Taken from another forum....

I know with all the speculation, it’s driving us all crazy, but just a few more days.

Anyway, I went to my local camera store here in Virginia, and spoke to a person who has been a Nikon rep for 25 years. Here is what he told me. I asked about the D2x coming out and an announcement this Thursday. Here goes. He said the D2x WILL BE 12.5mp, with the option of pixeling down for faster speeds/capturing etc. by framing the sensor. He predicted around $4,100 actual price in store and delivery in January. He said good luck getting one before March or April.

I then asked about the D200. There will be one, BUT no announcement until PMA next year (I hope he is wrong).

As I own a D2h, I asked him about the rumors on a firmware for noise and sensor upgrade. He said that is probably all speculation (has not heard anything from Nikon about these), however a firmware upgrade could be a possibility. I was disappointed, I still have hope.

THE MOST INTERESTING NEWS - I asked about the LBCAST sensor in the D2h being used in the D2x. He just smiled and said no. Nikon will not continue producing more LBCAST sensors for cameras other than the D2h. He said the sensor in the D2x will be CCD. Interesting and disappointing for a D2h owner. Now this makes me believe that somehow Nikon may upgrade the D2h with a sensor similar to the new one coming out for the D2x. We will all just have to wait and see, and would love to prove him wrong.

He did tell me that Nikon will be showing off a lot of new stuff coming out soon (good news).

Just what I heard. He is very reliable.
--

Edited by bssofro on Sep 13, 2004 at 08:21 PM GMT

interesting. still...taken with a grain of salt.

Can we make time move faster? I really really really wanna know....

- aLV

For those who like to speculate a bit.

http://www.nikonians.org/dcforum/DCForumID71/3170.html

I'm sure you won't have too long to wait now -- although I'm stll suprised at the 1.5X factor and sticking with CCD.

Amazing how the same rumour gets all over the web in seconds.

Until it's "official" we'll just have to wait.

Cheers
-K

No matter what is anounced regarding the new D1 series body the D2H is going to hang around for a long time as the D1X has. WIth all the post editing software it fills a huge gap for many photographers out there. Im pretty sure that my D2H will
remain in my bag for many more years to come. Im also excited to see if Nikons new body will push me to want to have one over my D70. No doubt if it is $4,200 and is worth more than its price as I feel the D2H is worth more than it's $3,200, I will consider buying it. The only thing that sucks about waiting is right when you have your mind made up and are excited to bag this new product, they are back ordered into the next year for many months. Either way, I feel my needs are more than met with the D2H. The D70 is also another amazing product for the price, which to me compliments the D2H perfectly. The suspense is building and soon we will all be discussing the reviews and realities of this new animal

Anyone else believe the actual selling price could be $4,199.00

I would not be at all surprised if Nikon pulled another pricing coup with their new flagship, it would put tremendous pressure on Canon and be good news for Canon owners who want to remain with them, and oh yes, good news for us as well. And at that price, there would still be room at the top for the rumored D3, this could get pretty interesting if it all plays out. Also a rumor of an F6 film camera out there too.

The Nature Photographers Network forum had a post today with the same stats for the D2X, so maybe these rumors are true. That forumn stated a 12.5MP with 1.5 crop factor at 5FPS, or flip a switch and you get a 2x crop factor, 7+ MP at 8FPS. IF the image quality is there, this would be one sweet DSLR. Lets hope we find out this week!

Even though I'm completely devoted to Canon, those "possible" specs on the new D2x are VERY attractive.

If the D2X rumours are true, I wonder what happens to its older brother, the D2h? The D2x might be out of my price range, but if the D2h falls in price, who knows... I might have one in my future!

Wait and see. The 15th can't come soon enough...

Talk about it, talk about it, talk about it .....
As the old R&B song goes.
It sounds 'pixelisious'
I'll have to "super-size" my order.

A.M.

Edited by AnMar on Sep 13, 2004 at 09:42 PM GMT

Do you think them continuing the line of 1.5x crop factor sensors has anything to do with their dedication to the DX lens? I'm wondering how they'll squeeze all of those pixels into such a small area?

This changable crop thing is interesting for a future D3. Imagine the D3 comes out with a full frame sensor, but at the flip of a switch it is a 1.5 crop so we can still use those DX lenses if we want. Best of both worlds... A 2x crop makes some long fast lenses pretty fun. My 85 1.8 just got a little more fun...

Andrew

Andrew, That's and interesting idea. Being able to switch from full frame to 1.5x to 2x. It's like a built in teleconverter. I have been very happy with my D2H, but if these specs are true, I will be trading up to the D2X. My 300 f4 AFS lens would make a nice 600 f4 !! Unless there is a big enough price difference, I can't see people continuing to purchase the D2H. I wonder what the buffer size will be on the D2X?

a la some of our other discussions, the FF/1.5x/2.0x crop factor would NOT make your 300mm lens a 600mm lens and there would be NO reason to shoot with a 2.0x unless you need the speed. it would give you nothing beyond the 1.5x or FF on a CCD sensor. you could easily do the same thing in PS with no loss of quality. It WOULD make your files sizes smaller, which may be nice, though. The only place the crop factor really makes a difference is comparing the lenses on a film versus digital camera--not on a digital camera that has the same pixel density across the sensor.

chris

It will be interesting to see how they address the 2x mode in the viewfinder. Will it be just a set of crop marks on the focus screen? If so, shooting in this mode will require A LOT of discipline. Another option would be to somehow black out the area that will not be recorded...making the image in the viewfinder smaller but avoiding distraction.

Dave

D2X and F6 : OFFICIAL PRESENTATION to RESELLERS.

(Please excuse my english, I know it sucks. Thank you !)

Yesterday at Nikon France, product presentation :
D2X, F6 and AF-s VR 300/2.8. Nothing else.

D2X : 12.4 MP, 5 fps, 15 NEF picts buffer. -- Crop x2 = 8fps / 6.9 MP (I don't remember how many pictures in the buffer then)
ISO 100 to 800, then only 1600 and 3200 accessible by custom settings.
Faster Wi-Fi and in two ways : the camera can be remotely operated from a computer.
DXO integrated : each lens is recognised and corrected by DXO in the camera...
Special setting : individual treatment of bright groups of pixels to avoid or delay overexposure and improve dynamic response.
Same body as D2H, except a minor improvement on the vertical grip.
Improved (!) 3D metering system - still 1005 rvb pixels but new algorythm.
Price in France : 5200 € - VAT included

Dave --> I don't know how they address the 2x mode in the viewfinder, sorry ! I'll ask my friend tomorrow. By the way : this person is the biggest Nikon reseller in France. I fully trust him : these are NOT rumors. I only wish I could have been there with him. But I'm "just" a pro photographer, not a reseller...

F6 : replaces F5 and F100. As big as F100. Unlike the F5, it is not monobloc (do you say "monobloc" in english ?) External battery pack available.
Without it, it needs lithium batteries (!?!) and reaches 5fps. With the MB-something, it uses either 8 AA standard batteries or the same EN-EL4 as D2 series. It then reaches 8fps.
Improved 3D metering system over the F5, i-TTL also available.
D2-like AF, adapted to 24x36mm.
100 % viewfinder. Not interchangeable.
Construction quality is F5/D2 like. Much better than the plastic F100 (my friend said).
Price in France : 2200 € - VAT included. => this is good news...

Availability : I don't know !!! I forgot to ask ! Sorry !


Pierre

thanks Pierre.

the bit about the pixel control sounds very interesting - however by now I am speculated to death, and the actual facts are just "nice" instead of "wow". that's not meant to be a nasty comment BTW!

wonder what it will be in UK Sterling?

time for that big loan at some point then!!