Nikon Announce the New Retro Full Frame Nikon DF DSLR
I was only talking to someone the other day about how bulky and cumbersome DSLR's can be these days. Especially when shooting for a full day. Like everything, it seems we are heading back in time and going all retro.
Nikon are following in the footsteps of Olympus and their recent release of the compact Stylus 1, and the OMD-EM5. They have now announced what I personally think is a stunning looking DSLR, the Nikon DF.
Maybe this will appeal more to the "older" photographers. Those of us that remember these original styling's back in the 70's and 80's. They give me a real nostalgic feeling as I always dreamed of owning a Nikon F4 but never did. I wonder how many kids out there will dream of owning one of these?
The camera features:
I like the fact that Nikon have kept the megapixels to a sensible 16.3MP. No more flogging that "dead marketing horse" that is the megapixel race. Still, in terms of marketing, companies now have to turn to other ideas to keep sales flowing. Having a smaller, retro body that has all the power of the current DSLR's might just work.
Product Highlights
Just to prove how retro this camera is...it has no video!
That is surprising to me and it will be interesting to see how this is taken up with modern photographers. Die-hard professionals will love this, having more room for true photography related goodness inside and removing the temptation to film stuff instead of shooting it...
Personally, even though I love shooting video, I would love to spend a day with one of these. It would mean forcing myself to ONLY think about photography in its purest form. Even looking at the tightly machined grooves on the controls and dials above brings back so many memories.
I can just feel it now!
Just look at this all you 40+ year old photographers out there, aren't you just blasted back in time?
Look! It's even got a thread in the shutter release for an old style cable release : )
That is one stunning looking camera and I am hoping to grab a copy of one of these and give it a full review soon. In the meantime, you can head over to B & H Photo Video in New York to read up more or even to place a pre-order below: