Nikon D90
Posted on December 22, 2007
While there has been no official word from Nikon yet, the mass speculation among camera gearheads is that the Nikon D90 or D80x will be announced at PMA 2008. The D80 was introduced by Nikon in August 2006, which makes PMA 2008 the proper timeframe for the typical 18-month product life cycle that we’ve grown accustomed to in consumer/prosumer DSLRs. [Updated: PMA has come and gone and there’s been no update to the D80 in spite of the Nikon D60, which upgraded the still fresh Nikon D40x.] Additionally, the D80 is sadly behind on the technology curve in light of the current offerings from Nikon and other DSLR manufacturers. The D80 remains the little brother of the D200. I would expect the D80x or D90 to look more like a little brother to the Nikon D300.
In short, expected updates would be:
- 14 bit A/D conversion (compared to 12 bit currently);
- live view;
- the EXPEED image processor;
- self-cleaning sensor;
- 3″ LCD (up from 2.5″) with higher resolution; and/or
- 5 fps (up from 3);
These features in the successor to the Nikon D80 at a price point less than the 40D will deliver quite a blow to Canon’s lineup. With an updated D80, Nikon would have every model in Canon’s lineup well-flanked, with the exception of the Canon 1Ds Mark III.
As noted above, we’ve heard nothing from Nikon yet regarding a successor to the D80. This post is, at best, an educated guess of what is to be expected at PMA in January. If you’re in the market for a DSLR and you’re eyeballing the D80, it’s a bargain now. If a replacement comes along, history tells us that it won’t likely be at the same price point that the D80 currently resides at.
In the mean time, keep your eye’s peeled and I’ll post updates on this post as news and/or rumors come along.
UPDATES
4/21/08: A rumored June 2008 release for the Nikon D90 coming from Thom Hogan. (Read more)
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16 Responses to “Nikon D90”
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Thanks for the brief write-up. The D80/70/50/40 forum over at DPReview has seen plenty of speculation on a possible D80 or D90. I myself am waiting for it to come out, and you are right, with the specs you list, a D80x or D90 would truly land a good blow against the Canon 40D… as long as it costs less. I think Nikon can pull it off. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they will.
In fact, I’d rather it say at 10MP and not go up to 12. I figure a nice 10MP with the new EXPEED processor, the better High ISO performance of the D40/D40x (or the D300), a simple dust removal system, and even one of the basic Liveview modes that the D300 has would be a fantastic upgrade. If they can throw in true mirror lock-up… wonderful! If they can add a bit of weather sealing… glorious. But at that point we would be cannibalizing D300 sales.
So, this config:
EXPEED Image Processor
Self-Cleaning Sensor
10MP
Live-View
14bit AD-Conversion
4 FPS
Some form of LiveView
ISO display in Viewfinder
High ISO performance of D40
15 Segment Auto Focus (and improved metering)
All for about $1,000 (body only) would be fine with me. I think they could know it out of the park if they took their 18-70mm AF-S added VR and included it as kit lens ($1250)… : ) I know, I’m dreaming.
Thanks again!
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Nacho you mix canon with nikon, get some sleep dude. nikon’s metering isn’t 15 segment and will never be. they use 420 segment or 1005.
Could he have meant focus points?
[…] many of the rumors that we get leading up to new announcements. The source also revealed that a Nikon D90/D80x would not be coming. Perhaps Nikon will be dropping the D70/D80 series as a wedge between the D40 […]
Aqui en la Argentina estamos esperando por razones $$$ la hermana menor de la D 300, esperamos ansiosos la D90 con 12,3 MP y mayor ISO, QUE NIKON SE ACUERDE LO MAS PRONTO POSIBLE DE NOSOTROS
Nikon will be later this year after July or even September with the D-90 I think. I also think to skip 2008 and hold off with the purchas for the 2009 model and see if Jpeg XR is included.
Since I have the D-80 it replaces the D-200 I will hold out for the Jpeg XR colors. The D-300 is a bet better on colors. But the Jpeg XR will be soon as it is about 3,000 colors rater than 420 Jpeg Standard. This give or will give better Dynamic range. I assume within 1 year just 12-14 more months we will all be at 16-18MP with Jpeg XR.
i would give more for a sealed body. i do not think worth extra pennies like expeed or 12mp.
Release the d80 replacement already nikon, going over the 16months trend is just stupid actually
looking for NikonD90SLR What the cost and how is it?
hiren > There is no D80 replacement model yet, possibly called the D90(?). Nikon is likely jamming some of the D300 components into the next model and place the D90 in a “prosumer” point like the D70/D80 models.
I don’t agree with the person above that said there won’t be a D80 replacement because I think Nikon wants to maintain the four levels of DSLR with Entry, Midrange, Highend, and Pro. Canon has the four levels, so I imagine Nikon wants to maintain competition in the same areas or they risk losing sales to Canon in the midrange with their 40D.
I could be wrong though, since the D60 is a very nice Entry model except for the tiny size, which I don’t like. The D80 is more logically sized for many users in the midrange class, and a D90 would have to be about the same size with higher performance than the D60.
YMMV…so we’ll have to wait and see what Nikon does.
:-)
[…] Nikon D90-re várjak, vagy inkább a D300 legyen a cél? D80-at nem éri meg venni, D60 pedig nekem nagyon pici (nem rossz g;p egyébként…). Fogtam a kezemben, de a D70s után olyan játék gép feeling volt. Lapát kezem volna?! :-) D300 egy álom gép, persze az álom nem olcsó. A D90 rumors oldal alapján nem lesz az se rossz gép, kérdés milyen lesz az ára. Csökken-e várhatóan a D300 ára a közeljövőben? […]