Nikon Announcement this week (2/18-2/20)

Roger,

You got any good intel on this? ; People have said it could be the D7000 upgrade or an advanced Coolpix possibly using the 1 inch sensor found in the J1/V1 (but not J2). ;

Still hoping for a D300 replacement this year but hard to tell. ; The Nikon 80-400VR is on sale right now so I am hoping for an upgrade (finally!) to this lens with AF-S and maybe a longer focal length.

Should know by February 20, 2013 either way.

 

Hmmm...now if only they could come up with a D300 successor with better ISO and Dynamic Range, too. I used a D7000 once and I did not like how controls and settings I am used to being available where in menus instead. ;

 

These rumor sites are getting as ridiculous as the wait for the D400. Now they're saying it"ll be a DX sized mirrorless compact. I'm beginning to think Nikon really does want to move us all to full frame.

Erich

 

It certainly is looking like that, Erich. ;

If I do not hear something out of Nikon by Spring, I will find me a good used D300s which will give me a 300mm f/2.8 cropped lens for sports and 600mm f/5.6 lens for wildlife and field sports by day.

 

Whatever it is I hope Nikon does better in their QC department. I had a D600 for about 2 months and got tired of cleaning the sensor everytime I wanted to use it. I am one of those people who had the serious dust/oil issue on the top left corner.

 

My D7000 has that issue only the right side!


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It sounds promising but rated at only 6fps and yet another battery grip. No mention if the battery grip ups the fps. ; 6fps would be a downgrade from the 8fps I get with the D700 with battery grip.

The rest of the specs look great.

 

It'll be interesting to see if the autofocus is much better than the D7000. That'd definitely help at airshows. Bummer about the buffer not being larger. I'm torn whether to upgrade or continue to wait to see if there really will be a D300 successor.

Erich

 

A new and unverified source mentioned yesterday the possibility of a D400 being announced in June. ; We'll see as Nikon did leave open enough specs, the SONY 20MP option is out there and pricing space for it. ; The D300s currently sells for $1695 new. ; The D7100 (body only) is at $1,199 new.

A $1,699 to $1,999 Pro DX body could work especially if it has 8-10 fps at 1.5x crop. ; Still trying to figure out why 1.3x crop bumps the D7100 from 6 to 7fps. ; Why not do that in 1.5x unless you are planning for something more down the road.

At 1.3x, I get 260mm on my 70-200VR f/2.8 and only 520mm on my 80-400VR (but I would shot the latter at 1.5x and 6fps so that is not really a problem).

 

So...it really is a 1.8x crop at 7fps? ; Confused. ; :

 

Ah, so now the math changes to 200*1.8=360 and 400*1.8=720, now those are good numbers without losing an f-stop!

Of course, you know if I buy this, Nikon will announce the D400. ; :

 

Found this from a link Howie sent me from the Nikon press release:

1.3x Crop Mode - Sports photographers take note: Building upon the telephoto benefits of the DX-format, the D7100 has the unique ability to shoot in a 1.3x DX crop mode for both stills and HD video. While in this innovative mode, shooters will gain an extra telephoto boost (2X), and a boost in burst speed to seven fps, with 15.4- megapixel resolution. Additionally, while in this mode, the 51-point AF array covers more of the frame, allowing improved subject acquisition and tracking performance through the viewfinder.

That makes the math easier! ; ;D

 

The problem with the D400 coming later is I can't see them dropping down to 20MP that long after all the other DX cameras are at 24 MP. So either they really have killed the idea or they were forced to wait to develop a processor, data pathway and buffer to handle the higher frame rates the D400 demands at the full 24 MP. Something they couldn't even manage for the D4. Either way, I'm confused, as the D7100 offers just enough new stuff to tempt me into upgrading, but not enough to satisfy what I was looking for.

Erich

 

Erich,

You hit it. ; There's some improvements but will it be enough for people to upgrade to it from a D7000 or a D300s? ; I would not mind a 20MP sensor if it gave better ISO performance, dynamic range and more fps (like 8, 9 or 10).

I really wanted Nikon to come out with a D700s with the D3s sensor in it until I had to stop waiting and get a D700. Might have to do the same and grab one of these D7100's since I currently do not own a DX camera.