Update on new Nikon/Canon cameras: RAW support, manuals and ship dates

Shipping updates on the Nikon D800 and D4, Canon 1DX and 5D Mark III. Plus, Apple (for once!) has support for RAW formats from Day Zero for SOME of the cameras coming to market, and Adobe does a better job of RAW support for Day Zero for these cameras.

Quick update:

So, one at a time:

SHIPPING UPDATES

Nikon D800: expected to ship March 20-22nd (800E April 16th....ish) UPDATE - DOWNLOAD THE FULL MANUAL NOW

Nikon D4: has started shipping in Europe and Australia, there are unboxing pics and unboxing videos already online. Rumor time - at least early units (non-NPS, possibly) are including a 16GB XQD card and reader. Why the free love? Perhaps since Sony is the only manufacturer and the D4 is the only camera currently supporting it, they wanted to prime the pump and get folks to start using them to see the potential benefits. You can download the D4 manual if you're curious to learn more, or if you have one on order (like I do). In theory, starts shipping by March 22nd at the latest for the first orders.

Canon 5D Mark III: expected to deliver March 22nd. Expect lots of reviews the couple of days thereafter. LOTS of stock expected.

Canon 1DX: B&H is now taking pre-orders for $6799 with an expected late April delivery. Limited availability expected, so if you want one, order NOW. UPDATE - Amazon taking pre-orders too.

RAW SOFTWARE SUPPORT

Apple made Digital Camera RAW Compatibility update 3.10 available today, and it includes RAW support for the Nikon D4. Yay! But not the D800 or Canon 1DX or Canon 5D Mark III. Boooooo. Since Apple typically only releases these updates every few months, this could mean quite the wait for the Nikon D800, Canon 5D Mark III or Canon 1DX for iPhoto and Aperture users. On a bright note, the Canon G1X is supported.
New supported RAW formats from these cameras:


Canon PowerShot G1 X
Nikon D4
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GX1
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ35
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ38
Samsung NX200
Sony Alpha NEX-7
Sony NEX-VG20


Meanwhile, Adobe released Lightroom 4 (final version, not the public beta that has been out for a while), which among other things (like cutting the price in half to $150 to compete with the new $80 Aperture price tag), supports ALL FOUR of the new Nikon and Canon cameras. Kudos to the Adobe team!

I'm eagerly anticipating my D800 and D4 cameras' arrival, and plotting out where I'll be using them on May 20th to film the totally awesome total eclipse of the sun.

-mike