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Nikon D300s ( a successor of my camera D300) has been discontinued
#1

I assume that I will now learn what the successor of my camera (one generation removed) is. Once I know, I will consider buying that or perhaps D3s (new if I can find it discounted now that it has been replaced by D4) or even new (discounted D700), which will be replaced by a gigapixel( :~) version called D800 (which I do not need). Basically, I would like to find a relatively painless way to a camera with higher dynamic range and greater light sensitivity than my current camera without making my lenses obsolete. If none of these options work out, the money will burn in my pocket and I may jump early into micro4/3 or Fuji system

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#2

I completely understand the urgent need to get a new toy from time to time. Almost anyting will do,Yep, I've been there..
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#3

Pavel: I don't think you could go far wrong with a D700 - it has the best low noise performance available, and it should be available at a big discount soon.
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#4

Thanks Robert. I am basically waiting for the D400 to be announced and reviewed to make a decision. D700 gets me a long way towards my goal

Please see my photos at http://mullerpavel.smugmug.com (fewer, better image quality, not updated lately)
or at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pavel_photophile2008/ (all photos)
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#5

It's very odd to see Nikon doing a Sony – discontinuing high-end cameras without a replacement already announced. In fact, they usually do the exact opposite, and insist that their previous model will continue in the lineup despite the introduction of something remarkably similar but better. (cf. D90, SB600, just from this past year or so.)

I suspect that Nikon wasn't ready to be without these two models, but that the massive disruption to their manufacturing facilities forced them into it. If that's the case – and it's purely a guess – the D300s/D700 discontinuation may mean absolutely nothing about the timetables for their successors.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#6

Go on Pavel... a secondhand D3 will be as cheap as chips soon! Seriously though, a good time to be a Nikonite I'd have thought.
Matthew, I'm assuming that Nikon's hand has been forced by the recent Canon announcements as much as anything else...?

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#7

Apparently there's been a bit more news out of Japan:

Quote:"The D300S and D700 have been discontinued in Japan as they no longer comply with Japan’s revised Electrical Appliance and Material Safety law (enacted on November 20, 2008 and revised in November of 2011). This law does not affect the production and shipment of the products for sale outside of Japan."
source: http://www.ephotozine.com/article/nikon-...tion-18346

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#8

Beat me to it, Matthew... Big Grin
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#9

What!
Yet oddly no explanations as to in what way(s) they fall short of their safety laws.... I mean, do these cameras self-destruct in the presence of sushi or something?

Nice philanthropic message from Nikon though: we don't mind continuing to supply to other countries the things we've banned as unsafe in ours...

All my stuff is here: www.doverow.com
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#10

It would have been nice to know what the change is, but these things can be obscure. Remember that the Hasselblad XPan / Fuji TX was taken out of production because of a rule change regarding lead solder. That's certainly something that the world is better without, even though that specific effect was unfortunate. So it may not be the entire camera that self-destructs, it could just be one little component that those two nearly-identical bodies share. Big Grin

There has also been a rule change about exporting lithium-ion batteries with exposed terminals from Japan, which is why this wave of cameras have been coming with new battery designs. Can't stop progress…

Julian, I wish I had waited for you – then I could have tried to look like a genius for predicting "that Nikon wasn't ready to be without these two models" but gloss over my completely bungling a wildly speculative attempt to guess the reason for the change. Big Grin

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#11

Correct me if I'm wrong, but:

Discontinued & Successor available -> price goes down
Discontinued & Successor not available -> price goes up?
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#12

The pattern that I've seen:

Discontinued & excessive inventory -> price goes down.
Discontinued & limited inventory -> price remains stable.

The only cameras that I've seen be discontinued without a successor (before now) was the Sony A700, A850, and A900. Those had all faded away from the market before they were officially discontinued, though.

There's essentially zero inventory of new D300s and D700 cameras in the stores where I am. The D300s has been so obviously at the end of its service life, and had such low demand, that it was essentially out of the stores six months ago. Its pricing has been moot for some time.

The D700 (and D3 family) have had spotty availability since last spring, and if you walked into a camera store with cash in hand you'd still have a hard time buying one. The D700 price will undoubtedly remain stable, but probably not increase.

When the replacements do eventually come they'll reset the prices. The D700 was a $2800 camera when it first came out, and the next baby FX camera is likely to be the same. That makes $2300 for a D700 look like a pretty good deal. The same thing has already been played out with the D4/D3s - $4700 seems cheap next to $6300. And by the time the new model has ended its Early Adopter Special pricing, all of the stock for the old model will be long gone.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#13

Apparently they're going to keep manufacturing the D700, despite claims to the contrary...
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content...1674-12354

Quote: Nikon now plans to manufacture the D700 "for the foreseeable future," says Nikon USA senior product lifecycle manager Lindsay Silverman. Customer demand will dictate how many more bodies are produced, and for how long.

I guess one could surmise that the D800 is such a formidable step up that they don't mind selling the D700 alongside it?
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#14

I'm surprised by this. Nikon usually says that the old product will remain in the lineup, when the reality is that the production has stopped (usually some time ago) but there's still new product waiting to be sold in the supply chain. Off the top of my head, I know that they've specifically said that for the SB600, SB900, and D90.

But with the D700, I can't imagine that there's much supply in the pipeline, so perhaps it's actually true.


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#15

A small update on this thread: Nikon Canada no longer lists the D700 or D3s as being available to order – which means it's discontinued in Canada now as well. Nikon USA continues to list them as available, but it's sensible that the smaller markets drop it first as the supply dries up. So my guess is that Nikon is simply selling from the warehouse at this point, and those cameras are soon to be gone.

The D300s, on the other hand, remains in supply – unwanted but available. Rumour has it that it's not expected to be dropped from the lineup during 2012, which doesn't preclude the possibility of a replacement, but perhaps Nikon will wait until demand for the D7000 has subsided again. Losing both of their camera factories in one year has clearly caused some serious disruption, but then again, it's amazing that they survived it as well as they have.

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#16

Thanks for the update Matthew.

Incidentally, do you see the D7000 as a good replacement coming from a D300s? On paper the D7000 trumps the D300s in almost every area except maybe for AF points, shooting speed and shutter lag by a hairs breadth.

I can sort of see why you say the D300s is unwanted...
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#17

Julian, that completely sums up the shooting differences between the two. The only other consideration is that the body and design of the D300s matches the D700 almost exactly, and closely resembles the D3 family, making it a good 1.5x crop body for someone who uses either of those two cameras on a regular basis. But with the exception of the 10-pin remote socket, the D800 and D4 family take much of their styling from the D7000; the D800 even uses the same EN-EL15 battery as the D7000.

The only thing that makes me think that the D300s will eventually be replaced is the huge, yawning pice chasm between the D7000 and D800. I could see a camera with the D800's body, weather sealing, AF and metering coupled with a 16-to-24Mpx sensor with an 8-10fps shooting rate selling around $1600-1800. At the moment the D300s remains the second-fastest camera in Nikon's range, with only the D4 beating it in shooting speed. Now that the 5Dmk3 has decent autofocus with 6fps (and Canon still has the even quicker 1.6x 7D doing 8fps) Nikon has a new gap in their lineup, creating a slot that a sub-$2k camera would be perfect for.


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