The Nikon DL cameras were announced way back in February of this year. They have been postponing the shipment date ever since. In June reports emerged that shipping will begin sometime later that month. This was after an April report that the camera will be delayed. As per recent reports it appears that the shipping date has been postponed again. The updated shipping date is October 2016.
In February Nikon announced three new DL cameras. These were the Nikon DL 18-50 f/1.8 – 2.8, the DL 24-85mm f/1.8 – 2.8 and the DL 24-500 f/2.8 – 5.6. These cameras are not your average 1” sensor based systems.

Nikon DL 18-50 f/1.8 – 2.8
The Nikon DL 18-50 f/1.8 – 2.8, e.g., offers the maximum aperture for the 18-50mm focal length range. The camera comes with a hybrid AF systems that combines 105 point phase detection points with 171 contrast detection points. It also comprises Nikon’s 6A processor.
Together, the camera can churn out a phenomenal burst rate of 20 frames per second. It is capable of shooting 4K / UHD videos at a decent 30 fps with full manual exposure adjustments. You can also direct clean output via the HDMI port to an external recorder. It has fluorine coating to prevent smudges and water and nano crystal coating to prevent ghosting and flares. There is no built-in flash on the DL 18-50 f/1.8 – 2.8. A hot-shoe has been provided to mount a compatible external flash unit.

Nikon DL 24-85mm f/1.8 – 2.8
The DL 24-85mm f/1.8 – 2.8 in turn has all the above features (except for the nano crystal coating) plus the ability to shoot 1:1 macro shots. It also has a pop-up flash.

Nikon DL 24-500 f/2.8 – 5.6
The DL 24-500 f/2.8 – 5.6 has the longest lens of the three cameras. Just like the DL 18-50 f/1.8 – 2.8 it too has fluorine coating to prevent ghosting and flares and nano crystal coating to prevent smudges, dirt and dust.
All the three cameras have a 3” OLED touchscreen at the rear of the camera and an optional electronic viewfinder. Except for the DL 24-500 f/2.8 – 5.6, which has a built-in tilting OLED electronic viewfinder and the OLED touchscreen being of the fully articulating variety. All cameras support Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth connectivity.
Technically, the cameras are very similarly built. They are all based on the same 20.8 megapixel 1” type sensor. Ergonomically, the design of the DL 24-500 f/2.8 – 5.6 is more DSLR type compared to the other two cameras. This one also has the more pronounced thumb rest at the back of the camera.
Rajib Mukherjee
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