Pixiq

It has been reported on a number of web sites today that the Nikon Corporation has listed the D300s and D700 as discontinued products on its Nikon Japan sites.

This should hardly come as a surprise, since the company issue a statement during November 2011 detailing the consequences of a revision to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law in Japan, which was enacted on 20^th November 2008, and gave manufacturers a three-year period of grace to comply with new safety regulations pertaining to the manufacture and subsequent re-cycling of rechargeable batteries.

Consequently, the D300s and D700, along with a number of other Nikon D-SLR camera accessories, including the MB-D10 battery pack and EN-EL9 battery, are no longer available in the Japanese domestic market.

A number of other products that no longer comply with the new regulations, including the D3x, together with the EN-EL4a and EN-EL3e batteries will continue to be available in Japan and will be shipped to overseas markets as well.

In all probability the D300s (announced July 2009) and D700 (announced July 2008) had reached the end of their production life cycle in any event.

The impact of the changed regulations has already been seen in the development of the new EN-EL18 Lithium-ion battery and MH-26 charger for Nikon’s new professional D-SLR ‘flagship’ camera, the D4, and is behind the lack of compatibility between the D4 and the current D3-series battery, the EN-EL4a and its dedicated MH-21 and MH-22 chargers.

The Japanese Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) is staging its major camera trade fair, the CP+ 2012 Camera & Imaging Show, in Yokohama, Japan, between 9^th and 12^th February, so hopefully there’ll be some exciting announcements from Nikon concerning D-SLR cameras very soon!