Hmm, it seems that “Missing DX” article struck a nerve. I received more responses to that article than any other one this year so far, and the overwhelming appears to be what more than one recipient wrote: “totally agree with your views.”
Ready to step into my In Box? Here’s a sampling of some other comments:
- "I have been having using two D6 and D850 with prime lenses for wildlife photography but struggling to find equivalent Nikon alternatives in smaller package when travelling with family for holidays. Out of frustration I rented out both OM Digital Systems and Fujifilm cameras but being a long time Nikon user found both the systems not intuitive to use, like user interface, menu system or auto focusing and really wished had built a camera as you suggested.” Note two things here: first, an existing high-end camera user wanting a smaller body for more casual use, exactly as I wrote. Second, he’s a sampler, but not yet a leaker. This is sort of my point: Nikon has been setting up the potential for leaking users, but fortunately so far, the other makers haven’t fully locked on to some of these folk. But it’s only a matter if time if Nikon ignores the hole in the middle.
- "Just back from a fishing trip in Iceland with photography important. Even the d7500 stayed behind as I needed something as small and versatile as possible. I used an Olympus EM-10 Mark III, plus the Panasonic 12-32mm and Olympus 9-18mm and 40-150 lenses. Worked out as a great combo.” And here we have a switcher, who is happy with their new camera. I note another thing about the switchers: they’re not one-lens-and-done folk. They buy and use multiple lenses. You’d think Nikon would prefer that type of customer over the buy-two-lens-kit-at-discount-price-and-done crowd, but apparently not.
- "'Light enough' means I have a weight budget of 1kg (2.2 pounds) for camera stuff: camera, lens, charger, spare battery, etc. What I’ve used for a while now is an Olympus EM-1 Mark II with the Lumix 12-60mm 3.5-5.6. If OM Digital Systems blow it, I’d like to consider Nikon again, but full-frame isn’t for anyone with a 1kg limit, and while I’d be happy enough with a Z50 (well, it would do, but I’d be happier with IBIS), I can’t see the lens that would work for me. Buzz, buzz, baby ;~). While I wrote mostly about why the missing middle bodies are key, most of the folk responding to the article also had some specific DX lens requests, too. After all, cameras have an interchangeable lens mount, so you need both ;~).
- "I am the person you describe in this article. I am mostly a bird/wildlife amateur photographer. I have a D7500 with the 200-500mm lens (as well as an assortment of five other lenses that I use less frequently) that have served me very well. I’m in no hurry but at some point I want to be able to migrate to a Z70 that upgrades to 33MP, and if Nikon doesn’t get it together I will be looking elsewhere. I will not buy a lower end DX body, and I don’t really want/need an FX body for what I shoot. I would buy the 180-600mm, as well as some other Z lenses. Nikon seems to be walking away from my money.” Ouch. Walking away from money. That’s effectively what Nikon did by not making a D400, by seemingly crippling the D7500, and by not building appropriate DX DSLR lenses. Now they’re doing it again in the Z System. What’s that add up to in this case (one mid-level body and six lenses)? US$6000+, probably. Yet Nikon wants to sell sub US$1000 cameras with one lens? See the next comment about “vision."
- "Nikon IS committing 'product line suicide' by ignoring the D7xxx end of the Z DX market. I don’t see Nikon admitting that. 'The Missing DX Cameras' are the symptom of the malaise, but I’d say the cause is 'The Missing Nikon Vision.' In many ways I see Nikon’s Z project as a coherent vision for a superb next generation of lenses but muddlement about how a mirrorless camera should behave and be controlled that had the misfortune to launch into an existential market contraction and so couldn’t get away with iterating product a few times to demuddle – as Sony and Canon did (pause to catch breath). If I were to be catty, I’d describe Nikon’s body strategy as Make DX Swim With the Fishes For Real This Time – This is a Pro House. Let’s hope not. Doing so will make most of Nikon’s best users into two brand users, best case, competitor brand users worst case.
- "I’d buy a Z50II/Z70/Z90 in a heartbeat and sell the Z50.” I received quite a few of these type comments, as well: folk that bought into the Z50 as the only available compromise at the time (fewer Zfc folk seem to echo this comment; something about dials placating them ;~). But they all seem to be a bit like me: the more we use the Z50, the more we see it’s deficiencies.
- "It is maddening, especially with all that Fujifilm, Canon, and likely Sony (will) have to offer in APS-C territory. Pursuing its maximized (short term) revenue goal, Nikon seems blind to some important needs of its long-term base and even its Z6/7 adopters.” Which was my point. I neglected to point out that this “blindness” has a three year history now. That’s a long time in the middle arena, though Sony also didn’t iterate in that same three years (although they already had something in the middle). My curiosity is how things will fare in the 2023 Holiday season, where Nikon can only discount the consumer triplets or FX bodies, while Canon, Fujifilm, OMDS, and Sony can discount in the middle of the market. It’s counterproductive if Nikon ends up having to discount FX to fill the middle gap to stay competitive.
- "Jeez, it's like you are inside my brain as some avatar of my own thoughts and wishes.” Yes, hidden among my privacy policies is that I reserve the right to infect your brain ;~).
- “I am an old fart with life-long love of image making and photography. For my light carry, I've been using the Z50 for a couple years now. It's also my travel camera. I've got both kit lenses and also bought the 18-140mm. I'm on the cusp of buying the 12-28mm, and likely the 24mm f1.7. Wife and I have our first European vacation in three years coming up very soon, so pressure is mounting to get a compact travel kit I feel good about. I'd really like to add a wide zoom for that trip (and other uses). But like you note, I'd also like my brand choice to offer a more serious mid-range zoom, ala the 16-70mm f2.8-4.0 you mention. And I'd like a more serious Z70/7xxx's camera body option. If Nikon offered it, I'd buy it in half a heart-beat. And as all companies should appreciate, I'd rather have my APS-C and FF cameras be the same brand, for lens use, externals like flash, etc. I have been shooting Canon also, but have been disappointed with the R7 I bought, and Canon's lack luster RF-S lens offerings. So again, i'm left considering Fujifilm or Sony. Both of which have a large suite of lens options to choose from.” Another reader who is a sampler (Canon R7). I’ve left the full details here because they pretty much sum up what I keep hearing from readers and I see in the surveys I periodically conduct. Nikon’s moved to a posture where it seems to not care about a significant number of their legacy customers, and those customers have been and continue to be frustrated. In terms of this reader’s needs, I’d say get the 12-28mm, but consider one of the Viltrox DX lenses for “fast aperture” use, despite the difference in size and weight.
- "I love my Z50 size/form factor/etc but, as you say, it is way out of date. I am one of MANY who would pay $$$ for an updated Z70 or Z90 with a decent small/light lens kit so I guess I am a prime example of your point.” Technically, the Z50 is about one generation out of date. The usual iteration cycle for the consumer products traditionally was about two years (the Z50 was introduced almost four years ago, in October 2019). The pandemic seemed to have changed that scheduling for all the camera makers, probably due to supply constraints, though Nikon seemed to have pulled a switcheroo by converting the mild Z50 II update into a Zfc, instead (dials make for more of an iteration, right? ;~). From Nikon’s viewpoint, that worked, as it revived some DX demand that was going lax. But then again, why did that demand go lax? Right, because Nikon doesn’t seem to be all that committed to Z DX, and there are clearly missing models. The Zfc didn’t really help that problem, it just pushed it back a year or two.
- "In my humble opinion, Nikon should have developed a new, fast sensor and made a good, weather-sealed Z70 and Z90 [to keep] their loyal birding, wildlife, and amateur sports photographers by developing such a sensor. They certainly do have the telephoto glass, except for maybe one (70-300mm). Note, Sony has the lenses, like Fujifilm, and is now coming out with the A6700. Canon has (too) many cameras and no new lenses, but a cheap adapter/converter and many legacy EF lenses on the used market.” As sales volumes decreased, Nikon likely decided that they needed to reduce their sensor proliferation, particularly at the lower end (20mp DX, 24mp FX). Coupled with the problems everyone had with getting new sensors on fab during the pandemic, pushing the boundaries would have probably been out of the question for Nikon in DX. However, a perfectly fine 26mp APS-C sensor was available, and it would have been near perfect for a new Z70 and later Z30/Z50/Zfc updates, just as it is now for Sony. I’ve written many times that sensors are dictating Nikon’s camera roll-outs. 20mp DX is getting long in the tooth at this point, so I have to question when that dam will break, and what camera and sensor will break it.
- “These days, I'm mostly using cameras for birding, mainly the D500 w/200-500mm. The Z8 is just too d*** much money for a D500 replacement. Give me a Z70 at around $1800 with good if not absolutely top-notch AF (Z6iii quality, say) and I'm in, probably at first continuing with the 200-500mm and then saving up to migrate to the 180-600mm. I'm nowhere near being a leaker or switcher, because the D500 is still damn good, but I'd jump heartily into the Nikon mirrorless pool if they produced a good Z70. And here we have the problem I’ve been pointing out for awhile now: Nikon’s biggest possible future Z System customer pool is in the mid-to-high DX realm (D70 and iterations up through the D300 and iterations). The Z50 and Z8 bracket that customer both in price and in capability. There truly is a “middle” that Nikon didn’t use to ignore, but now suddenly is. No one in Tokyo can convince me that these middle buyers aren’t highly profitable. But they have needs that exceed a Z50 with the 50-250mm but can’t afford a Z8 with a 100-400mm. My point has been and will continue to be, that Nikon has left a very identifiable gap right in the spot where so many of their DSLR owners lived. If I were running a competitor, I’d pounce on this gap in both product and marketing efforts. If Nikon wants to convert DSLR owners to Z System users, they have to offer those customers what they want. It also has to feel like an upgrade, given the costs of moving between systems.
So there you have it: a couple of hour sample from my In Box. I’d point out that I’ve yet to receive a “no, you’re wrong” email on this subject, which is one reason why I’ve decided that I needed to say more. Perhaps the word will eventually get to someone who cares in Tokyo.
No matter what Nikon does in DX, the heat is now on. Very on, as in “burner set to highest level.”
I’ll be blunt: Canon’s and Sony’s latest APS-C offerings run rings around the Nikon DX offerings in terms of focus (not just performance, but options to control performance, as well). Subject detection is the norm, and the two Nikon DX cameras that can focus on “subjects” (Z30, Zfc), require the user to pick the subject to detect! Even Fujifilm is catching up here, though I’m not fully convinced they’ve hit 2021 state-of-the-art yet. Coupled with the perception of being the runt of the litter at only 20mp, and Nikon has a perception problem that’s fueling that heat.
Thus, I’d have to conclude that Nikon’s running on borrowed time with DX, even at the consumer level. I sincerely doubt that Nikon can cancel DX and just go FX. But they also can’t just continue running the triplets against the competition. All Nikon users are waiting to see the Bat Signal appear in the sky, summoning the camera designer who knows how to bring back order, but all I see is some aurora wavering around.
Update: my In Box continues to fill with responses, and a dpreview discussion on the topic reached maximum posts. I stick by my contention: Nikon can’t just ignore this demand. Too many of their faithful customers are becoming less faithful.
