'I Just Had A Revelation!'

[Panther]

1) Nikon making their own sensors (D3s & D3100)
2) D3100 sensor slightly smaller than D5000/90/300 sensor

Add 1 & 2 from above together and what do you get? The sensor for a future Nikon mirror less body! :smile:

 

[Lurker]

I don't see how Nikon making its own sensors or a sensor that is 1mm smaller than the previous generation mean a sensorless body.

What I do see is a D3000 successor with supposedly a high quality sensor and heavily packed with features; outside the loathed twist LCD it surpasses the more expensive D5000 in every way.

That in itself is a recognition of the existence of the mirrorless market - the D40 class of cameras (barebones, cheap as possible) is as good as dead with the arrival of Sony's NEX series (cheaper, smaller, lighter).

SLR's are now for people who want SLR's - not for people who are looking for "something better than a compact". Canon and Nikon will hold of as long as possible - their cash cows are those cheap SLR's but with the D3100 comes Nikon's recognition that their lowest priced SLR is not going to sell on being cheap anymore - the mirrorless market will take care of that. That's why Olympus and Panasonic (followed by Sony) jumped in first - it's not their sales hurting by this.

For me the D3100 represents a big step away from the D40-D3000 line (as simple as possible) which can only mean one thing: the cheapest Nikon system camera will indeed have no mirror.

 

[Bikinchris]

Do you really think consumers think like we camera geeks do? Does the average consumer care if their camera has a mirror? Is a mirror more expensive than a video screen anyway?

I think what consumers want is a camera that is easy to carry and use. What camera geeks like us want does not figure into the market. It has been stated on these boards that the kinds of cameras we all use make up a tiny percentage of camera sales.

 

[Howie]

Do you really think consumers think like we camera geeks do? Does the average consumer care if their camera has a mirror? Is a mirror more expensive than a video screen anyway?

I think what consumers want is a camera that is easy to carry and use. What camera geeks like us want does not figure into the market. It has been stated on these boards that the kinds of cameras we all use make up a tiny percentage of camera sales.

I've been in photo retail for 25 years. Most people just want good end results, and really don't care which camera they use or what the features are. If I tell a customer that one camera takes better pictures than another, they will buy that camera.
"The good stuff' is a tiny fraction of the market, but it important for technology reasons. The stuff in the D3 today will be in consumer cameras in a couple of years, albeit in a reduced form. Professional and prosumer cameras lead (generally) to further accessory sales than consumer cameras. Check the gear lists on this forum and tell me Nikon isn't happy to have sold a few pro cameras!

 

[Panther]

The CMOS sensor in the Sony NEX mirrorless camera is larger than the D3100 sensor so why can't Nikon use the 3100 sensor in a mirrorless body