Any Nikon PMA products photographers would want?

[kelvinphoto - arlington, t]

Oh well, Nikon produce new products that I don't want or replace my existence DSLR. I guess Nikon Stock will go South again this year. Anyone thinking of switching to Canon and getting 1dMKII???

[stephenedwards]

If I remember back only a few years (perhaps 1999 or 2000) before the D-SLR boom. Nikon had a line-up of:

 

F55(?) F65 F80 F100 F5

 

with the F90 and the F4 still loitering around.

 

 

This should be replicated in the Digital Domain. All we have at the moment is the F80 in digital (D70/100) and the F5 in two variants (D2h/x). I don't see this as a product line-up that has broad appeal, without even starting to consider the gaps in their lense line-up.

[edward carruthers]

I wish everyone who complains about Nikon would sell their Nikon gear and switch to Canon. That would drive down the prices of used gear for those of us who couldn't care less what Canon does.

[chris haake]

I'm with you, Edward C!

[loreneidahl]

I have a D2h and while Eric thinks that is is only suitlable for printing on slighttly better quality paper than toilet paper, I have found it exaclty what I need even if it only has 4mp.

 

HERES THE REASON - A 4MP image that I got in focus and captured using a camera I can afford is so much better than a 6mp image I captured but was blurred due to action or a 12mp image I didnt capture because I wasnt able to afford the camera.

 

 

OH ERIC BTW - Are CD-Jackets made out of toilet paper, because I have done several with my D2h as well as full size posters magazine spreads? Perhaps you are used to printing your published works on a different medium than what is commonly known as paper. :)

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER:

The above is my opinion only. You are entitled to yours as well. I reserve the right to be "wrong" in your eyes as you resever the right to be "wrong" in my eyes.

 

 

More MP is fine if it answers a photographic need rather than a desire to have the best or more than somebody else.

[rick_waldroup3]

Eric, I am one of those guys who has his stuff printed on a medium slightly better than toilet paper. Geez, get a life.

[david_h._hartman]

I think folks are missing the primary problem: management at Nikon Incorporated, Tokyo, Japan.

[douglas_greenberg]

I'm a little perplexed at the (few) dismissive answers in this thread. I understand "loyalty to Nikon," which overall I, too, still feel, having used Nikon equipment since 1968. But I think that the concern about Nikon's lagging development of new products that has been expressed by some of us is not just abstract and irrelevant. If Nikon indeed is having problems competing, its user base will dwindle, as new photographers choose the system that they perceive has the most potential for growth and expansion. This, in turn, will render Nikon's (apparent) problem of lack of resources for r & d ever-worse. This will, sooner or later, affect the photographic endeavors of many, if not most of us.

 

At present, most of us probably have the tools we need to take the pictures we wish to take. But some of us (me included) already are looking at Canon's product lineup and seeing (for example) lenses with features that we know would assist us in our photography, features that Nikon (still) cannot match.

 

This is slightly annoying in the very short run, but if Nikon continues to "disappoint," eventually it will be worse than annoying.

 

Disloyally (I guess),

Doug

[ShunCheung]

Douglas, very well said. I am very puzzled by some of Nikon's recent moves. The F6 makes no sense at all, even though it may be selling pretty well in Japan. And it was almost immediately available after the announcement. Meanwhile, the D2X is having a long delay. And now Nikon is admitting that the original D2H has enough problems that it needs to be replaced after being on the market for barely a year. However, the replacement is yet another 4MP DSLR while 8MP is the minimum Nikon's competition is now producing. I know 4MP is sufficient for some of its intended application, but that is a pretty seviere restriction for pros and serious amateurs.

 

Camera are merely tools. It is not a marriage and talking about some "loyalty" simply makes no sense. If one brand of tools doesn't meet your needs, it is time to switch to another. I know replacing a collection of lenses can be expensive, but investing more money into a product line whose manufacturer is making a lot of poor decisions can be worse.

[EricM]

Eric F and Douglas are on target. I also have nine very expensive primes and three fast zooms and flashes and blah blah blah. They're all for sale very soon if something doesn't change.

[harvey_edelstein1]

If the D2x could do 8fps at 6MP why not make the D2hs at least with a 6MP sensor? I don't know of many prosumer dicams comming out these days with just 4MP, do you? Also, for sports and PJ specific camera why not innovate with VR built is like Minolta, Panasonic/Leica and others have.

[ShunCheung]

Canon's 1D Mark 2 could do 8 fps at 8 MP a year ago. It is a matter of having a faster CPU and more memory to move the extra bits around. Given that electronics are so cheap in these days, it should be very doable. Today, the 1D Mark 2 is just below $4000 at B&H, so the cost is not that big a problem either.

 

One problem I pointed out a couple of months ago when the D2H's price took a dive and there was already speculation that Nikon would soon replace it was that if Nikon makes an 8 MP D2Hs, it would really compete against the 12 MP D2X. At least personally, I would pick an 8 MP DSLR with 8 fps over a 12 MP one with a slower frame rate because I am also into wildlife action photography. Once you reach 8MP or so, a few MP will only give you margainal gain. 4MP is still a pretty serious disadvantage, though.

[harvey_edelstein1]

What I was hoping for was a F100 based body with better color metering and Ittl it could have the current F100 Af its quick enough for me. I wanted 8MP and a 1.25x crap factor so my existing lenses would still be of some value on a DSLR.

[paul_wilson2]

There's a certain other digital photography forum where someone recently took a poll of whether people are happy or not with Nikon at PMA. Shockingly to me, the happy people are in the majority. This absolutely floors me. I can understand being satisfied with Nikon's current product line if it suits your current needs but PMA is about where the camera makers are going. It seems that Nikon is going nowhere. In every segment with the possible except of the low end, Nikon is behind Canon in the kind of features that really sell. And yes, all other things being equal, megapixels *DO* matter for image quality.

 

For better or worse, once you seriously buy into one of these brands, you are locked in unless you want to take a big financial hit. I've been using Nikon for 10 or 12 years now and I have a lot of expensive lenses. I like those lenses and I'd like to keep using them. I also don't really want to spend $5000 on a D2X that isn't even available yet. I'd be willing to spend around $2500 on a well specced 8 to 10MP body. A 4MP body does nothing for me.

 

Nikon, get off your arse.

[fourfa]

I'm perfectly happy. The only lens I'd still like to see is a small, light, affordable 70 f1.8 DX or something like, no AF-S or VR please. The D2X is my perfect camera, and I can wait for a couple years for the price to drop to what I can afford used. In the meantime I have a perfectly adequate D70, which will remain useful for things where the D2X is too heavy. I don't imagine a D200 or whatever with a better viewfinder and faster autofocus will be lighter than the D70, which is heavy enough already.

 

I no longer care about the 1.5X crop since getting a 12-24 - for me the APS sensor is a fine compromise between high ISO noise and cost, I don't forsee being able to afford any full frame cameras. so I'm not stressed about Nikon's supposed ride to hell, I'm happy.

[rob_landry]

Yup, all's great in my world; when shooting 35mm, I'm happy with my Nikon gear. My you digital geeks lead complicated lives.

[david_rivera2]

Rob that is so true it gave me a good laugh. Personally I use an N80 and a 4x5 Crown Graphic. These two cameras are good enough for my needs.

[michaelkh]

*sigh*

 

Yet another sneering thread which ultimately boils down to team loyalty. We

photographers

are no more entitled to a single perfect commercial decision than anyone else (truck

drivers, computer users, vacuum cleaner users). We are not required to buy into a system

and then vituperatively attack the competition in this way (I realise that this may be

difficult to understand for football fans, and I don't just mean the big word >;)

 

To update the old saying: You picks your most important features, you pays your money,

and you takes your chances. If it worries you so much, use your money wisely and do not

commit to a single system. Nobody else has it any better, so QUIT WHINING.

 

If you are already so sure in your mind of the complete and total merit of Canon over

Nikon, sit happy with your Canon kit, but remember your unflinching brand loyalty in

twenty years when Canon is a lazy monopoly, there are no other camera manufacturers,

and you're deleting spyware from your camera between crashes.

 

This is the natural outcome when this brand-loyal mentality is allowed to flourish. You

may be loyal to their products, but companies are only loyal to their shareholders, not to

technology, quality or progress.

[paul_wilson2]

Are you saying Nikon users should just be happy with what Nikon is coming out because if

they go Canon, they'll eventually shoot themselves in the foot? Much of what you say self

contradictory.

 

In fact, it's easily arguable that Canon does currently have better offerings. The 20d

*does* produce better images than a D100. That's not the whole story of each system but

it's indicative of Nikon falling behind.

 

Also, there's the practical reality of buying into one of these systems. It's an investment

(or at least a huge sunk cost) that people don't want to repeat. They want to be able to

use their lenses for a long time. Also, this is not the film world. With film, you can put

new emulsions in an old camera and get images of pretty much equal quality to todays

cameras. What if in 1970 you bought in to a system who's film format became obsolete? I

doubt you'd be happy. If you've ever been involved in any business to business

transactions, you know full well that purchases are made with the expectation that future

improvements will be made.

 

Personally, I complained directly to Nikon though I don't know if my complaint will be

heard. Nikon users do have a perfectly valid reason to complain.

[EricM]

"Personally, I complained directly to Nikon though I don't know if my complaint will be heard. Nikon users do have a perfectly valid reason to complain."

 

Heard? Not likely. Ever emailed them with a question in regards to their gear? They don't even have an auto response like most corporations. They have never gotten back to me via email. It's a lame corporation really. At least Nikon Canada. Three times I've sent bodies in for an estimate, and three times it's been shipped from Vancouver to Toronto and repaired without approval. Would you pay $400 bill on a beat up F90x? They have screwed me over on loaner NPS gear. The last time was they tried to give me a coolpix when my D70 went in. Can you believe it? I demanded the body that I sent in, "How about a D100?" I can't believe it. More frustration. I'm on great terms with them, so the counter guy drove across two suburbs with a D70 to the camera shop to drop it off. He did so without a body cap or any other case or protection on the camera. The thing bounced on the front seat of a car for 40 mins and came waltzing into the store with a body full of dust that I had to deal with. Tonight, I'm furious actually now, tonight was another Nikon mind bender. I just got a new laptop and tried to load Capture 4.2. Then I went backwards against the updates trying to get this to load. No. Blue screen of death everytime. Think there is something on a Nikon website about it? No. Do a google search on "Nikon Capture Problems". We did, and found a bug in capture that shuts down Xp while trying to load third part software from start up. Think Nikon cares about fixing their own software or offering a bit of help? No. Everyone with an AMD or Intel clone (m chip) of the AMD 64 bit chip, has this problem. That's a hell of alot of people that might purchace Capture. Mac owners have more problems with it. Disgusting. Now I've had to disable a security feature in XP in order to load and run it. No wonder there's so many white lenses out there.

[gaius1]

"Ever emailed them with a question in regards to their gear?"

 

Yes - and every time I've gotten an intelligent reply within 24 hours. Including such vague questions as "I want to do multi-flash TTL with an F5, what cables should I buy?" This is Nikon Europe.