Nikon D850 announced-ish

[GrahamL]

For those Nikon users interested in full frame the eagerly awaited successor to the D810 is close. Unusually Nikon has started an official teaser campaign. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epaRJ3eqKzk

No real details, but likely to have better iso, WiFi, 8k time-lapse (not 8k video) and of course the features that the D500 has and the D810 hasn't with more pixels. However, no facts to cite. Pure teaser.

Suspect real details will be released within a week or so. Irritating.

Graham

[Mike Farley]

Irritating.Graham

Exactly. It's a non announcement announcement. Best ignored.

Besides, the first batch will have some manufacturing defect or another and be the subject of a recall.

[davidb]

[Mike Farley]

Thom Hogan's view.

http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/the ... nnoun.html

In summary, predictably he is not impressed by the marketing message. He is especially scathing about Nikon's "over the years" comment. He expects an incremental improvement in the new camera's performance, albeit at a much higher price than the outgoing D810.

[Mike Farley]

PetaPixel is reporting, via Nikon Rumors, the headline specs of the camera which have been "leaked". As ever with such disclosures, it is difficult to know whether they have official sanction to generate interest ahead of the formal announcement or are genuinely unauthorised.

https://petapixel.com/2017/08/11/nikon- ... -features/

The camera certainly looks impressive, but I would expect its price will be at around the same level as the Canon 5D Mk IV or even higher depending on how confident Nikon is of making sales. For that that sort of money, I would certainly expect a great deal of capability. How many people routinely need, as opposed to want, that level of performance is another matter. Buying decisions are, of course, down to the individual.

[Mike Farley]

And here it is, although it is still not available for a short while yet. From a brief glance, the specs look similar to those "leaked" to Nikon Rumours.

https://www.dpreview.com/news/484019499 ... s-4k-video

[GrahamL]

Thanks Mike,

Good to know the detail, surprising it took so long to come out.

I guess much as expected, the ability with the ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter to copy film neg/pos is in some ways the most surprising addition. Otherwise a nice incremental progression with much more focus on satisfying the needs of videographers.

Cheers,

Graham

[Mike Farley]

I guess much as expected, the ability with the ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter to copy film neg/pos is in some ways the most surprising addition. Otherwise a nice incremental progression with much more focus on satisfying the needs of videographers.

Impressive specs, agreed, but overkill for most I would have thought. Still, Nikon cannot really be blamed for targetting the "must have it all" market.

[Mike Farley]

Thom Hogan is impressed by the specs of the new camera and makes a favourable comparison with its competitors. On paper I would agree with his conclusions about the Canon 5D IV which just a few months after launch now looks outdated and expensive for what is on offer. Nikon still needs to deliver and avoid the recent mistakes it has been making in production. The experience of the D5 and D500 suggests it has learned a painful and expensive lesson.

http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/nik ... -best.html

In another article, Hogan points out that both Nikon and Sony are attempting to boost profits by concentrating on high end cameras. He feels that this is a limiting strategy since it is a smaller market and encourages what he calls "last camera syndrome". If someone has a camera which already meets or exceeds their needs, anything which comes after it has to be very special to justify the expense of replacing it. In my view, that situation has existed for a while now and is the reason for declining camera sales. The D850 looks as though it will be class leading, but is it really the camera which will revive Nikon's fortunes?

http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/so- ... nikon.html

[Mike Farley]

There is certainly demand for the new camera and the first batch due early next month is sold out.

https://petapixel.com/2017/08/28/nikon- ... sold-even/

But is this really the true story? This is not the first time that Nikon has underestimated demand. In fact, it seems to happen every time Nikon launches a high end prosumer camera, e.g. the D500. Quite naturally, the company will want to make the highest profit per unit and demand exceeding supply does not hurt in that regard. A camera which is so good that its popularity that Nikon cannot possibly make enough could even be a selling point.

This does not happen with its pro spec cameras. Professionals would not tolerate that and those models are always released to coincide with the Olympic Games where failure to deliver would be an embarrassment. The same is also true of the low end consumer models where large and influential retailers will expect to have goods to sell in bulk. In fact, Nikon makes too many of those cameras and earlier models are often sold, at a discount, alongside later ones. Neither does Canon seem to have trouble fulfilling initial orders at the high end.

Now call me cynical, but does Nikon really consistently misjudge demand, I wonder, or is it all just a marketing ploy? My guess is that orders will be quietly filled over the next month or so and nobody will have to wait that long. On the other hand, Nikon's recent history is littered with mistakes and maybe this is just another?