D300 successor

[viper_biker]

I was reading a post within this sub-forum just now and someone metioned the possible successor to the D300 and hinted towards it possibly being released this year (this could well be a guess on their part). Now, at a guess I'd say it may well be a D400, but surely it's a bit soon to have something come out so quickly or am I mistaken? It won't mean a thing to me as I'll no be able to afford a body upgrade and the D300 is more of a piece of equipment than I am a photographer but is it really in need of an upgrade? OK, it's not the freshest body out of the box in todays market. I have seen some crap online about people claiming to have 'insider knowledge' of the proposed D400 but it's clearly nothing but intrenet spam.

What do you guys think about an upgrade and do you think it would be something that would be with us sooner than I expected?

 

[DonnaM]

http://nikonrumors.com seem to think it is coming sooner than later. I have seen some specs ranging from a 14MB sensor to a 24MB sensor but I will not be upgrading my D300. I will get better shots by investing in glass as will a lot of others I would wager.

 

[puddleduck]

I think we will see three more Nikon DSLR's this year.

Something that maybe called a D400, something that maybe called a D700x and something in the D60 space too.

I'm very very confident in one of them appearing and if its not at least announced July time I will be very very very surprised indeed.

 

[DonnaM]

I think we will see three more Nikon DSLR's this year.

Something that maybe called a D400, something that maybe called a D700x and something in the D60 space too.

I'm very very confident in one of them appearing and if its not at least announced July time I will be very very very surprised indeed.

Oh what it must be like to be in the "know"

Any lenses in the pipeline then?

 

[MJ Stebbings]

I want to see more Canon's this year, we need to see a 1dMkIV to replace the MKIII and its "little" problems

EDIT: Even a MKIIIn would be nice

 

[NorthernNikon]

Something that maybe called a D400, something that maybe called a D700x and something in the D60 space too.

I think a D700x is the most likely, A.K.A. the 5DII Killer.

 

[puddleduck]

That would be nice.

I think Nikon are going to have interesting problems with this one though (pricing wise).

If we saying the D3X sensor adds £3k to the price of the D3, do you price the D700x at £4500? Too high, and it won't be a 5D II killer. Too low and it'll pee of D3X owners who just paid an arm and a leg.

So it probably won't be the first one announced this year I'd guess to let the D3X dust settle.

 

[MJ Stebbings]

That would be nice.

I think Nikon are going to have interesting problems with this one though (pricing wise).

If we saying the D3X sensor adds £3k to the price of the D3, do you price the D700x at £4500? Too high, and it won't be a 5D II killer. Too low and it'll pee of D3X owners who just paid an arm and a leg.

So it probably won't be the first one announced this year I'd guess to let the D3X dust settle.

I agree, i reckon it will be the D60 replacement

 

[Wail]

I love how the D40 has survived all these newer models. Goes to show what a fantastic camera it is.

My guess is that the D60 will takeover from the D40, while its replacement to be something better. Afterall, before this recent price hike, the D40 kit was selling for close to £220 and the D60 kit was just under £300. That's seriously good value .. and I am sure Nikon are banking on this big time.

 

[puddleduck]

I agree, i reckon it will be the D60 replacement

I think we'll see two more DX cameras this year.

The D300 replacement is a shoe-in, the D60 is trickier, its barely a year old, and that replaced the D40x which was only 8 months old.

Lets assume it'll be 12 megapixel CMOS (D90 version ,not the D300 sensor) - that sensor can't go into the D40 replacement without outspecking the D60. Which leaves the D60 a likely candidate toreplace..but it feels too soon.

 

[whitey]

as said earlier, must be nice being in the know

i am happy enough with the D300, no need to upgrade for me

 

[puddleduck]

I love how the D40 has survived all these newer models. Goes to show what a fantastic camera it is.

My guess is that the D60 will takeover from the D40, while its replacement to be something better. Afterall, before this recent price hike, the D40 kit was selling for close to £220 and the D60 kit was just under £300. That's seriously good value .. and I am sure Nikon are banking on this big time.

Nikon could revive the D40x again... that was an odd move introducing it, and even odder how it was killed off so quickly!

Very nice camera indeed - that could fly as a direct D40 replacement? Will never happen though.

I got a D40 just recently, and am very happy with it.

 

[whitey]

i loved my D40X when i had it, if only i didnt go silly i would have kept that

 

[Scotty B]

I love my D40, it's a cracking little camera. I do crave auto bracketing and a slave flash function now so the old boy is looking scared.

 

[HoppyUK]

as said earlier, must be nice being in the know

I'm not sure you need much of an inside line to be in the know these days.

I take the view that Nikon and Canon are locked in combat for leadership right now, digital technology has really hit its stride with sensational stuff popping up all over (compacts are a big clue), and both companies are out to make as much money as possible. And they have both shown repeatedly that they can always come up with something new when it's needed.

So, while the D300 looks like it might be next for an upgrade, it's still a bit better than the Canon 50D. Canon needs a new camera here before Nikon. Then Nikon has shown what it can do with the D3x and if it was to put that sensor into a D700x then Canon would really have a sore head with the 5DII.

And I'm cynical about pricing, which I think has at least as much to do with what manufacturers believe the market will stand rather than being a direct reflection of development and production costs. The D3x's high price has caused a bit of a fuss, but I don't think it has actualy prevented many sales. If anything, I bet Nikon wishes it had put the D3 out at a higher point but at the time, having been without a full frame camera for so long, it really couldn't afford to fall short on anything.

As a result of the D3's huge success, Canon now needs a 1DIII replacement rather urgently. And now Nikon has delivered the cameras, people are starting to notice that Canon's lens range is better, so nobody can sit back at all!

Meanwhile, I have my Canon 40D and am watching with interest. It's sometimes hard to believe, but my 40D still takes amazing photographs, and they're still as good as they were when it was the newest and bestest! Not so sure about the bloke using it though

 

[puddleduck]

And I'm cynical about pricing, which I think has at least as much to do with what manufacturers believe the market will stand rather than being a direct reflection of development and production costs

Agreed. I think assuming we see a D700x, it'll be somewhere north of £3k. The D3X pricing really surprised me - I expected that to be £3300 ballpark, £3500 max so all bets are off for a D700x, especially with the price rises we've seen. I think the pricing of this will be interesting!

The D3x's high price has caused a bit of a fuss, but I don't think it has actualy prevented many sales.

Someone said - possibly Thom Hogan - that sales of the D3X were essentially dead.

Don't suppose we'll ever find out the figures, but the 5D MKII is flying off the shelves and the D3X apparently isn't.

 

[HoppyUK]

Someone said - possibly Thom Hogan - that sales of the D3X were essentially dead.

That's interesting! The internet is great isn't it! I'd heard that while people moaned about the cost of the D3x, they had still bought one grudgingly. Or at least ordered one. If sales were dead, that was because nobody could get hold of one!

My my reading of Nikon's pricing was D3 - amazing bargain, and D3x - not bad compared to a 1DsIII

It would be interesting to get hold of some sales figures, and I know the company that collects the data (GfK) and sells it for lots of money, but they can only report on cameras sold, not cameras that have not sold!

 

[lookup]

Apparently there's D400 stuff appearing all over the web. I think there was some website somewhere that showed a new Nikon SKU with D400 next to it as well. I'll see if I can find it...

 

[Flash In The Pan]

And I'm cynical about pricing, which I think has at least as much to do with what manufacturers believe the market will stand rather than being a direct reflection of development and production costs

Agreed. I think assuming we see a D700x, it'll be somewhere north of £3k. The D3X pricing really surprised me - I expected that to be £3300 ballpark, £3500 max so all bets are off for a D700x, especially with the price rises we've seen. I think the pricing of this will be interesting!

I don't think we'll see a D700x - at £3500 it would only have one competitor, the D3x.

The D3x's high price has caused a bit of a fuss, but I don't think it has actualy prevented many sales.

Someone said - possibly Thom Hogan - that sales of the D3X were essentially dead.

Don't suppose we'll ever find out the figures, but the 5D MKII is flying off the shelves and the D3X apparently isn't.

The D3x and 5D MKII are aimed at entirely different buyer profiles - the 5D is a prosumer camera, competing against the D700 and A900, the D3x, on the other hand is a more specialised piece of kit and is targeted at the same market as the 1Ds MKIII and I would doubt that those are "flying off the shelves" either.

Ultimately the D3x will be bought by institutions, such as the police or hospitals who have already bought into the Nikon system and will see it's higher resolution as a boon.

Your comparison is like saying the D300 isn't as good as a Canon 400D because more can afford to buy the cheaper camera....

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Apparently there's D400 stuff appearing all over the web. I think there was some website somewhere that showed a new Nikon SKU with D400 next to it as well. I'll see if I can find it...

Some people were all excited when this picture appeared

suggesting perhaps it was sneaky bit of testing or early advertising for the D300 replacement, the D500

The truth was a bit more prosaic.....

 

[puddleduck]

The D3x and 5D MKII are aimed at entirely different buyer profiles

I dis-agree with that.

20 megapixels is the new 12, and unless you are heavily invested in Nikon glass, if you need 21+, you get a 5d MKII and all the glass you can eat for the same price.

The "profile" is high megapixels IMHO, the body doesn't matter that much if you need 20+ to get the job done.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

The D3x and 5D MKII are aimed at entirely different buyer profiles

I dis-agree with that.

20 megapixels is the new 12, and unless you are heavily invested in Nikon glass, if you need 21+, you get a 5d MKII and all the glass you can eat for the same price.

The "profile" is high megapixels IMHO, the body doesn't matter that much if you need 20+ to get the job done.

By that reasoning the 1Ds MKIII is now obsolete then.....

 

[puddleduck]

By that reasoning the 1Ds MKIII is now obsolete then.....

I've no idea, but I'd be willing to bet a CurlyWurly that sales of the 1Ds MKIII have dropped off massively since the 5D MKII.

When you can buy two bodies for the price of a one, or loads of lenses for the same IQ you need to have a very strong business case to spend that extra £2k or £3k in this climate.. especially when Canon say the 5D II has better IQ to boot.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

I've no idea, but I'd be willing to bet a CurlyWurly that sales of the 1Ds MKIII have dropped off massively since the 5D MKII.

When you can buy two bodies for the price of a one, or loads of lenses for the same IQ you need to have a very strong business case to spend that extra £2k or £3k in this climate.. especially when Canon say the 5D II has better IQ to boot.

The same was said when the D700 came out, sales of the D3 were going to dwindle etc, etc.

I doubt Nikon are expecting to sell the D3x in huge numbers,it's a niche market and those in the position to buy such equipment will buy it, regardless of whether you can buy two prosumer cameras for the same price or not

 

[HoppyUK]

By that reasoning the 1Ds MKIII is now obsolete then.....

In terms of its sensor, it is. Canon has admitted as much, and explained that in the current climate of technological development this was inevitable.

But there's much more to a 1DsIII than the sensor. Fortunately Canon forgot to put the 1-Series AF module in the 5DII

 

[welly]

as said earlier, must be nice being in the know

i am happy enough with the D300, no need to upgrade for me

The only thing I'd upgrade my D300 to is a fullframe camera, not a potential D400.

 

[GoLotus]

The only thing I'd upgrade my D300 to is a fullframe camera, not a potential D400.

thats pretty much my thinking at the moment. In the meantime, I'll be looking towards better glass