which I have very strong opinions that may run counter to those of others. Article on dslrbodies.com
What Are Shutter Actuations/Cycles? You've probably come across the term "tested for ###,### cycles" at some point in your research about Nikon cameras and their shutters (Canon uses similar terminology). What the heck does that mean, and how do you check your shutter to see where it stands? Article on dslrbodies.com