RDKirk wrote:
Canon doesn't "answer" to camera models released by competitors. It just doesn't work that way. They give part of their product philosophy in the Canon Camera Museum website where they detail the development of the T-90, and in one interview an executive talked about their five-year planning method and model structure pyramid concept.
I'm curious why people feel that Canon -- as a business entity -- needs to "answer" the D700 at all?
All indications point to the fact that the 5D Mark II has outsold the Nikon D700 by a good margin. It took the 5D Mark II nearly a year before supply caught up with demand. In fact, it's still out of stock at many major stores around the world today. On the other hand, the Nikon D700 hasn't really been hard to find since the first month of its release.
And the 5D2's dominance in the market is reflected in its ability to dictate prices. Nearly a year after it's been out, it's still retailing for the full MSRP $2700. The D700 price has plummeted to staggeringly low levels, from $3000 to $2350. Most indirect indicators (i.e. Pbase stats, In-store User Reviews, flickr participation, etc) consistently show the 5D2 enjoying a greater population than the D700 --- despite the fact the D700 had a 3-month head start last year, and despite the scarce availability of the 5D2. By all accounts, the 5D2 was a runaway success.
Canon was able to successfully market a high-end product that didn't encroach on its professional cameras. The separation between the 5-series and 1-series models remain very well defined... much to the chagrin of us Canon photographers.
Nikon, on the other hand, had the D700 completely cannibalize the D3. There's no separation between those two cameras at all. In fact, I'm certain that the D700 leached more potential D3 photographers than it did Canon photographers. It was a desperate maneuver from Nikon --- shooting themselves in the foot just to keep up with Canon. From a business stand point, I don't see why Canon would want an "answer" to the D700 at all. I'm pretty darn sure they prefer how the 5D Mark II has worked out for them.
I don't think Nikon is pleased with what they had to do with the D700. To keep Canon in check, they had to essentially sell a D3 clone at half price ($2350). What they've done is mind boggling, and insane. Nikon customers are ecstatic, but Nikon the Business is definitely not. They've sacrificed any leverage they had when it comes to camera bodies. This is the reason why the prices for Nikkor FX lenses have skyrocketed. A 70-200 f2.8 VR II for $2400 USD? Nikkor 24-70 f2.8 at $1800? The prices of those FX telephoto lenses will make any grown man cry.