Nikon D400?

[foxesamu]

I'm almost certain this has been discussed before, but I'll give it a re-hash. :p

No, I wouldn't be in the market for a D400. What I want to know is whether or not a new Nikon semi-pro will probably be introduced this year, thus driving down prices on the D300, my ideal camera. I do know that the D40/60 are due for an update and the consumer market will be Nikon's priority, but it seems that the time is also ripe for a new DX flagship to complete the high-end product blitz. Is this true?

[Rooz]

the d300 is already the DX flagship, is only just over 12 months old and is the best DX camera on the market right now by a decent margin so i dont think the "time is ripe" at all. i wouldnt be banking on it coming any earlier than late this year.

of course things change and with PMA around the corner and the global crisis, no one really knows wtf is gonna happen.

[K1W1]

the d300 is already the DX flagship, is only just over 12 months old

It was actually released by Nikon in August 2007 so it's already around 18 months into the typical 2 year life cycle. I'm sure that there will be a replacement for the D300 released in 2009 the only issue will be when.

Of course the new camera will be priced in line with the currency exchange rates today rather than what they were when the D300 was released so if anything it may push D300 prices UP rather than down due to the fact it is likely to be considerably more expensive at MSRP. If nothing else Nikon will push the MSRP up as much as they possibly can based on the camera being a premium product rather than a mass market one. They will want to make money out of the camera to cover losses at the lower end consumer D40/60 market.

[erichlund]

I think that Thom Hogan is thinking more Autumn/Christmas for a D300 replacement. That would put it on the typical two year cycle.

[D70FAN]

A quick comment: Except for Japan (Yen) the exchange rate of other currencies, in this case the Thai Baht (primary manufacturing for Nikon), has lost ground to the dollar. If the cameras were manufactured in Japan, then we would see some price inflation.

For reference, here is the latest 120 day graph (Baht to Dollar exchange rate).