Nikon D300 launched - Nikon steers well ahead of Canon again

August 26th, 2007 Ranjay Mitra Posted in News, Nikon, Photo Notes & Field guides, Photography, Technology No Comments »

Along with the latest Nikon D3, the company also launched the Nikon D300 on Aug 23, 2007. From the specifications, it is closer to D200 in features, though it uses a CMOS 13.2 effective megapixels sensor.

 

This is a DX format sensor, with the benefits of the improved auto focus mechanisms of the Nikon D3. It still uses the battery from Nikon D200, the EN-EL3e, which is known to have a very poor battery life.

 

Priced at about USD 1,900, the body is expected to hit the US & UK markets in November 2007, the same time as the D3.

 

 

You could read the Nikon D300 specifications on their official website here.

 

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Nikon D3 launched - Full Frame 12.1 MP CMOS

August 26th, 2007 Ranjay Mitra Posted in News, Nikon, Photo Notes & Field guides, Photography, Research, Technology 2 Comments »

After years of speculation, the much awaited Nikon D3 comes to being today. Although the company officially released the test drive, the Nikon D3 will be available in stores by November 2007 (per the company estimates).

 

Here’s a brief of what the D3 has to offer:

 

  • 12.1 MP CMOS sensor
  • FX format (thats a full frame 36 x 24 format)
  • Continuous 9 fps in FX mode and high speed 11 fps in DX crop
  • Noise reduction in extreme 25,600 ISO
  • 51 point auto focus with 3D focus tracking and improved Scene Recognition System

Here is the link to the detailed specifications on the Nikon’s website.

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Dr. Alan Rabinowitz & the Elusive Cats

June 3rd, 2007 Ranjay Mitra Posted in Conservation, Environment, News, Photo Notes & Field guides, Photography, Research, Technology, Travel 1 Comment »

For those of you who have not heard his name, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz is the Director of Science and Exploration for the Wildlife Conservation Society . It’s a Bronx Zoo based wildlife nurturing and ecological preservation agency that does world wide researches and undertakes preservation and conservation initiatives.

I recently saw one of the documentaries by Dr Alan Rabinowitz made by the National Geographic Society - titled In Search of the Jaguars. It details the life and the heroic work of Dr Alan from his early days growing up in Brooklyn, NY to the rest of his life spent in an undying effort to save the Jaguars in Central America.

Although the Jaguar project of Central America has taken up the most of Dr Alan’s better life, he is also known to discover the smallest deer species - the leaf deer and communicating with the Tarons - the Mongolian pygmies who faced  near extinction. The documentaries are published in his book “Beyond the Last Village“.

While you read and see his work, you get to realize what an immense source of strength this person had been throughout his life. Refusing to  give up at daunting challenges, he has fought over twenty five years of his life for the safety and preservation of some of the most fragile species and cultures of our planet.

Today, while his Jaguar project has gained some momentum and has interested similar minded conservationists, Dr Alan Rabinowitz  is facing a harsh reality. He has been diagonized with Leukemia. But not deterred by his physical challenges, Dr Alan Rabinowitz continue to lead the conservation initiatives till today.

You could read more about him on the web at Save the Jaguar. As a last note, the Wildlife Conservation Society runs completely from donations and some of their most critical projects are funded out of donations from people who want to save this planet.

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Nikon - celebrating the 90th anniversary in July 2007

June 1st, 2007 Ranjay Mitra Posted in News, Nikon, Photography, Research, Technology 1 Comment »

Upholding their banner of “trustworthiness and creativity“, Nikon is going to celebrate it’s 90th anniversary in July 2007. Founded in 1917 as Nippon Kōgaku; the company was renamed Nikon Corporation, after its cameras, in 1988. Nikon is one of the Mitsubishi companies.

Celebrating this occasion,  the President Michio Kariya laid a clean vision for the next decade - “Our Aspirations - Meeting needs. Exceeding expectations” as Nikon steadily moved ahead to its 100 birthday.

Nikon will retain it’s brand logo of the hashed yellow square, meant to represent “Transforming imagination into creativity“. The sequential white rays symbolize “infinite possibilities within the domain of optics” while the yellow has an emotional significance of “depth” and “passion“. The bold black name of Nikon within the logo emphasizes the solid “trust” and the “commitment” of the company.

Quite truly, Nikon has evolved as an institution of creativity. Starting with the F mount cameras in 1959, and the 3D color matrix metering of the early 2000, Nikon has shelved competition from Canon, Sony and Panasonic. Albeit the staunch followers of Nikon are more than willing to bear the high prices for the quality they offer.

More news available on the Nikon Corporate website.

 

 

 

 

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