Nikon readies entry-level DSLR with articulating display for April 14th launch? (updated with spyshots!)
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Apr 6th 2009 12:26PM
posted Apr 6th 2009 12:26PM
Word on the prismatic, hinged mirror streets of camera-land suggest that NIkon is preparing to launch "new products" for Spring. Rightful speculation made after a press invite was purportedly sent to a variety of photog publications announcing an April 14th launch event. Expectations vary widely as to what will be announced including a new entry-level D60-followup with 720p video on up to a D400 with 16 megapixel Sony CMOS. We even have the dubious photo above showing a Nikon with articulating display taken by a jockey riding a humor forum who claims to have been traveling "somewhere in Eastern Europe and stumbled across a commercial shoot for Nikon." Sure, that's believable. Fortunately, we're just over a week away from knowing for sure.
Update: Well, well, what's this... we just received a big batch of spy shots that look authentic enough and clearly show what looks like a low-end Nikon with articulating display.
Update 2: We just received a few more pictures as well as the detailed backstory to this Nikon with swiveling display (a first for Nikon). Seems Kevin, a film student, was smitten by the Arriflex235 435 motion picture camera used to film the commercial in Dubrovnik, Croatia yesterday. It wasn't until later, when he was reviewing the pics from the day, that he realized "that the subject of the commercial was the yet to be announced Nikon 500(0?)." Looks like a legit and incredibly fortunate find to us.
[Thanks, Kevin]
Update: Well, well, what's this... we just received a big batch of spy shots that look authentic enough and clearly show what looks like a low-end Nikon with articulating display.
Update 2: We just received a few more pictures as well as the detailed backstory to this Nikon with swiveling display (a first for Nikon). Seems Kevin, a film student, was smitten by the Arriflex
[Thanks, Kevin]
Read -- Articulating display spy shot
Read -- April 14th press event
Screw Nikon. GO CANON!!!!!
Yea, cause Canon is giving you 20fps HD video, winners........
I own a 5d Mark II, and I love Canon, but they need to get their heads out of their asses.
They are practically driving 5D2 owners in droves to buy Nikon lenses. If Nikon releases a camera that can match the 5D's resolution
First shameless self-promotion on engadget:
I just shot this over the weekend at the Cherry Blossom Festival with the Mark II:
http://vimeo.com/4014026
It was a lot of fun to shoot, but a pain in the ace to get exposure settings right. You have to untwist the lens or do some other crazy trick to keep settings consistent.
No.
@ Sisyphus
D3x ... 24MP ... Beats the 5dmkII
Although Use the Expo Comp Button, works well.
I like every other 5DmkII owner wants 24,25, 30p 1080 and those along with a 60p 720p (2x slow downs would be nice) and manual settings.
Main problem - smooth change in aperture, still cameras dont have this apart from the 14-140 (or something) lens you get with the G1HD thing, it has stepless aperture blades.
I'm as open minded as anyone, but this looks a lot like someone using live view with some kind of screen shade (like some variant of this: http://www.teamworkphoto.com/images/delkin/Untitled1.jpg). I know it's shown protruding from the bottom of the camera, but he could be in the process of clipping it on. Or perhaps it's just a funny design with lots of flaps. Either way, he's standing in bright sunlight with the sun behind him - if he's shooting with the camera above him (as he is in one of the spy shots) he'd have the light on the screen. A shade would be very handy.
What do you think?
j_g_puff: Neither the D40 nor D60 have live view, so that theory kind of falls through. But that definitely is an articulating display.
On the plus side, I can't wait for the price of the D60 to drop, going to make an excellent birthday gift for my girlfriend.
I own a canon XS and prefer canon but to say screw Nikon is moronic. Competition is good and they both make great cameras.
I think canon made a mistake by not making the 500D (T1i) a flip out screen but who knows the Nikon probably is not nearly as high resolution screen as the canon 500D in which case i would prefer the higher resolution LCD on the canon 500D over the Nikon flip out feature.
Ah yes. The latest spy shots make it very clear that it's a flip-down screen and not just a shade. I really thought I was onto something there :(
"If Nikon releases a camera that can match the 5D's resolution..."
Way to go, me.
I meant to say, If Nikon releases a camera that can match the 5D's resolution, and offers even the slightest bit more manual control than Canon's, they will leap ahead.
Hopefully the competition will benefit all of us.
Megapixels aren't everything, but the Nikon does have the D3x is has more megapixels then anything Canon produces; even the the 1DsIII.
That's not really the point, I'm a former-5D owner, the biggest issue Canon needs to deal with is intentionally gimping their own cameras. The 9-point AF on the 5D/5DII camera is junk, spot meter isn't even not connected to the outer AF points, and AF at low light being incredibly inaccurate if you're not on the center point. Worse, the 5DII uses the same ancient 9-point AF in the original 5D, while the even the Rebels and 50D uses updated versions, not to mention the fact that Nikon offers 51-point in their cameras for half the price. Now we see the Rebel 500D gimped to only 20fps for full-HD, even when it uses the same Digic chip as the 5DII, while neither of them offers a 24/25p options.
The reason the 500D only has 20fps is because or the readout from the sensor, its only 2 channels as opposed to 4 like on the 50D and 5DmkII. Half the datarate from sensor to buffer.
I agree though, the 1D series are so responsive, even just simple things like menus, shutter lag although not REALLY noticeable that much, they just feel much more polished.
1DsMkIV baby, maybe by the time it comes out i'll have done enough weddings to get one =D
I think Nikon has been weak in the entry-level price point these days. The D40 is a great value, but it's pretty old and the Canon XS is pretty cheap now. Everything else in the Nikon lineup seems pretty solid.
It HAS TO BE an entry level DSLR... I really want to buy a Nikon, but Canon has the better deal with the XS. What should be on the new entry level camera?
-More autofocus points (3 is not enough for the D60 and D40!)
-Live view w/ Articulating display (which appears to be likely)
-More megapixels (needs 12 to be competitive)
-Better picture quality (Nikon seems to be lagging behind Canon)
Do all this, and make it $600 or less, and you can count me in!
The difference between 10 and 12MP is marginal at best. Though including the new CMOS sensor would give it better high ISO.
I would love if this drove the price down on the D60 to the sub 500 range out the door.
No, silly. More megapixels is NOT the correct answer.
Given the same sensor, more megapixels = more noise and poorer low light performance. Any time you're above 6 MP or so, that tradeoff is NOT worth making.
@ticohans
I would agree 6MP should be the limit when it comes to compacts. dSLRs, with their much larger sensors, have a bit more wiggle room. Especially with the new CMOS sensors.
Built-in GPS would be nice but aside from that I'm rather at a loss to say anything else that would really improve the current crop of cameras, aside from anything that improves overall image quality. Certainly I am not bothered about movie recording facilities.
I'm looking for a replacement for my D200 that has been very good to me. Would love some new features... 1080p video would be great if they could get it to auto-focus when zooming and the ability to use SDHC media would be a huge plus. I have a bunch of CF cards, but i'd get rid of them all if i could use SDHC. Hopefully they will also release an update to the 18-200VR lens as well :)
and hopefully they haven't messed with the bracketing settings... I like the way the D200 does bracketing way more than how my D90 does it.
You do know that Compact Flash offers higher speeds and greater capacities compared to SDHC?
>> "You do know that Compact Flash offers higher speeds and greater capacities compared to SDHC?"
I know people who use SD to CompactFlash adapters in their D300s so they can use SD cards that plug directly into their laptops. Their laptops have SD card readers built-in. They don't have to use an external card reader just for CompactFlash.
Yes... CF cards are faster than SD cards... but ease of use is important to some people too. If you need to fill up a 32GB CF card in one shoot, then this solution isn't for you... but 8GB SD cards are enough for a lot of people.
@Michael
I use an external FW800 adapter - sometimes dumping your shoot quickly is high value - depending on your field.
Michael you bring up another advantage of CF. It's flexible! When desired you can adapt different formats to the same slot.
The point is that you have a lot of options with CF. Not so with a camera that can only take SD.
woohoo!
can't wait can't wait!
First the new Canon Rebel T1i, now a new Nikon.
OMG! I don't know what to buy! 8))))) Can't wait for the release!
I think I like the Panny GH1, but need to wait for the price to come down or it's not worth it.
I'm having the same problem....I wish one was just exponentially better
Actually most DSLRs sold these days have a MIRROR not a prism. Pentaprisms being expensive to produce and heavy (though nicer to use).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentamirror
By numbers sold perhaps. Pentamirrors are a staple of the entry levels. Most higher end models use prisms.
Yep, that's what I said. Canon introduced the pentamirror with the 300D.
Thats what YOU said!
Look at the top view of the camera, at the mode wheel. There's a option for what looks like 'scene', which I've never seen before on a camera...some new gimmick / awesome tool from nikon maybe?
If it has video, as a photog who uses Fuji's S5 pro, but does the odd bit of video work, I may well be considering this as a second body, even if there's no AF on video.
Great
LOL! Spy vs Spy! this guy caught on camera is probably also spying on someone :P
not everyone with a 'big camera', contrary to worryingly popular belief, is a spying pedophile...
not everyone spying, contrary to worryingly popular belief, is a paedophile
from the first pic it looked like Brendan Fraiser on the set of Return of the Mummy 4
hold on -- these pictures compose of shots from many angles... so there must be at least 3 people taking spy shots of this camera at the same time at 3 locations... wow. poor guy who was just testing the camera for nikon.
look at the pictures, you can see there is a swivel display on the camera. look at the angle of how the guy is taking pictures, he's always looking at it at an angle - swivel display. in some of the shots, you can see a swivel display.
SWIVEL DISPLAY!
Big red circle ain't enough to draw your attention?
Articulating display? Sheesh. Half the fun of photography was getting down on the ground or up in the air to get the shot you wanted. With this new feature, I'm going to be expecting higher resolution upskirts and "myspace" angles than ever before.
Granted, this camera isn't going to be marketed at me though. :) The gymnastics involved with "traditional" photography helps keep me limber and in somewhat decent shape.
I'll keep my D300, F5, and FE's.
Your coolness overwhelms me.
Eh, I am merely whelmed by it.
Okay, so it's not a cake.
Are those 4 movie modes on the dial up top that are bracketed off separately?
No, that's the MASP (Manual, Aperture, Shutter, Program).
It reminds me a lot of the Pentax K2000D / Km. The single dial on the right, with no dedicated top 'Status' LCD.
Nikon's entry level DSLRs have had the dial placement and lack of top status LCD for years now.
Great, so people with D90's are going to be stuck with non-swiveling screens. Thanks Nikon.
Currently feeling your pain. Damn you Nikon.
And this is why you never buy the latest greatest DSLR as soon as they come out. I just picked up a new D200 last week for $650. Two years ago I would have had to of paid $1600+. I'll keep adding to my lens collection and then in a few years I'll pick up a D700 after the price plummets on it once Nikon announces a D800.
Who IS that guy, the Grey Lensman?
snazzy digs
The SLR (single lens reflex) was invented to eliminate the parallax error of the older viewfinder by providing the same view in the viewfinder that was actually going to be shown to the film.
Now that just about all cameras are digital, the parallax problem is no longer an issue, because the scene is just electronically sampled and shown on a small LCD with exactly the composition as will be stored in memory.
It would appear to me that the digital SLR is the solution for which there is no known problem. Could somebody tell me why you would want to pay extra money for the funny hump on the top of the camera and extra vibration caused by a mirror flipping up and down?
--
www.chl-tx.com (Thank you, BHO, for the fantastic stimulus you have given *my* business)
If you are happy with an EVF, this is on the money and why cameras like the G1 have come into existence.
If you are like me and want an optical finder, then digital doesn't change matters any.
Not to mention the presence of a mechanical shutter life, which is also a hindrance when you know your camera can be busted in a few months if you're pro enough to take thousands of shots per week.
Currently Digital SLRs are preferred for their fast response times and larger, more resolving sensors as well as the ability to interchange lenses. The only thing actually holding back the image quality of the compact digital and slr-like digital cameras is the puny sensors they use, besides the compromised fixed lenses with frivolous zoom ranges.
Digital SLRs naturally evolved from SLRs because SLRs in the 35mm times were considered professional, so the Digital SLR makers rolled on that market of familiarity. Nowadays Digital SLRs range from beginner to advanced to semi-professional to professional.
Once completely electronic shutters evolve to become quick enough, the expensive and clunky DSLR will be preferred only by the most demanding users or professionals wanting the interchangeability of quality lenses.
I'm personally holding out for companies to realize the ingenuity of the likes of the Sigma DP1/DP2 and build on that idea to make a high-quality compact with a great prime lens and large, highly resolving sensor.
I own a Nikon D200.
Optical View Finder, better auto focus, handling, more stable and balanced with long focal length lenses.
And even with EVFs, you are still going to get the "funny humps" on the tops of cameras, unless you are suggesting that every camera should just use a live view screen on the back. That's where we get into the stability issue...two hands on a camera with it against your face (even with all that vibration from the mirror, which there really isn't that much, and if you're that concerned about vibration, that's why there is mirror lock up on cameras) is way more stable than holding something out at arms length and squinting to see an LCD in bright sunlight. There's also the issue of tracking moving objects. I've taken pictures with compact digital cameras and SLRs, I find tracking fast action much easier with an SLR, not to mention there is no lag in an optical viewfinder.
I will agree that eventually, DSLRs will be a thing of the past (but that is the case for pretty much everything, including us). The thing is that for a lot of users the Electronic Viewfinders are not at the resolving power to be equal to let alone superior to an optical viewfinder. In theory, since a EVF is 'seeing' what the sensor is seeing, it should be showing you a more realistic representation of what your image will look like, for example it should be showing you whether the image is exposed correctly. I use cameras regularly that are DSLR and have EVFs, and they both are useful in different situations and currently an EVF is not comparable to and optical viewfinder.
The problem is that most EVFs have currently a lot of technical limitations and it is taking a while to overcome them. The resolution on them is still quite low, at low light levels they start getting really noisy, their refresh rate is not fast enough so if you start panning the image gets jerky, etc.
We have a couple of new panasonic units with EVF and while they are great little cameras, the EVF is not comparable to the optical ones of the nikon DSLRs we use. However things are improving quickly and in a few years EVFs could be at the level that (at least for consumer cameras) they become an acceptable replacement.
For example Olympus and Panasonic have a new standard for cameras with interchangeable lenses using EVFs -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Four_Thirds_System and some of the cameras that are coming out sound quite promising -- in fact I know I will be buying one of these soon, but it will likely not replace my DSLR (but more replace my point and shoot camera). Why? Even these cameras, which have EVFs that are probably some of the best to appear in consumer cameras (for example having 1.4 million pixels versus a couple of hundred thousand) are still not comparable to an Optical Viewfinder.
For example, the review on DPreview ( http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcg1/ ), which is very excited about this camera technology, states...
"While the user interface is equally well suited to photographers coming from SLRs and former compact users, the viewfinder is more of a double-edged affair. It's significantly larger than the optical viewfinders of other cropped sensor cameras and has a higher resolution than any other electronic viewfinder on a digital camera we've seen before. In good light it is therefore a very good substitute for an optical viewfinder but things become more difficult in dim conditions. In very low light the viewfinder image gets so noisy, jerky and dark that it's almost impossible to use. Of course the electronic viewfinder does have some benefits, allowing the G1 to display considerably more information than any optical finder ever could, and to preview the effects of exposure settings, white balance and other parameters, and to magnify the preview for more precise manual focusing."
IMO there is a better dynamic range in the viewfinder than the LCD - which are still limited in resolution and colors.
If you are shooting in RAW, you will get a better idea of what you will end up with. also, forgoing the LCD, will alot you a better battery life.
The mirror isn't just for the viewfinder. It also supplies light to the phase detection autofocus. Without it you have to resort to contrast detection, which doesn't work very well on dSLRs.
That dude's got huge feet!
Well then, I guess he's not making up for anything with the size of his lens.
but he's hooooot!
that looks like he is in croatia
Yes.. I recognize the street... It looks like Dubrovnik main street, Stradun...
I kept looking at it and thinking it was one of those pictures of the bean in Chicago, but the ground isn't right.
Thats funny that you said that, cause I was just thinking the same thing.....that floor is pretty recognizable
The guy in the spy photos is dressed as though he wanted to be caught.
I knew he was too good looking to be a real photographer.
What the dorknut is that guy wearing?
Good collection of photos.
Louisville Kentucky court reporter
I smell viral ad bs.
Amen. The guy's too good-looking, too well-dressed (or oddly dressed, depending on how you want to look at it), and the angle/quality of the shots say "spy movie" way more than "spy shot".
damnit, guess I'm a few days late... Im on my way to Dubrovnik tomorrow (Have a house there).. too bad I missed the photo shoot!
Is that dude wearing a scarf-belt?
He is wearing a leather belt.
The scarf is just decoration.
This camera gives you gay.
I like that guy's jacket.
Do Want!
Yes, can anyone tell who makes that jacket? also want!
Amen. So nice
Will my old Canon A1 lenses work with a digital camera?
i dig the dude's digs
Legit? As legit as viral nonsense marketing can get, film student my ass, I hope engadget gets paid for this, else they are being the biggest fools.
i'd rather have the SR3 than the 435, but i could settle.
oh we're talking about the nikon no the arri? sorry.
Just in case anybody hasn't mentioned this. This camera is definitely in the entry-level catagory (below the d90). This is obvious due to the lack of a scroll wheel on the front side of the grip. This has always been a key difference between the low- and mid-range Nikon dSLR. Also, you can clearly see the different scene modes (macro, night, landscape, etc.) which aren't present on the high-end models.
The D90 has scene modes. But then it's mode dial is on the left, with a passive LCD mounted on the right.
Is it gay that I noticed how well dressed that guy is before I noticed the camera? I've never seen a photographer dressed like the next gen Indian Jones.
Nikon had a camera with a swivel display, it was just before engadget was around
Nikon has made several swivel screen/body cameras. But none of them were dSLRs.
Hey.. I'm a Canon shooter and even I know the statement you made of "Sony sensor" is all wrong :/, Nikon has been designing their own CMOS sensors and they "rent" Sony's facilities to produce the sensors... that's why DXOmark's data gives different ratings for their Raw photo analysis between the A700, D300, A900 and D3X cameras... Come on buddies you are supposed to be a source of information.........
Fran
damn it!
i was hoping for D400 (so that D300 goes down in price) instead of D40/60 successor
You gotta be joking somehow, D3x and D700 offering no video what so ever costing equal and much more than 5DII. T1i just wipe the floor with D90 and and whatever is coming. Even with 1080p 20fps on T1i still beat the 4mins on D90, that really convince me to swap in less than a week. I dont recall Canon guys were complaining about the lenses either, since nikon lenses cost an arm and a leg for the equivalent lens in other brands. However, if you have problem with the video exposure you gotta start reading those manuals and use the exposure meter correctly to get the right metering. Video feature is a BONUS to DSLR not a dedicated feature. If they didnt throw one in we wouldnt be complaining. So lets be grateful they gave all of us something to play with when we are bore. IF you were looking for a dedicated HD video system, try a 1080p video camera perhaps. It might do you more justice than any DSLR with HD Video. =D
Or is it just a Flipbac attached to the camera? www.flipbac.com
Forget the camera, I want that dudes jacket and boots.
As for the 500D, its 30fps 720p guys, 20fps 1080p
And we dont want 24, 25, 30p options, we want "varicam" options (which can probably be had through a firmware hack), ie: 1-30 fps, or 1-50 or 1-60 etc, and less than one - just use a shutter cable, lock it down and set exposure time to the frame rate you want (or use a timer cord).
My D70 still makes great pix. I drool over these new cameras but can't justify the upgrade.
I wish Minox would create a tiny, shirt pocket camera along the lines of their fabulous tiny 35mm cameras back in the eighties. I guess cell phone cameras will get to that level and portability won't be an issue any more...
Geez people, why not choose Pentax? If you are worried about glass, sell what you have and use it to buy the superior lenses from Pentax.
Wow! think twice of D90 now..D5000 is more convenient dslr..for me entry level..who want to appreciate d quality of d image n video clips recording..I wonder when this camera will be in store in msia n what d price??