On YLovePhoto, you will find a commentary drawing a relation between the possible future Nikon D800 and the other possible replacement of the existing Nikon D700: Nikon D800 instead of D700s?

This impressive photo is made of 1,665 individual shots captured with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II photo camera armed with a 400mm tele-lens, and combined together on a powerful computer.

Web site: http://www.dresden-26-gigapixels.com/

Find all about it on YLovePhoto.

Those are the best links I found recently. I could not write a full post about them, but they are worth visiting:

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Your attention does not stop to 1 post only:

• Gorilla in Wildlife (digital photography)
• Nikon D300 (SLR photo camera) that can be complemented with the YLovePhoto.com similar category about the Nikon SLR family

Would you be interested in knowing what the next Nikon dSLR is going to be? A Chinese web site wants you to know everything about the Nikon D400.

After the launch events of this Summer and this Fall (before and during the Köln Photokina), there are two brands leaving important questions open. This is Sony and Nikon. While the two near-friends had us used to seeing them working together around the Sony digital photo sensors, we discovered two very divergent/different announces about 35mm Full Frame dSLR cameras: A Sony Alpha 900 pushing the resolution to record levels (24.6MP) and a Nikon D700 limiting its resolution in favor of maximum sensitivity (12MP).

Some would have us thinking that Nikon would have rejected the sensor offered by Sony (used on the Alpha 900) for reasons of insufficient image quality. It does not seem so obvious when looking at the results actually obtained by Sony, but why not? After all, Nikon did obtain a special edition of the Alpha 700 sensor in order to build its Nikon D300…

So what?

It is not very difficult to forecast. Nikon is preparing a Full Frame SLR photo camera with very high resolution (the Nikon D800 of the rumour mill or the D4 promised around Christmas?) and Sony will derive a low resolution version of the Alpha 900 (most certainly named Alpha 800). Their moves will be opposite but very complementary (and predictable).

In both cases, you can say that Canon will not be forced into running with the pack. With their EOS 5D Mk II (and the last EOS 5D, sold at bargain prices), there is enough to sustain the pressure, but Canon will need to react in 2009, before Summer.

• EOS 50D: Quick Control Screen
• EOS 50D: Peripheral Illumination Correction

And remember that Full Frame cameras are for the richest of the photographers. Most of us are still interested in more accessible real-world cameras like the Canon EOS 50D.

Link to YouTube

Here you can see the video recording feature in operation. And a lot of the other fancy features too (fish eye effect!)

Note: Video recording is not only a feature for the stratospherically-priced Canon EOS 5D Mk II.

Via DSLR user.

French magazine Réponse Photo has delayed its parution date to 23rd possibly to wait for the revelation of a yet-unannouced camera (obviously it could only be from Nikon or Canon).

It is quite possible that Canon is trying to arrive after the Nikon announcement of its 24,6MP Full Frame camera (Nikon D800 or Nikon D900, maybe?), scheduled for 18th of September.

The Canon EF 100-400 f/4-5.6L IS II would no longer be a push-pull design but would have a second ring (like the recently presented Sony design). Better for managing the sealing and protection that are so important when used in difficult conditions like a photo-safari. It would also be equipped with an upgraded image stabilizer (the most critical issue with the existing zoom).

Expect a price of US$1700. If that one is true, it will be a very good price.

Announcement: Not sure, but you can bet there would be something about it on September 17th when Canon will present its new SLR body.

Via Canon Rumours.

Beware: We said announces, not releases.

Already done:

Beware: This will be updated as often as needed. This may lead to repeated publications in the RSS feeds and some publication date changes.

Not enough to anticipate the 17th September announcement.

This is what Chasseur d’Images reveals on its web site home page. the new Full Frame sensor from Canon “dépasse la barre des 21 millions de pixels” (has more than 21 million pixels). The camera should be at the top of the category with all the possible bells and whistles including LiveView and a video mode. But above all, we must expect that the design has been improved: “rajeuni et d’une belle finition alliant robustesse et légéreté, grâce à un châssis en alliage de magnésium” (rejuvenated and with a nice finish blending robustness and lightness).

The title of the illustration seems to confirm the name of the camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II. This was very probable, but many other names had been published here and there (and here too).

We’ll know all the details on September 17th in the morning.

• 24 mega-pixel 24X36/Full Frame CMOS sensor
• DIGIC IV processor
• LiveView
• Video Mode
• Integrated Cleaning System
• Full compatibility with Canon EF and EX-series Speedlites
• Magnesium alloy body
• New battery, new grip
• Price: 2600€
• Official announcement: 17/09/2008

It seems possible that this is real data, not a leak, since it is said that Canon has miscalculated the limit date for its recent NDA (they are trying to extend it).

And the announcement date seems to be what everybody thinks about the official launch of the Canon EOS 7D or Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

According to the numbering scheme, it would not be the direct successor of the Nikon D3 (totally pro). On the contrary, coming behind the Nikon D700, and much too early to be its replacement, in the semi-pro range, this must be a better camera.

Furtheremore, it appears that the Nikon D700 has a camera body which is not fully exploited: The memory card location seems pre-cut for an additional and smaller Flash card (SD model, probably). It seriously leads us toward the high-end cameras using two cards simultaneously to write both the RAW files on one card and JPEG files on the other. This would clearly be a feature for a high-end camera, but without being enough to create a separate model.

Hwever, Nikon became the specialist of re-use, re-cycle and modularity of its SLR cameras. They ensure that as many parts as possible are common to two different cameras. So, I would believe that…

• the Nikon D700 body will be re-used (sorta confirmation of the Nikon D800)
• this camera would be in the high-end

But which body?

I wonder whether the Nikon D800 (let’s use this name for the time being) would not be the real user of the Sony Full Frame 24.6 mega-pixel sensor that has been promised to us. Can you imagine it? A semi-pro Full Frame range at Nikon with a D700 of 12.1 MP and a Nikon D800 of 24.6 MP. Nikon would only have to add a high-end pro successor to the Nikon D3 in January of February 2009 and, here comes the best-looking range of digital cameras for enthusiast photographers.

Nikon would have no real dififcult to succeed here. At least, they already have everything for it.

From CanonRumours. But it seems to be an elegant fake from Xitek.com.

The Sony 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G SSM is described in the PDF documentation of the Sony 70-300mm f/4-5.6 G SSM. Obviously, they were designed together. It is a twist-zoom. This will differentiate quite notably from the push-pull type of others like the Canon 100-400mm and it should protect it efficiently against dust entry (and we know that this is the bane of push-pulls.

The technical features can be read from this table. I can imediately notice that the diaphragm is staying between f/4 and f/5.6 (the golden standard of this type of zoom), that the weight is rather high (heavier than the Nikon and the Canon, nearly as much as the Sigma equivalnet) and that the minimum focus distance is very competitive.

Let’s wait for images and tests (and the price), but this could be the ideal lens to go and shoot in a wild-life safari.

Source: DPreview forums. See also my previous article about high-end tele-zooms.