The most advanced Nikon camera ever created is right around the corner. But does anyone care?
Nikon recently teased the new D6, the successor to their $6,500 sports DSLR, the D5. Although we don't know the camera's exact specs or price yet, most people are expecting a standard upgrade with slightly more megapixels, ISO performance, focusing, and hopefully better shooting performance.
But even if the D6 is the greatest DSLR ever made, how many photographers are actually excited to buy it? This genre of camera is so expensive and so finely tuned for sports photographers that the average shooter probably will never consider it. And with mirrorless cameras taking over the industry, do DSLRs in general feel like old technology?
In the video above, Patrick and I have a conversation about the Nikon D6, its potential features, and the quickly shifting photography market.
Lol if you're interested then you're of the genre that it's aimed for of which no mirror less can compete.
Mirrorless can compete almost on everything, question is not when but how.
Photography is still everything about framing and timing of exposure.
It is not about megapixels, dynamic range, frame rate, focus speed or anything like that.
If mirrorless cameras would be like a wet plate cameras from 1880, then I would agree.
But we are talking already negligent differences.
Good that you corrected your sentence. The author of the original comment doesn’t seem to care about his grammar.
Well I mean this is an internet comment section. It's not like we're writing peer reviewed essays for a grade.
Of course not, it’s just embarrassing to write with mistakes. It’s not like it’s an extra effort to spell correctly.
Should have said "It's embarrassing to rite with mistakes."
*Mist steaks* FTFY lol
Who would be embarrassed? Lol get over yourself
If you're on a mobile device it's extra effort. On screen keyboards are garbage. If you have larger fingers it's even more difficult.
Peer reviewed essays aren't graded.
You get my point.
Photography is NOT just about framing and timing of exposure. If you are shooting sports, like the D6 is aimed at, it is about focus speed, dynamic range, frame rate and more.
and lighting
Amen, and even if you're not shooting sports, all of those things are still important. To claim they are not important is to pretend to be ignorant of all of the amazing things modern cameras do to enable all of us create the kinds of images we want to make. How nice it must be to simply take all of that power for granted and tell yourself that the "only" things that matters is composition and timing of exposure - only the first crucial steps, in a chain of crucial steps to create masterful images.
I'm with you on this. I'm still using my now vintage D4, and shoot mostly theatrical, dance, acrobats, etc. I need more than composition and exposure timing to get the images. Fast burst mode and high ISO capability for starters. The D5 wasman improvement, and the D6 will presumably further enhance capabilities other cameras simply don't have. Having said that I can often get good results out my FUJI XT3 as well but for particularly challenging lighting and performance situations it's back to the D4 every time. Alas my budget can't presently handle the Nikon upgrade.
Right so they will not be able to keep up with demand for months but nobody cares. Here's a hint. For action sports, nature, etc. there is no mirrorless that will be able to compete with it's focus capture and holding capabilities. Just because you don't get it doesn't mean nobody does. It isn't meant for the average shooter so step aside and watch the those whoa are above average take advantage of it.
Except that it's unlikely it will be able to keep up even with the a9, much less the a9 II.
thanks for that, we laughed a lot!
That's why we'll be seeing all those A9s at the Olympics right? I mean we already see them overwhelming those yesteryear Canons and Nikons right? #sarcasm #URAFanboy
We won't. There's not much money left in sports photography and the current gear people are using is good enough. Spending €30,000 to switch doesn't make sense. Both of these cameras will be bought by enthusiasts, and enthusiasts care about specs - the blackout free, 20+ fps shooting and the full sensor readout subject tracking of the a9(2) can never be beaten by a dslr for obvious reasons.
LOL yea there won't be any pro photographers at the Olympics, any pro or college: soccer, baseball, football, tennis, basketball tournament, etc.
Everybody wants whatever edge they can get and they aren't buying your apparent fanboy favorite.
You've made precisely 0 arguments so far, just sarcasm and shouting. How could your average college soccer photographer afford a ~30k system switch? They can't. Or your average, struggling news organisation? Nope, not happening.
Grow up!
What shouting? You seem very sensitive and have some vested interest in this. Yes I am being sarcastic because you are making silly arguments. Everybody here other than you knows that 99% of the cameras at sporting events are going to be Canon and Nikon. Keep rationalizing but people who are still Nikon pros will buy 2 or more of these bodies replacing their old ones and your claims won't change a single mind on it.
Again, personal insults, then a repeat of something silly you said before already. It doesn't matter what you'll see at the Olympics. Those pros are the tiny minority of the people buying these cameras. And, as I said, their selection criteria are completely different as well. What a joke... You're arguing against something I never said, because you don't have arguments against the actual point.
You're so clueless, it isn't even remotely funny to "argue" with you.
Where can one start ?
The fact that you're thinking that any mirrorless can produce more tack sharp focused shots in a big burst than a D5/1Dx Mk II ?
The fact that you don't know that most professionals at the Olympics work on equipment provided for them by their media house or loaned/sponsored by the manufacturers ?
Really, think twice before replying to this, it will save you from any further unnecessary humiliation.
You're not just clueless, but can't even read apparently. I mentioned that a lot of equipment is provided by employers - it's obvious - but do you really think these organisations are doing any better? Get your head out of your fantasy dream world, no media outlet will spend hundreds of thousands to switch their photographers to a different system, when the current one is good enough. Unlike you, they are not stupid.
As for the A9, with the latest update? - it easily beats D5 in AF. That's a fact. There are loads of tests with it, including tests by professionals.
I think the semi-casual crowd are way more likely to buy a new camera because of functions. I think if you're a pro sports photographer then whatever you're currently using (along with the very expensive glass you've been collecting over the years) is going to be good enough. You would have learned to use your gear in the best way to serve the kind of work you do. Faster autofocus really isn't a reason to change up all of your equipment.
I don't think you have used a D5 in demanding situations. If you had you wouldn't write such things.
Yeah, you are right, if you dont get it then its not for you. I will never buy it but it exist for a good reason.
I agree - Nikon / Canon on the field, Sony in the stands.
Whatever you feel about DSLR cameras, these are workhorses that paired with the Nikon lens vast ecosystem are still compelling to the pros that use them, and have lots invested in glass
Those DSLR are becoming "specialized tools".
Not many people are excited to see a new blind rivet gun go on sale. Except for some shop workers.
Same applies here.
Becoming?
People live in the fantasy that the people who wants to do photography, cares or even admires these DSLR.
No!
The photography has always been about pocket cameras. Since Eastman released first KODAK brownie the photography has been all about "You Press the Button, We Do the Rest".
It has never been about these high end cameras, not even about interchangeable lens cameras! For 135 film it was not SLR that sold and was wanted, it was pocket cameras. The SLR cameras from Canon, Nikon, Olympus etc were minority, a clear minority in sales. All the money in photography was done with family photos. The big professional industry was media, but a paper didn't need 50000 photographers with a SLR to get a paper published everyday to tens of millions of people.
It is same thing with everything, no one really is driving a Ferrari, Lamborghini or such luxury cars, Compared to what the people really drive... AFAIK even today the most mass produced car is the original WV Beetle. A simplest car you can almost have. It took you from A to B and did it well.
With cameras, no one really is shooting with a DSLR compared to phones with camera. Ratio is likely 100000:1 and there are 2.5 billion phones....
And the cameras that are sold, 85-90% of them all are some cheap DSLR with a kit lens, a $399 kits that you buy from grocery store even with bonus coupons.
The high end cameras has always been specialized gear, always. Some hobbyists, better income people etc will buy a luxury, but it is mainly professionals and amateurs who put more money to these.
The same kind people who buy Ferrari, Lamborghini etc.
I would be excited about big extremely robust tank camera with great ergonomics if it gets a d850 sensor and a tad muffled mirror/shutter sound.
Just like the D850. Nobody cares.
Boring! No one cares about the latest bullshit coming out of digital camera manufacturers and people's clickbait and ignorant videos.
Just shoot what you have or be an artist and shoot alternative mediums of photography.
All the gear head pundits will sound like CNN soon
I'm usually lazy to comment but I logged in just to say something. Another one of those "product A is inferior to product B, why did it need to exist" posts.
I've read this in some many Canon related posts and yet they are still selling well. There are people out there who still prefer an OVF over an EVF. I'm not the only one, I know a lot of people who do. If you don't like it then obviously the product is not targeted at you.
We are in the age of cameras similar to what happened in the transition from film to digital.
It is a bit like the Nikon F6 when it came out.
<shrug>
Don't need one, won't be buying one.
Non-issue. ;)
Who cares? Judging by all the butt hurt comments, those guys do.
Implying your own thoughts and attitudes on the entire industry is a little, presumptuous, wouldn't you say? It's also important to remember that many working professionals are oftentimes busy with contract/rate negotiations, client networking, growing their business, etc. than spending excess time reading blogs online, and offering their own viewpoints to toss into the mix. That's one of the flaws that fstoppers, dpreview, slrlounge, etc. often make. Their body of readers is made-up of semi-professionals, and their views and expressions are extrapolated to reflect the entire industry as a whole. When was the last time a National Geographic photographer wrote (or even commented) on this site, or anyone who regularly photographs for top tier magazine publications, olympics/major league sports, NY Times, etc. You catch my drift. Don't misinterpret my words as means of discrediting your blog. I think it's a very useful tool for observing general trends and topics. But lately, headlines on fstoppers have had a tendency of letting their click-bait nature take over editorial merit.
Personally, I have yet to come across a working professional here in NYC who uses a mirrorless as their primary body, but that's just me. I'm clearly hanging out with the old crowd.
For what it's worth, I intend to upgrade to the D6 as soon as pre-orders are announced, and I photograph children's portraiture, not sports.
+200. It seems a lot of amateurs and semi-pros get their self worth from the brand of camera they identify with and any one else's brand gives them shpilkas. And second, the grammar police need a laxative.
Michael Kormos out of curiosity, why the D6 for children's portraiture? Why not a D850 for instance?
Since the D3s, I've always stuck with the series. Many of our clients have active children. Lifestyle sessions in outdoor settings have steered me towards bodies that excel in quick, exact, and consistent focus. In that regard, many of the shooting situations I find myself in have more in common with sports than portraiture.
Ahh, gotcha. Thanks for the follow up.
I am an amateur and I mostly use mirror less cameras but I know many who are professional. Contrary to this title many are eagerly waiting for this new camera. They have a range of lenses ready at hand that they can use. I would love to see what the D6 would with the F 300 mm 2.8 lens for instance.
Click bate!!!!!