Sony wins... (this post is still Nikon related :)

[TheLost]

Sony just announced their DSLR 'style' A3000 camera. Why should you, as a Nikon user, care?

Simple answer... the A3000 is a 'DSLR style' camera that uses Sony's NEX E-Mount lenses. In Nikon terms... a 20mp DX sized sensor in a DSLR form factor using exiting mirrorless lenses. And its priced at $399 (with lens).

$399US... with lens... for a 20mp DX sensor MIRRORLESS camera that uses a well established lens system.

I sure hope the Nikon D1000 that has been 'leaked' is a mirrorless camera that uses DX lenses.

 

[shadowlands]

I'll pass. But sure some folks will like it.

 

[Designer]

Why should we care what they do?

Apart from say; discontinuing an entire line, most of what the camera companies do actually benefit us.

 

[SCraig]

You use the word "MIRRORLESS" as if it's a benefit and should have an exclamation point following it. As shadowlands said,

I'll pass. But sure some folks will like it.

 

[TheLost]

When your little old Aunt walks into a BestBuy looking for a cupcake/doilies/Pinterest Camera what is she going to buy? The salesman/saleskid is going to show her a Sony A3000 for $400 that works with lenses that can be used with the top of the line $1.2k NEX-7.

He/She will then show her a $600 Nikon body that the lenses won't work the D600/D800 sitting right next to it. How confusing is Nikons current DX line up? (How many 'why should i get a D7100 vs D5200' threads are on here?) Where is the full set of DX lenses?

If you don't think Trey Ratcliff's rants don't matter then you are not one of his 50+ million monthly unique visitors. Having somebody that popular ditch Nikon (and constantly bring it up) isn't a good thing.

Nikon's pre-announcement of the D1000 wasn't a mistake... It was an attempt to show they still are relevant.

Read Nikons latest financial results presentation.
Read what Thom Hogan has to say on what he calls 'Last Camera Syndrome'.

A $400 interchangeable camera that looks like a DSLR (even though its basically just a point-n-shoot) is an awesome 'hook' to get people into Sony's FULL NEX system.

Where is Nikons Hook?

Where is Nikons DX love? D400? Lenses? My next Nikon body (d800's replacment) will probably be my last.. At least for the next decade.. I won't need anything else.. Nikon knows this.

The Market/$$$ is in the Newbies!

 

[480sparky]

My little old Aunt is gonna buy a $100 P&S. She won't give a rat's arse about lenses or compatibility or anything else. She just wants a camera that has a shutter button.

 

[Designer]

We are the niche. Most people can't tell the difference between pictures, let alone cameras.

I know people who just rave over their smart phone pics, and the various apps that do neat things.

They look at my entry-level DSLR and think it is a "professional" camera.

Those people would never pay $400 for just a camera.

 

[TheLost]

People want the cool DSLR look... the 'image' the camera gives off is sometimes more important then the image the camera takes.

I walk youth sporting event fields every weekend. I am CONSTANTLY being asked 'what camera should i get?'. You'd be surprised how many people THINK you need a DSLR to take a good picture. I should start recording peoples reactions when i show them my ~$500 Sony RX100 and say it takes just as good pictures as my DSLR... 99.5% of the time they don't believe me.

Most people just need a good SmartPhone.
A very small % of people need a DSLR.

 

[TheLost]

We are the niche. Most people can't tell the difference between pictures, let alone cameras.

I know people who just rave over their smart phone pics, and the various apps that do neat things.

They look at my entry-level DSLR and think it is a "professional" camera.

Those people would never pay $400 for just a camera.

Those are EXACTLY the people to pay $400 for the DSLR 'look' .. The thing is though.. that $400 gives you an entry into a full 'professional' system. Nikons entry level DSLR doesn't.

 

[OLaA]

When your little old Aunt walks into a BestBuy looking for a cupcake/doilies/Pinterest Camera what is she going to buy? The salesman/saleskid is going to show her a Sony A3000 for $400 that works with lenses that can be used with the top of the line $1.2k NEX-7.

He/She will then show her a $600 Nikon body that the lenses won't work the D600/D800 sitting right next to it. How confusing is Nikons current DX line up? (How many 'why should i get a D7100 vs D5200' threads are on here?) Where is the full set of DX lenses?

If you don't think Trey Ratcliff's rants don't matter then you are not one of his 50+ million monthly unique visitors. Having somebody that popular ditch Nikon (and constantly bring it up) isn't a good thing.

Nikon's pre-announcement of the D1000 wasn't a mistake... It was an attempt to show they still are relevant.

Read Nikons latest financial results presentation.
Read what Thom Hogan has to say on what he calls 'Last Camera Syndrome'.

A $400 interchangeable camera that looks like a DSLR (even though its basically just a point-n-shoot) is an awesome 'hook' to get people into Sony's FULL NEX system.

Where is Nikons Hook?

Where is Nikons DX love? D400? Lenses? My next Nikon body (d800's replacment) will probably be my last.. At least for the next decade.. I won't need anything else.. Nikon knows this.

The Market/$$$ is in the Newbies!

I'm confused by the point of this thread? I'm not even a Nikon guy, but I assume everyone that browses this forum doesn't have a personal stake in to Nikon's footing in the market place. They are end users who made purchases based off their needs which I'm sure doesn't factor what the general public needs. So again, why should anyone care what Sony's latest move is if it doesn't hinder anyone's current gear or innovate some "new" technology of capturing stills?

 

[Derrel]

People might want the cool DSLR look, but they also know that a "big camera" is what gives "big camera image quality". If all people wanted was the dlsr look, then Olympus OM-D E-M5 with its fake d-slr pentaprism would have been a runaway sales success, but it has not been. Mirrorless, in fact, is a huge sales FLOP everywhere in the world, except the Japan home market. So, it's evident at some level that consumers, as ignorant and ill-informed as many expect them to be, and not flocking to the mirrorless cameras. Shipments of mirrorless cameras are pathetic. Sales are even worse. Even though prices are lower on mirrorless than on many d-slr models, d-slr models, with their APS-C and FF sized sensors, are selling better than smaller, lighter, newer mirrorless designs. Which is what makes me doubt your predictions of sales success for a $399 camera that "looks like" a d-slr. I just do not believe that a lens mount shared with the Sony NEX system is a real-world sales feature, since the NEX system has had such a limited, narrow adoption.

If the camera used Canon, or Nikon lenses, then it would stand a chance, but Sony's NEX mount is a very tiny segment of the legacy lenses in the world; what, maybe .25% of all the lenses in the world are Sony NEX lenses? Their "mount" share in current existence is basically nothing. Now, if this kind of new camera used Nikon F-mount lenses, or Canon EF mount lenses, then there would already be 75+ million Nikkors in the world, and what? 90 million, is it?, Canon EF lenses already in drawers and camera bags and homes across the world. I know about 10 people who are into photography pretty big-time...not one owns a Sony NEX.

As for Sony winning anything...they are the company that could not even win sales with the A850 full-frame d-slr dropped to $1899 against the $7999 Nikon D3x or Canon 1D-series bodies or the Canon 5D Mark II...Sony practically GAVE AWAY their A900, then the lower-cost but almost-the-same- A850 full-frame, and could not gain any market share, even with a BETTER camera than the Canon 5D-II, and at far lower prices. Sony as a company cannot even turn a profit. For years on end. Predicting a "win" for Sony is a really bold, silly move, based on their dismal performance in the recent past.

 

[apvm]

IMO it is a nice camera and the price is right too but electronic view finder kill the deal for me.

 

[TheLost]

I'm confused by the point of this thread? I'm not even a Nikon guy, but I assume everyone that browses this forum doesn't have a personal stake in to Nikon's footing in the market place.

This thread is just hear to waste time... to armchair quarterback... to pretend like we (Nikon's user base) matter..

As a Nikon user/owner/fan for over 20+ years I think they (Nikon) is on the wrong path.

 

[coastalconn]

Just a guess but I would think Nikon will counter in the next 36 hours and release the d1000. Or whatever they choose to call it. The rumors originally said the end of august and they like to make announcements on Wednesdays.. I'm pretty disappointed the way Nikon seems to be headed also.

 

[Derrel]

I'm confused by the point of this thread? I'm not even a Nikon guy, but I assume everyone that browses this forum doesn't have a personal stake in to Nikon's footing in the market place.

This thread is just hear to waste time... to armchair quarterback... to pretend like we (Nikon's user base) matter..

As a Nikon user/owner/fan for over 20+ years I think they (Nikon) is on the wrong path.

If you read too much Thom Hogan, you'll certainly be convinced that Nikon is on the wrong path. The way Thom tells it, Nikon would function flawlessly if he were the CEO. And yet, the company continues to make the highest-rated d-slrs, and some of the best system lenses, and has some of the best metering, flash metering, and multi-flash remote control systems yet developed. And while virtually ALL of the other compact P&S camera makers are going down the toilet, Nikon somehow has managed to stay even in a market that's much more than halfway down the $hi++er. Every week, Thom has some new ***** session about all the things Nikon is doing wrong, and yet despite that, he continues to churn out Complete Guide to The Nikon _______, as decades-long Nikon owners and newcomers to the system alike continue to buy Nikon's God-awful products like the D800 and the D7100, and horrible lenses like the 24-70 and 70-200 and 14-24 AF-S models...not to mention those dreadful Nikon TTL flash units...