D3s obsolete!

[d_ponce]

<p> I am heartbroken to see that my D3s is on the Archived List on Nikon. <br>

After shelling out over $5000 and waiting 2 months -- in two years it has been shelved. With so much electronics tied to these cameras, what bothers me the most is that the next step is that it will no longer be supported regarding compatibility with over devices, programs, etc. I should have seen the writing on the wall when Nikon no longer supported (nor can confirm compatibility) with the latest upgrade to the memory card that they recommend for these cameras. It is tough enough for some of us when Microsoft makes everything obsolete every few years, but now Nikon is on the same band-wagon?! </p>

[dbcooper]

<p>They're listed as back-ordered at B&H. I wonder if there are any more left in the supply pipeline.</p>

[luis_g]

<p>Everyone is in the same bandwagon. It's the nature of the evolutionary pace of technology. I bought a D1x for a similar amount of money. The prices and short cycles make it prohibitively expensive for most consumers and many pros to buy the upper tier bodies.</p>

<p> </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>When film manufacturers upgraded their products to meet consumer demands it was generally considered a good thing. Well, except when Agfa revamped APX 400...</p>

<p>Upgrades to flagship dSLRs are this era's equivalent. If there wasn't a significant market demand for upgrades Nikon and Canon wouldn't do it. Nikon's pro series D-lineup is intended for folks who would have spent the equivalent to thousands of dollars a year in film and processing. I'm no longer in that category so these upgrades are irrelevant to me.</p>

<p>Most of us don't need those upgrades, or really need those flagship models. There are still plenty of affordable dSLRs that are very capable.</p>

[d_ponce]

<p>DB: I would suspect that they are not if Nikon considers them "discontinued" and the best course of action would be to get on line for the D4. It does sound like a really nice camera :-). But I do love my D3s -- but I could fall in love again, if I had another $6000. :-) </p>

[Two23]

<p>I've been sticking to Nikon's mid priced line. That way, I have less cash tied up and ultimately lost. The performance of the mid-priced models has more than met my needs. No sense in me paying for 9 fps if I tend to shoot one shot and then wait 6 seconds while my flashes recycle.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[tom_boston1]

<p>What is the "Archived List on Nikon" ?<br /> </p>

[bgelfand]

<p>D Ponce,</p>

<p>Why are you "heartbroken"? So there is a new camera out. Does your D3s fill your needs? If it does, who cares if there is a new camera out? You shouldn't.</p>

<p>As for your asserrtion</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>next step is that it will no longer be supported regarding compatibility with over devices, programs, etc.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I doubt that is true. I suspect Adobe Camera RAW will continue to support the D3s for many, many years. CF memory card will continue to be available for the foreseeable future. The USB connections will continue to be supported by computers. What device or program do you think will no longer support the D3s?</p>

<p>Continue to use your D3s until it no longer meets your needs, or breaks; then look for something that meets your needs.</p>

<p>To put this in perspective, last years automobiles are on the manufacturer's "Archive List", too. That does not mean you have to run out and purchase a new one.</p>

 

[robertbody]

<p>D, I would want D4 if I had D3s, but lenses are just as much important, sometimes even more than bodies. In the right hands and a good idea even D80 can take better pictures than someone with less experience and latest camera.<br>

You have a pro body, with a good lens and right choices (such as right light), you can do a lot..... D4 will wait once the demand settles.... you probably need to get an iPad 3 to replace your iPad 2 anyway. The initial shine of a new camera can wear out, but I think many people who don't have D3s would be happy with it. With the money "saved", you could be halfway to 14-24mm lens, unless you already have it, then there are other special lenses waiting....</p>

[chrisnielsen]

<p>My F90x still works a treat, and that's full of 1990s electronics. Surely if that still works your camera will work for many years. </p>

[elliot1]

<p>+1 to Brook's comments.</p>

<p>But, if you are that concerned, sell your camera immediately while it is still demanding a pretty good price in the resale market and get the D4. Depending on its condition and number of actuations, it is currently valued at $4000 - $4500 on the auction site. At a cost of about $500 per year, you would be doing pretty good.</p>

<p> </p>

[jose_angel]

<p>Some <em>very personal</em> thoughts:</p>

<ul>

<li>These times, -everything- should become obsolete in few years to maintain our way of life.</li>

<li>Young people prefer it this way. They also have the right to enjoy improved goods.</li>

<li>We current consumers that spent our hard earned money, would like to keep the value of our investment a little bit more... but unsuccessfully. That`s life. The concept of things have changed. The idea of investing in consumer products these days is silly. Or you are maybe too young.</li>

<li>What we should know is to differentiate what is still working and what isn`t; also, manufacturer`s want us to buy every new product, and they use their strategies to convince us about which one we need. It is even most difficult; we use to overestimate our needs. Let`s be realistic.</li>

<li>I think we should buy just the items we need, and to use them. Tools have "only" a short "temporal monetary" value; our More now than ever, the important thing is what we are doing with the tool, and not the tool <em>per se</em>. </li>

</ul>

[jose_angel]

<p>About Brooks`comments, I bet in ten years cars, digital cameras and everything will be no longer supported, as it currently is, but...<br /> Who want longer support for their products? A working photographer will be conscious of the technical advances in ten years, so they will probably don`t need that support. Nikon has ceased their software support for some of their -now ten years old- cameras. Who wants a D1 these days?<br /> ---<br /> I have some of this ten years old Nikons. It`d be nice to have updated software for the next twenty years; I was also dissapointed by the notice.<br /> I just dusted off the best of them, that cost me a fortune at that time. With a bit of nostalgia I just checked how good "it still is"... my feelings gone down when I checked that my wife`s crappy&broken Canon Digital Ixus was a clearly better performer.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>The meaning of obsolescence has changed. It used to mean something which is no longer made but still as functional and usable as its replacement - an improved variant - the way cameras still are.</p>

<p>Now, obsolescence means disrupted technology - FAX machines, Polaroid printers (for your PC), ZIP drives, newspapers, magnetic media recording, tube monitors, memory types, even the mechanical hard disc is progressively displaced by Solid State Drives. </p>

<p>We should all be thankful that nothing has come along *yet* to displace the photographic camera as we know it as it would truly render everything we own obsolete. </p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Yes, you should throw your D3s in the trash right now. Since the D4 is coming out, it will stop working immediately...</p>

<p>If Nikon doesn't have a new product for professionals to buy every couple years... they will go out of business...</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p><em>it will no longer be supported regarding compatibility with over devices, programs, etc.</em></p>

<p>I don't believe any Nikon DSLR has lost support in Nikon's software or Adobe's or other mainstream photography applications. What are you worried about exactly? And of course they don't perform testing to confirm compatibility of old cameras with new cards. You do the testing if you buy a new type of card.</p>

[rossb]

<p> Well my D200 is still working ok. The batteries are kind of weak and apparently are not considered safe in some places. The RAW files do not have a thumbnail with my Windows 7 but I understand that I can buy a program to make that work. I decided to not buy the program and just shoot jpegs but it can be made to work. The focus screen is kind of dirty and Nikon forgot to make it removable so that you could clean or replace it but it does still turn on and you can snap up a storm with it. Overall I paid a lot for it and looking back I feel like I wasted a bunch of money on the thing. I decided that I will not buy another one as I feel the rate these things age makes them a poor value for my hard earned dollar. <br>

The good news is I will keep it around and use it from time to time as long as it does work. It is possible to get some nice photos with it after a trip down photoshop lane. </p>

 

[jose_angel]

<p>Ilkka, the latest versions of Nikon software (View, Transfer) doesn`t seem to work directly with some older cameras, it includes certain Coolpix models and the D1 series. Not a big issue as the files have to work via card reader (I have not checked it yet).<br /> I`m sure I have read this issue on one of the Nikon`s downloading sites, but I`m not able to find it right now (<a href="../nikon-camera-forum/00a0hF">it happens one moth ago</a>). Looks like this paragraph has been modified on them.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>A D1 is a heck of a lot more outdated camera than a D3s. There is pretty much no rational reason why someone would use a D1 today given that there are much lighter, smaller, and less expensive cameras that give far better image quality. A D3s is still very competitive and will remain so for many years. If in 2025 Nikon transfer stops working with D3s files, you can still use a card reader, as you said, and there will always be some raw converter that will work with it. Nikon view and transfer are not among the most essential programs anyway. AFAIK Capture NX2 still has the dialog about D1X files being opened as 5MP or 10MP so I assume it can convert it ok.</p>

[mark_bush1]

<p>All the drama! We are confusing two important concepts here: "not the latest model" and "obsolete". There is NOTHING obsolete about a D3S. It simply is not the bleeding edge. It takes the same quality image as it did a year ago. Or did it suddenly stop working at all?</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>Since the D4 isn't shipping yet the D3s is actually still the bleeding edge.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>High-tech electronics improve at a rapid pace. It is common that anything older than 2, 3 years is not quite as good as the latest and greatest.</p>

<p>What do you expect Nikon to do, stop with the original D1 and never change? In that case you wouldn't have that D3S to begin with. Back in 2007, the D3's high-ISO capability was ground breaking, but after a year or two, that became normal and then the D3S got us another stop or 1.5 stops while the D3 was discontinued. Today the D4 replaces the D3S, which is or will soon be discontinued. Expect the D4 to be superseded in another 2 years and itself discontinued.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Funny,</p>

<blockquote>

<p>It is tough enough for some of us when Microsoft makes everything obsolete every few years</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Microsoft has a pretty good record for backwards compatibility. And as it happens, so does Nikon. So, when I start up CaptureNX2 tonight, to edit files of a camera older than the D3s (a classic D300...yeah, very obsolete), shot with a nice AI'ed 1973 Nikkor, on a older Microsoft OS on which still everything works, I'll think about your lamenting, and smile.</p>

<p>Go enjoy that D3s. It's still one of the coolest cameras out there.</p>

[Two23]

<p>Jose--<br>

One of the consequences of Nikon having to take a break from releasing new items for the past year was I started buying old gear. I mean REALLY old gear. Two days ago I bought a lens made in 1847--made just seven years after photography started! I've been making some nice images with a classic look with this stuff, and 165 yr. old photo gear seems to hold its value well. It's been obsolete so long that it's now back in demand. :-) Most important of all, I'm having a lot of fun with the stuff. I will still likely buy the D300 replacement, or maybe a D700 replacement if the numbers look right. My plan is to adapt my 1847 Voigtlander Petzval and 1855 E.G. Wood pillbox lens to a Nikon F mount somehow, and shoot it on a "D400". That way I'll be using a blend of the latest state of art gear with photo gear from the very dawn of time. Might be interesting; will certainly be fun!</p>

<p>Kent in SD </p>

[ariel_s1]

<p>D Ponce, considering the D3 is the third-generation Nikon professional camera, how was this a shock to you? The D1 was replaced in 2003, and the D2 was then replaced in 2007. Here we are in 2012, and the D3 is being replaced by the D4. Here, I'm going to let you in on a little secret so that you don't have a heart attack in a few years: Somewhere around the year 2015, the D4 is likely going to be replaced by a D5! Just in case that isn't enough warning, in a year or two you should buy yourself a personal defibrillator, so that the shock of the D5 announcement doesn't kill you! Now, what made you decide so assuredly that the D3 "will no longer be supported regarding compatibility with over devices, programs, etc?" The D1 is still supported as such, as are all digital cameras that have ever existed. I recently went and bought a UDMA card for my D200, and it is fully supported. Also, if I go download some test images from the D1, they still open up just fine in any of my computer programs. So, what "devices" and "programs" do you believe will not support the D3 in the coming years?</p>