Nikon Interview
Thread Starter
Photography Nerd
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 21,489
Likes: 11
From: Toronto
Nikon Interview
Here's an interesting discussion with Charles- André Wamberque, Assistant Manager, Product Planning and R&D Department for Nikon: http://www.e-fotografija.com/artman/...cle_1195.shtml
He discusses several things such as the development of DSLR's and Nikon's stance on FF sensors.
Here are a couple quotes that caught my attention:
That I can believe. Nikon is doing a great advertising job these days. I haven't seen such a strong presence from a camera company since the Canon EOS and Rebel campaigns in the early 90's.
It's great when the manager of R&D at Nikon thinks the megapixel wars are stupid. Can we stop the madness now? Please?
Funny. If you read the Nikon forums, there are endless threads about why full frame cameras are a waste, yet it sounds like it's got Nikon a little nervous.
He discusses several things such as the development of DSLR's and Nikon's stance on FF sensors.
Here are a couple quotes that caught my attention:
Originally Posted by Charles- André Wamberque
In the days of 35Ti and 28Ti Nikon was more an engineering company than marketing company. In 2006 we're half engineering and half marketing. Luckily engineering is still going strong and we're quite capable of surprising everyone but we have to make sure there's a potential market for our product.
Originally Posted by Charles- André Wamberque
We’re battling the megapixel wars now. Last year Canon was introducing 8mp cameras while we were still at 6mp. This year we’re balanced at 10mp. It may sound stupid but consumers are still asking for more megapixels.
It's great when the manager of R&D at Nikon thinks the megapixel wars are stupid. Can we stop the madness now? Please?
Matjaž: Two years ago at Photokina we learned that Nikon is still thinking about the full frame sensor. Any news on the issue?
Charles-André: We never said we abandoned the full frame. But then again, we never said when we will introduce a camera with a full frame sensor. As you might have read in the Canon white paper – full frame sensor is still six times the price of an APS-C one. That has a big impact on the retail price. 5D costs 3500€ and it’s not easy to sell such an expensive product. We have to be careful not to make the full frame idea too popular. We’re definitely still thinking and working on it but I cannot tell you when it might happen.
Charles-André: We never said we abandoned the full frame. But then again, we never said when we will introduce a camera with a full frame sensor. As you might have read in the Canon white paper – full frame sensor is still six times the price of an APS-C one. That has a big impact on the retail price. 5D costs 3500€ and it’s not easy to sell such an expensive product. We have to be careful not to make the full frame idea too popular. We’re definitely still thinking and working on it but I cannot tell you when it might happen.
Last edited by Dan Martin; Oct 20, 2006 at 09:00 AM.
Moderator Alumnus
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 64,158
Likes: 14,307
i dont understand why he says they have to be careful not to make FF too popular.. why not? wouldnt that make it cheaper? say 5-10 years down the road, Id like to think the price of an FF DSLR will be similar to an entry level DSLR right now? isnt that what technology and progress is all about? isnt that the way things are headed these days anyway? better stuff for less $$$$? 
Thread Starter
Photography Nerd
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 21,489
Likes: 11
From: Toronto
My guess is they couldn't be cost effective with a full-frame sensor, since they'd have to get a third party to develop and manufacture it for them. Canon makes their own sensors which certaily simplifies things and reduces costs. He's right though, Canon's 36x24 sensor is 6 times more expensive to produce than APS-C. In Nikon's case, it might be more like 12 to 15 times more expensive due to development and manufacturing costs.
Dalsa makes a nice 36x24 sensor that would be perfect for a Nikon FF body, but it retails for $8,000 in quantities of 100+. Even if they got a huge discount, they're probably still looking at $3000 to $5000 per chip which would make for a very expensive body. My guess is the 1Dx (working name for the next 1-series body) will be in the $6000 range, which would probably be far cheaper than any Nikon with a FF sensor.
If Canon continues to push out more models with FF sensors, I'm sure Nikon will respond. In the mean time, they really have done an excellent job with their cropped-sensor bodies. I tried a D2X last weekend and I was very impressed.
Dalsa makes a nice 36x24 sensor that would be perfect for a Nikon FF body, but it retails for $8,000 in quantities of 100+. Even if they got a huge discount, they're probably still looking at $3000 to $5000 per chip which would make for a very expensive body. My guess is the 1Dx (working name for the next 1-series body) will be in the $6000 range, which would probably be far cheaper than any Nikon with a FF sensor.
If Canon continues to push out more models with FF sensors, I'm sure Nikon will respond. In the mean time, they really have done an excellent job with their cropped-sensor bodies. I tried a D2X last weekend and I was very impressed.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post