Sunday, February 05, 2006

Nikon D200 Banding Issue

A reputable Nikon user posted at DPReview, a popular digital photography website, saying that Nikon Hong Kong had confirmed the banding issue with the newly released Nikon D200 digital single lens reflex (dSLR) camera.

According to the message posted by Mr. Lin as confirmed by a Nikon Hong Kong representative, the issue was caused by faulty CCD technology. Nikon could manage to minimize the problem, but was not able to eliminate it. The banding issue of showing vertical strips on the boundary of high contract objects has been staying at the center of a consumer turmoil since it was first reported two months ago. Nikon never officially acknowledged it, nor did Nikon deny the existing of the problem. Traditional medias have been circumventing the issue, white online photography sources have been giving mixed reviews. The most authoritative digital photography website, the DPReview has not published an official review in more than two months, unprecedentedly for a major Nikon product release.

Nikon has been seriously lagging behind Canon in the past few years in digital camera release. Nikon has not released any full frame dSLR, while Canon has been enjoying the higher-end market exclusively with its 1DS M II and 1DN M II, and 5D. Nikon was also crashed by Canon in the lower end consumer level digital cameras (DC). Three years after Nikon D100, D200 was terribly overdue in terms of marketing. If the unrepairable flaw is confirmed, this might be the last star that crashed the camel.

Mr. Matthew Lin is a member of Nikon Historical Society and a long time Nikon user and collector. His website features an impressive collection of Nikon gears, as well as excellent photography works produced by himself over dozens of years using Nikon equipments.

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