And the winner is?

(Not the P6000)

Yes the camera introduced at this years Photokina is past the vaporware stage and now into the pre-production stage. The Fujifilm 3D is a 6 megapixel camera with dual sensors that uses special processing to combine the images from the two sensors into a 3D image, which can be displayed on the special LCD that displays 3D images. Cnet Asia has the hands on first look at the Fujifilm 3D:

the LCD is probably one of the more advanced displays we’ve come across. There are two sources on the sides of the screen and they will display the information captured through the two lenses independently. Each source has a refresh rate of 60 frames per second and as the sources alternate to and fro, a 3D effect is achieved. But what was rather impressive about the display was that the image engine does all the rendering in real time, meaning that you can view the scene in 3D before taking the picture. The snapper is also able to record video clips in 3D.

-Cnet Asia

Fuji is developing a 3D photo frame to go with it, as well as a lenticular printer. Get the preview here, in the meantime, is it me, or does the above look a lot like Wall-E?

PopPhoto doesn’t take long to get to the most talked about aspect of the Sony A900, no not the resolution of the sensor, we’re talking about that viewfinder. It seems Sony’s fond of touting it too:

Talk to anyone at Sony about this camera for more than 30 seconds, and you’ll hear about the big, bright viewfinder with 100-percent accuracy. Basically, that means what you see is what you get when framing your images through the viewfinder. And with a magnification of 0.74X, you get a large image, too.

The Nikon D700 matches the Alpha 900’s magnification, but only delivers 95-percent accuracy. Canon says that its new 5D Mark II has 98-percent accuracy and 0.71X magnification.

-PopPhoto

They go on to declare the A900 a winner, based largely on the resolution, viewfinder, and fast AF. There were some negatives, some color accuracy issues for example, but nothing to scare off the curious. I still find it looking somewhat unelegant, but I’ll admit it is growing on me.

Get the review here.

Get the camera here at Amazon or from B and H Photo Video.

Kamera & Bild discusses those December 1st Nikon Events (see here and here):

Xmas comes early for all Nikon owners. Nikon is calling a press conference December 1 to show off their latest.

We earlier wrote on how Nikon in Denmark called a press conference for October 22 and then shifted this to November 20. Even this date was later withdrawn.

Now we think this is really coming - but what is it that is coming?

In the original danish press leak there was an association to studio photography which got many hoping for a high MP camera from Nikon. The buzz / rumour on the net is that Nikon sharing sensors with Sony’s new 24mp A900 announced in the fall.

There’s also expectation of a successor to the D60 12mp and live view. Also the same sensor tech as in the D90. One question that arises is what that body will be called - surely not D70 or D80…

D60 to replace the D40 as the cheapest Nikon model. This will most likely happen in the January Las Vegas electronics show.

-Kamera & Bild / (translation courtesy Julian via DPR

Follow the discussion here.

Shoot out between the Nikon D700 and the Nikon F5 in this 100% objective and scientific test.

h/t nikonrumors.com

Alienware has announced a new lens simulating plugin for Photoshop simply called Bokeh and to be released in December.

Bokeh can draw attention to your subject by manipulating focus and depth of field after the shot has been taken. From changing the depth of field to placing a radial sweet spot and adding a vignette, Bokeh provides many techniques for realistic blurring and altering the mood of a scene.

Bokeh is the only software that accurately simulates the distinctive blurring and creamy highlights of real lenses. Terence Tay, Bokeh’s designer, performed careful experiments with lenses famous for their bokeh highlights, such as the Canon® EF 85mm f/1.2 II and the Nikon® 105mm f/2.8 Macro. The result is a photo-realistic look, in contrast to the unnatural blur from other software.

-Alienware Software

I use Alienware’s Exposures plugin quite a bit, so I know they do good work over there. Check the site because they have a video demonstration of the plugin at work over there that seems pretty interesting.

Another good review for the Canon Powershot SX10 IS (yes the one sporting the 20x zoom lens) courtesty Digital Camera Review:

While Canon has trailed the competition for some time in lens size within the digital ultrazoom market segment, they’re back in the game in a big way with the 20x zoom on the new SX10 IS. The camera offers good shutter and AF performance, good image color and quality, and a simple and easy to use movie capability for those who are so inclined. But it’s that big lens that stretches from 28 to 560mm that takes the prize here.

-Digita Camera Review

Get the rest of the review here, and I’ll just add is it me, or is the look of the Powershot SX10 IS a wee bit chubby?

Shun Cheung reviews the Nikon D700 for Photo.net, and as expected by now, the Nikon D700 comes out as the best of both worlds: as fully capable as the Nikon D3, and as compact as the Nikon D300. We’ve gone over most of this before, but in my opinion, the Nikon D700 is the best out there for the money (though I’m confident the 5D Mark II is going to soon make this more difficult to say). From Cheung’s review:

In other words, the D700 is another 12MP DSLR that has start-of-the-art high ISO results that is extremely suitable for indoor wedding and event photography under dim light, although those wedding photographers who prefer the absolute safety to guard against memory card failures may prefer the dual CF slots in the D3. Just like the D3 and D300, it also has Nikon’s current best AF module in the Multi-CAM 3500, making it very suitable for action photography. However, for those who photograph action with a high frame rate, you need to add the MB-D10 battery pack to achieve 8 fps, and with the MB-D10 attached, the D700 becomes a really bulky and heavy camera, somewhat taller than the D3 around the top of the viewfinder.

-Shun Cheung/Photo.net

Just so everyone’s clear, the Nikon D700 is on my gift list.

You can get the Nikon D700 at Amazon for $2696 or from B and H for $2699.95.

The Sony Cybershot DSC-T77 features a 10 megapixel sensor, 3 inch LCD, 4x zoom, and the same slim stylings (slimmer even) as the Cybershot DSC-T700, which has the 4GB of internal storage, and 3.5 inch LCD. If you’re going on looks alone, the DSC-T77 wins hand down, with terrific styling, sometimes at the expense of functionality (not the easiest camera to hold). In a review at Camera Labs, Gordon Laing discusses that very thing:

The touch-screen may be fun at times, but at others it can prove infuriating, forcing you to tap multiple times to confirm an option – and that’s a best-case scenario when every tap is recognised. Different ergonomics should enhance or at least match traditional controls and user interfaces, but there’s many times when the T77’s touch-screen slowed us down and was unnecessarily laborious. It sometimes got in the way of photo opportunities, which is unforgiveable for a camera. Of course this is very much a personal thing and you may find the touch-screen quick, easy and intuitive to use. But we found it infuriating more times than not. Ergonomically, the tiny joystick is further insult over injury.

-Gordon Laing/Camera Labs

The emphasis with the T77 is clearly style. If you’re looking for the best picture, the T77 isn’t going to beat its competitors, but it is loaded with camera geek features like face detection, smile shutter, paintbrush, and it does take pretty good pictures, and for certain it has the competion beat in the looks department.

You’ll find the Sony Cybershot DSC-T77 here at Amazon as well as at B and H Photo Video.

So exciting:

All is anticipation about Nikon Australia’s “most exclusive event of the year” on December 1st. They aren’t saying what it is as usual but WE ALL KNOW IT’S THE DBIG!!! (Look out for our “Inclusive” announcement on our website December 2nd).

-ECS

This is just confirmation from yesterday’s news of a big Nikon event in China. So something is happening on December 1st. Obviously the hopes are centered around a new camera, the possibilities being:

• 24mp D3x
• 16mp D400
• MX format camera

The reality is that a Nikon event could just as well introduce any new product, say a printer, or software, or upcoming holiday incentives…still we’ve got our fingers crossed.

h/t nikonrumors.com