MasHD Blog

Nikon has announced their new retro inspired Zfc Mirrorless camera today. The model, heavily based on the APS-C sensor based Z50, brings Nikon FM era design cues and  a flip out screen to cash in on the small but relatively monopolized market of retro-inspired APSC cameras currently dominated by Fujifilm. The sensor - a 20.9mp DX (APS-C) unit, packs the capacity to shoot at ISO 100-51200 or at 2EV boost of (204,800), although the sensor features no IBIS, it does feature electronic stability and it does help out when shooting 4K (UHD) at 30 fps/1080p at 60fps.The sensor also comes with 209 Single point AF points while the shutter can shoot upto a max of 1/4000 and a maximum frame rate of 11 fps with AF. The main focus of the camera is its retro design, which as said earlier, harks back to the film era and is more "retro" unlike Nikon's previous D610 based Df DSLR many years back. The Zfc designed with "leather" furniture and a magnesium chassis does make the not ...

About a decade back, Nikon Announced the Nikon Df - a retro inspired DSLR which was kind of handicapped as many novelty features at the time were omitted in the pursuit of originality. The camera is now long gone and with the sun setting on the entire SLR ecosystem, Nikon is now set to announce another retro inspired camera with the new mirrorless Z mount. The upcoming camera - named the Nikon Zfc for now, is said to pack a retro design with Nikon FM era design cues and strangely a flip out screen and a video button. The top of the alleged camera contains a "manual" ISO dial  shutter speed and exposure compensation as well as a larger shutter button. The camera details such as the sensor details are not known at the moment, but rumors point it to being similar to the Nikon Z50 - APS-C sensor which is odd considering that the previous attempt featured a full frame sensor. This could either be a mistake or it could be in fact a shot directed towards the niche APS-C market carve...

Nikon - Once a dominating power in the Camera duopoly and a pioneer in optics has been faithful to its F mount since its inception in 1958 and all cameras from the SLR film era and right upto the modern flagship D6 used this with optics and the electronics within them being the only factor of change. But in the age of Mirrorless, the F mount seemed to be "too small" and thus it was replaced by the Z mount with cameras sporting the new mount receiving mixed response from the shrinking Nikon fanbase.  But as with all modern changes, change is never fast and many prefer to remain in the DSLR realm as long as possible unless Nikon "kills off" production - which was certainly expected but now  with the current "crisis" affecting the industry hard, Nikon is accelerating the process by listing the following lenses as "Old product"  - Which would indicate that the following lenses are no longer in production and are available till stocks last.   AF-S Nik...

Nikon has announced the development of their flagship Mirrorless camera, the model - named the Z9, is said to be the flagship for the Z mount system and is said to sit above the current Z7 series with features such as a "professional" camera body with design cues borrowed from the Nikon D6 DSLR which is currently Nikon's DSLR equivalent.  At the time of writing, details of the camera are still unreleased but the only key points to memorize are 8K video recording and Stacked CMOS senor which is said to offer the best still and video capabilities of a Nikon camera so far. Announcement date of the Nikon Z9 will be released at a later date. Source - Petapixel

Nikon has officially announced their new Nikkor 180-400mm f4E TC1.4 FL ED VR super telephoto lens . The new glass ,which comes with a rather long name tag actually the first to feature a 1.4x teleconverter built in . The teleconverter , which extends the range of this already extreme zoom lens will give a 252-560mm eqv field of view on a FX system or 378-840mm on a DX camera (with the 1.4x teleconverter on) . The F4 aperture , which is excellent for such super-zoom lenses also has a 9 bladed aperture inside and a 4 stop VR compensation . The lens features 27 elements in 19 groups (8 ED , 1 FL , and fluorine coatings on the elements) . The lens barrel - made out of a magnesium alloy will give the lens a total weight of 3.5Kg . Pricing for the new lens starts at $12399 with shipping starting in March . Written by Rakitha for MasHD Source - dpreview Preorder link - Bhphotovideo

Although the days of film are long gone , the cameras that of a bygone era have certainly left their mark on photographic history . Ihagee cameras , a German film camera maker has now been ressurected thanks to crowdfunding on Kickstarter and is set to make their first 35mm film camera (under the Ihagee name) since the brand disappeared during the 1970's .  The camera , named the Ihagee ELBAFLEX (Ihagee used the Exakta name unto 1970 and it is still trademarked , but ELBAFLEX is said to be used in Ihagee cameras from the  1970's and the startup selected this name instead) .  The camera , like most 35mm film camera revivals on kickstarter ( Reflex 1 for example) is based on the Nikon F mount , With manual everything and wooden inserts , the camera is certainly going to be a great option for film shooters who want something "new" (but still old fashioned) . The ISO , shutter dials are all metallic and it features a flash sync port with 1/60 sync speed . T...

Nikon D850 has probably been the company's worst kept secret . The camera , which was announced a month back during Nikon's 100 year anniversary just explained in brief ,but thanks to leakers some of that information managed to hit the internet and inadvertently lead the camera to be the most talked about topic in the camera world . But now , after a month of waiting anxiously for the official pricing (rumors made headlines after many quoted $1000-2000 more than the official one ) , the Nikon D850 is finally official . Nikon D850 The Nikon D850 is Nikon's jack of all trades semi - flagship camera which sits below the D5 but above the D750 . The model  which succeeds the D810 from almost 3 years back is armed with a new backlit 35mm sensor and the largest optical viewfinder and pentaprism for any camera . Video features on the camera include 4K with full sensor readout and features 8K timelapse . The camera features 7 fps at full resolution and 9fps when connec...

Final production features of the Nikon D850 are officially leaked . The camera , which was previously rumored to feature Sony's excellent 46MP FX sensor and the D5's focusing system are now all confirmed thanks to some presentation slides leaked from China . The slides are listed as follows . (via Nikon Rumors )  You can also check out all the leaked slideshow images here and here The large pentaprism bulge features a  massive optic+prism for  0.75x magnification instead of a hybrid viewfinder as rumored by many . - 45.75MP - 9 fps * MB-D18 + EN-EN18a (7fps without) - 8K timelapse - 4K movie UHD - ISO 64-25600 (32 - 108,400 with boost) - 3.2" 2.36M vari-angle touch screen - 153 AF system via D5 (center 1 point -4EV AF, all other points -3EV) - 45M quiet shooting mode (30 fps I 8mp - DX mode electronic shutter or 6fps FX AE/AF fixed) - 0.75x OVF magnification - 180,000 RGB sensor - 3.2" Vari- Angle 2.359M dot touch screen display - Built in im...

Apart from some pre-announced Nikon anniversary goodies , the company released a few subtle announcements surrounding its 100 year anniversary . The company which started as an alliance between Three optical companies in Japan under the name we now call Nikon . The alliance , which consisted of Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha went on to be one of the largest optical equipment manufacturers in the world with products ranging from spotting equipment to high precision microscopes. During the time of WW1, the company provided Imperial Japan's need for superior spotting optics as the Great war restricted Germany's ability to provide them (They were enemies during this war however) .Although Nikon's primary market was for the Japanese military , they did make lenses which were adopted by another Japanese camera company called Canon ,since Canon had no optical division , all camera lenses for their Leica inspired designs were provided by Nikon until the Second world war ,...

Nikon has officially announced their plans for the upcoming D850 DSLR . The camera , which wasn't officially announced ,was however released as a press article with focus on "teaser" features including the ability for super - low light image capture and 8K timelapse . The announcement which comes in a time when Nikon is celebrating its 100th anniversary probably hints that the D850 will be a beast of a camera once announced . we expect the camera to feature a ~42MP sensor with the ability to shoot 4K and 8K timelapse .this is a major update over the D810 , but we are yet to see performance gains . Overall the D850 , when announced will surely shake up the Nikon vs Canon feud ,but with recent developments happening on the other side of the fence , its high time Nikon gives us some info on that super secret Mirrorless camera they are working on as well . Press Release July 25, 2017 Development Of Digital SLR Camera Nikon D850 Melville, NY – Nikon Inc. is pl...

Nikon's curved sensor patent circa 2010 The concept of Curved sensors for cameras are nothing new ,but like most outlandish projects ,  it has so far been a tech unicorn  as they only exist in patent schematic form , but Nikon , a company who is to celebrate 100 years in two days time is now apparently said to be patenting not only the sensor , but also a lens to go with it as well . The patent - ( P2017-125904A ) speaks about a 35mm f2 lens mounted to a curved 35mm sensor which is given in a light schematic form . The article does not speak much about the camera , but the merits of a possible curved sensor camera were understood by Nikon early on , and they even patented their own technology many years back . So what advantages will such a sensor bring? well for starters , a curved sensor , unlike its flat sensor counterparts will allow maximum sharpness throughout the picture , this does mean that the new sensor , if it comes to light , will require a whol...

From dust on the sensor to oil spots , Nikon's entry level Full frame cameras seem to be jinxed in one way or another . The D600  , which stirred up controversy back in 2012 was probably one of the more recent production line issues on a camera to date , the D600, which was hastily replaced by the D610 was also affected to some degree with a mechanical issue where oil was squirted onto the sensor - which was mostly an inconvenience rather than a serious issue. Nevertheless , Nikon did send these units out to repair and in turn announced the Nikon D750 - a serious FX camera suited for wedding and Nikon video shooters , the camera , which was named as one of the best selling DSLR's last year however has not managed to escape the Nikon production line woes as it is now under recall due to a shutter issue . The extent of the issue is still not known , but so far Nikon has advised that all cameras produced from July - September 2014 and models from July 2015 to September 2016 ...

Will Nikon base their upcoming  Mirrorless camera on the DF?  (image via Nikon) Nikon's mirrorless ambitions were confirmed a few days back as Nikon's President Mr Kazuo Ushida , revealed Nikon's future camera strategy which includes the release of new professional grade SLR cameras and Mirrorless systems which would include the best of Nikon's current technology . The camera(s) , which will probably  feature an APS-C or most probably a 35mm size sensor will be much bigger than the 1" sensors which were featured on Nikon's somewhat experimental Nikon 1 series mirrorless cameras launched 7 years back .  The new camera , which we hope would sit in the position occupied by the current Df  ,would mean that Nikon would be selling 4 full frame options (if you count out the D610 which would probably get axed as the D700/750 is successful) with one mirrorless option and FX options . This , if launched , will give Nikon the push it needs to c...

Mr Kazuo Ushida   With the mirrorless generation slowly taking over the ILC market , its inevitable that DSLR manufacturers would eventually try their hand at making their own mirrrorless cameras in order to stay relevant in the future . Currently both Canon and Nikon have worked on the new technology , but only Canon managed to make a decent model with the announcement of the EOS M5 ,.Nikon , a company that took a different approach by making a 1" sensor equipped Nikon 1 series did not place much emphasis on creating a mirrorless camera as the technology at the time was a bit primitive , but now , with companies like Sony , Panasonic and Fuji stealing thunder from them , Nikon has finally come to terms with the situation and , according to Nikon president Mr Kazuo Ushida , the company is ready to release "Mirrorless cameras " at an early stage . So what does this mean , well based off our Google translate result on the article , we can confirm that the mirror...

Nikon D810 from 2014 Hark , the Nikon rumors sing! , Nikon's upcoming D810 successor is stated for a July 25th launch - the same day of Nikon's 100th anniversary . The special date , which will be celebrated with Nikon anniversary branded goodies including a special D5 ,D500 , the holy trinity ,pins and T shirts ,is also rumored to be the launch date of the new Nikon Full frame camera which would replace the D810 by improving the megapixel count to around 42-45 MP  and feature the expanded AF coverage featured on the Nikon D5 . The camera is also said to improve its ISO sensitivity , giving it some good low light capabilities and might have better dynamic range (hopefully) . Video features rumored for the upcoming camera might include 4K - a feature borrowed from the D500 and D5 and having it will give the camera an edge over competing products even if you plan not to use this as a main video camera (But expect to hear crowds of angry villagers with pitchforks roaring do...

Tamron has officially announced their long awaited SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 or 24-70mm f2.8 G2 for short , which officially replaces the previous generation 24-70 medium zoom from 2012 . The new lens , which comes with the model number A032 is available for Nikon F mount and Canon's EF mount . The new G2 lens , which like the rest of Tamron's new generation lineup features a satin finish which gives it a more monolithic and a more upscale look when compared to the copper ringed models from a few years back .although looks are not important , the latest design trend does mean that the kit will match perfectly with the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 G2 model which was announced a few months back(if you are after a Tamron holy trinity collection that is ) Anyways , the insides are what counts and in that regard , the new lens will surely outperform the older model as it now features 5 stops of vibration control (best in class) and fast autofocus thanks to dual embedded microprocess...