Mecworks

>>> UPDATE Oct. 28, 2005: Check out the new leaked D200 picures!

Well, it’s the show I’ve been waiting for for quite some time. I’ve been waiting for Nikon to release a new mid/low end “prosumer” level DSLR camera to compete against Canon in the 20D range. The PMA or Photo Marketing Association annual show starts today in Orlando Florida. Wish I was there.

Several new releases from many of the world’s foremost photography companies will be announced at this years show. The jurry is still out on weather or not Nikon will release a new camera in the 20D range or not. If so, I would imagine that it would be announced at the beginning of the conference rather than towards the end as large announcements are usually made at the beginning of conferences. We’ll see what happens. There’s already been an announcement before the show for the new Nikon D2Hs and several Nikon Coolpix point-n-shoot cameras on the 16th of February, almost a week before the PMA started and because of that, there should be plenty of announcements during the show. Canon also annoucned the Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT a couple days before the conference began. It looks to be a great DSLR camera in the sub-$1000 range.

From the forums around the net (dpreview, etc), there is a lot of anticipation but also some hesitation and rumors that the “D200″, the supposed replacement for the Nikon D100, will not be annouced at PMA but rather in a few months and available to the public mid to late summer. The reasoning behind this varries but some people think that Nikon wants to milk it’s D70 cash-cow as much and as long as possible. The D70 is selling very

well apparenly but I can’t help but notice the large number of people deciding to go with Canon for their 20D and now for their EOS 350D who would have bought Nikon had there been an equivilant camera in the same niche. The longer Nikon waits, the more long term customers they lose. At the $1500 to $2500 range, the “D200″ (or what ever it will be called) is the right location in the camera line up to entice photographers who are just starting in the serious digital SLR world. They want more than a point and shoot and they want something that will allow them to grow and build their camera system but certainly don’t want to spend the $3000+ for a professional camera body.

The fear is that the longer Nikon waits, the more customers who do not have an investment in lenses and therefore are not tied to a certain brand will go to the manufacturer who produces the cameras in their price range with the features they want. Right now in that arena, there’s Canon with their 20D and on the lower end, 350D. As of this date, the top two cameras that visitors are clicking on at dpreview are the Canon EOS 20d with 3.3% followed by the Canon 300D with 2.7% and then by the Nikon D70 with 2.5%. The professional cameras are not even in the top 10. The reason is that the higher end cameras are out of the price range for most people. The features that make them great cameras for professionals do not provide enough of a benifit or will possibly never be used by the “prosumer” level customer. The D200, 20D, 300/350D spot seems to be a real sweet spot that Nikon needs to fill quickly in my oppinion or it will loose out in making a significant impact on that market segment that until now has remained untapped.

>>> UPDATE Oct. 28, 2005: Check out the new leaked D200 picures!