The next Nikon DX body and housings

Having just sold on my D90 housing, and with the recent D3200, D800 and D4, and perhaps the D7000 and other newer Canon bodies.....what channges have these cameras seen that would be expected to be seen on the next cropped sensor body from Nikon?

An what new mods/additions have housingsa seen in the past 2and a half years I've had my housing?

Any relevant responses greatly appreciated as I've not had my eye much on the markets' products lately

Having just sold on my D90 housing, and with the recent D3200, D800 and D4, and perhaps the D7000 and other newer Canon bodies.....what channges have these cameras seen that would be expected to be seen on the next cropped sensor body from Nikon?

An what new mods/additions have housingsa seen in the past 2and a half years I've had my housing?

Any relevant responses greatkly appreciated as I've not had my eye much on the markets' products lately

I would expect a camera that is almost identical to the D800, except a 24MP DX sensor

Thanks, but whats new on a D800?....compared to maybe a D7000 (disregarding the obvious) as I owned one of them for 6 months

Thanks, but whats new on a D800?

Better / faster focusing, better dynamic range and resolution, better video, better build than D7000 with a larger cache and probably faster frames per second than D7000.

Basically an improved D7000 with better more professional build, weather proofing, focusing system

Cool, just more improved then, brilliant of course, cant wait... but nothing NEW then?

Cool, just more improved then, brilliant of course, cant wait... but nothing NEW then?

There is a button on the top right, which when you press it the camera takes a photo! :-) New cameras tend to be about improvements, rather than totally new features. It certainly doesn't make coffee!

Joking aside, two things on the D800 that you might enjoy are the chance to shoot in camera time lapses (where the camera outputs a time-lapse movie direct) and in camera HDR. These are likely to be hand me downs.

Although I am now not convinced the next Nikon will be DX. There were rumours of another FX camera this year - below the D800 and above the D7000. For me this would be a pity.

Alex

Thanks Alex, shame about the coffee button!

I think you mentioned it once before Alex, could be wrong tho. I'm hoping for a D7000/D300s hybrid successor. If there's no more DX this year then I'm screwed for a while!

I honestly have no insider info. I was pretty convinced that there would be a new high end DX in the second half of last year. But none came. The D3200 sensor deserves to be a in better body. But it seems very strange that Nikon would release it in such a basic body first up, a camera that cannot autofocus with AF-D Nikkors, which suggests to me that there won't be a higher level camera coming later with the same sensor. Surely introduce the new sensor at the top level and let is cascade down the range?

Alex

I honestly have no insider info.

I didnt say you had

Thanks

To cater to all levels and interests, a low, mid, and high end camera in CX, DX, and FX would make sense. Whether Nikon has the resources or would consider that cost effective is another story.

Maybe, since Nikon and Sony share sensor development, there is now an agreement that Nikon will get the hottest and best FX sensors, while Sony, which never made great sales with their FX chip cameras, will be allowed more "space" at the top end with their APS-C chip cameras.

It may also be that Nikon intends to relegate the DX sensor size to less serious cameras for beginners and amateurs who do not have higher aspirations. Look at the lenses. Nikon has not made top quality DX equivalents to many of their best FX lenses. Why do the DX 40mm and 85mm Micro-Nikkors cost only about 60% as much as the FX 60mm and 105mm Mirco-Nikkors? At the wide end Nikon has only a 10-24mm f3.5~4.5 for DX while they have 14-24 f2.8, 16-35mm f4, and 17-35mm f2.8 for FX shooters. In the case of the long telephotos, Nikon makes nothing exclusively for DX. In the case of the fast single-focal length lenses Nikon makes almost nothing exclusively for DX. Some FX photographers use a DX body as a non-optical 1.5x tele-converter.

Nikon's new 24 Mp DX sensor, if enlarged to FX size would be approximately 56 Mp. But perhaps there would be no real point a 56 Mp FX sensor because no lens could match the sensor's resolution. The 36 Mp D800 is already forcing photographers to shoot at optimum apertures, like f4, f5.6, or f8 to get all of the resolution that sensor can capture. If that is the case, even with top quality, single focal length lenses like a 24mm f1.4 and 105mm f2.8 Micro-Nikkor, what lens is going to be able to match the resolution of a 24 Mp DX sensor? And what are the chances that you will get that 24 Mp sensor's maximum resolution quality using lenses that cost only 60% as much as the FX lenses cost?

To me, it looks like Nikon now considers DX cameras an entry system for D-SLR beginners. A stepping stone. And that when those beginners grow up and want more quality, Nikon will say that the way to get that higher quality is to move up to FX. And maybe Canon also shares that philosophy.

Hmmnn...

... a recession, and Nikon's cunning plans seem to have made my life rather complicated: I've just lost my D300s to the Red Sea, thanks to the sheer walls of the reefs in southern Sudan, and my own failings, that allowed my Nauticam to fall into a hundred fathoms or more.

I really can't afford an all-singing and dancing D800, and don't know if I should reassemble a system based on my spare but outdated D300s body, move sideways at greater expense to a D7000, make a clean break to a Sony NEX-7 and flog my ports or...

... what?

Any thoughts out there?

Tim

I was also wondering what 6 months may bring to the micro 4 thirds too, I went in our local Electrical store last night to check out its focus speed and other things, but sadly no battery in the demo.... with regards to an Fx sensor, which I've had only one minor encounter with, the UWP has more of a frame to fill at a similar distance to the Dx, while its a good thing to reduce the water column and get closer for a more clearer picture, isn't the Dx close enough? ...I've had enough crap thrown at me for getting too close to subjects, isnt Lightroom and the ever increasing sensor size good enough nowadays to just stick with the Dx and give the marine life some room?

Hmmnn...

 

I've just lost my D300s to the Red Sea, thanks to the sheer walls of the reefs in southern Sudan, and my own failings, that allowed my Nauticam to fall into a hundred fathoms or more.

[/quote

 

Oh Tim, what blasted bad luck. But I'm sure the process of a acquiring a shiny new NA-NEX7 and 45 degree viewfinder from Dr T will dull your pain... I'm seriously wondering about getting one for travel.

Hmmnn...

 

... a recession, and Nikon's cunning plans seem to have made my life rather complicated: I've just lost my D300s to the Red Sea, thanks to the sheer walls of the reefs in southern Sudan, and my own failings, that allowed my Nauticam to fall into a hundred fathoms or more.

 

I really can't afford an all-singing and dancing D800, and don't know if I should reassemble a system based on my spare but outdated D300s body, move sideways at greater expense to a D7000, make a clean break to a Sony NEX-7 and flog my ports or...

 

... what?

 

Any thoughts out there?

 

Tim

 

That sucks! Are you in a hurry? I find it hard to believe that Nikon will not come out with an upgrade of the D300, despite other's who think maybe not. D7000 is an awesome underwater rig as well - definitely an upgrade on your D300.

D7000 is an awesome underwater rig as well - definitely an upgrade on your D300.

I'm beginning to think that way: Sony's lenses and micro 4/3 AF aren't really in the ballpark after a little more research. At least no-one is saying it's got to be a D800!

Tim

It's got to be a d800.

The D3200 DX sensor in a pro body like the D300 with the other bits from the D7000 and a alot bigger buffer like the D300.

Could even all it the D400

Just a thought

Regards Mark

Sorry to hear about your lost camera, Tim. Gutted.

I'm beginning to think that way: Sony's lenses and micro 4/3 AF aren't really in the ballpark after a little more research. At least no-one is saying it's got to be a D800!

 

Tim

I'm off to spend a few days in Malta shooting the new Olympus and a few older cameras. The aim of my trip is to focus on the OMD e-M5 and see if it is a serious alternative to a Nikon or Canon SLR for UW shooting at that price point, or simply the obvious upgrade path if you are into micro 4/3.

I think it will be an interesting exercise as I am not an current micro 4/3rds user. So it will really be a judgement on the system from someone more used to a classic DSLR. Which is actually what I think people are really interested in. Especially when you consider the advantages in travel weight and size. But does it cut it as an underwater tool?

From what I read the camera seems mighty impressive. DPReview gave it the same Gold Award in review as the D800 got:

http://www.dpreview.com/products/olympus/slrs/oly_em5

Alex

p.s. Personally, I am waiting to see what the D400 looks like. Although I suspect that we'll get the D600 (cheap FX) first, if rumours are correct. Wouldn't it be cool if the D400 and D600 shared a body, just one was DX and one was FX...