Nikon Announced two new DSLR's

Nikon announced last week that it will produce two new entry level DSLR's. One will be the successor to the popular D70, and rumor has it that it will be called the D70s. A second will be a lower end model rumored to be called the D50. Zero specs have been announced, but Nikon indicated they will provide more information about features, pricing, and availability at the end of April.

There was a leak about the spec a week or so ago. From what I recalled, D70s is not going to be a big different to D70 except for bigger LCD but otherwise the same body, same small viewfinder and same CCD.

ssra30:

There was a leak about the spec a week or so ago. From what I recalled, D70s is not going to be a big different to D70 except for bigger LCD but otherwise the same body, same small viewfinder and same CCD.

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Nikon kept such a tight lid on the D2x that I did NOT see ONE confirmed sample shot until the camera was released. THAT IS IMPRESSIVE. I even know a guy that had one, and know of a LOT of people that were beta testers, they REFUSED to show images... not sure how Nikon managed that.

The official announced of the new models followed a screwup on their part (nikon UK) when they accidentally posted the pre-release on the 8th, and it was available on the web for a very brief time.

We will know more on April 20th, and you very well might be right about the sensor, but I kinda doubt it. What would be the point of providing a bigger LCD and nothing more to compete with the latest Canon 8mpix DSLR. Granted IMO switching from a 6mpix SLR to an 8mpix SLR is IMO pointless.

I'm hoping for 12mpix using the D2x sensor, now THAT would be impressive. We shall see.....

RonFrank:

I'm hoping for 12mpix using the D2x sensor, now THAT would be impressive. We shall see.....

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From what I gather, the 12mp may be incorporated into the eventual D100 replacement, D90 which won't be announced sometimes later on this year.
I agree that going from 6 to 8 mp is not really a big change but to play number games against Canon 20D, they may have to do that. However, a nice improvement for D70 (as far as I am concerned) would be a bigger viewfinder rather than bigger LCD. ISO100 would be nice. The current sensor for D70 is pretty good already so it would not be a big loss if they keep it as is. Better autofocus system would be nice but I suppose Nikon will have to save some goodies for the D2X so we can't have it all in the D70s. My Subal dealer told me that he did try the D70s body in the regular D70 housing and it fits fine, no new housing is required (he has some connection with Nikon distributer here so he does get some inside info).
Of course I have no idea how accurate my information is, so we shall have to wait for the official announcement but so far, not too exciting, I think.

here is a link to the new manual for the D70S.

http://www.d70fans.com/D70S_UserManual.pdf

the download is pretty slow.
i still haven't figured out the difference between the D70 and the D70S.

Larger LCD, wireless. It's an update, not a huge improvement. I'm more interested in the D50. It's smaller and less expensive. It doesn't have a bigger buffer, but you can still do 2.5 frames per second. If they price it right, the D50 could be hugely popular.

LChan:

here is a link to the new manual for the D70S.

http://www.d70fans.com/D70S_UserManual.pdf

the download is pretty slow.
i still haven't figured out the difference between the D70 and the D70S.

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Looks kinda like the D2H/D2Hs upgrade. Nothing too exciting.

The D70 IMO is one of the best camera's for the $$ available, the D70s looks like a minor upgrade. It will be interesting to see what the D50 brings at what price point.

I await the day when the D2x/1Ds Mark II come down in pricing. I remain happy with my D1x but the D2x sure does take awesome images.. sigh..

DesertEagle:

Larger LCD, wireless. It's an update, not a huge improvement. I'm more interested in the D50. It's smaller and less expensive. It doesn't have a bigger buffer, but you can still do 2.5 frames per second. If they price it right, the D50 could be hugely popular.

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Nowaday D70 is not much more expensive than top of the line prosumer PnS. I think most people will realize that when they are getting D70, the biggest expense will be in the lenses and not the camera. There are plenty of lenses that already cost more than the body and they are by no mean exotic lenses for special purpose or anything like that. So I am not sure that the D50 will attract a lot more people. Surely if they can't afford a couple more hundred dollars for D70, they certainly won't be able to afford all the neccessary lenses then there is not much point in getting dSLR in my opinion. Smaller size won't mean much when you start sticking telephoto lens on it or large zoom lens. SD card is also more expensive than CF card. But I guess Nikon is afraid of losing market share to Olympus Evolt or something.

The D70 is still $700-$800. But if a D50 goes for $600-$700 with kit lens, it's going to be very popular.

The D-50 will have a less expensive kit lens, the 18-55 AF-S DX. This is going to make it easier for the p/s user who wants a 28-XX zoom without paying big money. 28mm is better than most p/s cameras anyay. When joe user wants to go telephoto, a Nikon 70-300 lens can be bought for about $130. I'd say that's a good path for a casual user. Last but not least, there is plenty of cheap used Nikon glass to be had.