Nikon

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

This past monday, Yahoo! News reported that Nikon made a quarterly profit of ¥13.94 bn ($124.8 m) or about 4 times that of the same period last year. Articles are here and here.

From the first article: “Earnings at Nikon have been boosted by robust demand for digital SLR cameras and the interchangeable lenses used with them, as well as improved profitability in its stepper and instruments divisions.”

The article also mentions that the profit margins on DSLR cameras is much higher than film, which makes sense but that fact makes me wonder how well digital cameras will hold their value in the future. Will they be like PCs, obsolete and worth next to nothing in a few years because of advances in technology? DSLR cameras will certanily hold their value longer than point-n-shoot cameras but it seems that while technology is growing so fast in that area, the cameras we buy today will be worth very little fast, the higher end cameras holding their value longer than the less expensive ones.

Dispite this, I am anxious to see what Nikon will present this fall when it introduces the D200. They have registered the trademark term “D200″ about a month or so ago, meaning that “D200″ will be used for one of their camera line. rumors and speculation are running wild on the Digital Photography Review forums about what features the new camera will have. Everyone knows that Nikon needs to provide a competing entry-level “prosumer” camera to compete with Canon’s 20D and soon to be release 30D. The wating continues…