Thoughts on the Nikon D400

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Canon was very slow to market with a replacement for the EOS 7D, but ended up making a very good camera in the end with the EOS 7D Mark II.</p>
<p>Nikon on the other hand is still without a modern, flagship, APS-C camera. The D300 was announced in 2007, and the D300s refresh was in 2009. So will we ever see a Nikon D400? Or will Nikon continue to focus on full frame cameras and the entry level APS-C market?</p>
<p>Thom Hogan seems to think so:</p>
<blockquote><p>I’m hearing the D400 prototype rumors again with the goal of a fall launch, yet the list of features hasn’t seemed to change a lot. Sure, 24mp, 8-10 fps, and higher video specifications. But despite another whole generation of cameras passing by between the prototypes, the end point didn’t seem to change much, as many of the same features are being mentioned again.</p></blockquote>
<p>Thom has done a nice article about what to expect in the D400, whenever it does make it to market. A lot of what has been written in the past has appeared in other Nikon DSLR bodies, full frame and APS-C alike.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/the-d400-in-2011.html" target="_blank">Read the full article</a></p>

 

[sanj]

I prefer the specs of 7D2 more. Much more.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

I am not sure we will ever see a D400. I guess Nikon was unable to make a good enough business case for the 400.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The business case for a D400 in a sharply declining market just isn't going to show its a good way for Nikon to invest their funds.

The APS and FF sensors must be priced closer together and lower. If a FF sensor costs $100 and a APS costs $20, that means the camera will be priced close to the FF versions.

Canon has been able o squeeze out huge profits from the 7D MK II because they are able to hold the 5D MK III so high. I expect to see gray market 7D II's drop to $1000 come August or September. That makes the business case even tougher for a D400.

 

[Aglet]

A chat I had w 2 Nikon reps recently about the D400 even had them coming from both sides of the topic; one saying the D7200 was more than enough and the other understanding customer desire for a pro-body crop camera with high frame rate.
Nikon will do whatever they can with the resources they have to throw at the problem, with financial gain a more likely deciding factor. Altho that certainly does not explain the reasoning behind the DF! yikes. That may have been a discretionary R&D error they don't want to repeat. Great camera hampered by poor ergonomics.
OTOH, lots of Nikonians yammering for a D400...

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

A chat I had w 2 Nikon reps recently about the D400 even had them coming from both sides of the topic; one saying the D7200 was more than enough and the other understanding customer desire for a pro-body crop camera with high frame rate.
Nikon will do whatever they can with the resources they have to throw at the problem, with financial gain a more likely deciding factor. Altho that certainly does not explain the reasoning behind the DF! yikes. That may have been a discretionary R&D error they don't want to repeat. Great camera hampered by poor ergonomics.
OTOH, lots of Nikonians yammering for a D400...

I always suspected that they had to purchase a minimum number of D4 sensors, and with sales slowing, they were looking for a way to use them without hurting D4 sales. I don't think it worked.

We are going to see more of this throwing products out to see what sticks. Canon is starting to do it as well.

 

[Halfrack]

I'm thinking there are too many models in both the Canon and Nikon lineup already. Kind of like Apple before the return of Steve, there are this years crop bodies, left overs from last year, and way too much confusion. I mean, Canon lists 17 dSLR cameras here: http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/ and Nikon lists 17 (though some outdated models are still listed) here http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/index.htm

I mean, too many options freeze some folks into the 'if I wait 3 months, I'll get xyz and it'll be better'. Add 4K video and you'll have another 2-3 SKUs to the mix.

 

[Aglet]

I always suspected that they had to purchase a minimum number of D4 sensors, and with sales slowing, they were looking for a way to use them without hurting D4 sales. I don't think it worked.

We are going to see more of this throwing products out to see what sticks. Canon is starting to do it as well.

It would be a simple, and not very costly retool, to fix the ergo problems on the DF which would make it a fairly fine body to use after that. AFAI could infer from the rep's' responses the present DF's a serious flop.
OTOH, the 1v3 is getting a fair bit of attention and so will the new 1J5 because of their very high fps abilities. But it's a very pricely little ML system, even if it goes like a cheetah.