Disappointed with Nikon and Photokina

[johne37179]

<p>How many D7100s get sold compared to D3s? I don't think the two cameras are real competition in the marketplace. I'm sure there are some D3 users who might consider a D7100 and the other way around, but I doubt that anyone sees them as true equivalents. In my opinion it would be a big business mistake to concede the D7100 follow-on customer to Canon in order to retain a small number of D3 customers.</p>

[Mike D]

<p>E.J. You're right in that the D7100 and D3s don't really compete with each other. They're different tools for different purposes. My D7100 is really terrific all around, moderately sized and weighted, camera that I like to take on trips. It is not a sports camera due to it's slow FPS and very limited buffer. If I use my Nikon telephoto lenses, I use my D300 for daytime sports and action and my D700 for football at night. I don't own a D3s but I believe that sports and action are its primary purpose. In short, the D7100 and D3s are two different tools for two different purposes and Nikon seems to be abandoning the sports segment of the advanced amateur, sports shooter market. Ironically, it is the sports segment of the market where DSLRs absolutely excel against all other types of imaging equipment including mirror-less. </p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<blockquote>

<p>How many D7100s get sold compared to D3s?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Michael is right about these two not being in competition with each other. In fact, they are not in competition <em>at all. </em> I am looking at upgrading my D7000 to the D7100, a decision which will have nothing to do with my full frame sensor bodies. (I use the D800E for high resolution and the D3s for action shots and for low light shots.)</p>

<p>I do have two long primes: the old Nikon AF 300mm f/4 (not the AF-S model) and the even older 600mm f/4 Ai-S (manual focus). The D7100 is a very attractive option to use with long primes (or the long end of the zoom range for serious zooms, such as both of the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 versions with VR, whether VR I or VR II). </p>

<p>Sometimes there is nothing quite like borrowing or renting to see "what works with what" for your own purposes.</p>

<p>As for Nikon and Photokina, I am not troubled at where Nikon has positioned itself in the market right now. Others, especially those who shoot DX overwhelmingly, are often quite vocal that the D7000 series is not good enough for their purposes, but that upper DX series (D7000 and D7100) is quite congruent with my own purposes. Not all of us are still wringing our hands over the failure of Nikon to come our with a D400 or with a camera with the specs of the Canon 7D II.</p>

<p>I am wondering (only as a matter of idle speculation) what Canon is going to do with possible upgrades to the 6D and the 5D III. I have no real complaints with what Nikon is doing to consolidate its emphasis on full frame cameras, and its crop sensor cameras are perfectly good for my purposes--and for my lenses.</p>

<p>I just sold my last Canon L series lens <em>today</em>. That was a belated punctuation mark to a decision made about two years ago to buy the D800E and then to pick up the D3s on the used market. Nothing to date has impelled me to think that I made the wrong decision in moving to Nikon (after losing a job and having to sell most of my Canon gear). I certainly do not ever anticipate moving again. Once is definitely enough, and, if Canon had made anything to compete with the D800 series, I would not have made the move in the first place. I have managed to make the move without taking a major financial hit by buying mostly on the used market over the last two years, but it has been disruptive enough to consolidate all my gear around one brand (after shooting the other for thirty years) that I certainly do not want to try it again.</p>

<p>If I were a pro or if I made a living anywhere besides higher education, I might be able to afford to continue to straddle the Canon-Nikon fence, but in my case a choice had to be made, and I made it. For me it was the right decision. For others I would not necessarily recommend it. I was very happy back in the days when most full-frame DSLRs were Canon, but those days are long since past, and I am definitely a full-frame shooter most of the time, at least when I am serious about my photography. Others cannot say that, and they will likely stay with or move to Canon. Most of us like to think that some degree of reason (as opposed to compulsion) has driven our decisions to buy what we have bought. In my case, as I mentioned above and previously, loss of a job and having to sell off most of my Canon gear back in the winter and spring of 2012 made the switch a more rational choice. I would not recommend switching brands in general. Canon is still perfectly competent in what it does.</p>

<p>Photokina was just one little blip for me on the radar screen of camera development. Others see it as a game changer.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>