New Nikon Pro Camera?!

[loves_guitar]

As anyone else heard about this? There's chatter that there may be a new Nikon camera coming soon.
You can read about it here: http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/13/nikon-getting-set-to-unveil-next-gen-professional-dslr/

 

[Garbz]

Well you'd want to hope so otherwise what else is their R&D budget being spent on Don't you love rumours. Let's start a new one. Canon is currently working on a 1D MkIV lol

In seriousness though I hope to see some of their research on sensor technology that they tried in the D2H incorporated in their next product. Although I doubt some of the rumours are true, like the full frame sensor. Nikon has put a lot of effort into their pro level lenses like the IFED 17-55mm f/2.8. This lenses are DX designated for APC-C sensors. Now despite what sect of the 35mm fanboys would want to believe, I highly doubt Nikon would release a Pro camera which is incompatible with their latest pro lenses. Much more likely is that they take their new JFET sensor technology to new heights using the existing and now very optimised and standardised APS format. Equally likely is they just buy one from sony, which brings back the question, what is Nikon spending their R&D budget on.

 

[JIP]

I followed alot of the links and see nothing definitive. I see no point in Nikon alienating alot of pro's who bought the 17-55 2.8 by putting out a full-frame sensor but I guess I woudn't be surprised.

 

[Mike_E]

From what I have heard they will be bringing an 18.2 Mpxl, 1.5x Cmos sensor that they will call a Hydra-Dynamic due to it's being able to reproduce 7.5 stops of dynamic range and No appreciable noise at ISO3200 and a max ISO of 6400.

From what I hear, it will be targeted in the $6k range and have 8fps with unlimited burst when using the sensor at 2x crop factor.

I do not work for Nikon so take this as rumor only.

mike

 

[JDP]

From what I have heard they will be bringing an 18.2 Mpxl, 1.5x Cmos sensor that they will call a Hydra-Dynamic due to it's being able to reproduce 7.5 stops of dynamic range and No appreciable noise at ISO3200 and a max ISO of 6400.

From what I hear, it will be targeted in the $6k range and have 8fps with unlimited burst when using the sensor at 2x crop factor.

I do not work for Nikon so take this as rumor only.

mike

7.5 stops? And no noise @ 3200 ISO? That's outright crazy, I'd love to see that!

What I'm curious about is the current talk from Kodak about their new technology that allows them to make their sensors 2-4x more sensitive in low light - sounds like a dream for me.

 

[Alex_B]

From what I have heard they will be bringing an 18.2 Mpxl, 1.5x Cmos sensor that they will call a Hydra-Dynamic due to it's being able to reproduce 7.5 stops of dynamic range and No appreciable noise at ISO3200 and a max ISO of 6400.

From what I hear, it will be targeted in the $6k range and have 8fps with unlimited burst when using the sensor at 2x crop factor.

I do not work for Nikon so take this as rumor only.

mike

In marketing, a company does not bring out all these dream-features at once, even if the technology was there they would improve their products gradually since that way they earn orders of magnitude more money with it

 

[newrmdmike]

nikon better have more than one good improvment. . . or i can't see a reason to stick with them when canon is constantly rolling out effective new equipment.

maybe nikons will just be that far ahead that it won't have to realease a new pro body for another 5 years.

 

[Alex_B]

or i can't see a reason to stick with them when canon is constantly rolling out effective new equipment.

Camera body wise I can see only minor improvements on the Canon-side in the last 1.5 years.

 

[carstenw]

From what I have heard they will be bringing an 18.2 Mpxl, 1.5x Cmos sensor that they will call a Hydra-Dynamic due to it's being able to reproduce 7.5 stops of dynamic range and No appreciable noise at ISO3200 and a max ISO of 6400.

Hmm, hydra means water, and 7.5 stops of dynamic range is 2-3 stops behind the cutting edge, so maybe this is the new Nikonos?

 

[Garbz]

nikon better have more than one good improvment. . . or i can't see a reason to stick with them when canon is constantly rolling out effective new equipment.

New equipment doesn't always mean better. I don't see any reason why someone with say an EOS 1DMkII would want to upgrade to the s, n or MkIII model. Just like I don't see any real reason to upgrade a 30D to a 20D.

If Nikon does release something truly revolutionary (doubtable) then maybe, but it probably will just become another 1D competitor rather than a jump ship the Canon boat is sinking release.

I'd be impressed enough that they make an 18mpx sensor which is capable of noise free image at ISO100-200. Remember smaller pixels = less light sensitivity. But I guess that's what technological advancements are for.

 

[newrmdmike]

smaller pixels yields lower pixel pitch, so yeah, an 18 mpx camera with that sensor size would be crazy.

when i see canon making efforts to get around that pixel pitch (full frame, bigger pixels) i am impressed.

and as far as new models go, the mk 3 is NICE. and look at the 5d, the best comprable camera nikon has is really the d2xs, for tons more money. at that price range there is nothing from nikon. so i bought the d200 . . . not that i'm unhappy with it, i'm not. but jeez, with moves like that and smaller sensor sizes with lenses built for that format whats going to happen if 20-30 mpx's becomes a industry standard? there is NO way they will get it in that sized sensor.

while megapixels aren't everything . . . people won't stick with nikon for making poor desicions. and whats the word on who's making their new sensors? sony is done with them right? ? when there are things they could do to improve, and havn't changed it makes me wonder if they will continue on that path, while canon will continue to do something about it.

 

[Garbz]

You underestimate where they are going. I highly doubt this is in any way a poor decision. Tinier pixel pitch is only bad if it starts to become a compromise. If you can fit the double the pixels with the same quality on the same sensor it is a big improvement technology wise. People often see the Canon 5D and think wow there's something they did right without looking further, but out of the 5 Canon 1D models available only two are full frame, The 1DMkIII (latest model) is not one of them, and believe me it takes nicer pictures than the 5D It also becomes a cost issue. I know 2 photographers locally with 1D series cameras, neither could justify the cost of the 1Ds. Talking about sensors the Nikon D2H as said above has a wildly different sensor than any other camera too, so it is not like they are sitting on their hands playing with model numbers without doing anything substantial.

I look at Canon and Nikon and I see 2 companies who are doing the exact same thing. Both improve their respective products making leaps and bounds every few years with technology specifically targeted at their users.

As for people switching it is just like the old Bank theory. Here in Australia a large percentage of bank customers are unhappy with their bank, yet 1-2% actually switch banks. Now that is reasonably cheap, imagine if the cost of switching involves buying 4 new pro level lenses and flash units!

 

[newrmdmike]

i havn't heard anything about anyone using the d2h sensor tech . . . but i'm curious if we will ever see it again, or if it was a one time deal.

 

[Garbz]

Yeah could just be another vaporware colossal waste of time. It is certainly still on the "technology" section of nikon's website. But it's useless there if it doesn't make it into more products :lmao:

 

[jstuedle]

Well, I'll jump in on this one, seems like the same stuff I was commenting 1 1/2 years ago when I stopped posting. The pixel size on the D2X is the smallest in the industry. At this small size, it approaches the line pair /millimeter resolution (LP/mm) of the best 35mm format glass. This is why many D2X shooters find that they really need to know there glass and camera to get the most out of their cameras. A 18 MP 1.5 cropped sensor would exceed the resolution of all current lenses made by all 35mm format manufacturers. I would look for a full frame sensor or a 1.2 or so cropped sensor. If it is full frame, I would look for the D2Xs to still stay in the lineup. JMHO