Nikon has shut down its production facilities in northern Japan, including the factory that makes flagship DSLR cameras such as the D700, following the earthquake and tsunami disaster.

The news comes as the company today confirms injuries to 'some' of its group employees and gathers information on other staff and their family members.

'We have no reports of any fatalities or seriously-injured employees so far,' a Nikon spokeswoman told Amateur Photographer this morning.

'We are committed to investigating any personal injuries.'

The Nikon plant at Natori in Sendai, which has made top-end cameras such as the D3, is among the factories forced to close after damage to equipment and buildings.

Nikon's Sendai plant is where cameras including the D3S, D3X, D700 and F6 are made.

'We are suspending operations there and continuing to evaluate further details of the damage,' Nikon said in a statement.

In the absense of mr Vella

I hope your talking about the camera

Nikon D5100 any good?

Nikon D5100 any good? considering that to replace my half broken D80

I'm not sure if it has a built-in AF motor, something you may want to consider if so.

would it AF for 70-200mm VR nikon lens and for 17-50 tamrom O_O? I never ever ever use manual focussing