Nikon’s newest digital camera’s continue to dominate and impress. A few months agoI mentioned Nikon’s D3 was awarded the IF Product Design award for 2009.  In that article I discussed, brifely, Nikon’s recent impressive advances in their digital camera bodies.  The ascent to dominance appears to be continuing with two of Nikon’s other bodies, which shouldn’t be a surprise as they are all based on the same system.

Today, Nikon announced that their D3X and D90 were the recipients of the TIPA Eupropean Photo & Imaging Awards.

From Nikon

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TOKYO – Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce that the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) has honored two Nikon products with significant awards this year. TIPA named the Nikon D3X digital-SLR camera Best D-SLR Professional in Europe 2009 and the Nikon digital-SLR camera D90 Best D-SLR Advanced in Europe 2009.

TIPA is a non-profit, independent professional organization open to all magazines within the European photo and imaging publishing industry. Each year a group of editor members representing leading photo and imaging magazines from across Europe choose the TIPA European Photo & Imaging Award winners by vote. These prestigious awards for the best photographic and imaging products of the year are widely recognized throughout the industry.

The official TIPA announcement included the following comments on the two winning Nikon products.

The Best D-SLR Professional in Europe 2009 – D3X

The TIPA jury comments: “Modeled on the D3; the Nikon D3X with a 24.5-megapixel, full-frame, FX-format sensor size of 35.9 X 24.0 mm was made for highly skilled professional photographers. Beautifully built, with a superb, approximately 100% viewfinder and a reassuringly comfortable grip, the D3X combines very high resolution and a wide dynamic range with outstanding low-noise performance – a great feature for quality, high-end photography.”

The Best D-SLR Advanced in Europe 2009 – D90

The TIPA jury comments: “With its compact body, the Nikon D90 offers a true marriage of technology and innovation in its movie making capabilities. Its CMOS sensor offers the definition and quality of the successful D300 for a much lower price. A truly sturdy D-SLR, suitable for all terrains.”

The official awards ceremony will be held on June 10, 2009 at the Grand Hotel Schloss Bensberg near Cologne, Germany.

Nikon has always offered true enjoyment to users of Nikon products, creating links between people and generations. This year Nikon celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Nikon F mount, the lens mount that forms the link between interchangeable-lens SLR cameras and NIKKOR lenses. Adopted for the latest digital-SLR cameras as well, this mechanism acts as the foundation of photo imaging culture in this new digital age.

Throughout its 92-year history of developing and utilizing optical and other advanced technologies for use in the development and manufacture of cameras and lenses, Nikon has taken its role in the capture of “special moments,” regardless of the age or situation, very seriously. By continuing to develop attractive products equipped with the latest in state-of-the-art optical technologies, Nikon will introduce new ways to enjoy light, in the hopes of increasing the number of people who know the joy and thrill of capturing and sharing “special moments” by even one.

Nikon has launched Nikon Next (www.nikonnext.com), a new brand communications site that presents the future of digital-age photo imaging expression in a variety of formats. This site features information on Nikon digital cameras, beginning with the TIPA award winning D3X, and exhibits works by well-known artists in the digital imaging field.

The Nikon D3 is turning heads and winning awards.

For Nearly 10 years there have been two big names in the world of digital SLR photography–and two alone.  Nikon and Canon have dominated the market for one reason: they are simply better.  While their dominance on SLR photography over the past couple of decades is nothing new they always had competitors who pumped out quality film bodies and quality lenses to match.  Their dominance in digital SLR photography (it is important to distinguish SLR’s and point-and-shoots as they are truly a different market) is due to one thing: their camera’s are better.  This is often debated though i tend to feel the debate is futile.

The bottom line is that by removing film and replacing it with a digital sensor, the camera body itself became paramount in determining the image quality of your photographs. This is where Nikon’ and Canon’s competitors have primarily lagged behind.  The simple fact is that for years, if you wanted a clean looking image from your D-SLR you had few choices but Nikon or Canon.  And in that regard, for a very long time Canon has dominated in that regard.  Year after year, Canon released a camera that simply produced cleaner looking images than anything from Nikon.  Some have attributed this to the fact that Nikon’s digital sensor’s are produced by Sony, while Canon produces their own in house.  I think this is not completely accurate but what is true is that Nikon has had to push the bar to compete with Canon and in the last couple of years, many Canon owners (like myself) have been wondering why features on Nikon camera’s are not found on similarly priced Canon models.

Is Canon's dominance on the decline?

This last batch of Nikon Cameras, specifically the D3 and the D700, completely buck the trend entirely.  Not only are the feature rich, but they are producing some of the cleanest and highest ISO images we’ve ever seen.

Users across the internet are blowing people out of the water with their high ISO images captured from the D3. And while the 1D is no slouch, the D3 is simply better.

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iF Product Design award winner of 2009

It should therefore come as no surprise that the D3 is receiving high praise from the people who hand out praise to inovative products every year. The International Forum of Design has awarded the Nikon D3 with its highest honor for 2009, awarding Nikon and its flagship DSLR the iF Product Design Award. What does this mean for most of us? Perhaps nothing–at least in the short term.  In the long term it could mean a closing of the already closing gap between Nikon and Canon. What it could mean for users of either family of camera equpiment is more competition and more competitive pricing. One can hope, at least.

The International Forum Design (iF), based in Hannover Germany, has sponsored the iF Product Design Awards since 1953, selecting industrial products exhibiting superior design from those manufactured the world over, making them highly prestigious and globally respected awards. Aspects including quality of design, functionality, degree of innovation, ease of use, as well as any effects the product may have on the environment are considered with product evaluation and award selection.

Click here to read Nikon’s Press Release regarding their award

Read more on the iF award here