September is a rant season isn't it?
Being in the midst of investing in a new pair of speakers to replace my current, and already breathtakingly good, pair, I was struck by another disturbing question this morning: do we still want better cameras?
Bernard, to my mind, the problem with your question is the assumption that all of us still have a Nikon D3x like you. You might not care one whit about getting new DSLR now, and if I were in your boat I wouldn't either. However, some fella may be coming to the tail-end of usefulness with his Nikon D200 and may very well be in the market for a new camera ...
Assuming that big breakthoughs are behind us for most practical applications, I take it for granted that we don't need them anymore. Now, do we even still want them?
Yes, most definitely.
Again, not everyone has a Nikon D3x. Further, good as your camera is, there are features in it that can be improved upon. While such minor adjustments might not be enough to move "you" into a buying mode next year, they might well move the guy still sitting on his D200 to get up and get one.
Even better, the guy like me who at this point can't really swing the $8000 D3x "right now" can smile and buy a nice used one in 2 years when it becomes "yesterday's news" ... because it still will be a great camera.
I anticipate some selfish value from my new speakers. More clarity in the highs, a wider soundstage that will enhance my listening pleasure when listing to the speakers from my dining table, awfully off centered from the core of the action. I know that the reflection of light on its polished oak side panels will make me feel good the moment I enter my living room in the morning. I don't need these speakers but I want them because I believe they will bring me some form of sensual value.
Now I am sorry to say... but I have stopped feeling the same for cameras. I know that whatever I buy from now on will deliver little additional pleasure. Perhaps this is due to my not actually touching my camera more than a few % of the time I use (it sits on a tripod all the time)... or... doctor... am I sick?
Cheers,
Bernard
Well, then, at this point the need for YOU to buy a new camera with the next iteration of features just isn't there. But that doesn't mean
other people won't be moved to buy the next iteration, as their own cameras are a bit lower down the evolutionary continuum than yours.
And again, even better, the guy like me who did NOT plop down $10K to buy the D3x when it first came out, will be able to have the same great camera for considerably less a few years down the road. Thus, again, the advent of new models is only "bad" based upon one's own current camera ... and what one spent to get it.
So, in the end, I don't think you're "sick"; you're just a guy who finished spending 10K on a helluva camera and you don't really need a new one. Further, you can't take advantage of the price drop of the D3x either. In point of fact, you're at the wrong end of it.
However, a person like myself will profit greatly when a newer and (slightly) better D4x comes out (D5?) ... because I can take advantage of this ever-developing trend
from the other side of it ... and be able to buy a truly great camera in the Nikon D3x for a low price in a year or two. And, when I do, I will not be motivated to buy another camera until mine runs out of life ...
Jack
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