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May 31, 2006

Nikon Capture NX Beta Previews

Nikonians are anxious to know what will Nikon Capture NX software will be.
Our members indicate that some answers could be found here in regard to the Beta version, apparently with good news for non-Nikon users too. ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Imaging Resource also has a detailed first look at the new program.

Posted by jrp at 10:10 AM

May 30, 2006

Nikonians Needs You at Photokina & PhotoPlus Expo!

Nikonians needs you! We're looking for volunteers to help man our booths and spread word of the community at two key conferences in the photographic industry - Photokina 2006 in Cologne, Germany from September 29th to October 1st and New York's Photo Plus Expo from November 2nd through the 4th.

Volunteers who can help out for half a day will receive a free day pass, the Nikonians t-shirt and a Nikonians cap. It is also an excellent chance to get to know some of the folks behind the community. We look forward to seeing you there!

Posted by covey22 at 10:08 PM

Father's Day Free Shipping at Nikonians Pro Shop

We enjoyed an amazing response on our Mother's Day free shipping offer at the Nikonians Pro Photo Shop, so it was only fair that Father's Day gets the same deal! We are offering free shipping for any purchase above $100 US or 80 EUR. Starting June 1 through June 13 (server time) simply enter the coupon code: "fathersday-2006" in the "Redeem Code" field when checking out, and your order will ship for free.

Posted by covey22 at 3:39 PM

May 29, 2006

D2Xs Upgrade Announcement In The Wind?

May 29th was named by many sources as the day Nikon would unveil the D2Xs upgrade. Fotografi.no has a release indicating Nikon Norway has shown the camera to members of the press, with only the hints to specifications that "improve workflow." According to other sources there is an information embargo in place until Thursday 1 June when Nikon Global will roll out all specifications. So the wait continues...

Posted by covey22 at 4:01 PM

Nikonians Exclusive Savings!

Silver, Gold and Platinum subscribers now save even more with their membership at Nikonians! While logged into the site, simply click on your User Menu option, then follow the "Vouchers and Coupons" link on the left-hand side. You'll then be presented with a list of exclusive savings and discount programs with a variety of photography-oriented vendors - it's that easy. Nikonians subscriber benefits information is available at our membership page.

Posted by covey22 at 3:48 PM

May 27, 2006

Nikonians News Flash #5

News-Flash.png
Jessica is back from her honeymoon just in time to update everyone about the latest at Nikonians!
Download (8:24, 7.7MB, mp3 format).

 

Show notes
Contest
The 2006 Photographers of the Year contest "May-June" segment is open for entries in the areas of "Abstract or Digital Art", "Landscapes", and "Sports". The deadline is June 30.

Photo Pro Shop special for Father's Day
A Father's Day Special will be going on in the Photo Pro Shop, from June 1 through June 13, with free shipping on all orders of $100 USD (80 EUR) or more!

Adobe Lightroom beta download
Adobe Lightroom, beta version, is now available for download at https://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom. Windows users are going to have to wait a bit!

And last, Jessica explores how even new D50 users can be affected by NAS!

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[MP3] Download the show as MP3 (8:24 min, 7.7 MB)
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Posted by drjay32 at 10:49 PM

Nikon reviews update

Our Nikon reviews are updated weekly. Also don't miss our daily Adobe Digital Workflow series by Nikonian pro George Mann.

Posted by bgs at 1:59 PM

May 26, 2006

Nikon 200 2.0 Lens Review

Have you missed the review on the Nikon 200 2.0 lens? A review on this beauty written by a fellow Nikonian resides since some time in our Nikon review section.

Posted by bgs at 3:16 AM

Adobe Lightroom Beta Download

The Adobe Lightroom Beta for Macintosh OS X 10.4.3 and greater is available from Adobe. The Windows Beta should be available soon.

Posted by bgs at 3:06 AM

May 25, 2006

Reid Reviews: Zeiss ZF 50/1.4 T Planar lens

Imaging Resource has an excerpt from Reid Reviews on the new Zeiss 50mm/1.4 Planar T for Nikon.

Posted by covey22 at 11:02 PM

Keep your lens clean with Nikonians lens cloth

With the Nikonians lens cloth, you always have a high quality microfiber lens cloth with you, no matter where you are. With the Nikonians logo, it's a 10x10 inch (25x25cm) black microfiber cloth that conveniently clips to your bag or belt and will make you the envy of your shutterbug friends. Visit our Photo Pro Shop today to get these and other high-quality Nikonians merchandise.

Posted by bgs at 11:02 PM

Microsoft's JPEG-Killer?

DCViews reports that Microsoft has revealed a new image file format that will accompany the launch of the upcoming Windows Vista. The new operating system will introduce the Windows Media Photo file, which supposedly provides better image quality at half the size of current JPEG formats. As many channels have noted, it remains to be seen how well-received this format is by the imaging industry.

Posted by covey22 at 10:10 PM

Markins Review on the Q3 Emille Ball Head

Nikonians has published a new review on the latest ball head from Markins, the Markins Q3 Emille.

Posted by bgs at 7:00 PM

The Image Doctors #15

Join Rick and Jason for this week's episode of the Image Doctors at Nikonians Talk Radio, brought to you by Alien Skin Software (www.alienskin.com).
Image-Doctors.png
In this episode, hear our review of Capture One, the RAW converter/ workflow solution from Phase One.
We'll also discuss packing photo gear for a vacation. What to think about, what to bring, and how to make sure you remember everything.

[MP3] Download the show as MP3 (25:36, 9MB, MP3 Format).

Table of Contents:
1:52 Packing tips from Jason and Rick
11:42 Review of Capture One by Phase One Software

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Posted by drjay32 at 6:43 PM

Canon Shutters Film Camera Development

Canon has acknowledged the decline of the film camera segment by announcing that no new film cameras would be developed. The development, unlike Nikon's announcement earlier this year, is not a complete withdrawal. Canon will continue to produce existing cameras as long as demand is present. A complete production shutdown is "decided appropriately by judging the market situation," according to Canon spokesman Hiroshi Yoshinaga.

Posted by covey22 at 5:49 PM

May 2006 Nikon KnowledgeBase Entries

A glimpse at some of the latest Nikon KnowledgeBase Entries for May 2006:

What is the largest size memory card I can use in my digital camera?
Common questions and answers regarding the SC-28 & SC-29 TTL Cables
Which Remote can I use with my Nikon D-SLR?
Digital Camera Drivers - Windows
Close Up Accessories

Posted by covey22 at 1:57 AM

May 24, 2006

Webshots Launches Free Unlimited Photo Uploads at AllYouCanUpload.com

SAN FRANCISCO, (May 23, 2006) Webshots (www.webshots.com), a leading photo-sharing community and a property of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET www.cnetnetworks.com), today launched AllYouCanUpload.com (www.AllYouCanUpload.com), a service that provides free unlimited photo uploading and hosting without the need for registration. AllYouCanUpload.com leverages the technology infrastructure of Webshots, one of the internet's largest photo sharing communities.

Digital camera users are increasingly seeing the value in hosting images online for free. According to the Digital Image Marketing Association, the number of US households storing images online tripled between 2004 and 2005, with only one percent of digital camera owners paying a fee for hosting.

Purpose-built for this changing Internet landscape, AllYouCanUpload.com lets users upload up to 10 images at a time with no limits on size of photos, and automatically generates codes to display images that can be pasted into popular social networking, blog and auction sites.

AllYouCanUpload.com is designed for people seeking a quick, easy, one-click solution for hosting images. Users interested in a more robust experience, including archiving photos for future use, have the option of registering for a free Webshots.com account. Webshots members can save and categorize photos, as well as interact with more than 19 million unique users1 on one of the internet's most active photo sharing communities with tools such as message boards, tracking favorite users and more.

"Webshots understands the variable needs of photo uploaders and is providing AllYouCanUpload.com as an answer to those seeking a tool for fast, easy, free uploads" said James Park, Director, Product Development, Webshots. "Users can enjoy a variety of services leveraging the strength of the Webshots infrastructure; from instant, free uploads at AllYouCanUpload.com, to free member pages, album storage and networking tools with a free Webshots membership, to premium services."

Photos uploaded to AllYouCanUpload.com will be subject to Webshots' industry-leading content standards and screening that prohibits nudity, obscene content and content that exploits children or minors.

About Webshots Webshots is a vibrant online photo sharing community of more than 19 million unique visitors1 connecting over shared interest spanning 200 categories including pets, travel, family, sports and celebrities. Beyond photo sharing, Webshots enables "social theatre" by providing stages for users to present content that ranges in scope from personal events to events of worldwide significance with message boards, "favorite user" capabilities, comment features and more. Webshots' CollegeLive provides additional campus-based event planning and networking functionality for users with registered .edu addresses, and AllYouCanUpload.com provides free unlimited photo hosting on the proven Webshots backbone without the need to register.

About CNET NetworksCNET Networks is a global media company with some of the most important and valuable brands on the Web targeting passionate audiences. The company's brands - such as CNET, GameSpot, TV.com, MP3.com, Webshots, BNET and ZDNet - serve the technology, games and entertainment, business, and community categories. CNET Networks was founded in 1993 and has always been "a different kind of media company" creating engaging media experiences through a combination of world-class content and technology infrastructure.

CONTACT: CNET Networks, Inc.

Heather Hawkins, 415-344-2157 (Media Contact)
Heather.Hawkins@cnet.com

Cammeron McLaughlin, 415-344-2844 (Investor Contact)
Cammeron.McLaughlin@cnet.com

Posted by covey22 at 4:08 PM

May 23, 2006

Pentax K100D and K110D Hit the Street

Pentax has announced the latest additions to their digital SLR camera line-up: the K100D and K110D. At first glance, the 6.1 MP seem at first to be a rehash of existing models in a rapidly saturated market catering to point-and-shoot owners, but Pentax has chosen this line to introduce their version of image-stabilization called Shake Reduction.

Similar to Konica-Minolta's (now Sony) Anti-Shake, the capability is in-camera which automatically gives VR-like ability to all compatible Pentax lenses. The K100D has SR, and the K110D is simply a K100D without SR.

This development will heat up the entry-level DSLR market where growth is anticipated to be the strongest. We are now seeing USD500 and USD600 SLRs with high MP counts (although 6MP is now long in the tooth) but with other "killer" features such as wireless multiple flash and image stabilization that is making it a very competitive segment. Members should expect to see more opening salvos for this year from other manufacturers as the term-life of DSLRs shortens.

Posted by covey22 at 5:56 PM

May 22, 2006

Making Your Own Photo Book

Award-winning Nikonians member Marsel van Oosten (marsel) walks us through how to build your own photo book.

"But sharing pictures with family and friends isn't the only reason I started thinking about making photo books again. If you're a professional photographer or want to become one, you can't do it without a good old fashioned portfolio. If you visit a potential client, a magazine editor or a publisher you would want to show your images in the best professional manner.

Printing your best work yourself and putting it in a standard portfolio may do the trick, but what I wanted was a custom made hardcover photo book without the ugly plastic sleeves, using only high end printing techniques and top quality paper, and looking just like an expensive coffee table book from the better book stores."

Posted by covey22 at 10:25 PM

Gepe Card Safe Extreme: The Nikonians Review

Nikonians Team Member Chris Gray (wpgf100) takes the Gepe Card Safe Extreme on a field tour and discovers just how robust this memory card container really is.

"Suddenly I started to slip and slide on some rocks in the 12" deep water. I managed to get the tripod to stand up by its own in what was a safe position. But my 280 pound frame was not. My feet came out from under me. I landed on top of a large submerged rock, right on my Gepe."

Posted by covey22 at 10:15 PM

May 20, 2006

Nikonians News Flash #4

News-Flash.png
Bo is sitting in for Jessica in this episode. He talks about the eZine 30, the ANPAT 6, new articles in the resources, a special in the shop and more.
Download Nikonians News Flash: NPC-NF-2006-05-20.mp3 (11:34, 13.2MB, mp3 format).

Show notes

Brief update on the latest eZine #30
www.nikonian.org

ANPAT 6 and Workshops
www.greaterphoto.com
Images from earlier ANPAT's are located in the Galleries

Resources
New article on making your own photo book by Marsel van Oosten
www.nikonians.org/html/resources/non-nikon_articles/SharedInk

The latest parts of our Adobe Lightroom Beta and Adobe Photoshop CS2by Nikonian George Mann
www.nikonians.org/html/resources/software/Adobe_digital_workflow

Personal Journeys
Still Learning after 30 years by Paul Perton
www.nikonians.org/html/resources/personal_journeys/Still_learning

Special in the Photo Pro Shop

Exhibition "In My Stairwell"
Exhibit of the most recent body of work by Texas-native Mark Seliger,
focusing on contemporary artists, musicians, actors, and personalities
taken on the stairwell of his studio in New York's West Village. This
exhibit has been featured in a number of photography and photographic
art magazines. It is on view at the Caroline Wiess Law Building of the

Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, until June 4, 2006. Info at
www.mfah.org

From the forums
General forums / Repair Shops
Where members help each other on finding good repair shops and share experiences.

Music
By DJ Ronn

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Nikonians Podcast directly in iTunes.
[MP3] Download the show as MP3 (11:34 min, 13.2 MB)
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[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Posted by bgs at 12:34 PM

May 19, 2006

Nikonians Shop: New Camouflage Camera Strap

We have the new, cool camera strap for Nature Photographers in stock at the Nikonians Pro Shop. Made from the famous OP/TECH USA brand and quality, printed with the Nikonians logo. The new strap can carry anything from a smaller SLR to a large DSLR and telephoto lens with ease. It features a non-skid back surface to make sure the strap and your camera stays on your shoulder, and comes in a woodland camo pattern.

Posted by covey22 at 5:19 PM

Nikon D200 Wins Camera Grand Prix 2006 Award

TOKYO Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce that the D200 Digital SLR Camera has been selected by Japan's Camera Press Club to receive the Camera Grand Prix 2006 award.

The Camera Grand Prix is the Japanese photo industry's most prestigious award for a camera. It is determined by a panel of 49 (in 2006) respected photographers, scholars and technical writers in the field of photography, as well as chief editors and magazine representatives of each of the 12 magazines that comprise the Camera Press Club.

A total of 149 cameras, all released between April 2005 and March 2006, were nominated for the Camera Grand Prix award 2006. The Nikon D200 was chosen as the most outstanding camera from among these nominees to receive the Camera Grand Prix award.

The committee members issued the following statement in support of bestowing the Camera Grand Prix 2006 honor on the D200. "The Nikon D200 contributes to the widespread dissemination of photographic culture as a digital SLR offering superior operability at an affordable price for both entry-level digital SLR camera users as well as professional and high-end amateur photographers. This high-quality camera received superior evaluations for many of its facets, including performance, price, design, operability and durability. Furthermore, the D200 offers the first 10.2-megapixel CCD image sensor in APS-C Format. Delivering immediate performance, including instant and world-leading power-up of only 0.15 seconds, a remarkable shutter release time lag of only 50 milliseconds, and up to 54 consecutive shots at 5 fps, this camera challenges or surpasses higher-priced products. For enhanced reliability, the D200 features a magnesium body with a superb sealing system that protects against dust and moisture and the shutter unit has been tested through more than 100,000 cycles. The approximately 95% viewfinder frame coverage and approx. 0.94x high-magnification viewfinder with glass pentaprism also contribute to the D200's high overall performance as a digital SLR camera."

In April 2006, the Nikon D200 also received the Best D-SLR Expert in Europe 2006, from TIPA (Technical Image Press Association), which represents the European photo and imaging publishing industry. These honors, from Japan and Europe, have singled out the Nikon D200 for the highest levels of international recognition.

Established in 1984, the Camera Grand Prix has been awarded to Nikon cameras on five occasions. Previous wins occurred in 1984 (the 1st Grand Prix) for the Nikon FA; 1989 (the 6th Grand Prix) for the Nikon F4; 1997 (the 14th Grand Prix) for the Nikon F5; and 2004 (the 21st Grand Prix) for the D70.

Posted by covey22 at 5:14 PM

photo-london International Photography Fair

For our members in or near London, the the International Photography Fair "photo-london" is now running at the Royal Academy of Arts' Burlington Gardens from 18-May to 21-May-2006.

Christopher Bailey, Creative Director of Burberry, will provide an intriguing photographic portrait of London, past and present, through a new exhibition he has curated as part of Photo-London.

Bailey has chosen a selection of his favourite photographs of the many facets of London, in a celebration of the creativity, diversity and history of the city. From John Deakin's iconic images of 1950s Soho bohemia at The Colony Club, to Hedi Slimane's contemporary view of London hedonism, the exhibition will reflect the designer's fascination with the people and the places that have contributed to creative life in the city.

Among other photographers whose work will be part of the exhibition are Sam Taylor-Wood, Tim Walker, Mary McCartney Donald, Johnny Shand Kydd, Mick Rock, Daniel Farson, Roger Maine and Robert Whitaker.

For tickets, directions and more information, click here.

Posted by covey22 at 3:44 PM

Microtek ArtixScanDI 2020 Duplex Scanner

Carson, CA (May 16, 2006) Microtek, a world-leading manufacturer of digital imaging products, has announced that it is shipping the ArtixScanDI 2020 flatbed scanner in the U.S. through its North American subsidiary, Microtek Lab, Inc. The new ArtixScanDI 2020 is designed to dramatically increase office efficiency by significantly reducing the amount of time and effort involved in high-volume scanning.

"The ArtixScanDI 2020 is not only the most affordable 25ppm/40ipm scanner on the market, it's also a time-saving powerhouse," said Tommy Shih, product manager at Microtek. "This double-sided scanner features an automatic document feeder that can scan up to 100 pages at a time completely unattended. And with scanning speeds of up to 25 pages per minute, it can quickly digitize mountains of documents and convert them directly into PDF documents for easy viewing and sharing."

The ArtixScanDI 2020 flatbed scanner features two image sensors for 40ipm double-sided scanning, eliminating the need to re-feed double-sided documents. This versatile workhorse effortlessly scans 25ppm grayscale and 10ppm color, while its 48-bit color depth and 600 dpi optical resolution captures all of the full, rich detail of original documents. For extra timesaving, the Autocrop feature automatically detects the original document size, crops the scan to fit the image and then removes unwanted black borders for clean, consistent scans. And the Deskew function eliminates the need to make post-scan adjustments automatically detecting document edges and correctly rotating skewed scans for proper alignment. The scanner also features three programmable function buttons for added customization and efficiency.

The ArtixScanDI 2020 comes with a full software suite to enhance productivity. The intuitive ScanSoft PaperPort Deluxe software package makes it easy for users to scan, store, organize, retrieve and manage documents on their computer. PaperPort's SimpleSearch feature locates and retrieves files by title, content, keyword or annotations. FormType automates the process of filling out forms by letting users scan a form and then fill it in by using their tab key and typing, saving tedious retyping time when filling in multiple forms. And the integrated ABBYY FineReader OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software scans, recognizes and imports text for editing in Microsoft Word, Excel and html with 99% accuracy.

The ArtixScanDI 2020 is TWAIN compliant. TWAIN is the industry standard for image acquisition most commonly used for desktop publishing. TWAIN compliance ensures that digital images conform to established industry standards for acquisition, writing, reading and storage.

The ArtixScanDI 2020 will be available at Microtek's online store (www.store.microtek.com) and priced at $499.99.

About Microtek
Founded in 1980, Microtek International, Inc. is headquartered in Science-based Industry Park, Hsinchu, Taiwan. The company has a strong global presence, with major operations and distribution channels in 53 countries around the world. Microtek Lab, Inc., the North American subsidiary of Microtek International, Inc., is located at 16941 Keegan Avenue, Carson, CA 90746. Information about Microtek can be found at www.microtek.com.

(c) 2006 Microtek Lab, Inc. All corporate names and trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

###

Press Contact:
Jim Noyd
Jefferson/Acker Advertising + Communications
310-951-3768
Jim_Noyd@Acker.com

Technology Contact:
Tommy Shih
Microtek USA
310-687-5800, ext 2210
tshih@microtek.com

Posted by covey22 at 3:30 PM

May 17, 2006

Nikonians eZine 30 is now available

Sharing our experience in the Nikonians community has always been our goal, and in the newest edition of the eZine we follow through on that goal, with reviews, guides and more.

Our latest (and largest) eZine explores the impact of the digital revolution that was clearly evident to our Team members who attended the Photo Marketing Association International (PMA) 2006 International Convention and Trade Show in Orlando, Florida, USA.

We share our PMA experience and give you a background on our newest ventures in podcasting, while pointing to our traditional fundamentals: Nikon news, hands-on reviews, and serving as your source for latest products designed to achieve the goal of being better Nikon photographers.

We also provide a peek at one of the "behind the scenes" secrets to our success on the Internet: our dedicated Team members.

They unselfishly moderate, advise and keep us all up to date on the latest developments. They also form a most prestigious group of judges, who are daily sharing their thoughts to help decide on the merits of work produced by thousands of fellow Nikonians. Their choices lead to rewarding prizes by our corporate sponsors and eventually to recognition of brilliant photos like the one that graces the front of eZine 30.

Posted by flashdeadline at 11:15 PM

Apple Rolls Out MacBook

CUPERTINO, California May 16, 2006 Apple today unveiled the newly designed MacBook, the world's most advanced consumer notebook featuring the Intel Core Duo processor and a gorgeous new 13 inch glossy widescreen display, all in a sleek design that is up to five times faster than the iBook and up to four times faster than the 12 inch PowerBook. Together with the 15 and 17 inch MacBook Pros, the new MacBook completes Apple's Intel-based portables lineup and replaces both the iBook and the 12 inch PowerBook.

Posted by covey22 at 3:30 PM

Nikon Alpine Safari

Four our Australian Members: Local Nikon distributor, Maxwell Optical Industries will host the Nikon Alpine Safari on the October long weekend to celebrate the continuing Nikon sponsorship of the Perisher Blue resort.

Posted by covey22 at 3:16 PM

May 16, 2006

Adobe releases update 9.0.1 for Photoshop CS2

Adobe has released a free update to their pro image editing program, Photoshop CS2.
The current update is available free for Windows and Macintosh versions of the program.

www.adobe.com/support/downloads/new.jsp

According to Adobe's website, the 9.0.1 updater offers a number of fixes and improvements.

The most significant fixes in the 9.0.1 release include the following:

*Photoshop no longer hangs for several seconds when using painting tools with quick strokes.
*A runtime error that could appear when mousing over a high-res document with the Brush tool has been fixed.
*Documents containing a large number of text layers now open more quickly.
*Problems related to palettes (slow redraw, palettes go white, possible crash) have been addressed.
*TIFF files from certain scanners can now be opened correctly.
*After editing an image in Photoshop CS2 via the TouchUp tool in Adobe Acrobat software, the image no longer gets repositioned.
*XMP metadata from AI and PDF files is now retained in Photoshop.
*Slow performance when toggling layer visibility has been fixed.
*Info palette numbers are now displayed and updated when moving a curve point in Curves via the cursor keys.
*Problems opening certain TIFF and PSB files greater than 2GB have been resolved.
*The Merge to HDR command now functions properly when using high-ASCII characters in user login.

Posted by drjay32 at 4:52 PM

Capture NX Preview at Digitalreview.ca

Digitalreview.ca has a great preview of the upcoming Capture NX software, including two sample "before-after" segments showing off the newest features of Nikon's workflow program.

Posted by covey22 at 4:30 PM

May 15, 2006

Dig Up Those Photos and Share Your Story

We all have a story to tell. Nikonians is proud to announce the beginning of a new series featuring our intimate and personal accounts of lifetime experiences with or through photography and our Nikon gear. The series, called Personal Journeys, is available at our Resources section.

The first of these personal journeys "Still Learning After 30 Years", by Nikonian Paul Perton is now online, and serves as an example of the style and content we hope to follow in coming additions. These will be stories about our adventures and experiences in photography and a key element will be a few illustrating photos. For another example, check JRP's short story, "Las Ventanas - Adventures in the Sierra Madre." If you've been thinking about writing articles for Nikonians you're welcome to contact us. For more information: Click Here.

Posted by covey22 at 7:11 PM

Nikon Operating Profit Surges Upward

Nikon published it's latest financial reports today (FY to 31-MAR-2006), with operating profits surging thanks to continued growth in the digital SLR market and nearly on-target projections of high-end stepper machines.

The camera manufacturer has reaped solid rewards from the consolidation of production lines and the withdrawal from the film camera segment. The company's profit margin has been bolstered by other manufacturers' increased rollout of sophisticated LCD displays and other electronic appliances, all requiring the use of stepper machines to produce the "chips" that enable their capabilities.

Posted by covey22 at 3:35 PM

Nikon-only Dealer Opens Photo Gallery in London

London, England (PRWEB) May 15, 2006 The award-winning exclusively Nikon shop Grays of Westminster has opened a new photographic gallery at their London based premises featuring a number of stunning photographs by Simon Marsden. Marsden is an internationally acclaimed photographer of the fantastic and supernatural and a long time Nikon user. His poetic gothic images can be found in many important collections, including the Getty Museum in California and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Posted by covey22 at 3:28 PM

Nikon News Online May 2006 Summary

The latest Nikon Newsletter continues the "Kate Moss uses Coolpix" campaign, with links to the stunningnikon website where you can listen to Kate talk about the marketing campaign, view extended commercials featuring the supermodel and download desktop wallpaper. Of course there is also information on the Coolpix S6!

Posted by covey22 at 2:35 PM

May 13, 2006

Nikonians News Flash #3

News-Flash.png
In this episode, Jessica highlights the addition of the new Markins Ballhead, the Q3 Emille to the PhotoProShop (www.photoproshop.com) and the ThinkTank Photo offer of a free Chimp Cage with a purchase of $50 or more (www.thinktankphoto.com/nikonians).

Download Nikonians News Flash: NPC-NF-2006-05-06.mp3 (10:06, 9.3MB, mp3 format).

Also in the news is the new NikSecure insurance program, offered to Nikonians with a Silver Membership or higher. Coverage ranges from $5,000 to $20,000 USD and even covers non-Nikon gear! More info at www.niksecure.com

Today’s forums of choice are the Travel & Getting Together Forums, specifically Nikonians Travel & Meet. Groups are forming in Salem, Oregon, all over California, and many more localities world-wide.

Gallery shows in Amsterdam, the Netherlands:
Launch of the 2006 edition of World Press Photo, highlighting prize winning images from the World Press Photo Contest.
More info at www.worldpressphoto.nl

"Everyday is not like everyday" and "No Man's Land" can be found at the Foam Fotographiemuseum in Amsterdam. The first celebrates the Queen's Birthday, and the second highlights images by Larry Towell, about the plight of the Palestinians.
More info at www.foam.nl

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Nikonians Podcast directly in iTunes.
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[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Posted by bgs at 2:30 PM

FTC Fines Kodak for Spamming

Kodak's Photo-sharing service (formerly Ofoto) has settled charges with the US Federal Trade Commission that it sent marketing e-mail to over 2 million customers without an opt-out method. The penalty fined was USD26,331 which reflects the gross proceeds from the campaign. Kodak Spokesperson Liz Scanlon explained, "This incident, which took place over a year and half ago, was a simple technical malfunction that caused the customary text to be removed from the e-mail. We identified the problem, took steps to correct it and are confident it won't happen again."

Posted by covey22 at 1:28 AM

D200 Brings Home The DIWA Gold

Nikon's newest digital SLR continues to pull in accolades; the latest being DIWA's Gold Award.

The Digital Imaging Website Awards (DIWA), a collection of independent web-based publications specializing in digital imaging, have consistently awarded the most innovative and superior products in the market since 2004. Says Kai Thon, DIWA's test manager, "The perfect camera is not made yet and will probably never be made. With the D200, Nikon has made an impressive attempt. When challenged by equal competitors, the D200 wins on virtually all vital points. Actually, it is also a strong competitor to Nikon's own professional range of D-SLR cameras in the D2-series."

Posted by covey22 at 12:56 AM

Nikon Finland Faces EUR300,000 Fine

Nikon Finland could be fined EUR300,000 (approximately USD388,000) by the Market Court for violating competition rules. The Finnish Competition Authority called for the penalty stating that "During 2004 and 2005, Nikon e.g. refused to extend its product guarantee to Nikon cameras imported by parallel importers and hence placed consumers in an unequal position depending on where the camera had been purchased..."

Posted by covey22 at 12:45 AM

May 11, 2006

Adobe Lightroom Beta and Photoshop CS Tutorials provide 100 days of education

We are pleased to announce that Nikonian Pro George Mann's tutorials on Adobe Lightroom Beta and Photoshop CS2 are now available in our Resources section. George will be guiding us through a Digital Photography Workflow using both programs, with 100 daily chapter updates. We're nearly halfway through the May classes and you can always catch up from the beginning by going to his Introduction Page.

George Mann, a Nikon pro with vast experience in South East Asia, has joined the Nikonians Writers Guild starting with the above series of 31 articles to be completed on May 31.

In the works is a Nikon Digital Photography Workflow eBook project that will be published in cooperation with Nikonians.org and will over time develop into a workshops series in both the US and South East Asia.

Excerpts from the Nikon Digital Photography Workflow eBook will be published on the Nikonians website, in the George Mann's Digital Photography Workflow extended series of articles.

Posted by covey22 at 5:20 PM

PrintFIX PRO Color Management Suite gains TIPA honors

Professional photographers have been watching the results of the recent Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) awards, which have already recognized Nikon's D50, D200 and the new 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor We can now add the ColorVision PrintFIX PRO Suite to our list of those to be congratulated.

The TIPA awards, coming from an independent association of 31 of the leading photo magazines in Europe, are often referred to as the "Oscars" of the photo industry.
The cameras and lenses (much like the actors and actresses in a film) get the most attention, and it takes time to give proper credit to the technical winners, which in this case includes ColorVision, Datacolor's Digital Imaging Unit, who received the TIPA award for "Best Color Management System in Europe" with their PrintFIX PRO Suite.
The Suite is used by industry professionals to "combine industrial color technology with user-friendly software in order to ensure optimal color safety in the digital darkroom" says a ColorVision press release.
"Datacolor 1005, a high-precision LED Spectro Colorimeter, is used to identify the exact color values of a print in the L*a*b color space, which gets converted to an XML file for further processing. The PrintFIX PRO software then generates the profile in RGB mode, taking into account a number of factors, such as printer settings, paper type, and ink."
Professional Nikonians will want to check Datacolor's Web-Site at www.colorvision.com to see how this solution could fit into their workflow.

Posted by flashdeadline at 4:34 PM

The Image Doctors #14

Image-Doctors.png

This episode of the Image Doctors is brought to you by Roberts Imaging.

Join us this week as we review the 200-400 f/4.0 AFS G VR Zoom Nikkor lens. Rick and I both got this lens recently, and we have now had several opportunities to test it in the field. If you have acute NAS, maybe you shouldn't listen! After that, we discuss the Multi-CAM 2000 autofocus module which debuted in the Nikon D2H, and is also found in the D2X and D2Hs cameras. We talk about the different focus modes, custom settings, and which mode to use when.

Click Here to download the Image Doctors for May 11, 2006 (NPC-ID-2006-05-11.mp3; 58:21, 27.5 MB, mp3 format).

Show Table of Contents:
200-400VR Review: 05:16
Multi-CAM 2000 Discussion: 31:58

For more information about the Multi-Cam 2000 system, check out the article by our very own "Digital Darrell" at the Nikonians Resource Pages.

This episode of the Image Doctors is brought to you in part by Roberts Imaging. Thanks to everyone at Roberts for their continued support of Nikonians!

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Nikonians Podcast directly in iTunes.
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Posted by drjay32 at 1:14 AM

May 10, 2006

Microsoft Revises Terms in ProPhoto Contest

On the heels of their ProPhoto Contest debut, Microsoft came under pressure to revise their terms of licensing that previously granted them an "...irrevocable royalty-free, worldwide right, in all media (now known or later developed) to use, publish, alter or otherwise exploit your Entry." PhotographyBlog reports that the ASMP has negotiated the current changes to apply only to winning photographs rather than to all submissions.

Posted by covey22 at 4:42 PM

Muzzle That Shutter

Rob Galbraith reports on a relatively inexpensive sound-suppressing housing for SLRs called Camera Muzzle. While not considered a replacement for silent housings like SoundBlimp which is used in studio settings, "for practically any other situation we can think of, the Camera Muzzle will do a superb job of taming camera noise without overly reducing camera usability."

Posted by covey22 at 4:33 PM

May 9, 2006

SanDisk Offers 1B in Notes; Industry Ponders a Kodak Merger

SanDisk is preparing to offer over USD 1 Billion in convertible senior notes that come due in 2013, as a means of raising capital for a significant expansion plan. This comes at a time when the imaging industry is pondering if the memory maker might just make a run at Kodak. Observers note that an aquisition of the former industry giant would allow SanDisk to drive it's own market for flash products, rather than relying on other industry players' creations.

Posted by covey22 at 5:30 PM

May 8, 2006

Support Nikonians with your Think Tank Photo purchase

Starting immediately, Think Tank Photo is offering Nikonians members a free "Chimp Cage" module with all purchases totalling $50 USD or more when you use the Nikonians Virtual Store at Think Tank Photo. If you've been thinking about a new waist bag, or have decided to "go modular", now is a great time to take advantage of this special offer. You'll also be proud to know that you are helping support the community with your purchase when you use the virtual store.

Posted by drjay32 at 10:00 PM

Nikon Taps New Directors and Executive Officers

Following the Golden Week break, Nikon announced the latest nominees for directorships and executive officers. While none of the candidates are related to the Imaging division, two of the selectees are from the profitable Precision Equipment Company which creates LCD stepping equipment; a potential reflection of the growth and importance of that segment.

Posted by covey22 at 3:52 PM

Microsoft's Pro Photographer Contest

The Redmond software giant steps up their presence on the digital photo bandwagon by sponsoring a Pro Photographer Contest, with a whopper of a grand prize - 20000 in cold hard cash.

Aimed solely at college students, the contest is broken up into categories of Nature & Landscape, People & Portraits, and Fine Art. The grand prize includes USD20000 in cash, computer workstations, Canon Digital SLRs, software and paid memberships NAPP and PPA among others. Three first prize winners will also be picked with a smaller but equally impressive winnings package. The deadline for entries is 31-May-2006, so don't delay.

Posted by covey22 at 3:40 PM

dpmac.com's Lightroom and CS2 Tutorials

George Mann hosts a series of tutorials on digital photography workflow at dpmac.com. A new chapter will be posted daily from 01-May to 31-July 2006 and will be focused on the use of Adobe Lightroom Beta and Photoshop CS2. At the end of the period, the chapters will be consolidated into a single DVD.

Posted by covey22 at 3:23 PM

Lexar's cards are good at keeping secrets

Nikonians have been reading a lot about the recent Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) awards, and as we recognize the strong showing by Nikon's D50, D200 and the new 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor we should note that Lexar's LockTight System earned Best Imaging Storage Media honors.

The system has already integrated with the Nikon's D2X and D2Hs, and is also compatible with the D200.
Lexar points out this is "a valuable tool for photographers in fields such as forensic photography, scientific research, military, law enforcement and mass media."

"Lexar LockTight is a revolutionary technology that dramatically improves the workflow process of digital photographers in vertical markets, and is the only secure digital imaging solution that easily and reliably restricts unauthorized access to data stored on LockTight-enabled cards," said Dave Klenske, director of the memory card business unit.

TIPA is an organization of 31 photography and imaging magazines in 12 European countries, and the TIPA Awards are recognized throughout the European imaging community as the "Oscars" of the industry. The Awards are granted by Europe's most influential imaging editors who judge each product on innovation, use of leading-edge technology, design and ergonomics, ease of use, and price/performance ratio.

Posted by flashdeadline at 8:24 AM

May 6, 2006

Nikonians News Flash #2

News-Flash.png
Jessica talks about the Mother's Day Special at the Nikonians Pro Shop, the new FujiFilm/National Geographic competition, and what's brewing in the Nikonians Cafe'. Learn more about the new NikoScope search engine and joining the Nikonians webring.



Download Nikonians News Flash: NPC-NF-2006-05-06.mp3 (08:56, 8.3MB, mp3 format).

[MP3] Download the show as MP3 (8:56 min, 8.3MB)
[RSS] Add the Nikonians Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically to you.
[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Posted by drjay32 at 3:10 PM

May 5, 2006

Markins Q3 "Emille" pre-orders are ready

The new Markins Q3 Emille is a high performance professional ball head ideal for monopods and lighter tripods, retaining the highest load-to-weight ratio in its class.

Q3 Emille comes with the new Markins QS-48 quick release with integrated bubble level, and is compatible with Arca Swiss, RRS, Kirk and similar systems. The Q3 retail price is $269.99 USD - (260.99 EUR)

We are taking pre-orders for the Q3 Emille right now and expect to ship the first batch in the coming week. As with all Markins products, it comes with a three year warranty.

For more information see our Q3 Page in the Pro Shop.

Posted by flashdeadline at 11:58 PM

Apple Fires Back on Aperture Team Departure

If proof of the 1.1.1 upgrade wasn't enough, Apple has responded to recent rumors that the Aperture development team had been released.

"The reports of Apple reducing their commitment to Aperture are totally false," Kirk Paulsen, Apple’s Senior Director Pro Applications Marketing, told Macworld. "In fact, we've got more people working on Aperture right now than ever before."

Posted by covey22 at 10:06 PM

Aperture Version 1.1.1 Released

Apple has updated it's Aperture workflow program to version 1.1.1.

This update addresses several issues related to performance, stability, color correction, and display compatibility and is recommended for all Aperture users.

Prior to upgrading, you must be running Mac OS X 10.46 and Aperture 1.1.

Posted by covey22 at 4:59 PM

May 4, 2006

Nokia, PDN, Fuji/NG Contest Calls

A couple of contest calls have crossed our desks recently. First up is the much-hyped Fujifilm/National Geographic competition called "Morning, Noon and Night," (site opens 15-May-2006) and the prize is certain to draw many entries - the grand-prize winner will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to the UK to shoot a Fujifilm advertisement with pro shooter Bill Hatcher. A free Fuji FZ30 and the three-page ad's appearance in a National Geographic issue is icing on the cake.

Next up is another UK based contest - the Nokia Citizen Journalism Awards. Amateurs who have had a video clip or still photo published in one of the qualifying news, broadcast or web service in the last 12 months are eligible to enter. Prizes include Nokia cameraphones and subscriptions to online photo galleries. But the judging will be tough with a panel composed of veteran editors from UK Channel 4, BBC, CNN and the Financial Times.

Finally, PDN has the lowdown on a host of contests for photojournalists, including the well known World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International and Best of Photography competitions.

Posted by covey22 at 7:04 PM

May 3, 2006

SEC Registration Effective in Micron/Lexar Merger

The SEC has proclaimed the registration statement is now effective related to the merger proposition between Micron and Lexar. This action paves the way for the merger to be put up for Lexar shareholder approval in a special meeting on 8-June-2006 in Fremont CA. Subject to shareholder approval, the merger is expected to be completed following that session.

Posted by covey22 at 4:53 PM

Nikon Japan Closed for Golden Week

Just a reminder to our members communicating with Nikon HQ; the firm's offices are closed the week of 29-April through 07-May for Japan's Golden Week of national holidays.

Posted by covey22 at 4:49 PM

May 2, 2006

Nikon Opens Four Branches in China

Nikon Imaging (China) Sales Co. has expanded it's sales and support presence with four new branches in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Posted by covey22 at 5:00 PM

May 1, 2006

Nikon USA 2006 Spring Rebates

Nikon has announced their much-awaited Spring Rebate program. The largest discounts appear to be on super telephotos like the 400mm/f4, the exotic 200mm/f2 VR and the 80-400 VR. (Adobe Acrobat required to view this file) The offers are valid from 01-May-2006 to 31-July-2006.

Posted by covey22 at 6:02 PM

Fair Winds and Following Seas: George Hall

George Hall, the "guru" of modern jet and tactical aviation photography, passed away 20 April during heart bypass surgery at Marin General County Hospital in San Francisco. He was 65. His achievements, particularly as a pioneer of modern air-to-air photography, are legendary. Many of his works have appeared in over two dozen photo calendars and books such as AirPower, Top Gun, and CV: Carrier Aviation. A former US Army intelligence officer, he became a photographer by accident rather than intent, much to the benefit of the aerial photography community. He was scheduled to receive a lifetime achievment award from the International Society of Aviation Photographers on April 22nd, but the occasion became an impromptou memorial. Examples of his work can be seen at the popular Check-6 web site.

Posted by covey22 at 5:20 PM

Trial Silver Membership introduced

Nikonians, the Internet source for a wealth of Nikon information is now offering a "try before you buy" membership plan.

Recognized for over six years as the friendly source for free sharing of ideas, technical information and artistic inspiration, Nikonians will provide free Silver level trial memberships beginning May 1, 2006.

This new trial membership allows Nikon enthusiasts to test the Silver level at Nikonians. The Silver level trial (normally charging only $25 U.S. Dollars per year) is good for 25 days. Members can discontinue the service at any time within the trial period. If the member decides to stay at the Silver level no further action will be required. After the trial period the member will automatically be upgraded to full Silver level.

The free trial coincides with an already announced shift in operations that will discontinue the ability of members to post images directly from outside servers.

Many members were not aware that their choice of servers had different size requirements, which often results in photos that take a virtual eternity to download for fellow members on modems. The Nikonians Team of international moderators found most of these links were coming from excited new members wishing to share their work. On some occasions these links were also leading to copyrighted material that did not belong to the posting member.

All members will still be able to publish links to their work. Clicking the links will lead to their images without automatically posting those images in their Nikonians post.

The Silver level membership, at only $25 U.S. Dollars per year has been the most popular, giving those members the option of posting example images in their favorite forums, building personal online galleries, participating in photo contests, buying and selling equipment and insuring their equipment. It also has served as a gateway to Nikonians workshops worldwide. The Gold and Platinum memberships add increased gallery sizes and increasing benefits, at only $75 (Gold) and $200 (Platinum) U.S. Dollars a year.

Posted by jrp at 8:26 AM

Mothers' Day Special

The Nikonians Photo Pro Shop announced free shipping between now and 06-MAY-2006 (main server's time) for any order in the amount of $100 USD (80 EUR) or more.

It is totally automatic.
You do not need to do anything. Just enter the code

mothersday-2006

in the "Redeem code" entry field when checking out and click on the "Pay" button, that's it.

The following order summary page then shows both the shipping price and below it the deducted amount (i.e. the shipping cost).

The code is only good for 1 use per customer.

P.S. You may want to check the new Nikonians T-Shirt, the Nikonians Lens Cloth and more

Posted by jrp at 8:17 AM