Another new Nikon DSLR

[TimIngmire]

Well, I've just received an email from Nikon announcing the new full frame D700 - incredible as the paint isn't even wet on the D300.

Question is, to order to not to order?

Linky thing: http://www.nikon.co.uk/sites/d700/

Am I pleaseed that I didn't rush to upgrade to the D300 - this is the one I should've waited for before falling for the D200

[Cussy]

Tim,
The specs are phenominal. But for me the realisation sinks in when I look at my lenses. All 6 of them I have are DX and with a DX lens its only a 5-6MP camera. So that means getting a whole new set of glass!

The flip side is the high ISO capabilities. For the green I can see this being massively beneficial, natural light shots should be much better.

If I was you I'd leave it a few months. First email I've had wants £1 short of £2k. I'd wait a bit for it to come down, which it will, and you'll have to wait for a Nexus housing anyway
Rob

[ATJ]

But do you really want an FX camera? I know I thought about it at the time the D3 and D300 were released, and while I could not entertain a D3, I wouldn't want one anyway as (for me) FX would be a disadvantage. Yes, FX has some advantages, but the disadvantages outweigh them.

Take macro photography, for example. With my 60mm micro lens (which does 1:1 at closest focusing distance) on my D300, I can take a photograph of a 20mm long nudibranch and it will almost fill the frame at 12MP. Take a photograph of the same nudibranch with the same lens on a D3 or D700 and it will be only just over half the frame. The nudibranch would have to be around 35mm to fill the frame (of the D3/D700) but I could still fill the frame on the D300 just by moving back a bit.

If you have DX lenses, they will work on the D700, but the camera will be "degraded" to only 5MP.

One advantage I would see is it is easier to go really wide angle, but I rarely have a need for wide angle shots (maybe just me). Another advantage would be available light shots with higher ISO perhaps using Magic Filters.

[DDT uk]

I agree. For those of us that also take wildlife shots the cropped sensor is akin to an additional teleconverter without the loss of stops .

[TimIngmire]

I have to say that at £2,000 I'm not that interested but as most of the stuff I shoot tends to be at the wider end I see more of a benefit in the FX sensor. TBH I'm still learning the D200 and it will be some time before I am limited by that camera (if ever) so it will be a while yet before the real upgrade urge kicks in ( although you can't account for moment of weakness such as that which resulted in the purchase of the D200 in the first place).

Right now my eyes are lingering over glass and lighting - the two things that can make a real difference to my photos and with a great deal more longevity than bodies which are coming along at ever increasing rates.

For the time being at any rate......

Here's my prediction for the future - hardware improvements in bodies will start to suffer a law of diminishing returns - ie the point at which the hard changes result in less and less obvious improvements in image quality or useability / ergonomics. At that point (or before then) it will be the software aspects that will take over alongside the promotion of accessories dedicated to that particlar camera. Look at the D300 cf the D200 some nice hardware driven changes but what does Ken Rockwell go on about? The improved jpegs! A purely software / firmware driven thing - shoot RAW and that becomes almost irrelevant - great for journos but not for us. Yet this software could be used on the D200 but they will not make that upgrade available.

OTOH if new bodies rely more on sofware upgrades then the churn / release rate may actually increase as software change as so easy to implement cf real new hardware - of course a release may also have a new hardware change to help justify the upgrade (especially in the entry DSLR and Pro-sumer sectors). At which point you get to get to where a lot of companies are with there compacts - a minor hardware upgrade justifies a slew of new camera's all distinguished b what the software allows them to do - they all have the same software just that as you go down the value ladder so more and more software features are turned off as the recent Canon hack shows very well.

So, in the infamous style of John Motson, releases could slow down or then may even in increase - there's my view.

[jackdiver]

And now the D90 is out...

The first dSLR to short HD video.

Wonder if it will fit in a D80 housing...

Actually, it does look to be the same size...

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0808/08...0previewed.asp

[TimIngmire]

I'd heard the rumour but it's actually real? I'll have to take a look at that (just for interest sake of course).

[KenByrne]

It might fit in a D80 housing but you wouldn't be able to get at the OK button or the liveview button. Not sure about any of the others.

One of the big advantages of the D300 is the 14 bit A/D conversion, from what I've read the D90 is 12 bit the same as the D80 and the D200 so I think I'll be sticking with the D80 for now as the difference between 10 & 12 Mp is no big deal.

[Cussy]

I checked out the videos on the Nikon website taken with the D90. The dynamic video (or whatever they call it) would be pretty useful underwater. Downside is lack of autofocus in video mode.

While this has a number of features I would be interested in, I don't see any reason to upgrade. As Ken points out, the 3 inch, vs. the 2.5 on a D80, means those controls have moved. Apart from that the body looks the same; although knowing what manufacturers are like it'll be different enough to be a PITA.

Personally there are aspects that disappoint me. If I want video I'll buy a camcorder. If I want live view I'll get a compact. What I want to see is a lot of development on things that will make the DSLR a better CAMERA.

So what would I like to see?: better noise characteristics allowing high ISO use (ok I appreciate I've not seen shots, so maybe this camera has them), VR within the camera - not on the lens, more focus points, more control on what can be shown in the preview post shot - I don't like the D80s thumbnail and 4 histograms, but like the D200s full image and overlaid line histograms and a higher flash sync speed. So from my wish list, both Nikon and Canon offer 95% of what I want.
Just my views,
Rob

[jackdiver]

My concern with the "pace of progress" is that when I flood my housing I want to still be able get hold of a replacement body.

Okay, I know that with the D90 now out, then the price of the D80 will fall and second hand bodies will be hitting ebay.

But I don't really have the cash to buy a body to sit in box just in case!