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Will there be a Pro DX camera by the name of D400? Yes and Nope!
Yes!
Because there “WAS” a camera by the name of D400 with an APS-C sensor just before the 2011 Japanese tsunami and flood in Thailand.
But the tsunami and flood have basically destroyed all the development and test equipment in Japan and the production equipment and tools in Thailand.
In order to replace those equipment and tools, they will have to inject new capital and will take them another 6 to 9 months to get it up and running. Capital that are limited because newer and later products like the D4 and D800/E are also being affected. And time that they do not have because newer products are being released into the market by competitors and technology continue to advance.
To go ahead with the plan is pointless and suicidal because the product is already obsoleted before its release.
Nope!
Because as a certified ISO 9000 auditor and a senior executive who have being involved in numerous international projects including those of imaging, I would say it is impossible to “REUSE” the D400 model name and those part numbers that were already assigned to this project that were listed in the original Bill of Materials (BOM).
It will need a new model number and probably lots of new part numbers to upgrade the D400 product that will affect the BOM dramatically.
Remember the D400 was already at a very advance stage and close to its release at that time, so the model and part numbers have already being assigned, documented and kept at the Central Data Control (CDC) or Central Specification Control (CSC) department.
As for a Pro DX body in the form factor of a D200/D300/D300s have past it advantage as a marketing tool as it does 5 years ago. Present day’s technologies and processes have advanced to a level where the yield is much higher and the difference in cost of producing a FX sensor in comparison to the DX is about $25 to $50. Here I am talking about raw material that is silicon which is processed beach sand, and the equipment needed to produce and test them are the same, with just longer test duration. Once again one must not compare the sale price of a FX sensor to the DX sensor with their manufacturing prices, they are taken care of in the product pricing with the FX models commandeering higher prices.
If they can now produce as many FX bodies in comparison to that of the DX in the past, why should they breakup the lines into FX and DX and waste capital, manpower, equipment, advertising and inventory resources?
Why should they have to develop 2 lines of lenses? The FX and DX lines.
What a DX can that a FX can’t? The 1.5 crop factor? Nope! One can always shoot DX mode in FX.
What a FX can that a DX can’t? Getting the same field of coverage with the same wide angle lens.
Does the view finder looks better in a DX body? Nope! Even using DX crop mode in FX the view finder still looks brighter and better with the 0.7x magnification rather than the 0.9x magnification of the tiny pentaprism.
DX used to command the largest market share, but will all owners buy another DX body? Maybe and maybe not.
But would it be good to get them to buy another body like a FX that they don’t already own or maybe even more FX lenses? Definitely will help to increase sales rather than letting them think that they have what they already have.
For those who want the built of a Pro body, the features of a Pro body, the buffer and speed of the Pro body. Well, than you have to pay for the Pro body.
Why should any manufacturer built a low cost body that will compete and take away their Pro body market shares?
The next thing is that allowing people to access to cheap Pro bodies producing poor pictures actually damage the brand more than they assist the brand because they don’t take the time to learn to shoot like a Pro. How often we see people carrying a pro body but knew nothing about photography and camera? Just recently, I met a gentleman complaining about the pictures not looking good on his camera that is the same as mine but with an E. And didn’t know that there is this thing call AF fine tune, picture control (sharpening, contrast, hue) and WB. Ha…ha! He likes my pictures but not his camera, saying he is going to sell his camera. Isn’t this bad publicity?
For a true Pro they can produce good results from almost any camera, be it film or digital, FX, DX, MIL, MFD and even P&S at time.
And many of them don’t even post any complain on the web, but when they encountered problems their equipment manufacturers always take good care of them even their wishes for future products.
Oh! By the way many of the Pros never heard of or visited Thom Hogan’s or Ken Rockwell’s websites.
If they have to buy a book or user guide, they would go for the Nikon Press, Magic Lantern or writers like David Bush who alone have sold over a million copies or closer to 2 million with just a few selections of cameras. No BS! No Rumors! No prediction of when a new camera is coming out and he take his own sweet time to write his book rather that rushing a book and then said I can’t verify an issue because I don’t have a camera to do it or does not support the camera that he wrote about. Who the hell is going to buy a user guide if one does not intend to buy the camera or already own that camera?
No wonder Thom Hogan got so much time to put out these rumors because people like me is not going to buy his books and Nikon is not going to supply him the latest camera to write his books and then let him rescinds his support for that camera.
By the way it is just days from August still not a picture of the mythical D400 other than the Photoshop D300/s with a D400 marking from all websites. I can guaranty you that on the left front side of the all future camera will not have that ridge as in the D200/D300/D700.
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