Nikon and Canon stake their claims to the PMA 2004 spotlight

The wires have been really buzzing these last few days. Nikon's worst kept secret for a long time, its new entry-level D70 DSLR, was officially announced yesterday, but also announced on the same day was the CoolPix 8700, an 8 megapixel replacement for the CoolPix 5700. And this morning, or lunch time in Japan, Canon has unveiled the astonishing 8 megapixel, 8.5 frames per second EOS-1D Mark II pro DSLR.

Of course, it's almost PMA time. In just two weeks the second most important photographic trade show of the year (Photokina at Cologne, Germany, in September is the biggie for 2004) will be in full swing at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

You can bet that Nikon and Canon's announcements are just the initial gentle lapping of a coming tsunami tide of industry announcements leading up to PMA 2004. Like last year, when we had big hands-on scoop with the Olympus E-1, We will be at the show, sending live updates.

So just what will Fujifilm, Olympus, Minolta, Kyocera/Contax, Sigma, Kodak and many others have to wrest the spotlight from Canon and Nikon? Watch this space!

In the mean time, here are links to Canon and Nikon's news from yesterday and today:

● Canon's EOS 1D Mark II: 69 Megapixels per second

● First ever zoom lens with DO elements

● Canon validates digital images with DVK-E2

● New EF28-300 f/3.5–5.6L IS USM lens from Canon

● Nikon introduces the D70 Digital SLR

● New 8.0 million pixel Coolpix 8700

● Nikon sets new direction with enhanced software offering

● Nikon Introduces Speedlight SB-600

● Nikon Introduces the Nikon Coolwalker

●AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G IF-ED Launched