>I've seen several references here to Moose Peterson, and I've enjoyed >his website. One nagging question. Does he work for Nikon, or is he >independent? I know he's a fine photographer...but I do wonder if his >opinions about Nikon are truly unbiased (he did, of course, have a F-100 >for testing purposes long before the rest of us). Moose Peterson is a Nikon User. He writes books and does reviews. He is not employed by Nikon, but he is a person that a lot of people listen to. Since he has written books on Nikon Gear that people want, Nikon makes sure he is taken care of. A lot of people visit his web site looking for Nikon info so why not take care of those who do your marketing for you for free. A couple of pieces of hardware here and there doesn't cost as much as one sales rep. Secondly, he is no doubt a member of NPS. NPS gets technology out in peoples hands, as does CPS and others. The Kodak DCS 620 was used at the Super Bowl. NPS and other people go to these big media events and get their new wares in the hands of the shooters so they can get real world feedback on them. These people have to swear to silence and thats why they don't post on lists like this. Also as people begin to write reviews about products, such as Steve's Digicam's (http://www.steves-digicams.com) they become targets for beta programs. Steve is a very independent unbiased news source on Digital and he gets a lot of visitors. Naturally Nikon, Olympus, and others want these "Media" sites to write good reviews, so they put beta products in their hands ahead of time. Steve has quite a lot of info on the CoolPix 950. So, Moose is just a wildlife photographer with a very vocal personality and Nikon wants to keep him happy. Rob
