[R2D2]

OMG! Nikon has announced the 800mm F/5.6 super telephoto today with a stratospheric MSRP of US $17,900 (Rs 9.85L). Availability is April '13.

A prototype of this lens was used in the London Olympics in July/Aug 12 by Leon Neal. Check the sample photos & size comparisons.

http://www.leonneal.com/blog/portfol...-f5-6-preview/

The lens comes with a dedicated tele-converter/extender that changes the FL to 1000mm @ F/7.1.

It weighs 4.6 Kgs - lighter than the 600mm and the same weight as the 400mm super telephoto.

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens...d_vr/index.htm

If you look at the MTF charts this lens is probably as close to optically perfect as it can get. Unbelievably so.

It will be interesting to see how many takers it has at this price. Makes Canon's 800mm look reasonably priced @$13,250. This lens weighs 4.5 Kgs.

This 800mm monster was released together with another lens the Nikkor 18-35 F/3.5-4.5G priced at a more earthly $750.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by R2D2

It will be interesting to see how many takers it has at this price. Makes Canon's 800mm look reasonably priced @$13,250. This lens weighs 4.5 Kgs.

This 800mm monster was released together with another lens the Nikkor 18-35 F/3.5-4.5G priced at a more earthly $750.

The 800mm has 18K as the nikon price. Once it comes to street, expect go get one for 16K USD. A year or two later, price will drop to 14-15K USD

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

The 800mm has 18K as the nikon price. Once it comes to street, expect go get one for 16K USD. A year or two later, price will drop to 14-15K USD

If only that would happen. Doesn't hold true any more. Nikon holds its prices near MSRP in the US.

This is since early 2012 after a change in corporate policy forbids retailers to offer direct discounts. They are allowed to offer only freebies with a select range of products or during Nikon's own promotional schemes.

For e.g. the Nikon 600mm F/4 has a MSRP of 10,300 USD retails for 9800. The 400mm F/2.8 @ an MSRP of $9550 is listed for $9000 at B&H. And these are lenses that were introduced in 2007. The very popular 70-200 F/2.8 has a MSRP of $2400 and sells for $2,396.

All MSRP prices taken from Nikon USA's website and retail prices from B&H.

Europe is even more expensive after conversion.

I expect this lens to be at Rs 12-14L in India and we may get discounts on that.

[athanedar]

Thinking of buying D3200 as a gift for friend. Found this fabulous deal on amazon.
Is this a worth going for?
It has everything camera, carrying bag, tripod, 18-55mm lens, 55-200mm lens, 16GB memory card, filter & Wide angles lens kit for USD 790 + shipping & tax.
Also thinking of buying the wireless shutter remote

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Digital-...n+d3200+bundle

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by athanedar

Thinking of buying D3200 as a gift for friend. Found this fabulous deal on amazon.
Is this a worth going for?
It has everything camera, carrying bag, tripod, 18-55mm lens, 55-200mm lens, 16GB memory card, filter & Wide angles lens kit for USD 790 + shipping & tax.
Also thinking of buying the wireless shutter remote

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Digital-...n+d3200+bundle

If you are shopping online in the U.S. for photo equipment, my recommendation is to not look beyond Adorama and B&H. Most reliable and honest.

The Amazon listing is a kit actually sold by Cameta Camera. If it's too good to be true it probably is. B&H's best price for a similar kit but with a D3100 body is $925.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by StarScream

If you are shopping online in the U.S. for photo equipment, my recommendation is to not look beyond Adorama and B&H. Most reliable and honest.

The Amazon listing is a kit actually sold by Cameta Camera. If it's too good to be true it probably is. B&H's best price for a similar kit but with a D3100 body is $925.

A word of warning about B&H. They have started using USPS in "free shipping" so loss and damage to package is quite possible.
That said, any seller with good ratings on resellerratings.com or pricegrabber/froogle should be good enough.

[athanedar]

Originally Posted by StarScream

If you are shopping online in the U.S. for photo equipment, my recommendation is to not look beyond Adorama and B&H. Most reliable and honest.

The Amazon listing is a kit actually sold by Cameta Camera. If it's too good to be true it probably is. B&H's best price for a similar kit but with a D3100 body is $925.

What do you think will the problem be with Cameta? Will they send me a preowned or refurbished camera?
I checked reviews of Cameta and found it to be alright. I also checked other deals for example www.Costco.com ( very reliable wholesale retailer with 3 month return policy) and I am getting almost the same deal. It looks like Nikon is giving 200$ discount on the D3200 as limited time promotion.

[SPARKled]

Finally got my D800E in my hands. Boy does it feel good in the hands or what. Initial tests suggest all the AF points are working fine so that is one huge tension gone. These internet reports sure make a mountain out of a mole hill. Now I have to get some fast cards to handle the huge files and which clear the buffer quickly. Whats the best place to buy fast CF cards in India. I see a lot variation in prices across different stores.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

Finally got my D800E in my hands. Boy does it feel good in the hands or what. Initial tests suggest all the AF points are working fine so that is one huge tension gone. These internet reports sure make a mountain out of a mole hill. Now I have to get some fast cards to handle the huge files and which clear the buffer quickly. Whats the best place to buy fast CF cards in India. I see a lot variation in prices across different stores.

Congrats!

Get the Sandisk Extreme Pro CF and Extreme Pro SD cards (90 and 95 MB/s). Or the Lexar equivalents.

These 2 brands are the best and recommended by Nikon to be fully compatible with the camera. If on a budget get the Sandisk Extreme cards which clock 60 MB/s

Don't waste money on stuff like Transcend. They tend to give errors and you really don't want that on a trip.

smartshoppers.in has decent prices.

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Congrats!

Get the Sandisk Extreme Pro CF and Extreme Pro SD cards (90 and 95 MB/s). Or the Lexar equivalents.

These 2 brands are the best and recommended by Nikon to be fully compatible with the camera. If on a budget get the Sandisk Extreme cards which clock 60 MB/s

Don't waste money on stuff like Transcend. They tend to give errors and you really don't want that on a trip.

smartshoppers.in has decent prices.

Thanks a lot. Yes I am looking at Extreme pros but they seem quite expensive here. Looks like I have to get them from B&H.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by athanedar

What do you think will the problem be with Cameta? Will they send me a preowned or refurbished camera?
I checked reviews of Cameta and found it to be alright. I also checked other deals for example www.Costco.com ( very reliable wholesale retailer with 3 month return policy) and I am getting almost the same deal. It looks like Nikon is giving 200$ discount on the D3200 as limited time promotion.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong and maybe this is a great deal. But, think about it, if Adorama and B&H cannot come anywhere close to that price (D3200 + 18-55 VR kit is $600 at Adorama), Cameta has to cut corners somewhere.

Now, maybe its just that B&H and Adorama have sold out stocks with the $200 rebate, but even Costco prices the camera + 2 lens kit at $780. How is Cameta managing to give you so much?

If I had to choose, I'd go with Costco.

[SPARKled]

Cameta is a one of the best dealers for refurbished or demo equipment. For used KEH is the best. If the item you are buying is refurbished or factory demo they will clearly state it. If it says its new it will be. Cameta is a very reliable and can be trusted without doubt.

[nilanjanray]

I downloaded Nikon Capture NX2 and am liking it. The colours come out far better than in UFRaw or Picasa when viewing raw files.

Is it worth purchasing once the trial version runs out? Perhaps Google will incorporate Nik's features in future versions of superPicasa

I could also stick to ViewNX2 which is free and use GIMP for further processing.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

I downloaded Nikon Capture NX2 and am liking it. The colours come out far better than in UFRaw or Picasa when viewing raw files.

Is it worth purchasing once the trial version runs out? Perhaps Google will incorporate Nik's features in future versions of superPicasa

I could also stick to ViewNX2 which is free and use GIMP for further processing.

Native app always gives better colors than third part apps unless you are using native profiles.
Rawtherapee has Native ICC profiles created specifically for most Nikons. I created some for D7000 mylself. do try that out.
But remember, NX2 will probably beat everything else(including lightroom) as far as "default color reproduction" is concerned.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Native app always gives better colors than third part apps unless you are using native profiles.
Rawtherapee has Native ICC profiles created specifically for most Nikons. I created some for D7000 mylself. do try that out.
But remember, NX2 will probably beat everything else(including lightroom) as far as "default color reproduction" is concerned.

Yes, I did some research before downloading CNX2.

So here is the workflow I am favouring:
1. Make WB, exposure, local adjustments (which I seldom do) etc. adjustments in Capture NX2.
2. Save as a TIFF file
3. Make further adjustments - if required - in GIMP

I don't think I will buy CNX2, will see if I can get along with ViewNX2.