When do Canon and Nikon usually release new cameras?

[GertjanGoetynck]

Hey all!

I am planning to buy my first DSLR in 2014 (thinking of a Nikon D7100) but I am worried about the possibility of a better camera being released just after I bought mine..

When are the usual periods new cameras get on the market? And how big do you think the chance is the D7100 gets a replacement in 2014?

Thanks in advance!

 

[kathyt]

Whenever they feel like it. Really.

 

[goodguy]

Whenever they feel like it. Really.

I swear to you when I read the title of this thread I went in to write EXACTLY the same thing just to see you beat me to it.............touche!

 

[KmH]

It varies quite a bit.
Nikon just launched the D3300. The D800 was announced 2/2012 and started selling 3/2012. The D7000 was announced 9/2010.

If the D7100 does get replaced in the model lineup in 2014 it will likely just be an incremental upgrade because the D7100 had major upgrades over the D7000.
Also the D7100 seems to have been upgraded such that it is now a prosumer grade model while the D7000 is an entry-level grade model.
If so I would not expect the D7100 to be upgraded as often as the entry-level camera are.
Entry-level seems to have a product cycle of about 18 months or so, while prosumer and pro grade cameras seem to have a product cycle about twice as long.

Keep track of the major trade show dates. Announcing a new product at a trade show helps add some industry buzz.
The Photokina trade show this year starts on 9/21/2014.

 

[ronlane]

Keith, you forgot that Nikon announced the D4s this week. Not the release of it but that it exists. I keep expecting Canon to announce something on the dslr side at CES but canonrumors hasn't mentioned anything.

 

[apaflo]

Hey all!

I am planning to buy my first DSLR in 2014 (thinking of a Nikon D7100) but I am worried about the possibility of a better camera being released just after I bought mine..

When are the usual periods new cameras get on the market? And how big do you think the chance is the D7100 gets a replacement in 2014?

Thanks in advance!

The D7000 was announced in September of 2010, and the D7100 in February of 2013.

Upgrades for Nikon's consumer DSLR's (D3xxx, D5xxx and D7xxx) have been as short as 12 months and as long as 24 months. Most are about 19 or 20 months.

Hence it might be safe to estimate a D7200 at any time from now until February 2015, with an announcement just before next Christmas the most likely time.


But really, you need to take that with a heavy dose of salt. Any camera you buy will have two characteristics almost guaranteed. It will be "obsolete" within months after you buy it. The pictures it takes 3 years after it is "obsolete" will be just as precious and just as good those taken when it is brand new. You can always buy another newer camera in the future, but you can't go back and use what you didn't buy in the past.

 

[ronlane]

But really, you need to take that with a heavy dose of salt. Any camera you buy will have two characteristics almost guaranteed. It will be "obsolete" within months after you buy it. The pictures it takes 3 months before it is "obsolete" will be just as precious and just as good as those taken 3 years later. You can always buy another newer camera in the future, but you can't go back and use what you didn't buy in the past.

Confucius says this is wise advice from the owl avatar.

 

[apaflo]

But really, you need to take that with a heavy dose of salt. Any camera you buy will have two characteristics almost guaranteed. It will be "obsolete" within months after you buy it. The pictures it takes 3 months before it is "obsolete" will be just as precious and just as good as those taken 3 years later. You can always buy another newer camera in the future, but you can't go back and use what you didn't buy in the past.

Confucius says this is wise advice from the owl avatar.

Sorry about the edit after your post. Same meaning, just a better statement.

 

[ronlane]

no worries there. It's all good advice, but the last part is the truly wise part.

 

[apaflo]

no worries there. It's all good advice, but the last part is the truly wise part.

Thank you for the nice words!

Good decisions come from the wisdom of experience. Experience comes from poor decisions...

I'm a great grandfather with millons of pictures, all in my head, that I didn't take for a variety of "good" reasons. So while my words might be wise, I'm not so sure about the fellow talking.

 

[astroNikon]

I always go by the mantra .... they will announce a new replacement camera shortly after you just bought yours.

 

[GertjanGoetynck]

These are the answers I feared.. :/ I am going on a trekking trip in Scotland this september so I need the camera before that time. Judging by the pictures I've seen that are taken with the D7100 it really is an amazing camera, especially the daytime pictures. The nighttime pictures aren't exactly what I'd like though.. This is what worries me, I'd feel horrible if the camera got an improved version with better nighttime options since I truly do love nature at night, specifically the night sky. It's not like I would be able to upgrade after I get this one either since it is a HUGE investment for me and selling it would be a pain too because of the not so good second hand market here :/

Thanks anyways though!

 

[KmH]

For what it's worth. I just ordered a used Nikon D50 from KEH.com. Nikon stopped making the D50 at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2006.

The latest and greatest camera isn't needed to make high quality photographs. Photographer knowledge and skill is what is needed.

 

[Derrel]

I expect a new Nikon to be announced in February, 2014. D400.

But hey...the thing is, the higher up the model hierarchy one goes, the longer a Nikon d-slr is likely to stay within reasonable striking distance of the model that came before it in the lineup.

The BEST part about a "hot new Nikon model"? It's all the great deals on the PRIOR model, and on used lenses being traded in or sold to raise cash to buy "the hot,new thing". When"the hot new thing" is a major, significant upgrade, like say the D100 was, or the D300, or the D3, or the D800, the more widespread and pervasive the mass sell-off of gear is. When those models hit the street, there were railroad cars full of great Nikon gear being sold within weeks.

 

[GertjanGoetynck]

I expect a new Nikon to be announced in February, 2014. D400.

But hey...the thing is, the higher up the model hierarchy one goes, the longer a Nikon d-slr is likely to stay within reasonable striking distance of the model that came before it in the lineup.

The BEST part about a "hot new Nikon model"? It's all the great deals on the PRIOR model, and on used lenses being traded in or sold to raise cash to buy "the hot,new thing". When"the hot new thing" is a major, significant upgrade, like say the D100 was, or the D300, or the D3, or the D800, the more widespread and pervasive the mass sell-off of gear is. When those models hit the street, there were railroad cars full of great Nikon gear being sold within weeks.

That's actually part of my worry.. Buying it for full price to see it at severe discounts the week after Blows like that are sort of hard to manage as a university student without a real income :/ This camera will basically be a year of saving up all spare cash I could :/