D400.. keep dreaming.

Dominantly · Jun 6, 2013

The D800 is most certainly not the replacement to the D700. That falls directly on the D600.
The D800 carved out it own giant file producing niche.

TheLost · Jun 7, 2013

So were do we stand with the D400? lets see...

Canon still hasn't announced its 'mythical' 7Dmk2 and doesn't look like it will be any time this year.
No 7D Mark II in 2013? [CR2] « Canon Rumors

Canon still hasn't announced the higher end version of its 70D body (D7100 competitor?) but we may see it in July.
Canon EOS 70D Coming in July? [CR2] « Canon Rumors

We have a little murmer of the D400 on Nikonrumors... but the most telling part of that article is at the end..

As of today, I have not received a single reliable piece of information indicating that the D400 even exists. In my 2013 predictions, I mentioned that the 7000 and D300 product lines could merge. After the D7100 announcement we have been getting conflicting reports from Nikon in terms of the future of the high-end DX camera line.

I don't see anything in the "Nikon D400 rumors are back" article that is new... people are still wishing/dreaming/demanding... but Nikon is still silent.

We also have a newspaper that fired all their photographers and replaced them with iPhones.
This Might Not Work: Chicago Sun Times Fires All Its Photographers To Replace Them With iPhones - Forbes
If you don't think this will have an affect on Nikon i suggest you read Thom Hogens comments about the situation.

We have more articles saying the days of DX for Sports and Wildlife is over.
DX or FX for Sports and Wildlife Photography

We have the price of a refurbished D800 hit $2.1k! The D600 refurb has been down to $1.3k.. You might say that refurb prices don't matter, but they take sales away from other body's. Anytime a body gets discounted people start expecting that price to stay.. With Nikons rebate/discount history over the past year its obvious FX prices are falling.

For me... as the target audience of the D400.. i don't want it any more. I now want a new D800 with a faster frame rate and a newer AF system in the $2.5k price range.. i'm calling it the D900!! IMHO i think we'll see a D900 soon

Long live the D900!!!

JDFlood · Jun 7, 2013

TheLost said:
So were do we stand with the D400? lets see...

Long live the D900!!!

Back near the beginning of this thread I was convinced that there would not be a D400. To me, it makes sense, we are headed for a more FX dominated world. There will be uses for DX, but as much lower cost, beginner arena. Hogan's article was called to my attention... he makes a good case. Now that another nine months has gone by, I'm going to go back to my original conclusion... there will not be a DX D400. As sensor costs go down, more and more people will be shooting FX, and the lower levels will be relegated to DX. I'm go back to that belief. I can't wait for the D900... I want even better low light performance... I personally don't care about frame rate. Maybe 4K video... although I still haven't remembered to try video on my D800, even though I have had it for a year. JD

KmH · Jun 7, 2013

Dominantly said:
The D800 is most certainly not the replacement to the D700. That falls directly on the D600.
The D800 carved out it own giant file producing niche.

The D700 and D800 are prosumer grade.
The D600 is entry-level grade. Actually the D600 is just a D7000 with a full frame image sensor.

If you compare features it becomes more obvious.

Mike_E · Jun 7, 2013

I have no facts to back this up but I doubt that the production facilities are back to the point where Nikon is willing to jump into a new camera body even if they wanted to. They had a LOT of equipment to replace and that kind of investment will mess with a companies bottom line ie stock prices, not what any company want's to have happen.

Tailgunner · Jun 7, 2013

Mike_E said:
I have no facts to back this up but I doubt that the production facilities are back to the point where Nikon is willing to jump into a new camera body even if they wanted to. They had a LOT of equipment to replace and that kind of investment will mess with a companies bottom line ie stock prices, not what any company want's to have happen.

Isn't Nikon already working on a new plant in Laos for building Entery to Mid level cameras? I also heard the loss wasn't as bad as originally thought in Japan for the high end pro models, they just been having power and supply issues. I don't see a new body anytime soon but I don't think it's impossible. I think for me, I wold opt for a refurbished D700 instead of D400.

Dominantly · Jun 7, 2013

Oh I've compared them.
You get a weather sealed body, more points, and 1/8000 of a second on the D700.
On the D600 you get everything else, including a better sensor and IQ.

I was on the fence about the idea until I read a post by Scott Kelby that shed a little light on what role Nikon intended the D800 to fill. Of course it's just his opinion, but it's a solid one.

"However in my opinion I don’t think the D800 is a replacement for the D700 at all—it is completely different camera with a completely different customer in mind"

"The D800 is for you if you would be a medium format customer, but don’t want to pay $25,000 (or more) to enter that rarified air (in other words you need a very, very high resolution image file and that’s the most important thing but you’re not a full-time commercial photographer or a rich surgeon)."

"D600- I do see this camera as the upgraded replacement for the D700 (even though the model number is lower). Its file size is still pretty high (24 megapixels) but lower than the D800s 36-megapixels; it’s easier to work with its smaller files, it’s faster all around, and it’s got great video features. That’s really how I see the D600 — a better D700. Take that great D700, then add great video features, and a few extra tweaks and updates and you’ve got the D600."

[FONT=.HelveticaNeueUI]http://scottkelby.com/2012/the-nikon-d800-vs-the-d600-which-one-is-the-right-one-for-you/
[/FONT]

Mike_E · Jun 7, 2013

Dominantly said:
Oh I've compared them.
You get a weather sealed body, more points, and 1/8000 of a second on the D700.
On the D600 you get everything else, including a better sensor and IQ.

I was on the fence about the idea until I read a post by Scott Kelby that shed a little light on what role Nikon intended the D800 to fill. Of course it's just his opinion, but it's a solid one.

"However in my opinion I don’t think the D800 is a replacement for the D700 at all—it is completely different camera with a completely different customer in mind"

"The D800 is for you if you would be a medium format customer, but don’t want to pay $25,000 (or more) to enter that rarified air (in other words you need a very, very high resolution image file and that’s the most important thing but you’re not a full-time commercial photographer or a rich surgeon)."

"D600- I do see this camera as the upgraded replacement for the D700 (even though the model number is lower). Its file size is still pretty high (24 megapixels) but lower than the D800s 36-megapixels; it’s easier to work with its smaller files, it’s faster all around, and it’s got great video features. That’s really how I see the D600 — a better D700. Take that great D700, then add great video features, and a few extra tweaks and updates and you’ve got the D600."

[FONT=.HelveticaNeueUI]http://scottkelby.com/2012/the-nikon-d800-vs-the-d600-which-one-is-the-right-one-for-you/
[/FONT]

That would be me.

TheLost · Jun 28, 2013

Bringing this thread up to date...

More recent rumors about the rumored July 2nd announcement of the rumored Canon EOS 70D

Canon EOS 70D Specifications

20.2mp CMOS Sensor

DIGIC 5+

19pt AF System (All Cross Type)

7fps

Built-in WiFi

3″ Vari-Angle Touch Screen LCD

ISO 12,800 Maximum

Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus

Full HD Video

HDR

Multiexposure Mode

LP-E6 Battery

Announcement on July 2, 2013

Canon EOS 70D Spec List [CR3] « Canon Rumors

The 70D will also have some new type of autofocus technology (Dual Pixel CMOS AutoFocus). The real question will be on buffer... can it hold that 7fps longer then Nikons D7100 6fps? Toss in some dust & weather sealing and you have yourself an updated 7D.

On the Nikon side of the fence you still have the Hopefull speculation from Thom Hogan...

Thus, this is as good as time as any for me to repeat my speculation about what else might be announced this year. I expect to see no more than two DSLRs launched in the remainder of 2013: the D400 and the D4x. The D4x seems to be almost a lock, with really only the timing and the sensor choice being unknown at this point. Rumors have it that there's a new version of a high pixel count sensor floating around in test, so we will probably get something slightly better than "the D800 sensor in a D4 body."
The D400, having been postponed once, seems less certain but clearly inevitable. The longer Nikon delays a D400 the more they risk losing customers to others as well as decrease in the potential market size for the product in the first place as some consumers decide to go elsewhere in Nikon's lineup. Once again, though, the primary question is what's happening at the sensor. All the other aspects of a D400 seem pretty easily guessed at, but since the D400 would have a longer life cycle than all the other DX cameras, I think just stuffing one of the existing 24mp sensors inside would be a slight disappointment. It's clear that the D400 got delayed once. Had it made that original announce date, it would have been one of the first 24mp DX cameras, if not the first. But it seems it slipped out of cycle and now the sensor question is the big factor in when it will appear: the top end of the DX line really needs to have a top-end sensor that can last through a couple of consumer DX sensor updates and not look out-of-date (the current D300s problem in a nut shell).

Thom Hogan's Nikon Camera, DSLR, Lens, Flash, and Book site (June 12,2013 commentary)

but then Nikon Rumors puts everything into perspective...

Nikon RumorsAdmin
You have to understand that I have not received a single tip on the D400. As far as I am concerned, it does not exists. If the announcement is in August, we should have some serious leaks by now and we don't. Of course this could change any time.

So.. We'll have to see what happens in the next week.. will Canon answer Nikons mostly 'D300' (D7100) with a mostly '7D' (70D)? Will Nikon have something to announce in August?

... tune in next time for... as the cmos turns....

TheLost · Jul 10, 2013

Hmmmm....
New wave of Nikon announcements coming in August/September, D400 a possibility | Nikon Rumors

When i started this thread i REALLY wanted a D400. But as time goes on i have decided my next camera will be a D800 or its replacement. If Nikon does come out with a D300s replacement will anybody still be waiting for it?

In truth... the idea of a refreshed 300 f/4 is more exciting to me

runnah · Jul 10, 2013

TheLost said:
Hmmmm....
New wave of Nikon announcements coming in August/September, D400 a possibility | Nikon Rumors

When i started this thread i REALLY wanted a D400. But as time goes on i have decided my next camera will be a D800 or its replacement. If Nikon does come out with a D300s replacement will anybody still be waiting for it?

In truth... the idea of a refreshed 300 f/4 is more exciting to me

Well it all depends. If its the same build and size as the 300 with new guts I will be beyond stoked. If its some small bodied plastic job I will be very bummed.

shadowlands · Jul 10, 2013

If it's built like the D300/D300s, I'm in!!!

coastalconn · Jul 10, 2013

I bet there will be lines around the block for the D400..besides the natural disasters, in my humble opinion the delay has been developing a 24MP sensor with high Iso performance of a full frame, (the D800 has the pixel density of a 16mp sensor) and figuring out how to move data fast enough for a large buffer and a fast FPS. I'm also guessing a new AF system that will be the best ever seen in a DX class camera... well since this thread was titled keep dreaming.... I have been

crimbfighter · Jul 10, 2013

TheLost said:
When i started this thread i REALLY wanted a D400. But as time goes on i have decided my next camera will be a D800 or its replacement. If Nikon does come out with a D300s replacement will anybody still be waiting for it?

In truth... the idea of a refreshed 300 f/4 is more exciting to me

I'm sort of in the same boat... I gave up on it, and came to accept the D800 was probably going to be my next camera. I think their delay of the D300s replacement has caused me to move on and set my sights on FF to get the features I wanted. Who knows, though, if they do release one, and it has all the features I want in the D800 with superb IQ and a price that's between the D600 and D800, I might change my mind again.. I'm so fickle..