Nikon offers to beef up buffers for D3 users

Lori Grunin | Aug 01, 2008

Nikon has issued a service note with some nice news for D3 owners: For US$500 and a trip to the service center--for your camera, not you--the company will take your D3 and double its burst raw (as well as big JPEGs and TIFF) shooting buffer capacity. (Check if this applies to the Nikon service center in your country.) A handy-dandy chart in the notice indicates, for example, that the buffer for 14-bit uncompressed full-resolution raw files will jump from 16 to 36 frames.

Cynics might claim that Nikon's doing this to leapfrog the Canon EOS-1D's 20-frame buffer, but I don't think sports, catwalk or wildlife shooters are going to care about the why. And as far as we know, this is the first time a manufacturer has offered a physical upgrade for a camera that wasn't a fix.

Via CNET Crave

Update: Nikon Singapore has told us it is offering the upgrade at a cost of S$780 before tax. You have to leave your D3 with the service center for 7 to 10 days while the technicians increase the memory for the buffer circuit board. As for other parts of Asia, check with your local Nikon office to see if it is offering the same service. Click here to find out more.

Filed under: Digital Cameras
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