D600

[mac_paolo]

It's wise not to fall in the megapixel race. It's naive to think that a newer camera could be ignored because too many pixels are not needed.
Print size is above all related to sensor resolution, but you all know much better than me that there are tons of camera features which should be taken into account other than that.
D700 was and is a great camera, but it has been really exceeded with newer models.

I would upgrade for the greater DR, the video capabilities and a -lot- of other needless to mention small improvements. Just my 2 cents.

[BernardLanguillier]

Bernard, wrt inflation you're probably talking about headline inflation (e.g., CPI).  CPI isn't a good gauge because it includes highly volatile components such as food and energy.  The more relevant figure; and the one policy makers follow, is core inflation which removes that volatility.  Core inflation in the last, just over, 4 years (not 5 since the D700 was announced in July 2008) has been in the range of 2% per year in most of the G8 countries (not sure about the G20 but it has some less stable countries in it) and includes, for many countries, a deflationary period in late 2008 and much of 2009.  This is very, very low and would not lead, on that basis alone, to any significant increase in prices over that time.  It is; however, a fact that electronics and computer components exhibit disinflation in pricing.  That's why we get successive generations of equipment with better performance at the same or better prices.  As far as the JPY/USD exchange rate losing 60% of its value, on July 14, 2008 (I'm using that as a proxy for the announce date of the D700 since I don't know the exact date), the Yen was at 106.8.  It is now at 77.65.  That is a drop of about 27.3%.  Not near the 60% you tout.  Factoring in the two components of price disinflation and the exchange rate, without access to some modeling I'd suggest there's probably more profit in the D800 than there was in the D700 which would, on a relative basis, put it higher in the model line than the D700.

Now maturity of the market segment should also be considered. The main domain influencing these consumer ekectronics stats is probably flat screen TVs that have been going down in price tremendously and are a high price high volume item. If you look at more mature segments like laptops forexample, the deflatory trend is a lot less obvious.

It can be argued that DSLRs are a very mature segment, and has been for a long time.

Besides, the 5DIII is more expensive than the 5DII although it occupies the exact same spot in the line up, so there may be specific factors that escape a general analysis of consumer electronics. But Canon may just be sharing the cost of the poor yen exchange rate to japanese customers...

Anyway, I don't see any obvious hint that Nikon intended to position the D800 higher relative to their own line up, nor to the rest of the DSLR market.

Cheers,
Bernard

[deejjjaaaa]

raw files posted by imaging resource = http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-d600/nikon-d600THMB.HTM

[RFPhotography]

Market maturity plays a part.  But in the field of economic statistics, markets can take decades and longer to reach 'maturity'.  Autos, for example, is a mature market segment.  Autos have been around for over 100 years.  By comparison, digital cameras have been popular for about 10 - about the same length of time as flat screen TV's have been popular.  I got my first computer when I was in university, about 27 years ago.  I can buy a much better laptop today than I could 4 years ago when I got the one I have now and do it for much less money.  I just bought a new desktop a few weeks ago.  Far and away a superior machine to what I had previously and for $400 less than I paid then.  Further, the numbers are calculated on a huge number of products so one single item, such as large screen TV's couldn't dominate.  Further still, something like electronics would have a pretty low proportion in the overall weighting of inflation so, again, it could not dominate.  As of around 6 years ago in the U.S., housing costs made up 29% of the CPI calculation, for example.  There's more to the calculation of inflation than just numbers; however.  Hedonics play a part.  I'm not sure what impact hedonics would have on the component of the CPI that digital cameras would be a part of.  Might be an increase or a decrease in price, but probably a decrease.  As of that same, about, 6 year ago time hedonics was only used in 7 of the 211 components of the CPI, and I don't know if electronics is one of those.  Each of those 211 components will be made up numerous sub-components.

[chex]

Seeing as you can get the D800 in the UK for not much more than £100 I'll probably end up getting that instead.

[Chairman Bill]

For £100? I'll have two 

[mac_paolo]

D600 on DxO Mark: 94 pts

LINK

[aboudd]

I got my D600 yesterday. Aside from the fact that Lightroom and ACR do not yet support it, there is little to complain about. For $2100 I got a spectacular 24 mgpx sensor with a familiar ergonomic layout. The body feels good in hand, actually a hair small for me (big hands) the balance is good, the viewfinder 100% and quite bright. The camera is also quiet without using the quiet setting. I cannot find any features that I would use missing. The first shots were quite satisfying. When I finish them I will post a few.

[MatthewCromer]

euh... Considering the fact that Nikon must have sold at least 10 times more APS-C/FF sensors that Sony did in their own cameras, it seems pretty obvious that Sony semi-Conductor made a return on their investment thanks to Nikon.

Actually, Nikon is selling about 2 - 2.5x as many interchangeable lens APS-C bodies as Sony, not 10x.

[lfeagan]

Actually, Nikon is selling about 2 - 2.5x as many interchangeable lens APS-C bodies as Sony, not 10x.

Indeed, the NEX-effect is quite strong. Without NEX the gap would be much larger for APS-C SLR bodies.

[MatthewCromer]

Indeed, the NEX-effect is quite strong. Without NEX the gap would be much larger for APS-C SLR bodies.

The 2.5x was from 2010 before NEX started showing up in the sales charts, now it's about 2 Nikon APS cameras for 1 Sony.

[BernardLanguillier]

Actually, Nikon is selling about 2 - 2.5x as many interchangeable lens APS-C bodies as Sony, not 10x.

Care to share your data? The market share of Nikon in DSLR has been in the high 30% for years while Sony was well below 10% until the NEX range was released.

So all in all, it may not be 10 times, but I cannot be that far off.

Cheers,
Bernard

[aboudd]

First outing with the D600 I got yesterday. The attached shot is one of many busts at the George Washington Masonic temple. I shot this one handheld with the 17-35, at 35MM, ISO 1600 (NR turned off), 1/60s @f8. I used fill flash dialed back 1.3 f stops. I applied a curve adjustment and minor perspective correction. Noise corrected in Nik dfine. Finally, I used smart sharpen. I'm going to try the camera in a low light situation again, this time with NR turned on and see if that makes any difference. Exposures at 3200 and 6400 ISO were ugly. I think the maximum usable ISO with NR off is 1600, the same it was with the D3x I had.

[lfeagan]

I found the DSLR Global Marketshare percentages for 2010:

• Canon 44.5%
• Nikon 29.8%
• Sony 11.9 %

Source: http://www.canonrumors.com/2011/04/canon-destroys-nikon-in-dslr-marketshare/
Also Useful: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-15/sony-nikon-narrow-gap-to-canon-with-new-digital-camera-models.html

[lfeagan]

I found a chart with additional interesting data.

Source: http://www.43rumors.com/impressive-in-japan-mirrorless-suprasses-dslr-amrket-share-olympus-to-catch-up-with-nikoncanon/

As of July 2011, by mount-type it looks like:

• F - 23%
• EF - 21%
• M43 - 32%

[Ellis Vener]

I find it hard to believe that in a set of forums devoted to photography, intelligent people are arguing about market share between brands and formats. I mean who really the f_ck cares about how many cameras are being sold by brand a,b, or c or what size format masses of people are buying except for the people inside the companies and their marketing firms?

Are you just bored? Are you trying to see if your computer and internet connection still work?

Now if you want to talk about "is this camera and system I am thinking about buying really appropriate to my real and perceived needs?" that is a valid subject of conversation. But arguing about market share? Pffft.

Do yourself a favor and get off your ass go make some photos.

[Codger]

Agreed.

[MatthewCromer]

I mean who really the f_ck cares about how many cameras are being sold by brand a,b, or c or what size format masses of people are buying except for the people inside the companies and their marketing firms?

I certainly care.  I want my lens mount to be viable and that requires a certain volume of sales to keep it that way.

Bernard made a completely off base comment about Sony versus Nikon market share, and I corrected it (lfeagan posted the relevant stats for 2010, I have not found a total market share analysis for 2011 but some partial data sets suggest my 2:1 estimate are in line with the reality).  A 10:1 estimate is simply out in left field and unnecessarily discourages people from even considering Alpha mount gear.

[LesPalenik]

I found those sales figures useful (not for my compositions, but nevertheless).
Thank you for taking time finding and posting it.

[BernardLanguillier]

Sorry for the delay in replying, I was out shooting and stand corrected.



Cheers,
Bernard