Nikon announce new camera D5100

[Flake]

I guess this is good news for those of us expecting / hoping for some new camera body announcements in the very near future. The fact that Nikon has announced one will put a little pressure on Canon to follow suit rather than hold off, even if they cannot get the things to the stores or completely satisfy demand.

On the other hand I don't suppose they want another debacle like the new lenses, but my feeling is that Nikons announcement will push them into their own announcement.

 

[foobar]

The D5100 is more or less a direct competitor to the recently released 600D. I don't think this will have any influence on Canon's release plans. The target audience for their cameras that are due for a refresh (the 1Ds3 and the 5D2, in that order) couldn't care less about the D5100 (which, on an unrelated note, seems to be a very nice camera for the price).

 

[WarStreet]

I think this is the direct competitor of Canon's new 600D and I guess the competitor of the possible 650D too. Then we might see a D5200 to compete with a 700D

Maybe I am wrong but Canon seems to create a new rebel with small improvements every year, why Nikon's creates a rebel competitor with bigger improvements every 2 years ?

 

[kubelik]

I'd prefer to see Canon holding off on announcements until they can first announce final ship dates for equipment that's already been officially announced. one lens in the store is worth a dozen in vapor-land.

 

[MK5GTI]

if this one has the same noise performance as the D7000, BSI sensor from Sony? i would think the D5100 is better than the 600D.

they price it aggressive too even in MSRP.

 

[alipaulphotography]

It was more nikon trying to keep up with canon than the other way round. They needed a vari-angle screened 1080p 'budget' camera to compete with the 600D. Looks like a solid competitive camera. Competition is good as canon will release stronger products in future. I'm impressed they didn't delay the release with the Japan disaster! Well done Nikon!


Ali

www.alipaul.com

 

[Loswr]

I'm impressed they didn't delay the release with the Japan disaster! Well done Nikon!

Annonuced ≠ available. The estimated availablity is May, but who knows if that timeline will hold or slip...

 

[WarStreet]

if this one has the same noise performance as the D7000, BSI sensor from Sony? i would think the D5100 is better than the 600D.

they price it aggressive too even in MSRP.

Lots of rumors that it is a similar sensor, and ISO max is 25600 too, so I doubt there will be a big gap from the D7000. Great specs too as usual, but this time they have these new Sony sensors which they are getting better at a terrific rate.

I can easily see Sony as the main Canon competitor within a few years. I think Sony are exploiting Nikon and all the other brands by selling large number of sensors to them and therefore they can justify a bigger investment in sensor research, since there is a big market. I doubt they could reach such a performance in just few years if they were going to use these sensors only in their cameras. After they reach what they want, they might easily start to sell their older technologies to their competitors. If Nikon won't invest more in sensor technology they might end up in a disadvantage in the future. Of course, this is only true if Nikon is using Sony technology and not Nikon designed and Sony manufactured sensors. Anyone knows ?

 

[paulc]

http://dpreview.com/previews/NikonD5100/page8.asp

Looks like the noise at ISO 12800 is more or less similar to the 600D, so I wouldn't put too much into 25600 other than it being a big number. Heck, at 1600 it looks about as good as the sensor in my 400D (looking at the 1000D) at 1600, just the pixels are smaller.

 

[WarStreet]

Checked dpreview an hour ago and there was nothing, maybe I need to sleep a bit more

seems pretty much similar too me too. Actually, when tried 12800 in RAW, the letters where more readable on the 600D even when compared to the D7000. At least from these tests, in real life situations, the difference will be none. I would like dpreview start comparing such tests at same print size rather than 100% crop, as this is an incorrect comparison for noise.

 

[foobar]

The sensor Nikon uses for the D7000/D5100 is arguably the best APS-C sensor currently on the market. Canon's 18mp sensor has fallen a bit behind. Where the Nikon's sensor scores big time is in low ISO dynamic range - which is also one of the weak points of Canon's current sensor. You don't really notice it in JPGs, but the RAW files seem to have very low headroom in the shadow areas and also quite a bit of noise even at ISO 100 and 160 (the sensor's native base ISO).

Nikon is on a roll recently and I can't wait to see what they have in store for the D4, D800 and D400. It will be interesting to see how they are going to improve on the - already great - current models.

From the consumers perspective, competition can only mean good things for Canon's future products.

 

[WarStreet]

foobar I guess you are right. From Dpreview I can't see any difference but from DXO raw data (not their indexes, they are just terrible) shows they are slightly better, and dynamic range is their strongest advantage. But even Sony and Pentax cameras have similar measurements. Are these all using Sony sensors ? If yes I would say Sony is the one who is really putting pressure on Canon, which is good for us.

 

[foobar]

As far as I know these Cameras all use the same 16mp Sony sensor.
So you're right, it's really Sony who is putting on the pressure at the moment in terms of sensor tech.

But apart from that, Nikon also has a really solid camera lineup at the moment and it keeps getting better.

 

[ronderick]

Just to add my 2 cents...

Don't know much about sensor production, but from following this discussion, it seems like Nikon is trusting Sony with its soul by sticking Sony-produced APS-C sensors (if such rumor is true) into their camera bodies. : I would have some reservations about having a direct competitor manufacture a core element for your major DSLR lines. Looks like self-fulfilling trouble in the long run.

It would sound less risky to have non-direct competitors (too bad the Nikon-Fujifilm alliance got nowhere) do it for you.

Well, at least Canon makes its own sensors. *shrug*

 

[MK5GTI]

if this one has the same noise performance as the D7000, BSI sensor from Sony? i would think the D5100 is better than the 600D.

they price it aggressive too even in MSRP.

Lots of rumors that it is a similar sensor, and ISO max is 25600 too, so I doubt there will be a big gap from the D7000. Great specs too as usual, but this time they have these new Sony sensors which they are getting better at a terrific rate.

I can easily see Sony as the main Canon competitor within a few years. I think Sony are exploiting Nikon and all the other brands by selling large number of sensors to them and therefore they can justify a bigger investment in sensor research, since there is a big market. I doubt they could reach such a performance in just few years if they were going to use these sensors only in their cameras. After they reach what they want, they might easily start to sell their older technologies to their competitors. If Nikon won't invest more in sensor technology they might end up in a disadvantage in the future. Of course, this is only true if Nikon is using Sony technology and not Nikon designed and Sony manufactured sensors. Anyone knows ?

thats going to put big pressure on Canon, and Sony/Nikon/pentax pricing could be more aggressive if this is true.

 

[Admin US West]

Just to add my 2 cents...

Don't know much about sensor production, but from following this discussion, it seems like Nikon is trusting Sony with its soul by sticking Sony-produced APS-C sensors (if such rumor is true) into their camera bodies. : I would have some reservations about having a direct competitor manufacture a core element for your major DSLR lines. Looks like self-fulfilling trouble in the long run.

It would sound less risky to have non-direct competitors (too bad the Nikon-Fujifilm alliance got nowhere) do it for you.

Well, at least Canon makes its own sensors. *shrug*

Nikon uses Sony sensors as well as their own, depending on the camera model. Many other parts in cameras come from Sony or other manufacturers. Here is some more information about this. Also follow the links to Chipworks.

http://nikonrumors.com/2011/01/26/the-sensors-of-the-d3-d3s-d700-and-d3100-are-made-by-nikon.aspx

Canon's LCD displays, the last time I took a camera apart were clearly marked "SONY" on the back.

 

[alipaulphotography]

Sony must have been affected by the Japan disaster too. Will this affect nikon's camera production?