Nikon has just announced they will be offering a “buffer expansion” service for locally purchased D3 cameras. The increased buffer will allow photographers to shoot 14bit RAW 36 shots (from 16 shots) in FX format before filling the buffer.

Memory expansion available for the D3 camera 

Nikon Australia is pleased to announce the availability of a memory buffer expansion for the D3. Nikon’s D3 currently features the highest performance capabilities, however some users have a need for large continuous sequence photography.  For this reason the optional buffer expansion has been made available.

When buffer memory is expanded, the number of shots possible with a single burst of continuous shooting is increased. This increase in shooting performance will expand the range of shooting possibilities.  See the supplied information chart for details.

As this upgrade is sold as a sales item, upgrades will only be available through Nikon Australia’s Service Centre at Lidcombe, NSW. This upgrade does involve both hardware and software so is not possible by the end user.

Nikon Australia will be subsidising the price of this upgrade for photographers who have purchased their D3 camera’s through Nikon Australia authorised resellers. The subsidised price of this upgrade will be under $600, which will include a firmware upgrade to the latest version plus cleaning of the sensor.

Please direct any inquiries regarding this matter to the Nikon Professional Services team indicated below.

Thank you for choosing Nikon for your photography needs.

Nikon Professional Service

Ph:       02 8748 5200
Fax:     02 8748 5274
npsaustralia@nikon.com.au

Number of shots possible per burst of continuous shooting after D3 buffer memory expansion

Image quality	Image size	FX format		DX format
		Before	After	Before	After
NEF (RAW) (12-bit lossless compressed)	－	18 shots	43 shots	28 shots	68 shots
NEF (RAW) (14-bit lossless compressed)	－	16 shots	36 shots	25 shots	58 shots
NEF (RAW) (12-bit compressed)	－	20 shots	44 shots	36 shots	87 shots
NEF (RAW) (14-bit compressed)	－	16 shots	37 shots	29 shots	64 shots
NEF (RAW) (12-bit uncompressed)	－	17 shots	38 shots	25 shots	61 shots
NEF (RAW) (14-bit uncompressed)	－	16 shots	36 shots	22 shots	54 shots
TIFF (RGB)	Large	17 shots	35 shots	20 shots	46 shots
	Medium	19 shots	42 shots	25 shots	59 shots
	Small	25 shots	61 shots	41 shots	101 shots
JPEG fine	Large	52 shots	119 shots	130 shots	130 shots
	Medium	92 shots	130 shots	130 shots	130 shots
	Small	96 shots	130 shots	130 shots	130 shots
JPEG normal	Large	74 shots	130 shots	130 shots	130 shots
	Medium	98 shots	130 shots	130 shots	130 shots
	Small	100 shots	130 shots	130 shots	130 shots
JPEG basic	Large	79 shots	130 shots	130 shots	130 shots
	Medium	100 shots	130 shots	130 shots	130 shots
	Small	100 shots	130 shots	130 shots	130 shots

 

Test conditions   See your camera’s reference manual for details.

High ISO NR set to Off, Active D-Lighting set to Off, Image authentication set to Off,

focus-mode selector set to [C] or [M], exposure mode set to [S] or [M], shutter speeds of 1/250 or faster, ISO sensitivity set to 200, release mode dial set to [CH] continuous high speed, Shooting speed set to 9 fps (FX format) or 11 fps (DX format), with 2 GB SanDisk Extreme IV (SDCFX4) memory card.

*All other settings at default values

Hot on the heels of the D700 announcement, Nikon have seen fit to offer firmware upgrades for the D3 and D300.

The D300 updates to ver. 1.03 and addresses an issue where the battery indicator blinks whilst shooting regardless of the battery charge state.

The D3 updates to ver. 2.00 and addresses a whole host of fixes and updates including improved auto focus and auto white balance.

Click for D300 updates Win and Mac

Click for D3 updates Win and Mac

Japan’s Press Club has awarded the Nikon D3 as the Camera Grand Prix 2008 Camera of the Year amongst 170 contenders. The Nikon D3 also won the Camera Grand Prix 2008 Readers Award.

More information about the award can be found by clicking here.

Nikon has released firmware version 1.11 upgrade for the D3 digital SLR. This upgrade addresses the image corruption issue introduced in version 1.10 earlier this year.

Apple Mac users can download the update HERE.
Windows users can download the update HERE.

Nikon has withdrawn it’s V1.10 firmware for the Nikon D3 from it’s website.

A snippet from Nikon’s website regarding the withdrawal.

On April 15, 2008, an announcement was made on the Nikon website that the Ver. 1.10 firmware update for the D3 digital-SLR camera was available for download. However, it has been confirmed that when the following settings are applied with the updated firmware, image data may, in some rare cases, be corrupted. Therefore, we have terminated the firmware update download. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.

The full article can be found HERE.

Nikon has released a firmware update to it’s flagship digital SLR, the Nikon D3, to version 1.10. The new firmware features the following:

1. A “Vignette Control” item has been added to the “Shooting Menu”.
2. A focus point brightness item has been added to the “a6: Focus point illumination” setting in the “Autofocus” category in the “Custom Settings”.
3. The “Highlights” playback display option has been moved from “Display mode > Basic photo info > Highlights” in the playback menu to “Display Mode > Detailed photo info > Highlights”.
4. When shutter speed and/or aperture are locked when shooting in LiveView mode, using the “L” (command lock) button, an “L” icon is now displayed in the camera monitor.
5. The size and color of “Demo” displayed in the monitor with playback, when “No memory card?” in the “Custom Settings” is set to “Enable Release”, have been modified.
6. The range of settings available for “ISO sensitivity settings > ISO sensitivity auto control > Minimum shutter speed” in the Shooting Menu has been increased from 1/250th - 1s to 1/4000s - 1s.
7. When a compatible Speedlight or Wireless Speedlight Commander is used, the AF assist illuminator now lights regardless of focal length.
8. When shooting in hand-held LiveView mode and the frame is magnified prior to autofocusing, operation has been modified so that display returns to the magnified display rather than full-frame display.
9. In some rare cases, white balance was not accurately calculated for images captured at a shutter speed of around 1/4s in P and A exposure modes. This issue has been resolved.
10. When attempting to crop images at an aspect ratio of 4:3 using the “Trim” option in the “Retouch” menu, the cropped image did not have an accurate 4:3 aspect ratio. This issue has been resolved.

The new firmware can be found here:
D3 v1.1.0 firmware for Windows
D3 v1.1.0 firmware for Apple Mac

If you’re looking to get in to photography and have the Nikon D300 in sight then have a look at our kit options. We’ve expanded our range of lens kits for the Nikon D300 to include eight options to suit everyone!
Check our range of Nikon D300 kits, HERE.

Want to extend further to a Nikon D3. We’ve made some ‘fast glass’ kits to satisfy both enthusiasts and professionals needs.
Check our range of Nikon D3 kits, HERE.

Digital Camera Warehouse has put together two new Nikon D3 kits for the serious photographer.

Combined with ‘fast glass’ these kits are every photographers dreams.

Kit 1. D3 + Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8

Kit 2. D3 + Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8

Sigma Corporation have advised that a number of Sigma lenses, when used with the Nikon D3, won’t be able to use the Auto DX crop function on the D3. Sigma will be giving a free upgrade to customers with affected lenses. The lenses affected are as follows:

DC lenses (Exclusive for digital SLR cameras with APS-C image sensor)

 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM - Serial Numbers lower than 2054001

10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM - Serial Numbers lower than 2160001

DG lenses(Lenses for 35mm format SLR cameras)

APO 300mm F2.8 EX DG HSM - Serial Numbers lower than 3013701

APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG HSM - Serial Numbers lower than 4022401

The upgrade addresses the following issues:

1. When the Nikon D3 is in Auto DX crop function and the 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM or 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM lens is attached, the image area format will not change to DX format automatically.
2. When the Nikon D3 is in Auto DX crop function and the APO 300mm F2.8 EX DG HSM or APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG HSM lens is attached, the image area format will be changed to DX format, even if the image area format is set to FX format or 5:4.

Customers in Australia can contact Sigma’s authorised Australian dealer CR Kennedy.