I found this at the MMPhoto.com website.

January 25, 1999 U.S. Patent Office shows patents awarded for Nikon IS technology. "Macro" Photographic lens having long focal length and vibration compensation. Issued 12/98

-- Paul DiBiase (Paulcanada@hotmail.com), February 06, 1999

Answers

They sure seem to be trying hard. With HSM lenses and IS technology, they may yet catch up with Canon one of these days....Any eye control focus patents??

-- Bob Atkins (bobatkins@hotmail.com), February 07, 1999.

I would be curious to find out on the average how many pros rely on "eye control focus"?

-- Gary Wilson (gwilson@ffca.com), February 08, 1999.

Nikon is known to be conservative. In some cases, this is actually a good thing.

Canon had an exclusive license on ultrasonic motors, thus it took long for Nikon to introduce theirs. This was a big issue and they lost a lot of users to Canon. IS technology isn't really that big a deal. Perhaps they want to be sure of the durability of this kind of lenses. A lot of moving parts and all that.

As far as Nikon catching up with Canon, Canon has yet to introduce its first high-eyepoint viewfinder which is acceptable or good for use for people with glasses.

Ilkka

-- Ilkka Nissild (ilkka.nissila@hut.fi), February 08, 1999.

Last time I looked Canon did not offer RGB metering on any body, had no macro zoom lens, and (a biggy for me) no 500mm f/4 lens that will FULLY autofocus with a 1.4TC.

Nikon and Canon are making it so very hard for me to decide which system to buy into that I may keep both my old manual focus gear and my money!

-- Stanley McManus (Stanshooter@yahoo.com), February 09, 1999.

if you're waiting for one company to come up with a system that has all the pluses and none of the minuses then you will probably wait forever.

and even if you find a point in time when this is true, it will be untrue in a couple of months.

pick one and go with it. it's your only hope...

-- Sean Hester (seanh@ncfweb.net), February 09, 1999.

Advancements that I feel are truly useful:

image stabilization. No single technology will do as much to improve the sharpness of handheld photos, even at faster shutter speeds. IS has a more direct effect on image quality than anything else on this list. Unless you ALWAYS put your camera on a tripod, you can benefit from IS.

eye control focus. Laugh if you want. I've used it before -- it works and works well. (Maybe not for every user...) No real effect on image quality (you can focus other ways), but a huge effect on user interface to the camera.

RGB meter. Again, no real effect on image quality, unless you're in auto mode all the time. But it does make exposure decisions a lot easier for the photographer. You can trust the AE modes in more situations.

-- Russ Arcuri (arcuri@borg.com), February 10, 1999.

Is it possible to invoke the name "Nikon" without hearing some Canon user saying something? I usually don't bite into those discussions but I really wonder why they are always so defensive?

As some well known Photo.Netter once said (and please, don't ask who it is!), Canon users should be happy that the F5 (and I would add the F100) are better than Canon offerings, that way Canon will work to raise the bar.

And who really cares anyway? If you like the brand you are using, whatever it is, then good for you! Am I the only one who think like this or what?

L.P.

-- Louis-Philippe Masse (phisa@generation.net), February 13, 1999.

Louis -- A couple comments. First, I was not commenting on Nikon vs. Canon; I was commenting on what I feel are the most useful new camera technologies available now, regardless of the manufacturer. The Nikon engineers must realize that image stabilization is a very useful technology, since they've gotten patents for their use in a macro lens. And the RGB meter is undeniably something useful that Canon doesn't offer.

Second, you state (as if it were a fact) that the F5 and F100 are better than Canon's offerings. This is nonsense -- one camera can not be "better" than another unless you tie it to a specific task. For example, the Nikon F5 is the best camera if you're looking for maximum frame rate with focus tracking. The Canon EOS-1nRS is the best camera if you're looking for maximum frame rate period. The Canon Rebel G is the best camera if you're looking for the lightest camera to carry.

Discussions of which camera is "best" in general are a waste of time. Discussions of which camera is best suited to a given task are much more useful.

-- Russ Arcuri (arcuri@borg.com), February 16, 1999.

Russ, you got me wrong. My comments where not adressed specifically to you. My point was that I don't understand why some posters are so fanatical about their brands (I know that this doesn't apply only to Canon fans).

My comments on the F5 are in fact a citation (maybe not in the exact words since my memory is not very good) from a posting by Philp G. on the Photo.Net Q&A. What the reader should understand is whatever brand is the first to got this or that, all photographer will get benefit from it. History proved this is true (autofocus, autoexposure, motordrive, etc...).

I am sorry if you (or anyone) understood as another my brand is better thing. Blame it on my bad english!

You are absolutly right, those discussions are wastes of time. Maybe we all should spend less time in front of our computer and more behind our viewfinder. :-)

Best regards,

lp

-- Louis-Philippe Masse (phisa@generation.net), February 17, 1999.

I know that I prefer Nikon build quality. Subjective!! I know that I have Parkinsons. Objective (well almost). If Nikon (or dare I say Sigma) get their act together Nikon will stay a respected active friend rather than retired. Any hope Nikon? I am a good test bed Nikon U.K.

-- john latter (l@tter.nu), August 19, 2001.