The Photo Dictionary » Nikon http://www.thephotodictionary.com/blog Photography Tips and News: Defined Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:00:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Nikon joins the fun: YAY RECESSION! http://www.thephotodictionary.com/blog/2009/02/05/nikon-joins-the-fun-yay-recession/ http://www.thephotodictionary.com/blog/2009/02/05/nikon-joins-the-fun-yay-recession/#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2009 02:16:34 +0000 Tim http://www.thephotodictionary.com/blog/?p=133 Nikon Profits Fall

Nikon Profits Fall

Last week it was reported that Canon’s 2008 profits tanked, specifically the most recent fiscal quarter* (Q4) to the tune of 91%. As most likely expected, Nikon has followed suite. The simple fact is that the rough economy is hitting everyone right now and our camera manufacturers are no different.

Nikon, the second largest (behind Canon) manufacturer of consumer and professional camera equipment, has announced that it is reducing it’s 2009 profit forecasts. They attribute the likely drop in sales to a reduction in camera sales and the weakening Dollar. Nikon stock dropped 73% in 2008 and it continues to drop as the global market continues to struggle. Despite producing the best camera’s they ever have, Nikon suspects that DSLR sales will drop around 6%. On a whole, Nikon suspects that digital camera sales globally will drop as much as 11%. Thus, Nikon profits, which dropped 98% in 2008, will likely continue to fall in 2009. As a result, they have “temporarily” laid of 800 employees, a number which could very well grow.

What does all this mean to us? One has to wonder how much money is being cut around these camera manufacturers. The ramifications of reduced budgets may mean delayed production in new model lines or improvements over old ones. In the meantime, i guess the only thing we can do is take photographs.

*Canon’s fiscal calendar aligns with the calendar year, thus Q4 includes September-December.

Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.thephotodictionary.com/blog/2009/02/05/nikon-joins-the-fun-yay-recession/feed/ 1 What’s this? NEWS! Nikon and Canon relase some software updates http://www.thephotodictionary.com/blog/2009/01/21/whats-this-news-nikon-and-canon-relase-some-software-updates/ http://www.thephotodictionary.com/blog/2009/01/21/whats-this-news-nikon-and-canon-relase-some-software-updates/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:46:31 +0000 Tim http://www.thephotodictionary.com/blog/?p=66 The Photo dictionary is here to serve you. So starting today you can come here to read up on the latest photography news and to start we have a real thriller! Ok, well not really.

Now that our camera’s have essentially become computers, it is important that you keep them up to date as problems can crop up and be fixed. Canon and Nikon have released firmware updates for a few of their camera’s.

The Nikon models include the D3, and D700 while Canon has updated its 40D.

Link to the 40D 1.1 firmware update
Link to the D3 2.01 firmware update
Link to D700 1.01 firmware update

Canon has made an update to the 40D that includes the following:

The Canon 40D

Canon has updated the firmware for the 40D to v. 1.1Firmware update Version 1.1.1 incorporates the following fixes and improvements.

  1. Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes a low battery indication to be displayed when using the EF 85mm F1.2L II USM lens. Depending on the battery check timing of the camera, the battery level displayed on the camera’s LCD data panel may shows Battery will be exhausted soon or Battery must be recharged, even though the battery capacity is sufficient.
  2. Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes an Err 06 Self Cleaning Sensor malfunction to appear on the camera’s LCD monitor and LCD data panel, even when the Self Cleaning Sensor Unit is operating normally. This message may appear depending on the timing of when the camera is switch to the ON position.
  3. Fixes a malfunction that prevents correct colors from being printed when direct printing. RAW images captured using the camera’s custom Picture Styles (Emerald, etc.), which have been downloaded from Canon’s Web site and registered under User Def. 2 or User Def. 3.
  4. Modifies the level of subject brightness that causes the AF-assist beam to fire when using an external Speedlite.
  5. Enables an external flash connected to the camera’s synchro terminal to fire even when the camera’s built-in flash is popped up.

Version 1.1.1 firmware is for EOS 40D cameras with firmware up to Version 1.1.0. If the camera’s firmware is already Version 1.1.1, it is not necessary to update the firmware.

Nikon has made a few changes to two of its camera’s, the D3 and the D700 these updates include:

The Nikno D700

Nikon has updated the firmware for the D700 to v. 1.01

  1. When Custom Setting a4 Focus tracking with lock-on was set to Off in Continuous-servo AF, the lens drive moved gradually without achieving focus. This issue has been resolved.
  2. When the Speedlight SB-800 was mounted on the camera with flash mode set to Distance-priority manual (GN) mode, and then the exposure meters were reactivated or the camera was turned on, the distance information displayed on the SB-800 changed. This issue has been resolved.
  3. When the Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 was mounted on the camera and an EN-EL3e battery inserted in the camera but no batteries inserted in the MB-D10, and SB-900 flash mode set to TTL auto flash mode, the flash mode changed to A mode when the exposure meters turned off or were reactivated, or the camera was turned off or on. This issue has been resolved.(This issue has also been resolved with SB-900 firmware Ver. 5.02.)
  4. An issue that, in extremely rare cases, resulted in noticeable black dots in images captured with Long exp. NR in the shooting menu set to On has been resolved.
  5. Manamah, displayed in the Time zone options for the World time item in the setup menu, has been changed to Manama.

Nikon has made a some updates to the Nikon D3:

Nikon has updated the firmware for the D3 to 2.01

Nikon has updated the firmware for the D3 to 2.01

  1. Geodetic information is now displayed in ViewNX 1.2.0 or later and Capture NX 2 2.1.0 or later shooting information for images captured with the GPS Unit GP-1 mounted on the camera.
  2. Autofocus-response performance in focus mode C (Continuous-servo AF mode) with relatively dark subjects has been increased.
  3. When the AF-ON button is pressed, the monitor turns off and a focus point can now be selected using the multi selector.
  4. Photo information displayed in full-frame playback has been modified as follows:
  5. HI-, LO- has been changed to Hi, Lo
  6. WARM TONE has been changed to WARM FILTER
  7. COLOR CUSTOM has been changed to COLOR BALANCE
  8. Manamah, displayed in the Time zone options for the World time item in the setup menu, has been changed to Manama.
  9. An issue that, in extremely rare cases, resulted in noticeable black dots in images captured with Long exp. NR in the shooting menu set to On has been resolved.
  10. When the Speedlight SB-800 was mounted on the camera with flash mode set to Distance-priority manual (GN) mode, and then the exposure meters were reactivated or the camera was turned on, the distance information displayed on the SB-800 changed.  This issue has been resolved.
  11. An issue that, in some rare cases, caused images captured with the following lenses to be under-exposed, has been resolved.AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
  12. AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED (5.0x)

To Read more on this topic, check out the links below
http://news.cnet.com…
http://www.dpreview.com…
ttp://www.robgalbraith.com…

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