Any news on the long-awaited Nikon D400 yet? (1 Viewer)

Either that or maybe a D800h w/ fewer MPs (maybe ala the D610's 24MP sensor w/ perhaps modest IQ improvement... or even the D4's 16MP sensor) and hopefully at a modestly lower price?

Could really use an upgrade from my old D200 (w/ its unreliably loosened, internal AF screwdrive after taking a big tumble on top of being long-in-the-tooth in general) and my daughter's D5100 (which I sorta co-opted for quite some time ) now...

Given the D7100's sensor's image quality, I probably don't need Nikon's fullframe at this point. Seems like only ~1 stop difference there (at 24MP anyway), which would be easily offset by other considerations like lens vignetting/edge-softness concerns, DoF, etc. in most instances.

IF nothing's coming soon, will probably have to choose between D7100 and D610 -- I keep going back and forth between them. Might just go w/ D7100 for now, save the $ diff, and maybe add whatever makes sense later to have 2 bodies -- whether D400 or D800h or similar. Doesn't seem to make sense to settle on D610 now (or even D800, if I splurge) if I probably won't be happy enough w/ it anyway... Not that I really want to add 2 bodies just for shooting stills -- that's more for shooting video (w/ diff POVs and editing) than stills in my case...

_Man_

nope and it's very frustrating. I would like such a beast for my birding and football shooting.

That's too bad. What the heck is up w/ Nikon these days anyway?

I tried to find out at Thom Hogan's site, but nada. Seems almost like Nikon has fallen off the face of the earth again (as far as semi-pros/prosumers are concerned). Either that or they've gone back to being the Nikon of the late-90's and early-2000's before they woke up and gave Canon's DSLR dominance a run for their $$$.

Well, I guess maybe it's not quite that bad... but just frustrating for those of us who know what we want/need...

BTW, is it just me or do we still have to subscribe to our own threads in order to get notifications here?

Didn't get a notification for Sam's reply post.

_Man_

Yes Man, you need to subscribe to a thread to receive notifications of new posts when made.


Cees

Thanks, Cees, though it's odd to require the extra step for a thread I started myself...

_Man_

Yes, it would make a nice befault.
(One should still be able to switch it off again.)


Cees

Hmmm... Didn't realize the D800 has a 1.2x crop mode that yields ~25MP and bumps the frame rate a tad bit upto 5fps. Also means AF covers more of the actual image area, and some DX lenses might even be very useable w/ no serious vignetting.

Looks like my 17-55DX f/2.8 will be very useable from ~20-55mm in 1.2x crop, which at least gives me what I have effectively at the wide end in DX crop (and a zoom range that's actually not far off from the 24-70 f/2.8 in FX mode):

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/50126326

https://www.flickr.com/groups/1567431@N22/discuss/72157636950830583/

Also, just noticed talk that the D7100's 24MP DX Toshiba sensor is prone to banding in the deep shadows, which isn't visible unless you try to "push" the exposure quite a bit -- maybe a non-issue 99.999% of the time. Beyond that issue, the D7100's IQ does seem to hold its own very well.

Anyway, now I'm wondering if I shouldn't just go for a refurbed D800 and use it mostly in 1.2x crop instead since I don't want to deal w/ the extra 11MP most times. I did used to eye the 1.3x crop Canon 1D line back before Nikon finally came out w/ FX bodies afterall...

I don't really need faster than the 5fps at 1.2x crop -- though the D7100's buffer limit might get annoying, which has definitely been the case w/ my daughter's D5100 even though I don't normally shoot sports and such.

And it's starting to look like maybe Nikon just has no intention of releasing a D400 and just expect the D800 to be it -- just use it in DX mode for ~15MP results at 6fps when that fits the bill...

Might not be the ideal way to go, but maybe Nikon's decided this (plus the D610) is the best compromise/bridge between DX prosumer to the FX pro given all considerations, including production cost and market viability perhaps...

Something to (re)consider wrt the D800... Of course, I'm sure Nikon will finally come out w/ something else as soon as I get one, LOL...

_Man_

ManW_TheUncool said:

Also, just noticed talk that the D7100's 24MP DX Toshiba sensor is prone to banding in the deep shadows, which isn't visible unless you try to "push" the exposure quite a bit -- maybe a non-issue 99.999% of the time. Beyond that issue, the D7100's IQ does seem to hold its own very well.

Click to expand...

I do not keep up with what goes on in Nikonland. When did they start using Toshiba sensors? I thought Nikon used Sony sensors in their dSLRs.

They apparently started using Toshiba for the (pro)consumer level DX line starting w/ the D5200 or so for 24MP.

_Man_

D800s speculative specs were posted a few days ago...
http://nikonrumors.com/2014/03/25/rumors-nikon-d800s-camera-preliminary-specifications.aspx/

Thanks for alerting me to the rumored D800s, Sam -- I was actually starting to wonder about that too.


Not crazy about waiting til year's end for it though... considering I'd probably be spending an extra ~$600 (or more) for a new body (vs a refurbed one), and the only probable benefit that matters to me would be sRAW (for smaller, downsized RAW files) and maybe slightly better video IQ and capabilities (due to the new Expeed 4 processor) -- not sure I care about lack of AA filter, which is not exactly a high likelihood for a $3K price point anyway. And that's assuming I can even get my hands on one when it first hits the streets, which is no guarantee at all. That plus I'd also need to be concerned about potential new issues that can occur w/ a new model... even though it should just be a minor update to the D800.

As is, I probably won't need sRAW if I'm shooting mostly in 1.2x crop mode for ~25MP (and DX crop on occasion for ~15MP w/ maybe very sparing use of FX when I really want the full 36MP). I'm warming to the idea of using my 17-55 f/2.8 from ~20mm up for 1.2x crop and from ~28mm up for (sparing use of) FX. Certainly saves me from having to spend $$$ on a good widezoom in that range -- and I do still have a Sigma 20mm f/1.8 prime I can use if/when I need FX at/around that focal length.

Also, the sRAW solution, if included, is itself essentially a workaround kinda thing anyway. At some point, one would want to just use the full 36MP RAW more regularly once file size and the PP aspect get worked out in the future -- I did recently buy a new Core i7 PC plus a good 256GB SSD for this reason afterall... And sRAW probably only makes all that much sense if/when shooting in FX mode anyway, which means getting a new widezoom to match sooner than later, instead of using my 17-55 f/2.8 for the forseeable future.


At the moment, I'm seriously leaning toward just picking up a refurbed D800 before taking the family on a short spring break vacation a couple weeks from now. And waiting til year's end for what will likely be marginal benefit just won't do w/ so many opps before then on top of the couple times or more I'd probably need the extra body for video shoots before then...

And who knows? Maybe Nikon will be nice enough to offer a firmware update that includes sRAW (and a couple other new features or minor improvements) even though the D800 will still only have the Expeed 3 processor in it -- Nikon has done that before when a new "s" model is released, so it's not exactly far-fetched...


Well, I guess it's good to have pretty firm idea when the D800s will likely arrive (and the probable, minor improvements). Then I won't feel a need to wait any further for it... though all this begs for me to wonder what Nikon will do for the rumored D7200 that may arrive around the same time as well...

_Man_

Gotcha, will keep my eye out for deals for you. You missed a good one yesterday, refurb D800s were the Ebay deal of the day recently at $2100...
http://slickdeals.net/f/6824524-nikon-d800-36-3-mp-cmos-fx-format-digital-slr-camera-body-only-2099-99-free-shipping-ebay-daily-deal

Oh really? They come down that far?

Sounds good. I'd jump on it at that price. Hope such a deal comes again w/in the week or so.

Thanks.

_Man_

Hmmm... That eBay listing (referenced in the SlickDeals post) is apparently for new D800, not refurbed, and likely "gray market" import -- plus it's from a relatively shady location in Brooklyn, LOL. That's probably why it went as low as it did before.

There are other, better known places that sell imported/gray-market D800s, eg. Abe's of Maine, but not sure I'd want to go that route for a D800 even though it'd cost a whole lot less than an official USA D800 (from an authorized dealer).

But the big price diff does get me wondering though... and I found a 3-yo post from an Adorama rep in NikonRumors indicating that one could get repair service from a certain Nikon authorized service center (though not Nikon USA themselves), if needed, for such imports. Still not sure if that's a good idea for a D800 though -- it'll still cost over $2K, so not exactly a small sum to risk...

http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=2402

Anyone here tried getting repair service for a gray-market import, especially a Nikon DSLR body?

Note that none of the more reputable authorized dealers sell gray-market imports of Nikon DSLRs -- they generally only sell such for lenses and speedlights (and film bodies in the past). FWIW, Abe's of Maine is definitely a bit fringy -- they apparently are no longer an authorized Nikon dealer based on Nikon's more recent listings -- and is probably the best known one I can find that sells gray-market D800 -- I've bought a few things from them long ago (back when they were still in Brooklyn), including a Nikon D50 (in person) about a decade ago. Other than the fact they're no longer Nikon authorized, they're probably fairly comparable to Beach Camera, and has even moved into the same part of NJ several years back -- I've also bought some photo/video stuff from Beach Camera though never shopped there in person...

_Man_

Ah hell, I heard about it 3rd hand, sorry to have given you bogus info. The people responsible have been sacked.

No worries, Sam. That was not meant to be a complaint on my part.

Now, I'm also considering whether to bid (or do the BIN) on a used (USA model) D800 or not since eBay's offering me a $100 coupon (valid thru tomorrow) since the Amazon marketplace refurbs apparently bumped up in price by another $100 to make them a bit less appealing to me...

Think I'm also gonna contact APS to verify whether they do repairs for "gray" D800's. There does seem to be scattered reports as recent as a few months ago that they still do...

_Man_

Gotcha. Here's the thing. $1000 is my tipping point for stuff new vs. refurb or pre owned. Anything more than that and it's not worth it to me to try to trim pennies. Is it really worth the potential downside to a disaster if something goes wrong, even if you think you have it covered beforehand? If a 10% swing in the difference of price on something that expensive is going to make you crazy searching for deals and bargains then how F'ed are you if it gets lost, stolen or broken? And I say this as someone carrying 10 grand on a stick to highly dynamic events sometimes in bad neighborhoods, I would be devastated to lose my gear and I think I'm covered on most of it insurance wise, but still, I'd not give up the manufacturers warranty under any conditions...

I hear yah. 10% swing for ~$250 diff is not much between this (USA) demo unit w/ ~1K actuations I'm eyeing on eBay and say a KEH listing on Amazon for a Nikon refurbed unit w/ unknown actuation count -- wish they could tell me the actuation count though.

I have bought a few vintage violins on eBay between $1K and the price of the D800 in the past, and yes, ran into some issues though that's where using AmEx for payment definitely makes a real diff -- much better than just relying on eBay's and/or PayPal's buyer protection. Of course, those violins would easily cost 2x as much (or more) at a reputable violin shop unlike a D800.

Still, the refurb only comes w/ 90-day Nikon warranty... although KEH offers 1 year of their own (whatever that actually means). Paying w/ AmEx would probably help cover me for the first 30-60 days, and it's doubtful any serious problems would limit themselves to the small window between then and the end of the 90-day refurb warranty period. Near as I can tell, the biggest concern would be that Nikon USA completely refuses to service "gray market" imports, but this unit is a USA model.

Too bad I wasn't quite ready to commit on the purchase when Amazon marketplace still had some refurbs for another $100 less just a few days ago...

_Man_

Hmmm... Apparently, KEH also has several ("mint" condition) refurbed D800 listed on eBay, but somehow, I didn't see them before -- only found them by going thru KEH's own site's link to eBay. Same listed price as on Amazon, so ends up being ~$100 less for me (after my eBay coupon). Think I'll go for that instead...

_Man_