Huh? Nikon D40?
Apparently, photos of a new Nikon D-SLR have been leaked by some German reseller over the last couple of days and the net is raving and debating as to whether this a real deal. To be honest, with all the photos available, I suspect it’s gotta be real. I mean, even if you were a good photoshop-per and had masses amount of time on your hands, would you really bother to photoshop four (or more) images of a camera? I know I wouldn’t…
The badge on the camera in the images clearly says D40, the whole body is more round than any other D-SLR Nikon has ever produced, and the top LCD status panel is missing. Hmmmmm… I’m kinda wondering, does Nikon really need this model? I mean, right now, the D50 is Nikon’s entry level D-SLR and for its low price, it is one darn good camera. So, where would this D40 fit in and at what price point? I really think it’s kinda silly to strip more features off the D50 just so they can throw a ¥40,000 (just my guess) D-SLR onto the market under the D40 branding (obviously, features will definitely have be less than the D50 to justify the price difference between these 2 models). In that case, is it still worthy of being a D-SLR? Oh well, we’ll find out what’s with this model in due time…
D40’s spec’s are supposedly:
- 6.1 Megapixels
- Compressed 12-bit NEF, JPEG
- 3 AF points
- 2.5-inch LCD
- ISO: 200 – 1600, HI1
- 3 metering modes (420px meter): 3D Color Matrix Metering II, Center-weighted metering, and 8mm spot
- Program modes: Portrait, Landscape, Night, Spot, Child, and Night Portrait
- i-TTL compatible
- 1/500 Flash Sync
- SD, SD-HC
- 94×126×64 mm
- 475 grams (bare body)
No doubt, these rumoured specs do not sound impressive to people who currently own/use a D-SLR but for new consumers jumping onto the D-SLR bangwagon, they wouldn’t know what most of it means anyway therefore the pricing must to be aggressive accompanied by some kick-butt marketing…
Btw, I’m more than happy with my Nikon D80 although I hate all the blings this it has gained (the chrome shutter button, the chrome badge, and the chrome ring around the mode dial. Damn, I wish they were just black!).
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Interesting move by Nikon. I think they are being beat by the Canon KISS on the price front so they want to introduce a NEW model to undercut the competition. I’m skeptical that this will succeed since most people buying this camera would be those new to DSLR and having to differentiate between D50,D40,D80 will be too confusing that they might just opt for Canon.
I totally agree with you here. The new Canon KISS XTi (is that the model number? forgot) is priced very close to the Nikon D50 but the KISS has better specs. That said, the D50 is over a year old now. Nikon needs to update it to D50S before it can compete with the new KISS.
Yeah, I agree with you to a certain point here. Some new casual users may be put off by the Nikon D80 due to its high pricing (doubling the price of a D50). This would leave them with only the D50 and D40 to choose from. But having two entry-level models below the D80 as opposed to Canon’s one model, will not doubt be confusing for some. Currently the D50 Lens Kit retails for about ¥75,000 (??) with KISS not costing all that much more (¥80,000). Unless the D40 Lens Kit is priced at like ¥45,000 and if a D50S does not make it to the market in time to compete with the KISS, then I seriously think consumers will go for the new KISS. Afterall, the new KISS is a nice cam at a great price point backed by heavy marketing (I didn’t exactly see heavy marketing for the D50 when it came out)…
I’m slightly behind my feeds… didn’t pick up the rumors for this model, nor saw it coming. I would have thought that the D50 was low-end enough