The Next Nikon DSLR- 20 day countdown!

[deckcadet]

It's Coming! Everyone, Start your ENGINES!

Folks, good news! Nikon imaging's japanese and english websites have a new flash animation on them with a...
20 day countdown until Nikon's next digital SLR-

It is to be called the Nikon D80!

I like what I see so far... and you know what, ramping up for production of this would probably explain partly why the factory is unable to meet demand on the other cameras in production (d50 and D200 namely)...and the price drop on the D70S (get the stock moved out). I don't think they want a rehash of the mad rush for the D200 with the camera out of stock everywhere.

What we know: 10.2mp!, D80, two command dials, apparently SD cards, and probable wired remote. LCD looks like 2.5 inch...
What we don't: everything else

I will keep my eye out for more info as time goes on and will update this thread accordingly.

http://nikonimaging.com/global/

incidentally I have no clue why it excites me so much, seeing as for the forseeable future I won't be buying one (not new anyways, probably used after it is out for a while...) as my next brand new camera will likely be a D3H....which will probably come out not long after this

Pictures have come in from various reputable sources and have been taken from a section of Nikon's site that was up for a short time that show this is the D80.

[deckcadet]

Screen capture... part of the flash animation....

[another view]

I think it's pretty unusual for them to give out any specs before d-day so maybe they're trying something different. Cool, I'm guessing just by what I see here that it's a D200 sensor in a D70-ish body. I'm sure they have another winner on their hands!

[Dylan8i]

good news for me, i am comtemplating buying a d70s or a d200 and trying to decide what one i can actually save up for.... i'll still probbably want the d200 due to other factors though.

[photophorous]

Harrison,

You don't need a reason to be excited about this. I just bought a D70s, I have no prospects for replacing it, and I'm still excited. I knew this would happen, but I didn't know it would be so soon. I hope it's out of my price range, or I'll be kicking myself for not waiting. (Don't get me wrong, I love my D70s.)

I wonder if this will lead to a price cut on the D200? If this new one is close in quality, it could affect sales of the D200.

I wonder what it will be called?

Paul

[zrfraser]

Sounds to me that this camera is aimed at the person who wants more resolution than the D70s, but does not not have the funds for the D200. Or for the photog who has a D200 and needs a backup with the same resolution and control layout. I'm just speculating with the rest of you guys, but this couldn't have come at a better time, because I'm pretty sure I am getting a D70s sometime this year and this just means the price is going to come down more.

Z

[deckcadet]

Sounds to me that this camera is aimed at the person who wants more resolution than the D70s, but does not not have the funds for the D200. Or for the photog who has a D200 and needs a backup with the same resolution and control layout.
Z

I'm not sure the control layout will be the same if only because that picture shows that the mode switch is more like the D70 instead of the D200. That means no "Three Kings" controls on the top left, so the controls will be more along the lines of the D70/50, though probably improved and more advanced. I expect a larger LCD, perhaps yet another enhanced battery to combat the drain of the sensor and screen (the real killer in the D200 though was the image processing electronics, ripped from the D2X). But you're right, that's probably about what it is targeting. I hope for our sake that it has no ten-pin remote port, as the supply on the remote cords is already nonexistent. Let it still use the MC-DC1

I've got clearance to make this a sticky, so this is going to be my first real 'moderator action'.

[deckcadet]

I wonder if this will lead to a price cut on the D200? If this new one is close in quality, it could affect sales of the D200.

I wonder what it will be called?

Paul

You may not need to wonder. Nikon Canada has dropped the D200's price $80 CDN (70 USD). In the USA there is no sign of this drop as far as I can tell, but then again supply of the D200 has only recently even begun to catch up to demand. I don't think any price drops within the next month or two will bring the d200 below $1549, probably to about 1599- a $100 price drop. I would guess that around the 1 year mark, after Photokina more likely november-december, we'll see a holiday season price drop. Again, this is entirely hinging on supply flow- the production line has been unable to meet the higher than expected demand for the D50, and the flow of D70Ss has been spotty recently (probably ramping up the D80). Nikon now likes to ship quickly after announcement: cases in point: D200, D2XS....

Nomenclature, unless they go for a big change, i'm going to bet on D80, possibly D75.

[Tom_Proctor]

I saw this on gizmodo today

What's the difference in 10.2mp and the D50's 6.1mp? Just a bigger picture to print?

[Photo-John]

What's the difference in 10.2mp and the D50's 6.1mp? Just a bigger picture to print?

More room to crop, better quality at the same print size, better high ISO performance since more pixels effectively minimizes noise.

A 6 to 10 megapixel jump is over 50% more pixels. That's pretty significant. However, 6-megapixels is plenty for most purposes, if you set up your files correctly.

[deckcadet]

More room to crop, better quality at the same print size, better high ISO performance since more pixels effectively minimizes noise.

A 6 to 10 megapixel jump is over 50% more pixels. That's pretty significant. However, 6-megapixels is plenty for most purposes, if you set up your files correctly.

Well noise in this case will also be equally dependant on the camera's actual performance at 100%. the D50 is pretty good in this regard. My D200 is not bad, but could be better. 10mp over 6mp though definitely gave me much crisper images coming from the D70.

in linear terms the 10mp versus 6mp difference is 3872x2592 versus 3008x2000 pixels.

[another view]

in linear terms the 10mp versus 6mp difference is 3872x2592 versus 3008x2000 pixels.

More pixels give you more options later. It's a good thing - but you'll need bigger memory cards and USB 2 or Firewire (USB 1.1 will be very slow for moving that much data). Memory cards are very cheap so that shouldn't be a concern. I'd be looking at 2G cards with this kind of resolution.

[deckcadet]

More pixels give you more options later. It's a good thing - but you'll need bigger memory cards and USB 2 or Firewire (USB 1.1 will be very slow for moving that much data). Memory cards are very cheap so that shouldn't be a concern. I'd be looking at 2G cards with this kind of resolution.

Brings me to another point...get cards- big ones- but Get HIGH SPEED cards. DSLRs can take advantage of them. The faster the write time, the less energy it seems the camera takes up. I have a feeling that when I use my slowest card I can tell a difference in battery life versus my fast cards. I have 2 Ultra II SanDisk 2GB and 1 Lexar 80X 1GB card. 1GB is the bare minimum- I'd go 2gigs today. I'll probably be buying a 2 or 4gig Extreme IV when those hit the street.

[Franglais]

I saw this on gizmodo today

What's the difference in 10.2mp and the D50's 6.1mp? Just a bigger picture to print?

I have a D70 (6Mpix) and a D200 (10Mpix). Already the D70 could do A3 sized (30x40 inch) prints that were just fine. I can't actually see any great improvement in an A3 print from the D200. I don't find that in real life the extra pixels add very much.

The real advantage of the new sensor is that it has a more gentle reponse to light with more open shadows and less tendency to burn out the highlights. The D70 metering system was good already but the D200 one is better.

Overall it's a step forward. I don't know if I'll be trading in my D70 for the newcomer, however. 6Mpix is enough for most uses and anyway I have the D200 when I need more.

Charles

[Photo-John]

The real advantage of the new sensor is that it has a more gentle reponse to light with more open shadows and less tendency to burn out the highlights. The D70 metering system was good already but the D200 one is better.

That's good information - whether it applies or not. Remind us all that the number of pixels isn't the whole story. The quality of the information that each one collects is important - maybe more important. So you're pretty sure it's the same sensor as the D200 uses?

[deckcadet]

That's good information - whether it applies or not. Remind us all that the number of pixels isn't the whole story. The quality of the information that each one collects is important - maybe more important. So you're pretty sure it's the same sensor as the D200 uses?

I'm not sure. I would think it is a slightly different version that won't support the 4 channel readout- something more similar to the A100 rather than the D200, though it is possible it will get the same sensor or that they are evolutions of the same design.

One thing that has been noted however is that while the same general sensor makes it into many bodies by several manufacturers, the Nikons generally have something going on with them that causes a slightly different output (that I personally like more).

[Speed]

I read in the latest Outdoor Photographer that Sony has just released the A100. It has a 10.2 mp sensor (I'm guessing the same one used in the D200) and they are going to sell it for under $1000. Sounds like someone other than Canon is influencing Nikon's market now!

:-D

More options, more choices, and more competition means the consumers win.

Don't you just LOVE the Free Enterprise system?

[deckcadet]

The A100 sensor, while sony and 10mp is *not* the D200 sensor by their own admission. it does not have 4 channel readout etc. Also, it suffers from Sony's processing

[Franglais]

I'm not sure. I would think it is a slightly different version that won't support the 4 channel readout- something more similar to the A100 rather than the D200, though it is possible it will get the same sensor or that they are evolutions of the same design.

One thing that has been noted however is that while the same general sensor makes it into many bodies by several manufacturers, the Nikons generally have something going on with them that causes a slightly different output (that I personally like more).

My guess is that it's the D200 sensor without the 4-channel readout but the same image processor Compared with the D200 it will probably not manage 5 frames/second but the image should look the same.

Nikon seem to use their own variants of Sony sensors. The D50 and D70 manage a flash sync speed of 1/500s by using the "electronic shutter" feature of their sensors but that's not something you find on the Pentax and Minota cameras using what is supposed to be the same sensor.

Charles

[photophorous]

I have a D70 (6Mpix) and a D200 (10Mpix). Already the D70 could do A3 sized (30x40 inch) prints that were just fine. I can't actually see any great improvement in an A3 print from the D200. I don't find that in real life the extra pixels add very much.

Having recently purchased a D70s, I love hearing this.

...envy subsiding...

Paul

[Ashton K.]

I'm assuming this will reduce the price of the D70s, but by how much, and how soon do you think? I'm kind of price shopping, and if the D70s dropped in price significantly, I'd dive on one. (Not literally).

[deckcadet]

The D70S already dropped about $100 in the past month or so. it would probably drop maybe $50-100 more if it remains in production, however given the price point of the Sony A100, the features of the D50, the need to maintain product distinction, and the fact that the production lines have been overwhelmed at the factory where the D50/70S/200 are produced, I would think that the new camera would totally suppland the D70S inside of a few months.

[Ashton K.]

I'm considering buying one, just trying to decide how long to wait, or whether to consider a different camera.

[deckcadet]

my advice, Ashton, is to wait until this new announcement and see if it has any features that tickle your fancy.

[Ashton K.]

I probably wouldn't be able to afford it, if its cost is over 1000. I'm just hoping it'll bring some other cameras formally unaffordable by me, down into my price range, or at least make the prices more palpitable.