Over the years, the British Journal of Photography has reviewed hundreds of cameras from the leading manufacturers. Here is a list of all digital SLRs and links to their BJP reviews (registration required).

It was the worst-kept secrets of the summer. Last Thursday, in an private briefing with BJP, under a Non-Disclosure Agreement, Canon was showing off its new EOS 50D digital SLR. And on Monday, Nikon was doing the same with its D90 camera featuring video capabilities.

However, these meetings just confirmed what many photographers knew for days if not weeks. The 50D had been the subject of numerous rumours and speculations, and even an official confirmation when Canon's Chinese website published the camera's full specifications ahead of its launch. The page was quickly pulled offline, but it was already too late: copies of the page reached forums and specialised websites, thanks in main part to Google's habit to host a cache of each page it indexes.

The same happened with Nikon, which saw the full specifications of its new DSLR published days before on websites such as Nikonrumors. In fact even Nikon UK's group marketing manager Jeremy Gilbert acknowledged the leak. 'I'm sure you've all gone to Nikonrumors, but this is the official announcement,' he told the many journalists attending the press briefing and hoping for some surprise announcement.

For full coverage of the new mid-range additions, check BJP's article on Canon EOS 50D and our preview of Nikon's D90. Our 03 September print issue will also feature extended coverage of the two new cameras.

The chatter is picking up about a new Nikon pro camera being released soon. Engadget, a subsidiary of AOL, is reporting sightings of the 24.5 million pixel resolution digital SLR, the D3x. While press contacts at Nikon UK are keeping quiet at the moment, it is the company itself that leaked the news through its own professional magazine. And if that wasn't enough, both Nikon USA and Nikon Germany websites have momentarily made available online pages about the D3x. Of course, the pages were take down within hours, but that was not fast enough for the thousands of photography fans who spend hours looking for any new product.

Hints of the new camera were even revealed in a Nikon D3 firmware update in April. Some clever photographers had found in that firmware the mention of a 24.4 million pixel resolution D3x DSLR. At the time we wrote: 'Nikon cameras, such as the D40 and its update the D40x, often share similar firmwares suggesting that the D3 firmware was developed alongside a new D3X model. If so, the D3X could be released later this year.' (BJP, 23 April)

The same happened in August when both Nikon and Canon were about to announce their D90 and 5D Mark II respectively. And the Nikon D700 wasn't spared either with a complete list of features made public weeks before Nikon officially announced the camera. Of course, Nikon and Canon are not the only victims: Sony also saw its Alpha 900 camera leaked a few days before launch.

With the exponential rise of the Internet, is the age of press embargoes over? If we come to think of it, with the thousands of employees Nikon has working on new products (from the conception to the promotion) in dozens of countries, isn't the news of a new product bound to be leaked before its official announcement? Websites have even been created by fans to collect all of these rumours.

Anyway, if you head over to Engadget's website, you'll learn all about this 24.5 million pixel resolution camera with a 5fps burst rate (or 7fps at 10 megapixels), an ISO range of 50-6400, 51 AF points, Live View, scene recognition features and a 3-inch wide monitor.

Or maybe Nikon leaked a fake pro magazine and two web pages to throw all of us off-track...

The photo of the upcoming Nikon D3x is now making the round on the Internet. Now, even retailers are posting images and news of the upcoming release of Nikon's new flagship professional camera. Here is one of the pictures that has circled the net over the past few days.

Nikon just announced the release of its new pro-digital SLR. The D3x features a 24.5 million pixel resolution CMOS sensor, 7fps in full resolution and an ISO range of up to 6400. For more about the camera, read our article on BJP Online.

Here are 10 photos of the new camera. More will come today.

Read More...

Here are the full specifications for the Nikon D3x camera.

* Nikon FX-format CMOS image sensor with 24.5 effective megapixels
* Exceptional noise control from ISO 100 to ISO 1600
* Fast 14-bit A/D conversion incorporated onto the image sensor for high signal-to-noise ratio and low power consumption
* Nikon’s EXPEED image-processing system, utilizing a supremely powerful CPU with 16-bit image processing
* Near-instantaneous shutter release time lag of approx. 0.04 second (based on CIPA Guideline)*
* 5-frames-per-second continuous shooting in FX format and 7 fps in DX crop mode (up to 130 frames)*
* 51-point Multi-CAM3500FX autofocus system
* Scene Recognition System for more accurate AF, AE, and AWB results
* Active D-Lighting for complete control over highlight and shadow detail
* Picture Control: Standard, Vivid, Neutral and Monochrome (Landscape, Portrait and D2x Modes I, II and III are available free via download)
* Live View mode for shooting handheld and with a tripod
* High-resolution (approx. 920k dots), 3-inch VGA-size LCD monitor with tempered glass
* Durable, lightweight magnesium-alloy construction and comprehensive weather sealing against dust and moisture
* Intelligent power management that lets you shoot up to approx. 4,400 frames on a single battery charge (based on CIPA Standards)
* Compatibility with the Nikon Total Imaging System

Effective pixels
24.5 million

Image sensor
CMOS sensor, 35.9 x 24.0 mm; Nikon FX format; total pixels: 25.72 million

Image size (pixels)
FX format (36 x 24): 6,048 x 4,032 [L], 4,544 x 3,024 [M], 3,024 x 2,016 [S]
DX format (24 x 16): 3,968 x 2,640 [L], 2,976 x 1,976 [M], 1,984 x 1,320 [S]
5:4 (30 x 24): 5,056 x 4,032 [L], 3,792 x 3,024 [M], 2,528 x 2,016 [S]

Sensitivity
ISO 100 to 1600 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 EV; can be set to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, or 1 EV (ISO 50 equivalent) below ISO 100, or to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1, or 2 EV (ISO 6400 equivalent) over ISO 1600

Storage media
CompactFlash(Type I/II, compliant with UDMA); Microdrives

LCD monitor
3-in., approx. 920k-dot (VGA), 170-degree wide-viewing-angle, 100% frame coverage, low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with brightness adjustment

Exposure metering
TTL full-aperture exposure metering using 1,005-pixel RGB sensor

1) 3D Color Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); Color Matrix Metering II (other CPU lenses); Color Matrix Metering (non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data)
2) Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 8-, 15- or 20-mm circle in center of frame, or weighting based on average of entire frame
3) Spot: Meters 4-mm circle (about 1.5% of frame) centered on selected focus area (on center focus area when non-CPU lens is used)

Exposure modes
1) Programmed Auto (P) with flexible program,
2) Shutter-Priority Auto (S),
3) Aperture-Priority Auto (A),
4) Manual (M)

Interface
Hi-speed USB

Power sources
One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL4a/EL4, Quick Charger MH-22/MH-21, AC Adapter EH-6 (optional)

Dimensions (W x H x D)
Approx. 159.5 x 157 x 87.5 mm (6.3 x 6.2 x 3.4 in.)

Weight
Approx. 1,220 g (2 lb. 11 oz.) without battery, memory card, body cap or accessory shoe cover

Filmed with a Nikon D90 (I recommend using a tripod to shoot with a D90, especially when you also have to manually focus the camera).

Launch event in London for the Nikon D3x pro DSLR camera:

2008 was a leap year, but it was also the year of the leaks (sorry for the bad pun!). Last year, six major new camera models were unveiled: the Canon 50D and 5D Mark II, the Nikon D90, D700 and D3x, and Sony's Alpha 900. In some cases, BJP and other magazines had signed embargoes preventing us from reporting on these cameras until their official launch day even when forums were publishing the full specifications ahead of that launch. One good example was the launch of the Nikon D3x, which was leaked by no-other than Nikon itself (see article here).

And now we are back with more leaks and rumours, and Nikon is the first one to be confronted to the problem this year. A Russian magazine is publishing this month an article about the "upcoming" Nikon D400 digital SLR.

The Russian magazine claims the D400 will have these specifications:
- 14.3 million pixel resolution CMOS sensor
- 100-6400 ISO range
- Frame rate: 7fps
- Compact Flash enabled
- 3-inch 922,000 pixels LCD screen
- Magnesium body
- 1080p HD video recording with 24fps.
- With a price tag of $2000.

So fake or leak? We would be inclined to say it's a fake, but judging by 2008's leaks...

Photographer Chase Jarvis is currently on a four-day shoot using the Nikon D3x. While that might not sound unusual, Jarvis has decided to share its experience with Nikon's flagship camera using Twitter and Facebook. He explains why:

Why Twitter and Facebook and not the blog? Well, I've got better on-the-fly access to both those platforms in my pocket via iPhone. Easy peasy. I'll do my best to summarize all this via the blog--perhaps in a video--as soon as I can; but until then, I'll give the down and dirty as often as I can from my pocket to yours. As such, I'm accepting Facebook friends and follower inquiries are welcome on my Twitter account.

You can follow him on Twitter here and on Facebook here. And while you're on Twitter, you can follow the latest photography news from BJP and 1854 here.

Today, Nikon UK invited journalists to discover the new D5000 digital SLR, the second Nikon camera with high-definition video capabilities after the D90. Here is a quick video shot with the D5000. Like its predecessor, the camera does not autofocus, you have to manually focus if you are panning around a room, which leads to heavy handshake (unless you use a balancing kit designed for video shoots).

And here is a slideshow of D5000 images (shot using a D300 camera).

Eight product shots of the new Nikon D5000 digital SLR. Read our full report here.

Seven more shots after the jump

If you were wowed by the full production quality of Vincent Laforet's film Reverie, shot on a Canon EOS 5D MkII, take a look at what Bill Frakes achieved with a Nikon D3s:

Shot on assignment for Nikon in Australia, and presented at the European launch of the D3s in St Andrews, it tells you much more about how photographers will be using DSLR cameras to capture video alongside stills in the near future. Reverie shows just what these cameras (and an army of assistants) are capable of, but it's a movie. Frakes' film tells me much more about how shooters can combine stills and motion to create really effective multimedia presentations that add more of a story element to their published pictures, and how online can work with and enhance the printed story.

Frakes, who shoots for Sports Illustrated, told us that as many as eight million readers see his pictures in the magazine, but his multimedia stories garner as many as 50 million hits, which drive visitors back to the magazine. (And who says multimedia doesn't pay?)

Frakes has used the D3s in extreme low light conditions in the film, but what's really interesting for me is that as they're combined together, the stills jump out from the video footage, proving that photographs still hold their arresting power in this environment.

There are, of course, many other examples of the effective use of stills and motion (Media Storm is a pretty good place to start your search), so let us know what's impressed you.