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?

Find all about it on YLovePhoto.

The first presentations and reviews are coming up now everywhere on the Internet (except in France where Nikon appears to have embargoed the news after an isolated incidents in this country):

• Nikon product page (USA)
• Nikon press release (USA)
• DPreview hands-on review/preview
• Ken Rockwell presentation (with comments on the movie mode)
• Hands-on preview from Nikon D40/D40x/D60 Photog by Simon Joinson
• Richard Kilpatrick
• Photography Blog
• PopPhoto
• ThinkCamera

And an advanced presentation video:

$999 should be quite a nice price for a completely new camera with 12.3-megapixel image (4.5fps bursts) and even a 24fps HD-Movie 1280×720 mode. Standard zoom lens offered in kit will be AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. You can see it below with this lens and… a GPS unit (compatible with nearly all existing Nikon SLR cameras: D3, D300, D700, D2X, D2Hs, D2Xs and D200).

As I was expected, this announcement is not followed by one for the Nikon D3x. Just the entry-level Nikon D90.

Essentially, Thom is saying “3 new SLR cameras before the end of 2008“. And, this would mean that all the probable/expected cameras are coming to fruition in the coming months:

• Nikon D800/D900: A big image version of the Nikon D700 (based upon the Sony 24MP Full Frame sensor).
• Nikon D3x or Nikon D4: the high-end replacement for the Nikon D3 (but the name seems not to be confirmed at all, right now).
• Nikon D90: The camera aimed at the low end of the SLR market. Since Nikon is still resisting to the Canon lower-end (the Canon EOS 1000D is still a little expensive compared to the Nikon D60).

Interestingly, Thom Hogan, who is often quite knowledgeable about Nikon, thinks that the name should become the Nikon D900. He thinks that this would be the reflection of an effort to bring own the price to allow it to fight against the real competition seen as the Canon EOS 5D MkII and the Sony Alpha 900. Honestly, I have no opinion or no information to add here. You know that I think this would be needed (in terms of price) and names are mostly a marketing issue after the technical features are locked in.

The availability date should not be more than 1 year from now, and quite probably in the very first weeks of 2009.

• Nikon D3 sensor: Full Frame, 12 MP
• Dust cleaning on the sensor
• 200-6400ISO
• From 1/8000s to 30s (flash synchro at 1/250s)
• 5 frames/seconde (8fps with MB-D10)
• Virtual horizon?
• Viewfinder a little more limited than on the D3, with 95% field coverage
• Integrated flash, NG11
• Batteries: EN-EL3e
• Compact Flash cards
• Weight: 1076g
• Price: 2599€ (about the price I estimated previously, but for the more expensive end of the FF market)

Source: An email from a German Internet user.

It seems that most of the original information comes from Thom Hogan’s web site and is fed by countless comments on web forums. However, we saw recently Chasseur d’Image supporting this rumour within its own Nikon D700 rants.

The most common set of characteristics and features seems to be:

• 12 MP sensor in APS-C size (x1.5 crop factor)
• 14-bit A/D conversion and image management
• dust-cleaning sensor
• 3″ LCD with LiveView
• 5 fps shutter bursts

But it looks a lot like a mere marketing evaluation of what Nikon needs to put in its SLR camera range to fight on the current market and to make it fully able to cover all kinds of photo customers. Everybody seems to expect this to be the feature list of a $1300 camera to reach under the current D300 (or the upcoming D700).

Will this be part of an launch event that Nikon seems readying for the very first days of July (maybe 1st of July)?

French magazine Chasseur d’Image went to the extreme of reporting about it “as a rumour confirming the information they already have”.

And a Nikon representative said that the manual pages that were used to base the disclosure were taken from the printing agency in charge of producing the actual manuals.

We will not get more, but it seems that 99% of what was told about the Nikon D700 is true. But, possibly, the name of the D700 will be actually Nikon D700 FX to clearly reflect the presence of the Full Frame sensor in a near-D300 body.

The Nikon D700 would be, according to Nikon Rumours [1], a Full Frame D-SLR with a 12.1 mega-pixel sensor taken from the Nikon D3. This means that instead of pushing the resolution, Nikon decidedly wants to keep focusing on image quality with big pixels able to collect as much light as possible. So, this is quite normally leading to the maximum sensitivity of 6400 ISO (and even 25600 ISO in extended Hi2 mode). If the D3 is representative of the result on the D700, the images will be absolutely superbly stunning – and the image management is in 16-bits after a 14-bit A/D conversion.

Interestingly, the camera would be able to use the DX lenses (obviously cutting the image down to a limited frame siwe, which is still a very good solution to use existing cheap lenses; But the buyer of such a beast will probably be willing to attach much more serious glass).

Apart from that, this is really a high-end camera product: 51-zone Auto-Focus (incl. 15 cross-type) coming from the Nikon D3 (this is going to be a competition-ready type of AF), light metering with a 1005-pixel matrix, Flash system borrowed from the D3. On the opposite, there would be a LiveView mode integrated with a contrast detection AF.

Unfortunately, the images are still lacking (remember, this is not confirmed by Nikon) and nobody seems to have the camera (or the NDAs are very tight). However, NR tells us that the price would be $2999. Still expensive (too much for me anyway, even if I was not equipped with Sony), but this “baby D3” is announcing the Full Frame for all…

• Sigma APO 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM
• Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G (SAL70300G)

Tous les deux visent la meilleure qualité possible pour une gamme d’application très large. Ils viennent en concurrence directe avec les offres équivalentes de Canon (EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM) et Nikon (F VR Zoom-NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED), par exemple. Tous sont des zooms ouvrant jusqu’à f/5.6 (pour maintenir un excellent couplage avec l’autofocus), tous sont stabilisés (Sony utilise la stabilisation au boitier, bien sûr), tous couvrent le champ complet d’un 35mm (APS-C ou Full Frame acceptés), les prix tournent autour de 1000€.

But, where I see Sigma rushing in the fight (probably trying to limit costs by cutting short the low-end of the range -where portrait photographers may suffer), I do not understand Sony’s choice of limiting itself to 300mm (only portrait will be satisfying). Portrait would be better served by a shorter zoom (bringing better aperture). Or by a prime lens of superlative quality as Sony (ex-Minolta) or Zeiss has the knowledge for.

We’ll have to see the exact characteristics and the image quality (the products on the market are among the best lenses possible in this category).

• 10.2 MP sensor, with integrated dust reduction: Relatively small compared to the current 12MP cheap D-SLRs of the competition. But that’s not much of a difference in lines or columns of pixels.
• 100-1600 ISO. Nothing impressive, let’s see the image quality.
• 3-zone autofocus: Limited, but adequate if Nikon kept the quality and sensitivity of most of its products.
• Continuous shooting at 3fps: Quite adequate for entry level.
• 2.5″ LCD screen: why not 3″ like all of the recent cameras?
• Plenty of little interface tricks (several presentation modes, auto-detect of camera orientation, eye-detect to switch off the LCD when using the viewfinder, in-camera editing features without a PC).
• SD/SDHC flash memory cards.
• Suggested retail price for the D60 Kit with AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR: 699€. Shooting right where the market needs it.

If you look at these characteristics, the camera does not look impressive. But it’s just a confirmation of the efforts Nikon is doing (after the Nikon D50) to grab the entry level market with light and cheap cameras that are able to attract a public who would not accept to pay 1000 euros for a camera. This is chasing the last bridge cameras.

In the Nikon D60, every technical specification entry is tuned for optimal price and the result is impressive at 699 euros. When we can see the actual result in terms of image, we’ll be able to say where it goes, but Canon may have a hard time fighting both Sony and Nikon in the low-cost segment of the market.

This would be the occasion for Canon to shoot higher than the supposed slight improvements over the 5D (with a slight name change like EOS 5D Mk II) and pile up major features to fight back Nikon and its most recent D3 and D300 (explaining a move to the more severe name change of EOS 6D or EOS 7D).