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What is going on with Nikon and entry-level DSLRs?


frans_waterlander

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It looks to me that Nikon is giving up on entry-level DSLRs. The D3500 and D5600 are listed as basically obsolete in Japan and Nikon's explanations are not very promising for the rest of the world. No replacements for those are in the pipeline as far as i can tell.

The D7500 at around US$1000 would become the lowest cost Nikon DSLR and it has some "interesting" characteristics, like a 21MP sensor, a step down from the 24MP D7200, now obsolete.

Are they really abandoning the entry-level DSLR business in favor of mirrorless? And their mirrorless cameras are price-wise not entry-level either.

My D70 is 14 years old and I don't think it will last much longer. Then what? Mirrorless is a no-no for me. First, the sensor will heat up while the camera is on and noise will increase/DR decrease as a result. I know, I know - "everybody" claims that that's not noticeable, but the laws of physics are what they are. Also note that no-one, neither camera manufacturers, nor reviewers, nor test houses publish noise/DR test results for mirrorless cameras as they heat up. I asked DxO and a German test house and they acknowledged the issue of the sensors heating up, but then immediately told me the don't test for that. Hmmmmm.

Second, I don't like the reports of issues with EVFs like lag, nausea, etc.

So, what am I going to do? What are you,going to do, what have you done?

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It looks to me that Nikon is giving up on entry-level DSLRs. The D3500 and D5600 are listed as basically obsolete in Japan and Nikon's explanations are not very promising for the rest of the world. No replacements for those are in the pipeline as far as i can tell.

The D7500 at around US$1000 would become the lowest cost Nikon DSLR and it has some "interesting" characteristics, like a 21MP sensor, a step down from the 24MP D7200, now obsolete.

Are they really abandoning the entry-level DSLR business in favor of mirrorless? And their mirrorless cameras are price-wise not entry-level either.

My D70 is 14 years old and I don't think it will last much longer. Then what? Mirrorless is a no-no for me. First, the sensor will heat up while the camera is on and noise will increase/DR decrease as a result. I know, I know - "everybody" claims that that's not noticeable, but the laws of physics are what they are. Also note that no-one, neither camera manufacturers, nor reviewers, nor test houses publish noise/DR test results for mirrorless cameras as they heat up. I asked DxO and a German test house and they acknowledged the issue of the sensors heating up, but then immediately told me the don't test for that. Hmmmmm.

Second, I don't like the reports of issues with EVFs like lag, nausea, etc.

So, what am I going to do? What are you,going to do, what have you done?

 

Is this not just a thinly-veiled snipe at mirrorless systems rather than concern for the demise of entry level DSLRs?

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There will come some date certain when there will be no more mirror slrs (except maybe some reanimated version of Alpa?). It's not quite here, but it's coming soon, I think.

 

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life....

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Well, Nikon don't currently make mirrorless cameras in the price classes of the D3500 or D5600, either. Thus it would seem that they are abandoning making inexpensive interchangeable lens cameras alltogether. They have said in their financial presentation materials that they expected consumer camera sales to be just 10% of their sales volume. I am not sure exactly how they define consumer in this context (presumably someone who is not an enthusiast or professional).

 

The Z50 and D7500 will then be the entry level. These have 20 MP DX sensors similar to the one in the D500, so they should be pretty impressive.

Edited by ilkka_nissila
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I am quite sure that none of us will live long enough to see all (D)SLRs stop working, and we might not even see the day when no one makes new ones.

 

Do Alpa cameras have mirrors? I thought they did not.

 

There will come some date certain when there will be no more mirror slrs (except maybe some reanimated version of Alpa?). It's not quite here, but it's coming soon, I think.

 

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life....

Edited by ilkka_nissila
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It looks to me that Nikon is giving up on entry-level DSLRs. The D3500 and D5600 are listed as basically obsolete in Japan and Nikon's explanations are not very promising for the rest of the world. No replacements for those are in the pipeline as far as i can tell.

The D7500 at around US$1000 would become the lowest cost Nikon DSLR and it has some "interesting" characteristics, like a 21MP sensor, a step down from the 24MP D7200, now obsolete.

Are they really abandoning the entry-level DSLR business in favor of mirrorless? And their mirrorless cameras are price-wise not entry-level either.

My D70 is 14 years old and I don't think it will last much longer. Then what? Mirrorless is a no-no for me. First, the sensor will heat up while the camera is on and noise will increase/DR decrease as a result. I know, I know - "everybody" claims that that's not noticeable, but the laws of physics are what they are. Also note that no-one, neither camera manufacturers, nor reviewers, nor test houses publish noise/DR test results for mirrorless cameras as they heat up. I asked DxO and a German test house and they acknowledged the issue of the sensors heating up, but then immediately told me the don't test for that. Hmmmmm.

Second, I don't like the reports of issues with EVFs like lag, nausea, etc.

So, what am I going to do? What are you,going to do, what have you done?

Your 70D is 14 years old? It is not like you are contributing much to Nikon’s bottom line, that may be the reason behind the shift in focus re customer target group. I am also fairly certain that any current Nikon mirrorless offering will be less noisy than your 70D.

Niels
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I'd be willing to bet that if / when Nikon announces the end of the DSLR, there will be a Last Model, possibly with special features and appearance at a high price. Those of us who favor DSLRS and can scrape up the money will probably buy one if the reviews are good. To close the sale, offer an extended guarantee and a promise of service being available for, say, 8 or 10 years.
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Not a Nikon guy, but owning 5.5 k-mount APS bodies & assuming they 'll last. I bought 3 of those used for too cheap to walk by. There should be lots of Nikons, greater than your D70 floating around? In doubt: Buy two!

So far I didn't care about lots of APS MP; I 'll shoot FF for higher resolution (18+x MP).

If you want a new D3500, better order it soon.

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If you really don't want one of those mirrorless hand warmers with their laggy nausea inducing EVFs, perhaps its time to pry a credit card from your wallet and buy a Nikon DSLR before there all gone. Nikon had a significant financial loss over the past year and can really use the money.
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Do Alpa cameras have mirrors? I thought they did not.

 

I was speaking to the choir who remember that ALPA SLRs underwent what were mostly cosmetic 'improvements' while everyone else in the industry were making substantial advances.....

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I think the cited disadvantages of mirrorless are far outweighed by the advantages - higher ISO sensitivity, less moving parts than a DSLR to wear out, generally lower weight, higher pixel count, greater flexibility of lens use, better manual focusing via EVF. I've been a Nikon user for approximately 22 years, and a mirrorless user for the last 4. These days I grab a mirrorless rather than my Nikons probably 95% of the time. Even my beloved rangefinders and TLRs are getting pretty lonely sitting on the shelves.
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I don't understand your obsession with this "mirrorless sensors overheat causing degradation..." story. It's all I ever see you write about. Yet you have no experience with any mirrorless system and no example of anybody experiencing this problem.

 

Earlier today I watched a video from a guy who shot sixty 3-minute exposures in rapid succession using an M4/3 camera attached to a telescope on a rig. The camera went three hours and not only did it not overheat, he ended up with a great image of a galaxy I'd never heard of. I've never done anything that ambitious but I've used various mirrorless cameras since 2010, tens of thousands of exposures and no problems. My Z7 produces the best, cleanest, highest DR images I've ever seen. Simon Baxter shoots Sony mirrorless and I've lost track of how many publication credits and awards he has. Thomas Heaton recently went all-in on Fuji with both the APSC and medium format and he's not losing any image quality. Annie Leibovitz has had mirrorless in her kit for years and she's not complaining. Steve McCurry's SL2 isn't ruining his shots. I have friends shooting 2,000 exposures with Fuji and Canon mirrorless at weddings with no problems. None of these guys seem to be suffering from heat-induced noise either: Nikon z series

 

Get over it already. If you want image quality, you could have a Z50 kit right now and be getting results far better than your 2004 model DSLR. Or just quit thinking about mirrorless and get a used D7100 - Keh.com will sell you one right now in EX condition for $426.

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I think that the decision about whether there will be a D7 will be determined by the pros' response to the predicted Z9. If pros don't find it adequate, Nikon would probably make a D7 with a Z9 sensor, best available autofocus etc until they can engineer away the pros' complaints about the Z9. Which makes me think that the D6 may be the last of its kind unless Nikon needs a D7, in which case the D7 will be the last.

 

As for entry level, I see a potential emerging market that might get Nikon to keep at least one line alive. The generation of youngsters who have turned up their noses at DSLRs and say they can do everything they want with a cell phone may change their tune when they see the photos being taken of kids sliding into second base or saving a penalty shot using a DSLR. That generation is having kids, and as their kids get into more and more activities, their parents may see the shortcomings of a cell phone and want to try a more capable camera.

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"mirrorless sensors overheat causing degradation..."

Yep, that's the 1500 pound elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. Mirrorless sensors heat up, even to the point where the camera needs to be powered down to avoid physical damage to the sensor and other electronic circuits and there are plenty of reports on that phenomenon. So what happens before the camera shuts down? The sensor heats up anyway and image quality suffers. How much does it suffer? Nobody wants to say, not the manufacturers, not the reviewers, not the test houses.

Call me a sceptic, but I'd like to see some credible test results that quantify how much degradation occurs under worst case conditions, but I'm not holding my breath.

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Yep, that's the 1500 pound elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. Mirrorless sensors heat up, even to the point where the camera needs to be powered down to avoid physical damage to the sensor and other electronic circuits and there are plenty of reports on that phenomenon. So what happens before the camera shuts down? The sensor heats up anyway and image quality suffers. How much does it suffer? Nobody wants to say, not the manufacturers, not the reviewers, not the test houses.

Call me a sceptic, but I'd like to see some credible test results that quantify how much degradation occurs under worst case conditions, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

I dunno about that.

I've had the camera ON for over two hours at a time, on my Olympus.

When I shoot sports, once the game starts, I normally do not power down the camera until the end of the game.

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Yep, that's the 1500 pound elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. Mirrorless sensors heat up, even to the point where the camera needs to be powered down to avoid physical damage to the sensor and other electronic circuits and there are plenty of reports on that phenomenon. So what happens before the camera shuts down? The sensor heats up anyway and image quality suffers. How much does it suffer? Nobody wants to say, not the manufacturers, not the reviewers, not the test houses.

Call me a sceptic, but I'd like to see some credible test results that quantify how much degradation occurs under worst case conditions, but I'm not holding my breath.

Frans, I have 2 Sony's A72 and RX100M6 and trust me, they can beat D70 any time without breaking sweat :)

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Yep, that's the 1500 pound elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. Mirrorless sensors heat up, even to the point where the camera needs to be powered down to avoid physical damage to the sensor and other electronic circuits and there are plenty of reports on that phenomenon. So what happens before the camera shuts down? The sensor heats up anyway and image quality suffers. How much does it suffer? Nobody wants to say, not the manufacturers, not the reviewers, not the test houses.

Dunno, I have used Olympus M43 for years and now Nikon Z. Not a problem. I had used your D70 a long time ago. Not knocking it but, trust me, there is no comparison. I would never pick up a D70 unless my IPhone is not with me and I don't have any other choice. In other words, "overheat" or not, "noisy" or not, the mirrorless cameras I have had experience with are far superior to Nikon D70 in many ways. All my mirrorless are surely much much less noisy than my previous trusty D300 - as anything beyond ISO1600 was unusable. I forgot how noisy D70 was, think it could be even worse. That said, if your D70 works for you, there is no need to change. More ancient that, some people still prefer to shoot film and many of them are good photographers.

Edited by Mary Doo
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Fact is, I prefer Nikon DSLRs, and have an irreplaceable (unaffordable to replace) inventory of lenses and widgets in support of that system. That said, I have several quality Mirrorless which I also enjoy. I don't use bursts, or video or much other high tech stuff. Shooting as I would film, or my other Digital, no overheating of Mirrorless, and good photos. Simply, past the question of cost, I enjoy what I have been shooting since '68 - SLR and DSLR. Isn't pleasure the primary driver of a Hobby / Enthusiasm? Edited by Sandy Vongries
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Frans, I have 2 Sony's A72 and RX100M6 and trust me, they can beat D70 any time without breaking sweat :)

 

If the comparison was against a new high-end model, then I might find it interesting.

 

Yes there is thermal noise. For some uses (not normal photography) people use cooled sensors.

I believe that is usual in astronomy. The best way to counter noise is more signal.

Turn down the ISO value just a little.

 

Some years ago when my D70s wasn't doing so well (it would sometimes forget that it had a

memory card) I found a good price for a D200. Not so much later, a good price for a D700.

 

Both are much below current top of the line, but much better than the D70, and prices are good.

-- glen

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Yep, that's the 1500 pound elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about.

Did you not see me talk about it for two paragraphs?

 

Mirrorless sensors heat up, even to the point where the camera needs to be powered down to avoid physical damage to the sensor and other electronic circuits

Show me your “reports.” 10 years with mirrorless and aside from high spec video recording (that DSLRs can’t do either) I’ve never even seen a camera do that. Give us your sources if you think you have any.

Call me a sceptic, but I'd like to see some credible test results that quantify how much degradation occurs under

You are the exact opposite of a skeptic. You have a story you believe and o amount of real world evidence will talk you out of it. You can’t show any reason to believe that this “degradation” exists.

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