Nik Software and Shutterbug have teamed up to bring you a chance to use the wide variety of Nik software products and to enter one of the images you create in a contest that offers some very nice prizes. In my way of thinking the contest is the gravy; the real treat here is getting to use demo versions of software like Nik’s Viveza, Silver Efex Pro and Color Efex Pro on your images. Let’s see how all this works.
The diminutive Nikon 1 series of cameras, including the J1 reviewed here and the coming V1, introduces the new CX-format CMOS sensor to the interchangeable lens, mirrorless camera field, which we dub Compact System Cameras. The sensor is smaller than APS-C and Micro Four Thirds sensors, coming in at a 2.7x multiplication factor using standard 35mm focal length designations. The 10.1-megapixel sensor has a native speed of ISO 100, with speeds up to 3200, and 6400 with a 1 EV push.
The long awaited and anticipated Nikon D1X arrived in our offices the other day, and we couldn't wait to get to work with it. To those who have worked with a Nikon D1 the camera offers similar handling and workflow, although there have...
My contention has always been that a real live camera affords superior image quality over any smartphone. But you know that already, especially when it comes to optical options, low-light capability, high ISO, video capability, and, perhaps most importantly, the experience of being able to see what you are shooting (through the optical finder of a DSLR) in bright light.
Aimed squarely at the first-time D-SLR user, and especially at those family and social photographers who have been frustrated by their digicam's bothersome shutter lag, the Nikon D40 is a compact camera that still holds enough features to satisfy budding photographers. At a mere 1 lb, 1 oz and 5x2.5x3.7" in size, the camera will feel small to those who have worked with...
Feeling very much in hand like a pro camera, with magnesium alloy top and rear body construction, the Nikon D7000 (list: $1199, body only) has all the bells and whistles of a modern D-SLR, including a high megapixel count CMOS sensor, a new image processor to handle all the data it can capture, including 14-bit NEF, a high ISO 6400 “normal” (expandable two stops), and the currently requisite 1080p HD movie capability. This DX (APS-C) format camera also features dual SD card slots, with spillover or format sort capability, a nice and speedy 6 frames-per-second (fps) shooting capability for up to a 100 frame burst (JPEG), and full-time AF with video and Live View. The monitor is bright and highly readable in just about every lighting condition. Unfortunately, it is fixed and does not articulate, but the penta-prism finder makes one pray that Nikon will never go EVF (electronic viewfinder), yielding 100 percent coverage and being a pleasure to view through, especially after suffering some recent EVF obscuring experiences.
Nikon had been relatively quiet in introducing DSLRs aimed at enthusiast photographers but that all changed with the new D7500, the company’s latest camera in the D7000 line. As the successor to the D7200, the Nikon D7500 (MSRP: $1,249, body only) joins Nikon’s APS-C (DX format) DSLR camera lineup, which includes the flagship D500, with a 20.9MP CMOS sensor and no low-pass filter.
The new Nikon P7100 offers many function buttons and dials along with a large mode dial on the top to choose standard exposure modes like P, S, A and M. The camera offers a full automatic mode, scene modes and special effect modes (like B&W, sepia tone effect, “High Key” effect and more). In addition, the P7100 offers three user modes that can be saved as U1-U3 and accessed directly on the mode dial.
After having spent a few weeks with the Nikon D70, and teaching at workshops where students arrived with the camera fresh out of the box, it's clear that Nikon has fashioned a camera that will appeal to both those new to digital SLR photography and those already converted eager to use their...