I hope that’s true. The original date was April 12, and I think I remember seeing lots of posts about the D800 shipping being imminent days before it began shipping. So far, nary a peep anywhere about the E.
I’ve been using a rental D800, mostly with the 600 f4, the past few days because I wanted to get some bird shots before the spring foliage changed to green. The detail is really impressive, but interestingly, I have to view it at 50% or above on my 30 inch monitor before I can see the detail. It makes me really want the E! I wonder how many were ordered verses the D800, and how many Nikon will make?
Bill Hollinger wrote:
IThe detail is really impressive, but interestingly, I have to view it at 50% or above on my 30 inch monitor before I can see the detail. It makes me really want the the E!
Maybe it's your monitor and not the camera
I wonder how many were ordered (the E) versus the D800, and how many Nikon will make?
When I ordered mine from Adorama back in February, I was told that the volume of pre-orders for the E was an order of magnitude less. I think Nikon expected a limited demand and have gone to great pains to highlight the potential issues of spurious color and moiré to discourage the unsuspecting or blissfully unknowing. According to Rørslett over at nikongear.com, Norwegian vendors for the E are very select in numbers and allowed to cherry-pick the E buyers by edict of "Viking Nikon", or whatever they call the distributor up there. Only in such a bureaucratic place like Norway could they get away with that.
I'm hoping the D800 I ordered on Feb 10th will show up before my trip to Europe in July. Nikon has handled this very poorly. Their biggest dealers seem to have no clue/communication as to when the shipment will arrive. Crazy !
I almost think that some out of the way vendors may have better luck. I walked into Cameraland in NY City and the owner said that the wait for the D800 at his smaller operation were about 3-4 weeks once the order was placed. They trickle in every week. For the D4, however, August is the earliest available delivery date.
Hell, they even had a Leica M 28 Summicron Asph in the display case for sale.
I think you're right j.liam. I ordered early from a large dealer under the assumption that they'd get a big allocation and that orders would be filled "first come, first served." Apparently, Nikon USA's decision to fill the NPS orders first greatly reduced the allocations that had been expected by the dealers and left the B&H's and Adorama's of the world with relatively few actual D800 deliveries so far.
While I can understand Nikon wanting to get cameras in the hands of professionals who publish reviews, the creation of two separate pre-order queues (a priority list for NPS and a secondary list for others) should, at least, have been the topic of some communication early last month so people could plan accordingly.
Oh well, this is giving me some much needed patience practice.
Foggy14 wrote:
While I can understand Nikon wanting to get cameras in the hands of professionals who publish reviews, the creation of . . .
I think you are overlooking another possibility.
People who may be making a living and their income is derived from their photography might be getting the priority. Not people who are publishing reviews on behalf of Nikon.
The only way I can see that Nikon can find these people would be the people who meet NPS requirements. Two pro level camera bodies and 3 pro level camera lenses. Other than actually visiting the people individually, people who invest that much money into professional high level equipment are either working professionals, or are quite wealthy with disposable income. How you filter that out - I don't know.
Now, my opinion on this is to be in agreements with the policy. if a man (or woman) is making a living with photography I think they should get some kind of consideration in some form. Maybe there is a better system, but at least this one is in place.
Peter Gregg wrote:
if a man (or woman) is making a living with photography I think they should get some kind of consideration in some form. Maybe there is a better system, but at least this one is in place.
Peter
Why?
Will children die if Reuters is short a D4 at the Olympics? Or a marriage torn asunder if the wedding photographer is relegated to a D700? Will the other photogs mock and shun then for their retro equipment?
Since Nikon (and the others) are private concerns, they can rig it whichever way they like but risk alienating customers if the preferential treatment is too heavy-handed.
j.liam wrote:
Why?
Will children die if Reuters is short a D4 at the Olympics?
A little self centered are we Children dying - marriages failing - all because you want your camera?
In most other industries professional people can buy wholesale and also have places for the industry only - not open to the public.
It seems consumers can get pretty demanding, it reminds me of the of the day after Thanksgiving when department stores open their doors and rushing shoppers trample people down.
I would like to see Nikon and Canon sell directly to the registered professional and bypass the consumer channels altogether and keep it all private. I think NPS has taken a step in that direction and maybe they can take it a little farther.
Children dying - give me a break. Whatever you are drinking to make you think that way, I don't want any
I can see no justification that pro photographers get preference for any moral or ethical reason (which was your point). There is no clear reason, for example, that the serious landscape photographer who might not obtain most of her/his income from photography should have to wait any longer than a paid pro.
Companies have the right to give preferences but do so at their own peril.
Peter Gregg wrote:
I think you are overlooking another possibility.
People who may be making a living and their income is derived from their photography might be getting the priority. Not people who are publishing reviews on behalf of Nikon.
The only way I can see that Nikon can find these people would be the people who meet NPS requirements. Two pro level camera bodies and 3 pro level camera lenses. Other than actually visiting the people individually, people who invest that much money into professional high level equipment are either working professionals, or are quite wealthy with disposable income. How you filter that out - I don't know.
Now, my opinion on this is to be in agreements with the policy. if a man (or woman) is making a living with photography I think they should get some kind of consideration in some form. Maybe there is a better system, but at least this one is in place.
That's fine Peter, but it would have been good if Nikon USA had informed its dealers and their customers when the product announcement was made in early February so we all knew how the pre-orders would be handled and had a chance to plan accordingly.
A couple of days before the D800 first shipped, my dealer expected that my pre-order would be filled from their first allocation. This was based on their expectation of how many cameras would be in that allocation and that they'd fill their orders on a first come, first served basis. Neither expectation was met because of Nikon's decision to favor NPS members without regard for when they placed their order.
It's not the end of the world, but not the best way to approach the roll-out of any expensive product
Anyway, I got my Kirk plate today and it looks real nice.
First, I am not saying landscape photographers are not part of the pro users! I know at least 3 landscape photographers who make their living from that alone and I am a wedding/portrait guy.
Second, Nikon's inability to fill the orders are not because of NPS members, it is because they put out a game changing camera and so darn many were sold. Now, they don't have enough for both NPS or non NPS.
If Nikon sold a normal amount, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But the camera seems to be a big hit, to professionals and camera enthusiasts.
I don't have any objections really, except when people talk about children dying because they didn't get a camera and lather the circumstance up so high that it reaches epidemic levels. At that point, I think people making their living should have access to the equipment first, as if photography/photographers were a real industry
Anyone can call themselves a photographer, there is no "certification" process. And anyone can be an NPS member, just have enough of the right gear in your bag. So my opinion is not as outlandish as it may seem to you. Wedding season is upon us, getting a camera at the end of it won't be the same thing as actually having new equipment at the beginning of the season where preparations are made and budgets are drawn.
One more thing, knowing a bit of the system, all the cameras did not go to NPS. There are still NPS members waiting for their camera while non NPS people, and people walking into Best Buy have gotten their camera. So the assumption that NPS is the cog in the gears here is not true. It is the camera selling beyond what anyone expected mated to Nikon's ability to make them. The Canon 5D Mark III is not experiencing the same level of frustrations from either CPS or enthusiasts at the moment. I can actually call my camera shop and get a 5D mark III if I wanted one. The 1DX may be another story. We will see.
I have an order for a D800E. Let's see if I get one this first round. If I don't I will have to come in here to find some good reasons to blame whatever is getting blamed for this moment
Peter, I agree with you that the basic problem is wild amounts of demand, not the tyranny of NPS members. I also agree that those who are making a living off their photography should get priority. The first is a fact, the second is an opinion... for those people reading this who may have difficulty seeing the difference between the two.
However, your understanding of NPS qualification is incorrect. I have over $50K in Nikon gear, and I make some money selling prints of my best images (about $500 per numbered, limited-edition print). However, Nikon's rules are clear that one must make the majority of one's income from photography to qualify for NPS membership, and my application was denied on those grounds.
Children dying - marriages failing - all because you want your camera?