Nikon D3x

[shreds]

After much speculation the 24MP D3x has been announced. Sensor to match the Sony A900 24MP in a D3 body (The sensor I believe is Sony manufactured anyway in the D3), but with a slower frame rate and smaller ISO range. In these desperate economic times though don't even look at the price tag... around £5400.

[Dave Humphries]

Yikes!

At that price you begin to wonder if Nikon have buy A900's from Sony, take out the sensor, then start building the D3x from scratch.

[Colin Southern]

It looks as though Nikon are trying to round-out the top of their range - offering almost identical models to what Canon have no-doubt found work well for them.

I've been a Canon 1Ds3 (21MP, Full Frame) user for quite some time now - there's always been the argument of "just how many megapixels are too many", but when you're doing large prints (I typically print on canvas up to 44" wide, never less than 22" wide), having 20+ MP means that I can get far more agressive with cropping than I ever could back in the ~10MP days.

Cameras such as the Canon 1Ds3 and Nikon D3x will also make inroads into the medium format market, where anything going for around USD $8000 would be an incredible bargain - so I suspect that although the gear is pricy, it'll none-the-less make it's way into a few niche markets.

Having top-of-the-line gear doesn't necessarily meen a better photo, but the wider array of features and functions make life a lot easier in being able to concentrate more on capturing the desired image than having to constantly try to work around the limitations of "lesser gear"; winning the race is easier if you're driving a Ferrari rather than a Ford Focus!

Cheers,

Colin - pbase.com/cjsouthern