Nikon's aggressive strategy: 8 new DSLR and 12 new lenses between 2013-2014 (so far)

[sscarmack]

.........I noticed the 70-200 vr to vrii..... How much would you say that the improvement was? 35%?..........

Never having used the 1, I would have no idea.

Then again, I had them side by side. If I didn't, I doubt I'd be able to tell also.

But I still think every lens could be improved as technology advances (duh)

 

[ruifo]

.........I noticed the 70-200 vr to vrii..... How much would you say that the improvement was? 35%?..........

Never having used the 1, I would have no idea.

That's the point, and a good example.
For current user of these lenses, evolutional updates of, say, 20% or whatever, would not make them to upgrade.
However, for non-users, these evolutional updates would be very attractive, making them possible new buyers.

You do not need to know how much of a difference there is between the VR I and II versions, to opt for the VR II.
So evolutional updates are always welcome for some kind of public, although not for all public.

Not generalizing, but many people usually only upgrade every other generational/evolutional gear update, unless there is a revolutional update happening (or yif you broke/lost your gear).

 

[480sparky]

Then again, I had them side by side. If I didn't, I doubt I'd be able to tell also.

But I still think every lens could be improved as technology advances (duh)

Then look at it from a business standpoint: If a lens is still maintaining good sales, then why change it?

 

[ruifo]

Then again, I had them side by side. If I didn't, I doubt I'd be able to tell also.

But I still think every lens could be improved as technology advances (duh)

Then look at it from a business standpoint: If a lens is still maintaining good sales, then why change it?

Among other reasons:

• To do marketing.
• To be up to date.
• To sell even more.
• To attract new clients.
• To be ahead of the competition.
• To update the production system to a most cost effective one.

 

[KmH]

Nikon's aggressive strategy: 8 new DSLR and 12 new lenses between 2013-2014 (so far)

People haven't been buying DSLRs or lenses at the same rates as 2 years ago.

Nikon is trying to tread water and not go down the drain by shortening product cycles, particularly in the entry-level market segment.

Where do they go from entry-level cameras that have 24 MP image sensors with more resolution than most of their prosumer grade lenses can resolve, let alone the consumer grade lenses most entry-level buyers can afford?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paxk_LPmdMI&feature=youtu.be

 

[hamlet]

Nikon's aggressive strategy: 8 new DSLR and 12 new lenses between 2013-2014 (so far)

People haven't been buying DSLRs or lenses at the same rates as 2 years ago.

Nikon is trying to tread water and not go down the drain by shortening product cycles, particularly in the entry-level market segment.

Where do they go from entry-level cameras that have 24 MP image sensors with more resolution than most of their prosumer grade lenses can resolve, let alone the consumer grade lenses most entry-level buyers can afford?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paxk_LPmdMI&feature=youtu.be

Maybe they went with the high mp count to compete with phone markets? I mean if you would have asked me a year ago of which camera to buy, i would have said: "the one with the most mp count." Because i didn't know any better. And there are probably a lot of other people who have no clue what to look for in a camera, so they just stick with their phones because it has a lot of mp too. My aunt has all kinds of apps to edit her photos taken on her phone, she loves photography too. It was only when she saw some of my work that she wanted to get into dslr photography.

 

[cgw]

Nikon is really aggressive with new cameras releases. If you look back, between 2013 and 2014, Nikon's new releases are: D7100 (Feb/2013), D5300 (Oct/2013), D610 (Oct/2013), Df (Nov/2013), D3300 (Jan/2014), D4s (Feb/2014), D810 (Jul/2014), and soon now the D750 (Sep/2014) as well. Nothing less than 8 (eight) new DSLR bodies between last year and now. Am I missing any other one? It's easy to get lost...

New? Not so much. I see more of the usual iterations and less innovation--make that very little innovation: D7000/7100 shift was minor enough for reviewers to question an upgrade; D5300 was the usual "new and improved" song; the 610 was penance for the D600 disaster; the Df was DOA; D3300, same shuffle as the 5300; D4s is owned by too few mortals; D810 was an upscale remix of the D3xxx/D5xxx tune; which brings us the D750(?), perhaps the only "new" camera in the lot. No MILCs on the horizon.

 

[Derrel]

Regarding the lenses and TC's Nikon has released. Here are my thoughts on the list you provided us with:

And for new lenses releases, I could count at least 12 different releases (including two teleconverters) between 2013 and now, and we might see more next month, during Photokina:

• AF-S 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 G IF-ED (Jan/2013): GOOD VALUE!!!
• AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G VR II (Jan/2013): Oh boy, another 18-55 slow kit zoom: so what.
• AF-S 35mm f/1.8 G ED FX (Jan/2013): ALREADY have a 35-DX and an overpriced 35/1.4 that sucks compard to Sigma's $900 35/1.4. Sales turd here.
• AF-S 800mm f/5.6 E FL ED VR (Jan/2013): 1 out of every 10,000 Nikon shoots will use this. BAD decision, a stupid lens to offer.
• AF-S TC800 1.25 E (Jan/2013):Again, a new G-series-only TC as I understand it, not usable with anything except a G-series lens...WTF? WHO CARES!
• AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR (Mar/2013)_ ONly what? 12 years since the old one? A wayyyyy overdue update at $1,000 more than the old lens. A good lens, Buuuuut....the new 150-600mm VC from Tamron for $1089 is a better value by, oh $1500, for many people...
• AF-S 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 G IF-ED VR (May/2013): Yippee!! another superzoom...big, heavy, and so-so. Acceptable for soccer moms and dads in Arizona and Florida.
• AF-S 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR (Aug/2013): NOT even good enough stopped down to f/8 to not have mushy corners on 24MP DX, according to Thom Hogan, who rips this lens for being "decidely consumer," and simply not good enough optically for today's 24MP DX bodies....big yawn...
• AF-S 58mm f/1.4 G (Oct/2013)-EXPENSIVE, and not as good as the 50mm f/1.4 Sigma ART....
• AF-S 50mm f/1.8 G Silver Ring (Nov/2013)-NOT a new optical design in any way shape or form...came out to look good on the Nikon Df body. Big yawn.
• AF-S 400mm f/2.8 E IF-ED VR (May/2014): So expensive that only lens rental companies can afford it...but lighter than Canon's older 400/2.8.
• AF-S TC-14E III (May/2014): Only works with G-series lenses...I'm not in need of this, so to me it's useless.

"That's a lot. Most of these lenses are really shining in the reviews out there, including great levels of sharpness in the 36 MPix sensor, like the case of the AF-S 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 G IF ED when paired with the D800E or the D810. Believe it or not, its resuts are equivalent to the world famous 14-24mm."

Ummm, not a lot for me, or for many other people. The 18-55 VR II, the 18-300, and the 18-140 are all lower-capability lenses. The new 400mm and 800mm super-teles and their accompanying TC units make up four items I will never, ever be able to afford or will never need or want to shoot. Same with the 58mm f/1.4...who the heck asked for a 58mm lens except DX people doing the 1.5x math? The 50mm G silver-ring???? That's a cosmetic touch, does nothing new.

The ONLY TWO lenses that really "bring anything" are the 18-35mm which is a GOOD performer, yes, very much so, the newish 24-85 VR-G (the one that came with the D600 kits initially), and the 80-400 VR, which is a $2,499 lens that many people will not be able to afford. A new $10K 400mm? WTF! How about a "new" 105 DC, or a NEW 135 f/2? Those in AF-D versions I own, and both are 22 years out of date mechanically and color-balance wise they do not integrate in the new-Nikkor color rendering!

How about a new 300mm f/4 with VR? A lens people can AFFORD, and a lens people can actually CARRY easily with them, and which will pair with the existing TC14e or TC14e-II, and not need some new $589 converter!

How about a NEW 60-250mm f/2.8 (like Pentax has had for years, in a ED-glass pro-grade model!) or f/3.2? Something the DX crowd AND the FX crowd could use! Another 18-55m 18-140, and 18-300...sorry...no sale. I do not in any way share your enthusiasm for the new lenses you listed.

 

[runnah]

Wow. They are going to have a massive product line. One can't help but wonder if it's too big and will result in market confusion.

 

[Derrel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paxk_LPmdMI&feature=youtu.be

A true CLASSIC video, Keith! Hah hah! I loved seeing this one again! One of your wittier posts in recent memory, this is a video everybody needs to see at least once in their life, if they have not already seen it! The metaphorical relationship to Nikon is amusing!

Yeah, I wonder sometimes how Nikon manages to stay afloat in this business...I guess they are, "too big to fail." ;-)

We will see what photokina brings.

 

[TheFantasticG]

Sorely missing quality fast DX lenses... Would love to see some Nikon pancake lenses too.


Sent from my iPhone using Telekenisisisisis

 

[Solarflare]

Nikon is really aggressive with new cameras releases.

Not really.

D3300 - scheduled release
D5300 - scheduled release
D7100 - scheduled release
D400/D9300/whatever - still MIA
D610 - quick fix of the D600
D750 - scheduled release (if you consider it the successor of the D600 and view the D610 as just a quick fix)
Df - only camera that actually was NEW
D800 - well lets interpret this as successor of the D700. Which otherwise would also be MIA.
D810 - scheduled release
D4s - scheduled release

Thus, except for the Df and the D610, all of these new cameras have been kind of expected around this timeslot. The D610 was just an attempt to fix an obvious problem with the D600, the Df was a halfcooked attempt to do a retro camera.

The only real surprise really was the D800, which indeed was a gamechanger.

The strategy around the canceleing (or removal) of the Anti Aliasing Filter and the Optical Low Pass Filter has also being doing a sharpness revolution in itself.

I would call this a trend, not a "revolution", plus that wasnt started by Nikon, in fact they came late to the party and neither the D800, D610, D750, Df nor the D4s have this one. And the first camera that had it, the D800E, came at a hefty additional price.

Camera sensors wont be sharp until somebody manages a Foveon sensor without the disadvantages of high noise and thus bad high ISO performance. No AA filter is an improvement, but not the final solution.

The growing of ISO performace [...]

Normal for everybody except Canon. Also, the additional gains in this area are decreasing. A D700 already had pretty good high ISO, and the old D3s is still one of the best performing high ISO cameras.

For me (not a sports photog), the native base ISO 64 at the D810 is also revolutionary (again) these days.

Thats again just a trend. The D750 doesnt have it as well. Digital medium format has it since ages.

Revolution, that was for example autofocus, or image stabilization. Neither Canon nor Nikon manage to give their DSLRs a sensor based image stabilization, though. So its only available with them if you have glas that can do it.

That's a lot. Most of these lenses are really shining in the reviews out there

Overall Nikon and Canon do great lenses, yes. A couple other companies with less luck do as well - Olympus, Fuji, and of course Leica and Zeiss. Of course everybody produces stinkers and great glas - but for some companies thats a lot less stinkers and for others theres more of them.

But I am not aware Nikon is more active than before. A lot of lenses are still awaited since ages, like an AF-S 135mm f2 or f1.8, or a PC-E 17mm. Other lenses are disappointing, such as the new 58mm f1.4.

Also, Nikon still has little to nothing in respect to higher quality Nikon DX glas, and DX wideangle lenses are still prohibitively expensive. Want to get good wide angle with Nikon ? Then you have to invest into a FX camera.

What do you think of 2015 onwards?

Maybe finally somebody will release a mirrorless system, other than the Leica M, with really high quality. Sony already did a very good attempt with the A7s. Unfortunately these cameras are still Sony - its not a photography company, and unfortunately it shows in their products. Meaning Sony E and FE still lack in respect to glas - both in respect to quality and choices.

 

[TheLost]

Where is my updated 300mm f/4?!?!?

 

[Derrel]

Canon just released a $150 24mm f/2.8 pancake lens for their APS-C cameras, so a 36mm equivalent lens for their crop-body shooters. Sounds like a pretty nifty little lens! My only current pancake is the 45mm f/2.8 manual focus but CPU-equipped 45-P Nikkor. What a pancake does is it takes a d-slr body and makes it very easy to slide into a fanny pack's main pocket, or into a camera bag with a lens on it, and the whole body/lens rig is super-compact; the pancake lens doesn't extend much beyond the depth of the front of the pentaprism. It's almost like a body cap that can also be used to shoot photos with! Pentax is currently the leader in pancake lenses, and Canon now has the 40mm f/2.8 macro and now this 24mm f/2.8. But the big thing I think is the $150 price point on the 24 pancake! WOW! $150!

The updated 300mm f/4 Nikkor...yeah...that has been rumored for literally years now. The current 300 f/4 AF-S is a lens I have owned for about ten years now. It's a good lens, but it needs a better focusing behavior; it is simply not as reliable a focuser as one would hope for. It's fast, yes, but the focusing seems very nervous, and always has, on multiple different AF modules and bodies: D1, D1h,D2x,D3x,D70,Fuji S2 Pro, D40....it's one of those lenses that is SHARP, and compact for its focal length, but it will sometimes rack focus for apparently no reason. When used with the TC14e 1.4x converter, it's a decent 420mm f/5.6, but the focusing becomes even more jittery and spastic.

I used to try and use the 300/4 AF-S for high school track meets back in 2005 and 2006 on the D1h and then the D2x. The D2x has, I think, the very best AF system Nikon has ever released for fast, dynamic action, with its 12-point wide-area, frame-covering system with its FOUR-position AF pattern mode selector switch; not three modes, and not two modes like the D800 has. The 300/4 AF-S is significantly less predictable than the 70-200 VR is for focusing on fast-moving, or erratic targets (pole vault and long jump are erratic targets). I think the 300 f/4 follow-up needs a serious re-working of the AF-S commands that drive the lens.

 

[TheLost]

The updated 300mm f/4 Nikkor...yeah...that has been rumored for literally years now. The current 300 f/4 AF-S is a lens I have owned for about ten years now. It's a good lens, but it needs a better focusing behavior; it is simply not as reliable a focuser as one would hope for. It's fast, yes, but the focusing seems very nervous, and always has, on multiple different AF modules and bodies: D1, D1h,D2x,D3x,D70,Fuji S2 Pro, D40....it's one of those lenses that is SHARP, and compact for its focal length, but it will sometimes rack focus for apparently no reason. When used with the TC14e 1.4x converter, it's a decent 420mm f/5.6, but the focusing becomes even more jittery and spastic.

I believe the current one is 14 years old now... If a new one ever does show up its going to be bigger, heavier, nano coated and probably cost $2500 (going off Nikon's past updates). Hopefully not, Canons awesome 300 f/4 is $1400.