Rumor for New Nikon D3H/D3X camera

[kpatel55]

Guys,

Anybody heard about new D3X/D3H camera. Nikon is mum about it. Canon is pulling way ahead with second generation in PJ/Sport camera with 1DMKIII.

If Nikon does not answer for it, it has lost lucrative PJ/Sport market and source to sell pro lenses.

What is your opinion.

Thanks,

Kirit Patel :smile:

 

[Gale]

Subject has been beaten to death

 

[little big man]

Subject has been beaten to death

Amen.

 

[Richard Peters]

Too true, there are thousands of posts all over the net on all photography forums. If you search for them and read them all we'll be on the D4 series before you manage to read through them all.

Until there is an official announcement now it seems pointless chucking up the same old speculation in another thread.

 

[TweedleDum]

My opinion is that I have no idea what Nikon is doing. Silence from Japan through the summer will tell me everything I need to know. :smile:

 

[Zachs]

The Canon isn't even for sale yet...

 

[The Clam]

I just bought a D2x, so that pretty much guarantees that the release of the D3x is imminent.

 

[barriosa]

Guys,

Anybody heard about new D3X/D3H camera. Nikon is mum about it. Canon is pulling way ahead with second generation in PJ/Sport camera with 1DMKIII.

If Nikon does not answer for it, it has lost lucrative PJ/Sport market and source to sell pro lenses.

What is your opinion.

Thanks,

Kirit Patel :smile:

KR has a decent "Vaporware" article on it. Read it here

 

[Ottrott's Human]

As much as I'd love to see a D3X and/or D3H......my trip to the zoo this past Friday was very revealing. I saw one guy with a pro Canon rig and I saw dozens of folks with consumer grade Nikons. I mean tons of people walking around with D40, 50 and 80 bodies with kit lenses. Besides the one serious Canon shooter the only other Canons I saw were of the point-and-shoot variety.

Where do you think the real money and future is in this business; selling pro bodies to pro shooters or selling gobs and gobs of consumer friendly priced bodies with kit lenses? I'd love to see stats on this.....I'm sure Nikon has seen them. Maybe......what(?) for every 1 pro body that is sold there are a hundred or more consumer bodies sold.

Why else was the D200 nearly impossible to find on the store shelves for a year. And think about the supply versus demand of the 18-200VR.

If you ask me Nikon is playing it smart by building and promoting the best consumer DSLR bodies and lenses in the market place to introduce thousands upon thousands of people annually to the joys of digital photography.

Nikon is creating an entire generation or two of new photographers by offering the best mid-priced cameras on the market. They are obviously puting the majority of their R&D and marketing in to this area as part of a longer term business strategy.

And it works. Look how many folks here start with a D40 and slowly start accumulating Nikon glass. When it's time to move up to a pro body they are already fairly commited to the Nikon brand due to the lenses they own all carying the Nikon logo.

In the meantime there isn't much you can't do with a D2Xs or D2Hs.

Totally and completely just......my opinion.

 

[Clix Pix]

I just bought a D2x, so that pretty much guarantees that the release of the D3x is imminent.

Ditto! Except that in my case it was the D2Xs..... :biggrin:

 

[Rich Gibson]

Most of the heavy discussion about the oft rumored D3X is over at DPReview.com. Here at the Cafe it's pretty much use what you have and we'll talk about the D3? whenever it shows up. We've had a handful of people go over to Canon, and more power to them. They have to do what they need to be successful.

Rich

 

[Clix Pix]

As much as I'd love to see a D3X and/or D3H......my trip to the zoo this past Friday was very revealing. I saw one guy with a pro Canon rig and I saw dozens of folks with consumer grade Nikons.

Yup...... Yesterday at work I pulled out my D40 with its kit lens to shoot an event at the library and a couple of people commented on my "professional" camera. Huh? Many people still do not understand the differences between various DSLRs or between cameras in general. Today at Burke Lake Park I saw one other shooter with a DSLR -- a Canon -- and everyone else was using either a consumer P&S or their cell phone camera to take pictures. One woman stopped to eye my two cameras (D2Xs with the 300mm on the tripod and the D200 around my neck with the 70-300mm VR) and commented on them, adding that she had just bought a new T80 (?) Not sure what that is.... Anyway, she remarked that she loved it because it is so easy to use and because it produces such nice clear pictures. That's the bottom line right there for many people: easy to use, nice clear pictures, and, oh, yeah, lightweight and easy to carry around.

ETA: Just realized more than a little belatedly that the woman with whom I was speaking today probably was telling me that she had a new D80!!! Duh... Anyway, I noticed that she didn't have a camera with her. Now that's a lightweight, easy to carry around camera and it would have been a wonderful opportunity for her to have done some nice shooting today....but, no, the camera was probably at home, being saved for a "special occasion...." That's the other thing, people who are not really into photography need to eventually learn how beneficial it can be to have a camera with one at all times or at most times.

Anyway, there is definitely a new generation which is graduating from the consumer P&S cameras right into the D40, D50 or D80 -- the D50's resounding success having already demonstrated that, yes, there is an audience out there -- and I think that Nikon does have its finger right on the pulse of the buying public at this point in time.

Sure, professionals and advanced amateurs are chafing at the bit for Nikon's next Big Announcement of its next Big Camera...but in the meantime, yeah, we DO have the D200, D2Hs, D2X and D2Xs..... Me? Well, I'm still finding lots to learn with my D2Xs, I'm not in any great hurry for the Next Big Camera..... :smile:

 

[P'Cola-Roy]

Where do you think the real money and future is in this business; selling pro bodies to pro shooters or selling gobs and gobs of consumer friendly priced bodies with kit lenses? I'd love to see stats on this.....I'm sure Nikon has seen them. Maybe......what(?) for every 1 pro body that is sold there are a hundred or more consumer bodies sold.

Why else was the D200 nearly impossible to find on the store shelves for a year. And think about the supply versus demand of the 18-200VR.

If you ask me Nikon is playing it smart by building and promoting the best consumer DSLR bodies and lenses in the market place to introduce thousands upon thousands of people annually to the joys of digital photography.

Nikon is creating an entire generation or two of new photographers by offering the best mid-priced cameras on the market. They are obviously puting the majority of their R&D and marketing in to this area as part of a longer term business strategy.

And it works. Look how many folks here start with a D40 and slowly start accumulating Nikon glass. When it's time to move up to a pro body they are already fairly commited to the Nikon brand due to the lenses they own all carying the Nikon logo.

In the meantime there isn't much you can't do with a D2Xs or D2Hs.

Totally and completely just......my opinion.

Stuart, I think you are on to something here...

 

[JeffKohn]

Where do you think the real money and future is in this business; selling pro bodies to pro shooters or selling gobs and gobs of consumer friendly priced bodies with kit lenses? I'd love to see stats on this.....I'm sure Nikon has seen them. Maybe......what(?) for every 1 pro body that is sold there are a hundred or more consumer bodies sold.

Why else was the D200 nearly impossible to find on the store shelves for a year. And think about the supply versus demand of the 18-200VR.

If you ask me Nikon is playing it smart by building and promoting the best consumer DSLR bodies and lenses in the market place to introduce thousands upon thousands of people annually to the joys of digital photography.

Nikon is creating an entire generation or two of new photographers by offering the best mid-priced cameras on the market. They are obviously puting the majority of their R&D and marketing in to this area as part of a longer term business strategy.

Yes, the entry- and mid-priced market segments are important. But Nikon would be foolish to abandon the pro segment, and I don't think they're going to do so. For one thing, pro bodies might sell in fewer quantities, but they have much higher profit margins. Also, the pro bodies are what companies use to build "brand prestige". If Nikon falls too far behind Canon in the high-end it will hurt their image in the entry- and mid-priced market segments.

 

[Ottrott's Human]

Yes, the entry- and mid-priced market segments are important. But Nikon would be foolish to abandon the pro segment, and I don't think they're going to do so. For one thing, pro bodies might sell in fewer quantities, but they have much higher profit margins. Also, the pro bodies are what companies use to build "brand prestige". If Nikon falls too far behind Canon in the high-end it will hurt their image in the entry- and mid-priced market segments.

Jeff, I agree with you completely and I don't think Nikon is abandoning the pro market either. I am simply making a guess that they are focusing on an area of the market place that helps to insure the future of photography in general by creating more shooters.

I don't think there are too many advanced hobbyist or pro photographers out there that can't get the job done with Nikon's current pro offerings. I also doubt it will be much longer before their new generation of pro bodies is released.

Consumer DSLR cameras are a hot market right now. By focusing their releases in that segment they seize the moment/opportunity to create a huge market of new photographers....some of whom may graduate to pro Nikon bodies to go with the glass they acquire along the way.

I imagine that upgrades to the D2 series will come soon enough.

 

[JeffKohn]

Jeff, I agree with you completely and I don't think Nikon is abandoning the pro market either. I am simply making a guess that they are focusing on an area of the market place that helps to insure the future of photography in general by creating more shooters.

I think it's pretty clear they've been focused on the entry and mid-level markets, but I think it has been deterimental to the pro lineup. There's a balance to be had, and I think Nikon tipped too far towards the consumer end. And it's not just about pro SLR bodies, when was the last pro-level lens released?

I don't think there are too many advanced hobbyist or pro photographers out there that can't get the job done with Nikon's current pro offerings. I also doubt it will be much longer before their new generation of pro bodies is released.

Yes the Nikon pro lineup is quite capable. But I don't think many would dispute that Canon has opened up a significant lead in the areas of low-light high-ISO SLRs, and image-stabilized supertelephotos. For instance the 5D is quickly becoming the wedding-shooter's camera of choice.

I hope you're right on the "not much longer" part for Nikon's sake; I guess we'll just have to see. IMHO it's already been too long, Nikon should have had a D2Hs successor before now.

 

[Ottrott's Human]

Points taken Jeff. I think there are valid arguments for both sides of this discussion. Nikon is gambling here....no doubt about it. It will be interesting to see if they are right. As someone who prefers pro bodies and has a decent collection of Nikon glass.....I sure hope they are.

 

[barriosa]

Stuart, I have been thinking the same thing. I just hope that Nikon doesn't abandon the Pro or semi-pro market to concentrate on the consumer bodies. My only glimmer of hope was something I read in a thread once, not sure if it was here. Anyway I read that the only times Nikon releases a body to Fuji to use is when they have a new model waiting in the wings. For instance wasn’t the F3 followed by the D200 a few months latter?

 

[Jaws]

Nikon has fallen behind Canon some in the pro DSLR market, but we've seen before how Canon brings items to the market faster than Nikon. But we've also seen that when Nikon finally does bring their offering to the market that it usually is a much better product overall.

Let's see...Canon brings out their 16 MP top of the line DSLR, and then Nikon follows with the D2X which is overall a much better camera feature wise.

Let's see...Canon brings out the 20D, and then Nikon follows with the D200 which totally blows the 20D out of the water. Then Canon follows with the 30D, and the Canon crew gets upset because it's a feeble attempt to catch up with the D200.

Let's see...Canon brings out full frame 5D to compete vs. the D200. Within 3 months of it's release they are offering a $300 rebate on it. You don't offer rebates, especially big rebates, on a brand new model unless it's not selling well. The D200 blew this out of the water just like it did to the 20D/30D.

Let's see...Canon has brought out the Digital Rebel, Rebel XT, and Rebel XTi. While Nikon has been beating the pants off of them with the D40, 40x, 50, 70, 70s, and 80. Wherever I go I see a lot more of the Nikons in this class than I do the Canons...by a large margin. Just as I see a lot more D200's than 20/30D's and 5D's.

The one area where Canon does hold a commanding lead is in the sport's shooters area. The D2Hs definitely needs a big upgrading. I think we will see Nikon introduce a D3H by the end of the year to shore up this shortcoming.

Also, Canon has nothing in DX lenses to match the unbelievably popular 18-200mm VR lens.

And when you look at the 3rd party lens manufacturers, almost all of their new offerings and sales are in DX lenses. That is further proof that the volume sales are in DX cameras/lenses. I am quite sure that Tokina/Sigma/Tamron are selling a lot more Nikon mount DX lenses than Canon ones.

Let's also not forget the very popular Fuji DSLRs which are all done on Nikon DSLR bodies and which use Nikon lenses.

 

[Jaws]

Earlier this year I read an article with an interview with a Nikon executive, and he said that Nikon had been concentrating recently on the consumer market since that is where the sales volume is. That is wise as that will bring Nikon a big influx of cash so they will be able to invest in more R&D to make their line even better. And as someone else pointed out, it may be to get more people using Nikons so that it will lead to them hopefully being lifelong Nikon users. When they do decide to upgrade to a better/newer model or if they decide get more serious or turn pro, they will more likely stick with the Nikon brand. Even the Fuji DSLR users are more likely to go with Nikon if they were to leave the Fuji camp.

I also believe they concentrated on the consumer market because that is where their biggest threat of competition was coming from. Over the last year we've seen Sony enter the DSLR market (which I believe was a big concern to Nikon and Canon when they heard this) along with a bunch of other camera manufacturers getting into the DSLR market. Nikon probably realized that they needed to address this competition quickly. If they didn't, that would have hurt them a lot more than losing a few pro shooters to Canon. They also didn't want to see this competition get a hold of the lucrative dollars to be made in this market. I think Nikon has done a good job of giving the smack down to this competition. A lot of Nikon users were really concerned about Sony's entrance into the DSLR market, and there were a lot of comments out there about how Sony intended to take on Nikon and Canon head to head and introduce a lot of fine lenses and pro bodies. So far, Sony's entrance into the DSLR market has been a big dud. As soon as they introduced their 10 MP A100 Nikon rolled out a lot of consumer stuff to take away their thunder. I haven't seen anyone walking around with an A100 yet. And the one I saw at the local store doesn't look impressive at all. With the D40x and D80 both being 10 MP bodies, that is very tough competition for the A100 to go up against. Maybe Sony will come out with more offerings, but it's been over a year now since they went the way of DSLRs, and they haven't done anything except for their one body.