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It has been rumoured that Nikon may enter the mirrorless market using a Sony sensor in February 2011. This came from some very reliable sources. Taken from Mirrorless Rumors.
It makes sense for Nikon to go pro with the mirrorless as I believe that another system in the beginner segment of the market will further bring down the price and value of the entry-level DSLRs such as D3100 or even the advanced amateur/intermediate bodies such as the D5000.
Instead of doing that, Nikon might have a better move and that is to introduce the new mirrorless system as an advanced system, more advanced than systems offered by other brands. One advantage of this is that they will be the first to do that with no competitors for the time being. Another is, they will be able to create another segment which does not conflict with their current DSLR line but instead complement what the current bodies do not offer in terms of size and weight, perhaps even price.
It seems like the D700 replacement (many refer to it as the D800) might arrive in 3 months time. This is from a source which has been 100% right for other equipment. Read on for the full details.
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These images were taken at the Nikon Sapporo showroom and Nikon Nagoya service centre in Japan. They seem to be concept models rather than new products to be released.
The first image was taken from DC Home forum, a Chinese site. It seems that this could be Nikon’s new interchangeable lens mirrorless system. The lens attached looks like a 18-55mm lens so this highly suggests that the sensor size could be APS-C. It will be big news if the sensor size is the same as the DX format. Does this mean that Nikon may do away with DX, or will this camera target another segment of the market?
The next 2 images were taken from BurnerImages, a Japanese blog. The first image looks like a high end DSLR concept model and has a piano black shiny finish to the body. The second image looks similar to a DSLR camera but the design is simpler and the LCD screen on the top is much smaller than any DSLR camera than Nikon presently has in its lineup. Click here for more images.
There are some words printed on a display board placed near the models which says “These are all proposed models from Nikon’s design department, and are concept designs that are a result of consideration for future cameras”. The last line says, “We do not have plans to commercialise these cameras”. If that’s true, then what’s the point of displaying these models?
This question has been on many users’ minds ever since the new D7000 was announced. It seems that with the much improved features over the D90 and even the D300s, will Nikon introduce a top-of-the-line DX camera with better features and functions than the D7000?
At least, Thom Hogan says yes. On his blog, he gave a few logical reasons. In short, Nikon will not leave such a large USD$1,800 price gap between the D7000 and the D700 replacement. Doing so will mean leaving behind weaknesses which other competitors will definitely take advantage of. He also mentions that the Nikon lineup might look like the following by the end of 2011: EVIL, D3100, D5100/D6000, D7000, D400, D700x/D800, D4.
As for the D400 specifications, here are his speculations.
-Probably the same 16MP sensor from the D7000 with improved data transfer
-At least 8fps continuous shooting
-Either an integrated vertical grip or a better optional grip system
-Stereo sound
-Better focus system from the D4
All of this sounds plausible, but more might be required to persuade users of the D300/D300s to go for an upgrade. Personally, 16MP should be more than enough. I’d rather Nikon stick with 12MP with improved dynamic range if the increase in pixels might jeopardize image quality.
Another thing I’m hoping is that the D400 will have better ISO performance than the D7000. The noise control on the D300s wasn’t at all impressive to me, as even ISO200 or ISO400 produces slightly excessive noise. For wildlife, I found that anything above ISO800 was practically unusable and I had to struggle with scenarios with overcast weather.
In short, there will be a D400 and I’m sure it will be an impressive performer.
