Here’s that Nikon D40x DSLR that’s been bumped up to 10.2 megapixels from its D40 brandmate, with 3fps shooting instead of the 2.5fps of the D40, as well as longer battery life and slightly wider ISO range.

Hands on, this camera feels more like a camera than it does a computer. It’s solid, though small. It’s hefty feeling, without all the extra crap attached. This camera, like most high end Nikons even gives the “click” of an SLR. The $799 price for this isn’t un-realistic

Plus there’s that long image-stabilized 18-200mm Nikon lens. That aside, this camera’s definitely on the bang-for-the-buck radar.

Nikon releases the new D40X. yes, thats right… now the D40 comes with an X!! Oh wait. No seriously though. Nikon updated their D40’s with some intresting technology. Some of the newer upgrades on this 10.2 megapixel DSLR includes faster continuous shooting, a wider ISO sensitivity, and the “Retouch” menu that enables one to improve red-eye, contrast, and color issues on-the-fly without resorting to a computer. Paparazzi near you will pick this up for about $800 next month, I’d imagine. Only $200 more than the regular D40.

Nikon is keeping on the camera Radar with the S50c. This camera has a 7 mega-pixel resolution and a 3x zoom which are traditional for this style almost. These lenses may be some of the lenses that caught some good reviews but that is still out for judgement.

This camera excels because of the WiFi. You can email the shots you take, and Nikon is offering you up to 2GB of their server space for each camera sold. If you get to an access point, you can save pictures so you really don’t need a memory card.

Sounds good, but with all of these periscope lenses, we’ll have to see how the quality is around the edges. Some blogs are also complaining about the rated shots per charge (130), which seem low. The S50 is available in black, without WiFi.

Recently, Digital SLR cameras have been a dream for all, but affordable for few. The D40 was made much more point-and-shoot, and more compact for the sheer accessibility of the camera. This camera was made for the people who want the possibility of taking the nice picture, but really aren’t sure how.

The D40 is significantly cheaper than it’s big brother the D50, but it does something that most camera companies don’t’ do. It holds back on the mega-pixels at a very average 6 mega-pixels. What it does, is concentrate on the important part, a good quality camera. This camera shortens the Shutter lag, giving you a good picture, and the moment post-snap wont affect that. The blackout of the viewfinder is also shortened, so you see your picture quickly, giving you an opportunity for a quick second shot, if the first wasn’t what you wished.

The viewfinder on this is actually decent. Shocking, I know, but it actually is made for normal eyes, and better picture taking. It also does a JPEG continous take, and in-camera retouching. It runs on the SD memory, which is super easy to find for everyone. This is a $599 camera, and I agree that’s not for every ones price range. Yet, I’ve heard no complaints about it and the new features would give the average SLR/Digi owner a good reason to give it a look.

When it comes to features, Nikon was not being stingy when they created the D80. It has them all.

Reviewing, Playback and Sharing

The 2.5 inch screen does a good job of showing you your files with it simple navigation featuring a rocker control. Set-up this way, it is more user-friendly unlike the old plus/minus buttons and thumb wheel.

Shooting

A half press of the shutter button over-rides all other modes to set the camera back to shooting mode. This screen also holds information needed about settings of the camera. This includes an estimate of the card capacity and a battery level indicator. The battery life is far more sophisticated than older models, averaging 12 hours before needing charged.

Image quality

With an increase in pixel count of 67%, it produces some very sharp and high quality images. The D80 also features in-camera editing features D-Lighting (shadow / highlight enhancement), red-eye reduction, trimming, monochrome filter effects, small picture, and image overlay.

Though the D80 has many great features, those used to the D70 may not be comfortable with the new and improved version because of the smaller size and the switch of memory cards from CF to SD. However, this is a great improvement from its predecessor and I recommend for anyone wanting to strengthen their photography.

It’s been a great year for digital cameras in the US and proof is seen in the rise in their share prices. Canon Inc.’s U.S.-listed shares rose more than 40 percent last year. Nikon Corp.’s American depositary shares, though thinly traded, rose more than 34 percent. Eastman Kodak Co. rose 10 percent.

One of the main reasons for this being many of us traded-in our old cameras for new ones with more features. Another attraction was the fall in prices of proved models, which made opting for a new one with more features more enticing.

U.S. retail sales in October show Nikon up 51 percent, Sony up 33 percent and Canon up 30 percent – all indicating this need for an upgrade in digital camera for the average American every one and a half to two years.

However, market analysts say the surge in U.S. sales will likely slow down in 2007, as another replacement cycle will begin.

The Nikon Coolpix L3 is great for any one who is not interested in all the bells and whistles in their camera and just want something that is simple, straight forward, and “gets the job done.” The camera is a 5 megapixel digital camera and features a 3x optical zoom lens. It takes exceptionally great pictures in the day time outdoors. Picture quality is not that great indoors or in areas where lighting is even a little bit dark, but regardless, the Coolpix L3 is a great camera for anybody looking for something simple without having to spend a fortune.
Like mentioned before, the picture quality of this camera outdoors is excellent. It is able to balance and counteract the sun’s glare to create a very sharp and detailed image. One of its major shortcomings however, is its long shutter lag time. It takes anywhere from 1.5-2 seconds to actually take a picture between the time when you clicked the button to take the picture and the picture was taken. Many other cameras have a lag time of over half a second.
Still, the Coolpix L3 comes with a number of built in scene modes including portrait, sports, beach, dusk, dawn, fireworks, night, sunset, and more. It features a high quality 2 inch LCD screen, but no view finder is available.
Movies can also be taken with this camera at a rate of 30 frames per second. One of the cool movie making features of this camera is that you can zoom in and zoom out as you are taking the video to create special effects or to make things look bigger or smaller than they really are.
Overall, the Nikon Coolpix L3 is a great digital camera for anybody who just wants a simple easy to use camera that is affordable and has all the necessary features. If you want to become a professional, this is not the camera for you, but it is great for recreational use.

You can view more information about the Nikon Coolpix L3 at Amazon.

The new Nikon D80 camera is a smaller lighter version of the D70 with far more features at the same starting price of just under $1000. This is a great camera if you are interested in photography and it is a real passion of yours, or you hope to work your way up to being a professional photographer. It is a great starting camera for anyone who is seriously interested in photography, not just for casual use to photograph the kids and your family, unless you have a large budget. ($1000 is a lot for a camera. There are many cameras that retail at under $300 that have many of features that the D80 has. The D80 just has a lot of extra features that professionals love to use to make sure that their photo is perfect.)

This camera has a huge view finder which is always helpful and displays the photos you take on a high quality 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Nikon D80 uses theEN-EL3e rechargeable lithium-ion battery as the D200 and has a lot in common with the Nikon D200. They both have a 10 MP sensor, a very large view finder, the same 2.5 inch LCD screen, and many other features. The D200 has the same quality as the D90 but costs almost $700 more than the D90 as it retails at $1,699. Nikon is one of the most well respected camera production companies in the world so if you are looking into getting a quality Nikon camera, the Nikon D80 will probably be your best bet at finding a quality camera with all the features you need without spending thousands and thousands of dollars. The camera is 5.2 inches long, 4.1 inches wide, and just over 2 inches tall. It weighs almost one and a half pounds at 21 oz without a battery or memory card so it may be a bit heavier when you are actually taking photographs and have the memory card and battery in the camera.

There is a lot of software that comes with the camera and a lot more that can be purchased from outside sources to edit and improve your photographs. When printed, photos from the Nikon D80 are absolutely stunning and you can easily print very large pictures is as high quality as you can little 3 inch by 5 inch postcard size pictures

You can pick up the Nikon D80 at Amazon.com.

According to this press release on the Nikon UK website, it looks like they’re starting the process of phasing out certain film-based cameras and equipment.

As a result of the new strategy Nikon will discontinue production of all lenses for large format cameras and enlarging lenses with sales of these products ceasing as soon as they run out of stock. This also applies to most of our film camera bodies, interchangeable manual focus lenses and related accessories. Although Nikon anticipates that the products will still be in retail distribution up to Summer 2006.

There aren’t any more details about what specific camera bodies and lenses will be discontinued, but they do point out that a few film bodies are around to stay:

In recognition of Nikon�s commitment to professional photographers we will continue to manufacturer and sell the F6, our flagship film model, as well as a number of manual interchangeable lenses. Sales of the manual FM10 will also continue outside Europe.

There are also a list of manual-focus lenses that will remain in production listed at the bottom of the press release.