Sign up Login
Home Forums Articles Galleries Members Galleries Master Your Vision Galleries 5Contest Categories 5Winners Galleries 5ANPAT Galleries 5 The Winners Editor's Choice Portfolios Recent Photos Search Contest Info Help News Newsletter Join us Renew Membership About us Retrieve password Contact us Contests Vouchers Wiki Apps THE NIKONIAN™ For the press Fundraising Search Help!
More5

« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »

July 31, 2007

40 Million Lenses And Still Going

In a fitting tribute to the 90th Anniversary, Nikon surpassed the production milestone of over 40 Million Nikkor lenses this month.

Although Nikon was producing lenses as early as 1932, it wasn't until 27 years later that the F-mount was introduced alongside the legendary namesake camera model. In a testament to the popularity and stability of the engineering, lenses from that time will still mount and function (within limits) on all Nikon cameras, including the latest digital variants. We look forward to the next 40 Million and eagerly anticipate the latest developments as Nikon creates the next generation of optics.

Posted by covey22 at 10:30 PM

Nikon Scholarship Program

Nikon has established a Scholarship Program in Thailand, rewarding 170 students from all levels of high school and university level classes by helping defray their educational costs.

The corporate giving is seen as a way of giving back to the hard-working community that produces nearly three-quarters of it's hot-selling Digital Imaging products, mostly built in the Ayutthaya province plant, which was established in 1990.

Posted by covey22 at 8:30 PM

July 30, 2007

Weekly News from The Nikonians Academy

Nikonians Academy Director Mike Hagen begins a new series of weekly blog updates with an overview of popular course offerings. He explains how you can learn to become a better creative photographer in a special two-day workshop and how to achieve professional printing results from your ink jet printer. He also provides us with a peek at the upcoming workshop schedule.

Mike-Hagen-150.jpg Harness your creativity
Are you struggling to learn how to become a better creative photographer? Based on feedback and popular demand, we have created a new workshop titled "Master Your Photography" that is squarely aimed at helping you create works of art. This two day workshop is being led by our own Darryll Schiff who is a professional Fine Art photographer. He has spent many years in the photo industry taking celebrity shots as well as doing commercial work. This two-day workshop mixes classroom instruction with location and field photography. We spend a significant portion of time each day taking photos and then returning to the classroom to download, debrief and critique our images. Darryll shares his wisdom and knowledge by working with you to understand composition, design and the Art of Seeing. Join your fellow Nikonians on this great workshop and learn how to use your Nikon Cameras in the field like a pro!

Turn that inkjet into a powerful professional tool
Also by popular demand, we have created a new workshop called "Master Digital Printing." This is aimed at helping you achieve professional printing results from your ink jet printers. We cover detailed topics such as profiles, printers, Photoshop setups, RAW conversion, color management, uprezzing and soft proofing. Darryll Schiff is a master printer and knows his stuff. Come along to learn from a true professional.

We are teaching the "Master Your Photography" and "Digital Printing" Workshops in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Our September 7th-9th workshops in San Francisco still have seats! Sign up at www.nikoniansacademy.com

Stay tuned next week for an announcement about new workshops in Philadelphia this October.

Posted by flashdeadline at 8:23 AM

July 29, 2007

Gallery maintenance adds new features

Our weekend gallery maintenance has been completed and members will now find additional useful features. Album management will now be easier, and the gallery space quota for members has been increased. The new space quota is now 50MB for Silver members, 200MB for Gold and 1000MB for Platinum. The additional features were made possible once the galleries began running on our new powerful servers.

Posted by flashdeadline at 5:40 PM

July 28, 2007

Nikonians News Flash #56

News-Flash.png

Tune in for the weekly update from the Nikonians Community, including Nikonians Academy news, information from Sigma and more!

Download Nikonians News Flash #56 (NPC-NF-2007-07-28.mp3; 7:27; 6.9MB; MP3 format)

July 28, 2007

In The News:
Check out the latest from The Nikonians Academy.

Winners of the 2007 Nikon Photo Contest International.

Sigma's new lenses for the Nikon-mount!

From The Forums:
Photographer wanted in Banff.

The "Best Submissions" for June's Online Photo Assignment, Detail.

Forum of the Week:
Other Camera Systems & Formats.

Jessica's Choice Photo:
Moon Rising

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Jessica at newsflash@nikonians.org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by odle2 at 6:00 PM

July 27, 2007

Maintenance of galleries extended

Due to technical issues, we are extending the maintenance period of the www.nikonians-images.com galleries. We expect the galleries to be fully available this Sunday July 29th 08:00h CET+1 (02:00 AM ESTD).

Posted by bgs at 8:18 AM

July 26, 2007

New Sigma HSM 18-50mm and 17-70mm Lenses

Sigma continues expanding their Hypersonic-Motor (HSM) equipped line of lenses with revised models of the popular 18-50mm f2.8 DC Macro and the 17-70mm f2.8-4.5 DC Macro specifically for the Nikon mount.

Posted by covey22 at 6:50 PM

Happy 90th Anniversary Nikon!

The community sends a hearty and jolly Happy Birthday to Nikon! Our favorite camera brand is 90 years old - here's to many more anniversaries!

Posted by covey22 at 1:31 AM

2007 Nikon Photo Contest International Winners

The winner of the 2007 Nikon Photo Contest International is Tung Khan Le from Vietnam for his stunning black-and-white study of two fishermen struggling against an angry sea while affecting a rescue. See Khan Le's dramatic shot and all of the other winners online.

Posted by covey22 at 1:17 AM

July 25, 2007

Behind the Lens #8: Ross Hoddinot

Go behind the lens with landscape and nature photographer Ross Hoddinott. Our UK reporter, Brian Tilley, spent some time with Ross delving into his photographic habits and techniques.

Click here to download Nikonians Podcast #8 (NPC-2007-07-25.mp3; 37;34; 13.1MB, MP3 format).

Check out Ross Hoddinott's photography at his website

Check out Ross Hoddinott's photography at his website

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Nikonians Podcast directly in iTunes.
[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 2:07 PM

Maintenance of galleries 25-27th of July

Our galleries at www.nikonians-images.com are undergoing maintenance and will be disabled later today July 25th 2007 15:00h CET+1 (09:00 AM ESTD)

We expect that the galleries will be available again Friday July 27th 2007 08:00h CET+1 (02:00 AM ESTD) latest.

Posted by bgs at 10:25 AM

July 24, 2007

Our community's address - nikonians.org

Our official community address is www.nikonians.org. We have many other domains as well, but make sure you are using nikonians.org. We are in the process of migrating parts of the community to new servers, so other domain names may not work as expected.

Posted by bgs at 8:39 AM

July 23, 2007

Toronto D200 Workshop seats available

You can master your Nikon D200 by attending our Nikonians Academy D200 Workshop August 9 in Toronto.

The course is open to all Nikonians members. Full details are available in our new registration section of the Nikonians Academy.
Instructor Winston C. Hall is a professional photographer, speaker / facilitator and business owner living in the Pacific Northwest where he pursues his passion of helping people express themselves creatively through his technical and non-technical photography workshops and coaching services.
The Toronto course is one of four one day workshops scheduled between August 9 and August 12.
Courses also available include Master your Nikon D80, D70, D70s, Master Nikon Capture NX and Master Nikon i-TTL Flash.

Posted by flashdeadline at 11:11 PM

July 21, 2007

Nikonians News Flash #55

News-Flash.png

The July 21 addition of News Flash brings you updates from the Nikonians Academy, Nikon news and information about NFL regulations and the BBC's Photographer of the Year contest.

Download Nikonians News Flash #55 (NPC-NF-2007-07-21.mp3; 7:09; 6.6MB; MP3 format)

July 21, 2007
In The News:

The Nikonians Academy is pleased to announce our newest instructor, Carmine Picarello!

The Nikon School announces new DVDs aimed at DSLR owners.

Be wary before installing firmware updates for the P1/P2 and S6 CoolPix cameras! Please read about the updates first!

NFL rules for photographers include a bright red vest!

BBC cancels their Photographer of the Year contest.

FineArtTV.

From The Forums:
Forum of the Week:
Glamour & Portrait, Commercial & Studio.

Jessica's Choice Photo:
Croc

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Jessica at newsflash@nikonians. org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by odle2 at 1:00 PM

July 20, 2007

BBC Cancels Photographer of The Year Contest

In a sign of continuing pressure for ethics revamp amongst the media industry, the BBC has cancelled all phone-in, interactive and online competitions following a series of "editorial breaches." This includes the prestigious BBC Photographer of the Year contest. Members of the BBC organization were found to have faked contributions, including making calls to phone-ins under false identities and editing footage that changed the true context of events.

Posted by covey22 at 4:30 PM

Coolpix P1, P2 and S6 Upgrades: Caution

Nikon has pushed out firmware updates for the P1/P2 and S6 Coolpix models. Members should exercise caution though; the P1 and P2 updates enable Wireless Utility support for Windows Vista at the expense of XP and Mac OS. Similarly, the update for the S6 enables wireless utility support for Windows Vista and Intel Mac, but not for other Windows versions or Macs that are PowerPC enabled. Bizarre? You bet.

Posted by covey22 at 3:47 PM

New NFL Rules: Wear a Canon Vest

Recently enacted rules by the U.S. National Football League (NFL) regulating media practices have industry members up in arms. One of the pernicious points: authorized photographers on the sidelines of games must wear a bright-red NFL identification vest that has a large logos of Canon and Reebok.

Posted by covey22 at 3:33 PM

July 19, 2007

Fine Art Video Site Launches

A new site for fine art photography just opened its doors today. www.FineArtTv.tv is a new online magazine and internet TV station dedicated to the world of fine art images. The site will provide weekly updates on modern, artistic trends with articles, portfolios and videos. One of the team members and initiators of the site is Nikonian Pascal Baetens. Congrats Pascal, way to go!

Posted by bgs at 1:36 PM

ID#45: The Image Doctors

Jason and Rick discuss their photo shoot atop Colorado's Mount Evans, where they had the opportunity to do some high-altitude shooting. Also in this episode: All about the image histogram, how to perform highlight recovery, and the weekly photo prescription.

Download The Image Doctors #45 (NPC-ID-2007-07-19.mp3; 49:33; 17.4MB; MP3 format)

Show Notes: July 19, 2007

1:19 Shooting on Mount Evans, Colorado (click here to see Jason's image gallery)

26:39 Using your camera's histogram

38:30 Highlight recovery in RAW images

44:16 Weekly Photo Prescription: Vignette control

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Image Doctors directly in iTunes.
[RSS] Add the Image Doctors feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically to you.
[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Posted by drjay32 at 3:41 AM

July 18, 2007

New Nikon School DVDs for DSLR Owners

The Nikon School has published two DVD offerings aimed at educating newly-minted Digital SLR owners in maximizing the use of their cameras. Preview trailers can be viewed online.

Both DVDs feature award-winning travel photgrapher Bob Krist, as he leads viewers in simple and easy-to-understand steps on how to get the most out of their equipment and make better photos. The first DVD, "Fast, Fun & Easy: Great Digital Pictures," is aimed at new Nikon D40 and D40X owners and will get them up and running with their cameras in 35 minutes. The second DVD, "Understanding Digital Photography," is aimed at providing guidance for any digital SLR owner interested in moving beyond automatic settings. Nikon D40, D40X, D80 and D200 owners will particulary benefit, since those models are used throughout the film.

Posted by covey22 at 6:44 PM

EU May See Higher Digital Camera Prices

A recent Reuters article indicates the EU is preparing to reclassify certain digital cameras into high tariff categories normally reserved for video cameras. Most digital stills cameras (DSCs) will likely be exempt. The intended target is very high-end - the camera must be able to sustain 800x600 at 23fps for 30 minutes, a performance which most consumer DSCs are unlikely to match.

Posted by covey22 at 3:16 PM

July 17, 2007

Nikonians Academy keeps on growing

To be near you, the Nikonians Academy continues its workshops expansion and is pleased to announce the addition of Nikonian pro Carmine Picarello as new member of the faculty.

With decades of shooting experience, Carmine Picarello is one of Connecticut's most highly regarded commercial photographers. He is known for his stress-free style, dramatic lighting, vibrant colors, and engaging, results-oriented photographic images. He creates photos with creative flair. Photos that make an impact. In addition to shooting commercial work for clients such as Dymo Corp., Minwax, Danbury Mint, Quisinart and GE, Carmine has a successful portrait and wedding business that is in high demand.

Carmine is also well known for his excellent teaching skills. He has been teaching college level photography courses for years and regularly develops new curriculum as new technologies come to market.

Carmine has thorough understanding of digital workflow, lighting, camera technology and photographic composition. He is friendly, helpful and a fantastic workshop instructor! You can see some of Carmine's work here.

The Nikonians Academy is proud to have him as a member of the faculty.

Posted by jrp at 7:04 AM

July 14, 2007

Nikonians News Flash #54

News-Flash.png

This week, Jessica brings you the latest from Nikon, including UK warranty information. Metz and Flaghead introduce new flash products, and DxO has a new upgrade! All this...and more!

Download Nikonians News Flash #54 (NPC-NF-2007-07-14.mp3; 5:57; 5.5MB; MP3 format)

July 14, 2007

In The News:
Nikon UK extends warranty to 2 years!

Nikon and Kaboose, Inc partner to launch Kaboose Photo. Find out more here.

Nikon leads DSLR market.

Metz and Flaghead's new flash products!

DxO's Optics Pro upgrade to version 4.5.

Roberts Imaging's photography experience at the 2007 Indianapolis Airshow.

From The Forums:
Forum of the Week:
Nikonian Ladies.

Jessica's Choice Photo:
Nice Rack

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Jessica at newsflash@nikonians. org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by odle2 at 8:35 PM

July 13, 2007

Nikon UK Extends Digital Warranty to Two Years

Great news for our members in the UK - the Nikon subsidiary there has extended the warranty for digital camera products from the global one-year period to an amazing two years.

The warranty offer will start on 01-September-2007 and will apply to the whole spectrum of digital camera models, from Coolpix compacts to the latest Digital SLRs. The offer will also be extended retroactively to purchases of qualifying products made on or after 01-July-2007. No information was available as to whether the offer will be extended further back than July. Let's hope this wave of confidence in build quality makes it to other sales regions soon.

Posted by covey22 at 10:30 PM

July 12, 2007

Nikon COOLPIX S500 Review & Gallery

LetsGoDigital just posted their Nikon Coolpix S500 review

Nikonians who have bough it hail it as a great camera if compactness, speed, and VR are on your priority list. The flash is even better than most in it's class.

You may also see Arches National Park test photos

Posted by jrp at 4:39 PM

Nikon Coolpix S500: The LetsGoDigital Review

Our colleagues at LetsGoDigital have posted their review of the Nikon Coolpix S500.

Whoever is looking for an excellent performing compact camera and who has no ambitions to use the camera for extensive digital photographing, will find an ultimately decent camera in the Nikon S500.

Posted by covey22 at 3:41 PM

July 11, 2007

PEN News Weekly: Nikon Maintains 6 Month Market Lead

Newsline International reports that a recent Japanese domestic market survey in PEN News Weekly shows that Nikon has displaced Canon as the DSLR market leader and has held that position for the past 6 months, thanks mostly to brisk sales of the D80 model and the recent introductions of the D40 and the D40X.

Posted by covey22 at 5:13 PM

DxO Labs Optics Pro 4.5

DxO Labs has released version 4.5 upgrade to their popular Optics Pro correction and enhancement program. New features include:

* support for Nikon D40X and Canon 1D Mark III
* support for newer lenses such as the Tokina 10-17 DX fisheye
* Integration with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
* The long-awaited Flickr Export plug-in
* Auto-crop automatic tool
* Free Presets by pro and expert photographers
* Optimization based on available RAM and utilization of video cards equipped with GPUs

As always, it's a free upgrade for all DxO Optics Pro v4.x users.

Posted by covey22 at 4:26 PM

Flaghead: Ring-flash on a Budget

Macro and close-up shooters hankering for a ring-flash but have a limited budget may want to consider this adapter from Flaghead. The unique design reflects the light from a standard hot-shoe external flash, routing it down a series of mirrors and prisms and exiting in a ring-light centered around the lens. Not so good news, it's only available in the UK. Perhaps we'll see it being offered overseas soon.

Posted by covey22 at 3:50 PM

Metz Mecablitz 58 AF-1 For Nikon DSLRs

Metz-58-AF-1 -320x240.JPG

Popular third-party flash maker Metz has introduced a new model designed specifically for Nikon and Canon digital SLRs.

The Mecablitz 58 AF-1 digital distinguishes itself from the crowd with a unique USB interface to allow easy firmware upgrades and a unique secondary reflector to enhance fill effects even during bounce operation. The flash is very comparable to OEM offerings, with features such as a built-in bounce card, a very powerful GN of 58 (ISO 100), coverage from 18mm to 105mm and full compatibility with with i-TTL and D-TTL camera models.

Posted by covey22 at 3:33 PM

July 10, 2007

Roberts Imaging Airshow Photography Experience

Roberts Imaging is offering a unique photography experience; for 75 USD, shutterbugs will be granted admission to the 2007 Indianapolis Airshow on August 26th featuring the US Navy's Blue Angels jet demonstration team, along with exclusive benefits.

The cost will also include exclusive access to the Roberts Imaging Chalet located on the flightline, a catered lunch and access to Nikon, Canon and Bogen equipment onsite for use during the show. Representatives from all three companies will be on hand to lend expertise. Seating is limited, so those who have a hankering to try out the latest long lenses with VR or IS should sign up quickly.

Posted by covey22 at 3:25 AM

Nikon Boards Kaboose

Nikon has partnered with the largest family-focused media company online to launch Kaboose Photo. The photo site, expected to go live July of this year, will feature Nikon as the preferred source for digital photography products and will reach a wide family-centric audience.

Posted by covey22 at 2:56 AM

July 7, 2007

Nikonians News Flash #53

News-Flash.png

Tune in for information on the latest Adobe Lightroom update, a recent burglary at Sigma's UK offices, 2007 Podcast Award nominations, and the latest from the forums. Also, hear about a listener's recent experience in Kildare, Ireland!

Download Nikonians News Flash #53 (NPC-NF-2007-07-07.mp3; 8:07; 7.5MB; MP3 format)

July 7, 2007

In The News:
Trouble with Adobe Lightroom 1.1 updates? Check out our Post-processing Forum for more information.

Sigma UK Burglary! Get the serial number list here and call 01707 329 999 to report any suspicious transactions!

Check out LetsGoDigital's report on the Nikon CoolPix S500!

From The Forums:
FInd out about how to nominate us for the 2007 Podcast Awards!

July's Online Photo Assignment: Silhouette.

Calling all Nikonians in Montreal!

CONTEST! Listen in to win!

Jessica's Choice Photo:
Mushroom (this one's for you, Dad!)

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Jessica at newsflash@nikonians. org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by odle2 at 4:57 PM

July 6, 2007

Nikon Plans Expansion to Meet Digital Camera Demand

A brief entry in the 05-July edition of the Bangkok Post reveals that Nikon is planning to expand manufacturing capacity to meet the world-wide growing demand for digital cameras.

An official with Thailand's Board of Investment confirms that the Japanese camera maker will invest 519MM Baht (about USD15MM) to expand the factory in Rojana Industrial Park. Formerly a source of film cameras, the location now produces popular digital SLR models and lenses. The move will include hiring up to 5000 workers to ramp up production.

Posted by covey22 at 2:49 PM

July 5, 2007

LetsGoDigital: Nikon S500 at Arches N.P.

Our colleagues at LetsGoDigital have been putting the Nikon Coolpix S500 through it's paces in a recent visit to picturesque Arches National Park in the United States.

Posted by covey22 at 3:31 PM

ID#44: The Image Doctors

This week, hear about Jason and Rick's brief encounter with the Fuji FinePix S5 DSLR, and then learn about how exposure modes work on your Nikon.

Download The Image Doctors #44 (NPC-ID-2007-07-05.mp3; 34:08; 12MB; MP3 format)

Show Notes: July 5, 2007

1:16 A brief encounter with the Fuji S5

10:24 Beginners' Tip: Know your exposure modes

30:08 Weekly Prescription: Focusing on subjects that are off-center

 

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Image Doctors directly in iTunes.

[RSS] Add the Image Doctors feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically to you.


[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Posted by drjay32 at 3:47 AM

Lenses on the Lam: Sigma UK Burglary

Sigma UK recently revealed that their offices had been broken into and a significant number of lenses, flashes and tele-converters had been stolen. The serial numbers are available and the list is extremely extensive - seven pages long. The company requests that the public be on the lookout for Sigma inventory that might be priced unusually low and to contact them at 01707 329 999 for any suspicious transactions.

Posted by covey22 at 2:41 AM

July 3, 2007

Caution on Lightroom Update

Join the discussion in our Postprocessing Forum regarding the latest bugs in the Lightroom 1.1 update.

Now after talking with Adobe this morning, they clearly stated that they are aware of a catalog corruption issue, and that this issue is more severe with customers who have started using LR from a beta version. That also stated that because getting a corrupted catalog during an update was not repeatable, that (the directors) chose to NOT release this information!

Posted by covey22 at 8:19 PM

Happy Fourth of July!

Nikonians wishes all of our US members a Happy Independence Day! And if you're going out to enjoy the fireworks, why not bring your camera? Be sure to check out our popular How to Photograph Fireworks article by Lyle Stavast.

Posted by covey22 at 8:17 PM

July 2, 2007

Nikonians servers maintenance update

Scheduled maintenance on the Nikonians Servers will take portions of our member services offline for a short time on Monday evening Eastern Standard Time. Specifically, our galleries and our Photo Pro Shop will be sporadically unavailable between 6 PM and 12 PM EST today, July 2nd, and possibly for one or two more evenings. Please check our News Blog for updates.

Posted by flashdeadline at 3:29 PM