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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Nikon leak? A 16fps D4 and a 30.2 megapixel D4x?
Jack Megaw, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Andrew Miller, Photographer
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Somerville | NJ | USA | Posted: 2:04 PM on 07.09.09 |
| ->> I read 6fps, not 16, with 1080p video at 30fps. Looks exciting if true. |
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Kevin Clifford, Photographer
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Reno | NV | United States | Posted: 2:13 PM on 07.09.09 |
| ->> Seems like too many cameras to release in the next year. I could just see them releasing the D4 series and a few extra lenses. |
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N. Scott Trimble, Photographer
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Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 2:36 PM on 07.09.09 |
| ->> I highly doubt it. Nikon has a lot of R&D invested in the D3 and D3X to stretch out at least another year. |
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Matthew Sauk, Photographer
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Sandy | UT | United States | Posted: 7:48 PM on 07.09.09 |
| ->> what is this double exposure? |
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Stanley Leary, Photographer
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Roswell | GA | USA | Posted: 8:32 PM on 07.09.09 |
| ->> D4 was 16 fps. D4x was 6fps. |
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Darren Whitley, Photographer
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Maryville | MO | USA | Posted: 8:49 PM on 07.09.09 |
| ->> When I read this, it makes me wish I could just shoot better with what I have. I don't really want to improve my cameras nearly as badly as I want to improve the operator. |
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Joe Cavaretta, Photographer
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Ft Lauderdale | FL | USA | Posted: 9:46 PM on 07.09.09 |
| ->> I would sure like an external audio jack for vid- how about a real DIN plug? |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 10:45 PM on 07.09.09 |
->> You have to wonder if it's true.
You have to wonder if it's really a leak. If you're Canon, do you pay any attention? Of course, the last time Canon paid attention, they introduced the MIII. We all know how that worked out. If it's Nikon just yanking Canon's chain..??
Time will tell. |
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Mike Shepherd, Photographer
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Wichita | KS | USA | Posted: 11:12 PM on 07.09.09 |
| ->> For me, Darren, it's about not wanting to improve Nikon's bottom line year after year after year after year ... |
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Bill Ross, Photographer
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Colorado Springs | CO | USA | Posted: 10:25 AM on 07.11.09 |
| ->> I wouldn't expect another pro Nikon until Canon releases their next pro camera. |
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Dave Amorde, Photographer
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Lake Forest | CA | USA | Posted: 2:01 AM on 07.13.09 |
->> "Nikon has a lot of R&D invested in the D3 and D3X to stretch out at least another year."
A completely irrelevant point. R&D is an ongoing process, not an isolated one. R&D is also an effort that is encompasses many products, and many component vendors, and it is almost a random event when a company decides that enough improvements & innovations have been made to justify a new product release. The numbers of the previous product sold are relevant only as a yardstick to tell the company if they are on the right track or not.
The most successful companies are those that, once they gain an advantage, work extra hard to maintain or even extend it. Those companies that rest on their laurels usually get a rude awakening.
Those of you with doubts should do some historical research on the IBM PC and the Xerox copier.
I guarantee you that a D4 and D4X exist in some shape or form. Nikon will decide when the stars have aligned properly to justify actually releasing them. Also, since everything from the sensor to the supporting microchips to the batteries are developed outside Nikon, Nikon spends at least as much R&D time dancing with their development partners as they do working on internal projects. Nikon is not an island. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 7:27 AM on 07.13.09 |
->> All of the improvements listed in the roadmap are quite believable. To us they might seem like quantum leaps (i.e. going from 12.4MP to 30.2MP), but in the electronics biz this kind of progression is more-or-less common.
Just look at memory and hard disk capacity, for example. You can buy a 2Tb disk drive off the shelf at Best Buy for a few hundred bucks. A couple of years ago 500Gb was the norm. Compact flash, memory for your computer, flat-panel LCDs - they all have had enormous jumps in a short period of time.
When you have a team of very smart people with state-of-the-art equipment working full time to solve problems, things happen fast. Nikon's engineers have full-time jobs. Every day they come into the office to work on this stuff. The team that designed the D3 didn't stop back in 2007 when it was released to manufacturing. The D3x came out a year later - but really it wasn't a quantum leap...just figure out how to glue the new chip into the chassis along with updating the underlying components to handle the data. Most of the stuff listed in the roadmap fall into that category...video included. The chips are all there...just have to figure out how to glue them into the body and manage the power.
Another day at the office for some very smart people. |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 9:00 AM on 07.13.09 |
->> Both Davids are correct. R and D is a ongoing investment; it's a cost of doing business. And the people doing the work are smart - unless it's the D2H or the MIII.
The chip technology is the single biggest factor. If the chip manufacturer, in this case Sony, wants to stay in business, they had better innovate. In tough times, innovation is even MORE important. So Sony produces the chip, Nikon has the responsibility to fit it in a box and write software to make it all work together. Not cheap, but not like building a space shuttle, either.
Last point: Let's say dealer cost on a body is $4K. IF you sell 100,000 units in a year, well...do the math. There's the cost of overhead, which is spread over the entire product line and the cost of materials, including the chip etc.
When you charge that much, your break even point isn't that hard to hit. Some things inside the camera change, others don't. It used to be camera manufacturers broke even on the bodies and made the big bucks on the lenses and accessories. When you're talking the kind of dollars a D3 or D4 body would cost, I'm sure there is some profit being made on the bodies. Which pays salaries, overhead - including R & D. |
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