As the summer goes on, it seems that more and more people have talked to a Nikon or Canon “rep” or perhaps someone else that they “know” in either company. Based on these conversations, several individuals around the web have “confirmed” that the next big thing from both manufacturers is coming . . . soon.

For instance, just yesterday in the Nikon forums over on flickr, spincycle gave his first-hand account of an encounter with a Nikon engineer:

in a conversation with a Nikon engineer at an event one week ago, I was told that there would be a new pro-level DSLR released ‘within a month or two’.

I asked him “D3?” “yes.”
I asked him “full frame?” “yes.”

Then he said: “in a couple months, Canon won’t even know what it them.”

Yes, it’s hearsay….but given the persistent info from the consistently reliable “jeff_c” on DPReview and the comments from this guy last week, I’d say that we’re about to see at least one pro camera with crop, full frame with crop mode or full frame, probably upward of 16-20mp, and a huge modular viewfinder.

I did NOT get the impression that we’d see a D3H right away, or that dramatically new sensor tech would be involved, although that may well be wrong.

Likewise, Seaside Photographer recently got the lowdown on the Canon 40D from a Canon rep:

I spoke to the Canon rep, when he was visiting my local camera shop, the other day… he told me that the 40D is due to come out in the next month, using the same sensor as the XTi and the Mark III… and the price of the 30D will be dropping $200.00 … I’m seriously considering the 40D…. more fps and other advantages..

Do people really get this info from “reps”? Do reps really “know” what’s going on? Anybody else out there seen or heard from a rep that has the scoop? Let us know; comment below.

You can find the latest and greatest on the Nikon D3 here and the Canon 40D here.

[tags]canon, 40d, eos, nikon, d3, d3h, d3x, dslr, camera, digital, news, rumors, announcement, release, price[/tags]