New Nikon Entry Level DSLR on the Horizon - the Nikon D40

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
"Available: December 2006

$599.95 ESP Includes 3x 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens.
ESP (Estimated Selling Price) listed is only an estimate. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time."


So, what type of real pricing should we see on this? $499 ?

You can still buy a brand new Rebel XT for $569 which is an 8MP camera, 7 point autofocus and will take all of Canon's EF/EF-S autofocus lenses.

You'd have to be quite the Nikon fanboy to buy this camera even at $499.

People buying this camera don't give a sh!t about specs. They care about price. If they didn't care about price, they'd get a D80 or a Canon 30D. That's why the Olympus E-500 is selling so well. It's got probably the most terrible viewfinder on the face of the planet with terrible high ISO noise, but people still buy it like crazy. Why? Because it's a body and 2 lenses for $700.

/this stupid back and forth :thumbsup::laugh: Exactly what I was getting at.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
"Available: December 2006

$599.95 ESP Includes 3x 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens.
ESP (Estimated Selling Price) listed is only an estimate. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time."


So, what type of real pricing should we see on this? $499 ?

You can still buy a brand new Rebel XT for $569 which is an 8MP camera, 7 point autofocus and will take all of Canon's EF/EF-S autofocus lenses.

You'd have to be quite the Nikon fanboy to buy this camera even at $499.

Gawd dude. Stop looking at this from a camera fanboy/enthusiast perspective and look at this from the prospective of someone going into Best Buy looking for a NEW, cheap D-SLR. Hell, half of the people in the market for this camera don't even know what the heck an EF/EF-S lens system or 7-point autofocus means. They have two things in their mind "D-SLRs are supposed to be superior to P&S -- gimme the newest, cheapest one ya got"

Sheesh, you are making this WAY too hard and taking it WAY to personally.

You're probably right. The stupidity of consumers never ceases to amaze me quite frankly.

BTW-I'm not taking this personally.

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
"Available: December 2006

$599.95 ESP Includes 3x 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens.
ESP (Estimated Selling Price) listed is only an estimate. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time."


So, what type of real pricing should we see on this? $499 ?

You can still buy a brand new Rebel XT for $569 which is an 8MP camera, 7 point autofocus and will take all of Canon's EF/EF-S autofocus lenses.

You'd have to be quite the Nikon fanboy to buy this camera even at $499.

People buying this camera don't give a sh!t about specs. They care about price. If they didn't care about price, they'd get a D80 or a Canon 30D. That's why the Olympus E-500 is selling so well. It's got probably the most terrible viewfinder on the face of the planet with terrible high ISO noise, but people still buy it like crazy. Why? Because it's a body and 2 lenses for $700.

In addition, even this "lowly" D40 will still kick the $hit out of a majority of the same priced P&S's, prosumer cameras on the market today.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
"Available: December 2006

$599.95 ESP Includes 3x 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens.
ESP (Estimated Selling Price) listed is only an estimate. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time."


So, what type of real pricing should we see on this? $499 ?

You can still buy a brand new Rebel XT for $569 which is an 8MP camera, 7 point autofocus and will take all of Canon's EF/EF-S autofocus lenses.

You'd have to be quite the Nikon fanboy to buy this camera even at $499.

Gawd dude. Stop looking at this from a camera fanboy/enthusiast perspective and look at this from the prospective of someone going into Best Buy looking for a NEW, cheap D-SLR. Hell, half of the people in the market for this camera don't even know what the heck an EF/EF-S lens system or 7-point autofocus means. They have two things in their mind "D-SLRs are supposed to be superior to P&S -- gimme the newest, cheapest one ya got"

Sheesh, you are making this WAY too hard and taking it WAY to personally.

QFT. It's all about target audience and price.

People still buy computers with 1 GB of RAM when you can get them with 2. People still buy 42" TV's when you can get a 65" as well. People still buy a 200 HP car when you can get one with 500. According to JulesMaximus, THEY SHOULD BE BURNED AT THE STAKE!

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
"Available: December 2006

$599.95 ESP Includes 3x 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens.
ESP (Estimated Selling Price) listed is only an estimate. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time."


So, what type of real pricing should we see on this? $499 ?

You can still buy a brand new Rebel XT for $569 which is an 8MP camera, 7 point autofocus and will take all of Canon's EF/EF-S autofocus lenses.

You'd have to be quite the Nikon fanboy to buy this camera even at $499.

Gawd dude. Stop looking at this from a camera fanboy/enthusiast perspective and look at this from the prospective of someone going into Best Buy looking for a NEW, cheap D-SLR. Hell, half of the people in the market for this camera don't even know what the heck an EF/EF-S lens system or 7-point autofocus means. They have two things in their mind "D-SLRs are supposed to be superior to P&S -- gimme the newest, cheapest one ya got"

Sheesh, you are making this WAY too hard and taking it WAY to personally.

QFT. It's all about target audience and price.

People still buy computers with 1 GB of RAM when you can get them with 2. People still buy 42" TV's when you can get a 65" as well. People still buy a 200 HP car when you can get one with 500. According to JulesMaximus, THEY SHOULD BE BURNED AT THE STAKE!

Lighten up Francis. See my post above.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Wait.. why does anyone need more than 1 autofocus point? Autofocus on the object you want, then frame your shot.

 

[Madwand1]

I think tfinch2 has nailed it -- this camera is just not meant for most of us -- those with more money and discernment, who are already into DSLRs. By lowering the price still more, Nikon has some hope of catching older and newer Nikon users both -- those in the wings who have been stuck with film because they couldn't afford a DSLR, and those just getting into DSLRs. The price matters. A lot of it may be in the head, but figures like $500 are important magic numbers, just like $1000 was a magic number for the Canon 300D some time ago. If this can start retailing for around $500 for the body and come down further over time, it'd be just awesome, and maybe even people sitting with older film bodies who haven't upgraded to a DSLR yet because of the price would reconsider.

I'm a bit disappointed in that this model comes with still greater feature reductions; I think Canon has been doing awesome things with their entry DSLR line ever since the original 300D, but I guess this was inevitable -- price may be not much to some enthusiasts here, but in the real world it's a really big deal at the entry level, and still cheaper has a market waiting for it, esp. world-wide.

(Just like I'm waiting for an "affordable" FF and an "affordable" MF digital back. Yep, anytime now folks, I'm ready!)

Edit: OK, the difference between $500 and $569 isn't enough to make up for the 6MP vs 8MP difference for consumers (esp. considering that such a consumer may well be considering an alternative higher-end digicam, and those MP numbers are seen there), and would only fly if the buyer was pre-disposed to Nikon (e.g. by having an old film camera -- still valid.) But price is everything here, and $500 is just the entry price. I'd expect it to Nikon to push this price down in the field over time, and if it doesn't, then they'd lose.

 

[Staples]

I always understood that the AF motor and sensor was in the lens and not the camera. And that the camera had nothing to do with AF other than sensing the electrical impulse from the lense when it succeeds/fails when attempting to AF. Now sounds like this is not the case.

What does the AF function in the camera do vs the AF mechanism in the lens? And how could they tell there was no AF motor in the camera just from a picture? Was there a rumored spec list that they were reading this off of?

 

[JulesMaximus]

:laugh: <--Click the smiley.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I'd have to agree with everyone above; this camera is really only for your average, average consumer, certainly not for someone informed in photography or who plans to pursue it even as a light hobby. Nonetheless, I'm sure you can still get some excellent pictures with this camera though.

This camera will sell, especially if it's priced around the $400 / $300 mark and especially if someone releases a $100 18-200mm lens or somesuch. Then it'd be almost totally bridging the gap between DSLRs and P&S. One could argue that Pentax has been doing this all along with their very low priced K100D and K110D, but they just don't have the brand recognition as of yet.

 

[JMWarren]

Originally posted by: Staples
I always understood that the AF motor and sensor was in the lens and not the camera. And that the camera had nothing to do with AF other than sensing the electrical impulse from the lense when it succeeds/fails when attempting to AF. Now sounds like this is not the case.

What does the AF function in the camera do vs the AF mechanism in the lens? And how could they tell there was no AF motor in the camera just from a picture? Was there a rumored spec list that they were reading this off of?

The AF sensor is in the body as is the mechanical drive. For AFS/USM/HSM lenses the motor is in the lense and powered by the body but the focus is detected by the body. Hence the number of focus points is dictated by the body as is focus speed on screw driven lenses.

It'd be easy to tell there was no AF motor in the body as the physical coupling would missing, just like AIS compatability.

 

[Staples]

Originally posted by: JMWarren

Originally posted by: Staples
I always understood that the AF motor and sensor was in the lens and not the camera. And that the camera had nothing to do with AF other than sensing the electrical impulse from the lense when it succeeds/fails when attempting to AF. Now sounds like this is not the case.

What does the AF function in the camera do vs the AF mechanism in the lens? And how could they tell there was no AF motor in the camera just from a picture? Was there a rumored spec list that they were reading this off of?

The AF sensor is in the body as is the mechanical drive. For AFS/USM/HSM lenses the motor is in the lense and powered by the body but the focus is detected by the body. Hence the number of focus points is dictated by the body as is focus speed on screw driven lenses.

It'd be easy to tell there was no AF motor in the body as the physical coupling would missing, just like AIS compatability.

If this is so, then why do some SLR lenses fous faster and better in low light than others using the same camera body?

 

[ElFenix]

for the price i'd get a K100D.

unfortunately, nikon has the bigger brand name and presence in best buy.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
for the price i'd get a K100D.

unfortunately, nikon has the bigger brand name and presence in best buy.

If Pentax can distribute their line of cameras better, they can rule with the K100D/K110D and the ist thingy, or whatever it's called.