Nikon announce D3100

Dangleman said:
I'm out of the loop on the new Nikon range. I've been patiently biding my time for a 'D700 level' refresh that includes full 1080p video with stereo sound.

Is this on the cards?

Where is Nikon's answer to the Canon 5DmkII? Come on Nikon, pull your finger out!
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It will be next year at the earliest.
 
D3100, I like the features; and can't wait to see what this means for the other models. What will Nikon keep the range with better and more useful features for more advanced models.

80 f/1.4, glad I have the older version. Not too sure the price premium will be worth the difference in IQ, as it is the D version is just amazing; but I guess an update of this jewel was imminent.

24-120 f/4, I hope it's better than the older version even though mine was a sharp copy. This does seem like a decent walk-about and kit lens for FX bodies.

28-300, I don't get this. Why would anyone want this huge range in one lens on an FX body? The 24-120 & 70-300 cover this whole range and we already know the 70-300 to be amazingly good. Why put the effort into this range. I can't see this lens being really good at either end, I hope I'm wrong.

55-300 DX, one of Nikons' stupid lens! Where does this leave the 70-300VR which works like magic on both DX and FX bodies. Did Nikon really see the need for the extra 15mm on the wide-end, and for DX bodies only? And what about the 28-300 FX?
 
I dont think you can compare the 70-300 and the 55-300; the 55-300 is a 'kit' type lens made entirely of plastic (well, except for the glass :-) ). I'm guessing it will go into a bundle and the 55-200 may well be phased out.

28-300 is to combat the indy lens manufacturers offerings, Sigma and Tamron do similar versions. People do buy them......I should know, I did....and sold it very quickly (Tamron 18-270).

Neil
 
cowasaki said:
I recon the D5100 will be a big jump too in order to take back its place above the D3100!
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Agreed, I was personalty expecting the D3000 replacement just to be a slightly tarted up D5000 possibly without the swivel screen. And then the new D5000 to be a cut down version of the D90 replacement.

I'd imagine we're going to see some very tempting lens bundles on the D5000 to make it sellable beside the D3100.

People say it's odd that they have two entry level models. But just look at Sony's and Canon's range.
 
I'm happy to learn about the D3100 being made offical.

I'll be looking to buy a D5000, in the near future, so expect that the release of the D3100 will force retailers to offer better deals on the D5000, either in terms of price, or lens bundles.

I could be wrong and quite offen are!
 
It'll probably happen Johnny, but not immediately. Once all the D3000 bodies are sold, and the D3100 drops to the same price that the D3000 currently is, we'll likely see a drop in the D5000 price then too.
 
neilos100 said:
I dont think you can compare the 70-300 and the 55-300; the 55-300 is a 'kit' type lens made entirely of plastic (well, except for the glass :-) ). I'm guessing it will go into a bundle and the 55-200 may well be phased out.
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From my experience, the 70-300VR is, also, rather plasticky! Doesn't feel as solid as a 70-200 (for example); but that's secondary, I would think.

The image quality of the 70-300VR has been proven to be outstanding; and I've seen amazing results from that coupled with the D3x. It's an FX lens at its' best, but works great on DX too.

The new 55-300 only ads a 15mm at the wide-end, and would be just as plasticky as the 70-300VR. Anything worse, and it would be made of weetabix :p

If Nikon wanted the 55-300 to be a bundle-kit lens, why not just use the 70-300. The sales volume would help drive down the prices a bit to make it more viable too.

Also, if the 55-300 is going to phase out the 55-200VR (which was another outstanding lens by Nikon), that would mean it has to compete on price with the one being phased out; this adds another problem for the 70-300.

If Nikon prices the 55-300 close to the "to-be-phased-out" 55-200, where will that leave the 70-300VR, which is about double the price?



neilos100 said:
28-300 is to combat the indy lens manufacturers offerings, Sigma and Tamron do similar versions. People do buy them......I should know, I did....and sold it very quickly (Tamron 18-270).

Neil
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A few problems here; someone buying an FX body from Nikon would, in most likely, want superior glass than what can be offered in such big range zooms.

For DX bodies, cropping this lens means its' not wide enough on the wide-end, hence the kit 18-55VR comes best; and it's conflicting with the 55-300 just announced for the long-end.

I'm curious, why did you sell your 18-270 :suspect:
 
D3100 , nikon is running out of names me thinks.

They're a bit screwed with the D90 too going on trends. d70, D80, D90, D - ah crap we already have a D100.
 
With a selection of 7 different bodies across the entire range it does seem rather crowded BUT with the spec of the new D3100 the D5100 and D90/95/7000 is going to have to be special which will mean that the D400 or whatever and D800 or whatever are going to have to be amazing!
 
Kaouthia said:
It'll probably happen Johnny, but not immediately. Once all the D3000 bodies are sold, and the D3100 drops to the same price that the D3000 currently is, we'll likely see a drop in the D5000 price then too.
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Hope it doesn't take too long.

The idea that I need to upgrade my D40 has been planted firmly in my brain and will just persist until I make the purchase :help:

Looks like I'll be having to use willpower to resist :eek:
 
kingbling11 said:
D3100 , nikon is running out of names me thinks.

They're a bit screwed with the D90 too going on trends. d70, D80, D90, D - ah crap we already have a D100.
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The two running favourites are D95 and D7000 at the moment :)
 
attractive though the 3100 looks on paper, I think it will all be down to IQ, at least for us on here (yet for its target market maybe 14mp is more important than IQ!)

I am suspicious that although its a cmos, base ISO seems to be 100 againsy the 5000/d90s 200. That might mean it's high ISO may not be as good, maybe they had to sacrifice sensitivity to gain the extra resolution?

Look forward to the reviews......

Just downloaded view nx2 - seems perfectly workable for those who dont want to fork out on editing software, and it's free even to non Dark Side users (although it will only process Nikon Raw files)
 
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Wail, the 55-300 must be made of Weetabix then...not even the mount is metal, just like the kit stuff. Doesnt have internal focus either or the A/M setting overriding AF on the lens. I have the 70-300VR and its definitely a cut above the kit type lenses in quality, obviously not up to pro standard though, but defo better than base spec.
I do take your point however regarding the FX and the 28-300 though....
As to my 18-270....the IQ was ok if a bit soft at the long end, but the main reason was that it was incredibly slow to focus in anything other than bright daylight....indoors? forget it, even with the AF assist from the SB900 flash it would hunt for 10-15 seconds if it focussed at all. You thinking of buying one?

Neil
 
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Arkady said:
I'm glad I bought mine when I did - the new one's a 'G' lens which is no good for my older stuff...

Plus it's currently listed at $1,649 in the US...

Might be a smidge sharper, but you'd need a microscope or an enlargement as big as a house to tell...
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Blimey, that's expensive! Well, I put off buying the older model in order to get a 70-200 really, rather than just waiting for the new release. If I'm lucky it'll mean a small price drop on the older version by the time I've finally saved enough again.
 
It seems strange, talk of new equipment interests me a lot, but I am so happy with just learning on my little, irrefutable D40 that I won't give it up until the lack of bracketing and ISO really bug me lol
 
Looks pretty good. My overall feeling for the D3000 was that it was just too basic (no live view, lack of direct controls, old CCD etc) and the D3100 seems to have filled in a lot of the gaps. The '<i>' direct access button is now also included, which is a great little widget. Price is a tad steep though, treading right on the D5000's toes.
 
Strobe said:
Price is a tad steep though, treading right on the D5000's toes.
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And the 70-200 VR2's price was 20-30% more than the 70-200 VR1 when it was first announced, before it was actually available in the shops. Now you can pick them up for about 100 quid less than the VR1 cost if you shop about.

SRP/RRP/MRP/Whatever you want to call them, are always much more when they're first announced, that way shops can make it look like they're doing you a good deal.
 
Just got the official email from Nikon

AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G RRP £1499.99
AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR £1049.99
AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR £869.99
 
Kaouthia said:
Just got the official email from Nikon

AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G RRP £1499.99
AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR £1049.99
AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR £869.99
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That's not really very bad, given the prices of current models (85/1.4 and 24-120). Bearing in mind, these prices will come down a bit, once the fanfare subsides (I hope a 20% drop within a few months after hitting the retailers).
 
explicit4u said:
Isn't it a bit weird that the D3100 is better (?) and more expensive than the D5000, it's not the best branding.
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No but the D5000 will no doubt get a make over early next year D5100? Possibly the D90 might become the D7000 too??

All guesswork though but would make sense.
 
explicit4u said:
Isn't it a bit weird that the D3100 is better (?) and more expensive than the D5000, it's not the best branding.
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The simple answer is that it's not, you're comparing the recommended price of the D3100 with the street price of the D5000. If one compares like with like then the D5000 is more expensive....

D3100 Kit 18-55 (VR): RRP £579.99
D5000 Kit 18-55 (VR): RRP £689.99
 
and the IQ of the 3100 has yet to be established, maybe more mp will reduce overall IQ?
 
cowasaki said:
No but the D5000 will no doubt get a make over early next year D5100? Possibly the D90 might become the D7000 too??

All guesswork though but would make sense.
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Don't you think they'll go straight to calling the D90's replacement a 7100 and keep in it inline with 3100 and 5100 etc?
 
It now seems that the new D3100 sensor is not manufactured by Sony, but by Nikon themselves. It also looks as if Nikon will be making all their own sensors from now on.

Quote from an article by Thom Hogan:

Update: I've now heard even more details about the D3100 sensor and from a few sources closer to Nikon Japan. It does indeed appear that Nikon has moved to producing their own sensors. They may be licensing or cooperating on some of the underlying technologies, but it appears that Nikon has decided that Nikon DSLRs will in the future have Nikon-controlled and Nikon-exclusive sensors. That they haven't chosen to make a bigger deal of this is strange. And some parts of Nikon appear not to have gotten the memo on this, as I've seen quotes from Nikon personnel in some subsidiaries that say "Sony sensor."
 
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