Andre Labonte Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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It's the vision.
From the D1... through the D3... things were clear and reasonably predictable ... but in the last few years, Nikon seems to be using the shotgun approach.
Disclaimer: I think the D300, D700 and D800 are lower-end pro bodies, but still pro bodies but for the sack of easy conversation and categorization, I'll call them "Prosumer"
High Res Pro Body
D1x / D2x / D3x / no D4x
Speed Pro Body
D1h / D2h / D3 / D4 okay, some consistency here
"Prosumer" Body DX body
D100 / D200 / D300 / no D400
And of course with the advent of FX
"Prosumer" FX speed body
NA / NA / D700 / no D800h
"Prosumer" FX High Res Body
NA / NA / not offered / D800
Consumer FX body
NA / NA / NA / D600
One might say that the D800 is the D400 and the D700 updates, but is that what customers want? FX is a new format, and while it may work great for pros and prosumers with $, abandoning pro DX hurts a lot of customers. And even if DX is now consumer only, why not follow the high/low slow/fast of the pro bodies. In other words,
D700 / D700x followed up by D800h / D800
And then where does the DF fit in? It seems to me if you are going retro to bring in legacy glass, then go retro in features too ... something simple and new and not in the midst of all the rest of the confusion.
From the D1... series to the D3... series, there was a clear progression ... since then, Nikon has been sending lots of mixed messages. It would have been smarter to follow the successes of the past up with updates and then add new ideas later. For instance
D300 ==> D400 and D700 ==> D800h and D3x ==> D4x first ... show consistency and give customers direction
Then, rock their worlds with new ideas like
D800 high res Prosumer, D600 consumer FX, DF retro --- but make it a true retro.
But instead Nikon has given us the new ideas and left the faithful without there updates. I just don't get it.
(edit to fix typos)
Edited on Nov 07, 2013 at 07:45 AM · View previous versions
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