It’s definitely worth your time to check out Photojojo as well. They have some pretty cool photography tips and some suggestions for projects you might not have ever seen before.

Professional photographer (and Nikon ambassador) Mark Watson heard about an interesting phenomena. In a certain area of Australia, there is a rare cloud formation know as the “Morning Glory“. Mark shot video and still pictures of these clouds for the Red Bull Glorious Days project.

It’s a cloud formation that rolls across the salt flat region during certain times of the year, the “Morning Glory” is up to 600 miles long, and moves up the 35 mph. Apparently, if you’re insane, it’s possible to ’surf’ the cloud wave in a hang glider. I don’t know about surfing, but the images are absolutely spectacular. And the photographer took the video and stills with a Nikon D300s.

Thanks to Mike for the tip.

You and your hot friends now can figure out who to incorporate a Nikon camera with projector embedded inside it into your great, amazing lives. Thank you YouTube viral video by some marketing agency!

You and your hot friends can use the camera to share images of your hot selves! Then you can have sex in a shower! Then you can go under a parachute! Then you can nurse a hangover and wonder if you got herpes.

And you did get herpes.

The gallery isn’t available through the main page, but it’s easy enough to find. The high-res pics aren’t up yet, but that’s cool with you guys, right?

All our stats from before were pretty much on target: 12MP, 9FPS, 100% viewfinder, 51-pt autofocus, 720p video, 102,400 extended ISO. But feel free to read over the press release. One thing I’m confused about is that the UK price is £4200, which is a lot more than $5200. Britons, feel free to sound off (or switch to Canon… that 7D is looking good right now, isn’t it?).

Perhaps the most eye-catching new feature is ISO boost that can take you up to an ISO of 102,400. You read that correctly: ISO of one hundred and two thousand, four hundred. I tend not to shoot over 800. I’m not a sports or action photographer so this doesn’t affect me, but this does mean shorter exposures in worse light. And hey, if they’re being printed on newspaper or spread on the web, no one’s going to notice a little noise if the shot is right.

HD video is… improved but not apparently by much. 1280×720 at 24p, plus ISO boost is available so low light might really be an option. One actual benefit of the throw-away-and-resize DSLR method of creating video is that it minimizes ISO noise due to the resizing. Onlookers are said to have noted high-ISO video from the D3s as looking natural, which I don’t doubt. Video from the D300s looked solid, though autofocus is still slow, loud, and inaccurate.

It’ll shoot 9 frames per second at full res, or 11 if you only use the cropped sensor size. Other features:

• 12 megapixels (honestly, you don’t need more)
• Improved viewfinder (probably brighter and closer to 100%)
• 51-point autofocus (standard and good)
• 14-bit A/D conversion and 16-bit image processing (why not)
• Twin CF slots (hmm)

Looks like a solid camera, but unless you really need that insane ISO range, I don’t see a lot here that necessitates a purchase. If you’re a Nikon man, the D300s should be sufficient, and if not… why are you reading this?

We may as well note here that speculation on this camera was way off. There are no unicorns mentioned anywhere in the article.

Ah, there is a new picture, this one of the back of the sucker. Also from Nikon rumors. Here we go:

I’m not familiar with Nikon rear-layout. Anybody want to step in?

[via Nikon Rumors]

The D300s is the latest version of Nikon’s award-winning D300, which was released in August of 2007. The D300s features a 12.3 megapixel, DX-format sensor, and supports an ISO range of 200 to 3200. Nikon also gave the D300s their 51 point auto-focus system, which makes it exceptionally easy to get a crisp image while shooting. The D300s also has the same 3 inch LCD display as the D300 on the back of the body, which is great for reviewing your shots or when you are using the “Live View” mode. At $1800, it’s firmly in the “prosumer” price range.

There are a few major differences from the D300, which I own. The biggest change is the inclusion of video. The D300s allows you to capture video at 24fps, at either 720p (for a 5-minute continuous shot), 640×424 (for 20 minutes), or 320×216 (also 20 minutes). The D300s also has a “quiet shutter” mode, which is perfect for wildlife photography, and they added the ability to use an SD card as well as a CF card, the previous standard. It is possible to use both cards at once, and there are a couple of ways to do that. You can specify that you want video on one, and pictures on the other, use one as overflow for the other, or manually shuffle them between the two cards as you see fit. I actually prefer to use the backup mode, which writes the picture to both cards at the same time.

Ergonomics: Not much has changed, really: the D300s uses the same magnesium alloy body as the D300, with the same textured rubber that most cameras use. The controls are a bit more intuitive, and the memory card cover release has been replaced with some more function buttons.

Picture Quality: Outstanding. Nikon used a faster processor in the D300s, and it shows. The autofocus (one of the things that didn’t work *quite* right on D300) is fast and intelligent, the picture controls are intuitive, and the end results are outstanding. Nikon’s inclusion of custom picture control settings makes it easy to get everything exactly how you want it, consistently. I use a couple of custom settings that allow me to duplicate the look of some of the most famous types of film, like Fuji Velvia and Agfa Optima.

Video: The 720p looks very impressive. I’ve always been somewhat skeptical of those cameras that try to do two things, because they rarely do them well. Camcorders rarely shoot good still pictures, and still cameras just don’t do video that well. The bad news is, that’s still the case here. Yes, the picture quality is great because the D300s uses great lenses, and a huge (comparatively) sensor. However, the auto-focus is pretty sketchy, and you can REALLY hear the focus motors when you are recording. Also, if you’re not using a tripod, you’re going to have a video that looks like it was filmed by Matt after his energy drink post.

Battery life: The EN-EL3e Li-on battery takes up 950 shots on a single charge, depending on how much time you spending viewing and editing your pictures in camera. I recently went on a trip to Yosemite (the sample pictures you see are from that trip) and shot the entire weekend on one charge. One. That’s pretty damn impressive, and I wasn’t even trying to stretch the battery life out.

Pros: The D300s is a great camera. This is the second version of this model, and Nikon has done a great job improving it. The quiet shutter mode is nice, the auto-focus is faster now, the dual memory slots are nice, if not particularly necessary (SD memory cards are cheaper than CF card though). Also, adding the new dedicated “Info” button was a really good idea.

Cons: Video isn’t quite there yet. Yes, the image quality is much better then what you’ll get from a camcorder, and the HD video is crisp and clear, but that auto-focus noise is just too much (plus it’s slow). I also noticed that the auto ISO and auto WB aren’t accurate all of the time. This could be my personal bias, but I typically end up adjusting those items myself.

Now, in the interest of comparison, I mentioned that I own a D300. I bought one a few months after it came out after much research and reading, and I’m a fan of the original. As such, I was very interested when I heard that Nikon was going to be releasing an update to my much loved D300. Will I be upgrading? Probably not. The video feature isn’t enough to make me switch, and I think I’ll be waiting to go to full frame for my next upgrade. If I didn’t already own D300, would I buy a D300s? Absolutely. No question about it. The Nikon D300s is still the best “prosumer” level DSLR on the market today.

To be fair, there is another possible contender for the crown that is not on the market today just arriving on the market. That would be the Canon 7D. It’s around the same price point (MSRP is actually a bit cheaper, at $1699), and if the published information is to be believed, the Canon’s video modes will be better then the D300s (though likely have the same problems). Canon has stated that their camera will capture HD video at 30, 25, and 24 FPS, and will also allow more manual control then the Nikon. As for the rest, well, the eternal Nikon vs. Canon conflict goes on. We’ll just have to wait and see who exactly rules the roost after the Canon is released.

The D300s has an MSRP of $1799.95, for the body only.

Honestly, it makes sense. Why buy a D3 when you can buy a D3x? The updated electronics make it a far better camera, if you can get past the crazy high price. Nikon might have made a little misstep there, charging $8000 for a camera that should have been priced at $5,500.

So farewell Nikon D3. So far this is only a rumor, but the majority of the retailers out there are out of stock, and have been for quite some time.

Nikon Rumors has heard that the new Leica X1 is actually made by Nikon, so it make sense that the manufacturing and technology is already in place for building a clone – particularly when you see how popular the new Leicas have been. The new camera will reportedly use the same sensor as the D300, which would be a very good thing.

The source also told the NR folks that the new camera may end up modeled after the old Coolpix, with the swivel display. I certainly hope not.

A few years ago the movement was to DSLRs. Everyone wanted one and a lot still do. But those of us that have been lugging around the cameras for a few years can tell you that they are a pain. What I want now is a high-quality pocket shooter just a step below a Micro Four Thirds camera – like the Leica X1. Hopefully Nikon has something planned because the Leica X1 is just a tad above my price range. I guess we’ll see in a week or two if this rumor pans out.

The physical camera is different in some subtle ways. There’s a dedicated live view button, a quiet shutter mode, and the door to the memory card hatch has been changed. Nikon also switched the control rocker switch to the style used in the D3 and D5000, and it’s a definite improvement.

Internally, things have been upgraded as well. The camera has a faster CPU, which allows for quicker auto focus. I have noticed that the 16-85mm lens that Nikon sent with the camera does seem faster, however I haven’t had a chance to test it on my D300 yet to get an accurate idea. The D300s does feel snappier then the D300. I’m not sure if that’s something that quantifiable or not, but I’ll let you know when I do the proper review.

For now, I went out and shot some 720p video for you, and I am impressed with that feature. There are a couple of things that I have notice about the video mode though, you will want to either be on a tripod, or have the VR set to “active”, and the auto-focus noise is really noticeable.

For now, here’s a gallery of the camera itself, and a sample video at the top of this post. If there is anything in particular you’d like me to check out or compare to the original D300, put it in the comments. I will be watching and try to answer for you.

It makes sense in a way, the full frame sensor probably can do higher quality video and better FPS. This information comes from a site in Australia, that said they got insider information that the new D3s will feature the full on 14fps and 1080p video. I guess we’ll have to wait until November 3rd to find out.

[via Nikon Rumors]

Regardless of the D300’s demise, it’s still a great camera, and well worth your photography dollar. Sure it doesn’t do video, but it does have the same 51 point auto-focus that the D300s does, it uses the same lenses, and the processing speed hasn’t been actually defined by Nikon as being that different.

Now, I do need to confess something here: I have a D300, and I love it. I haven’t been tempted to upgrade to a D300s, because I’m not convinced yet that there is that much different in the new model (aside from the video, which I haven’t tried and so can’t comment on). I will be reviewing a D300s soon, so maybe it will win me over.

As it stands, it is worth it to buy a D300? It’s still a truly great camera, and the price will definitely be dropping on what many considered to be the best prosumer camera available. One thing is certain: Nikon will want to move out the old inventory to make room for the new model.

Just a heads up – The Nikon S1000pj camera actually is not delayed, and it’s on target for Sept 17th for a sales start date. Let me know if you have any questions!

So either the PR guy is simply trying to save face for the company he represents or the camera is in fact going to be available in this month. We’ll find out on September 17.

It seems that Nikon ordered a lot more of the cameras to be manufactured and so it created the delay itself. This way there shouldn’t be any shortage of the 12.1 MP projector camera when it launches. We’re down with that.

impress via Engadget

The good news is that the D300s is available now and looks great.

The bad news is the movie mode still features major jelly-motion, and the autofocus is comically slow. We already got a taste of the HD movies with these official productions, but as we noted then, they avoided certain camera movements which embarrass the camera somewhat. Not now!

Nikon Rumors kindly documented the bits we’ve all been waiting to here about. Here’s that jelly effect we observed in the D90 (and 5D mk II):

And here’s the autofocus, which is contrast-based and as slow as death. Can this really be the maximum speed? I mean, other contrast-based focusing cameras are no faster, but it’s still ridiculous.

Though to end a good note, the 7FPS drive sounds great and looks super responsive (of course, there’s no lens so it’s not focusing or metering):

I’m sure it’s a great camera, but like all the other DSLRs, the video has some serious issues. Don’t let it stop you from getting a D300s, though — its movie mode is on par with any other DSLR’s.

The The LA Times notes that this isn’t a “shift” in consumer choice but a change in the way folks use phones. After all, people who use iPhones take lots of pictures and can send them to Flickr pretty easily? I’d wager that more people have iPhones, for example, than have Rebel XTis. And they definitely have more iPhones than 40Ds or Nikon D80s.

Sadly there’s no information regarding the use of disc film.