I generally don’t trust Nikon reps. They just don’t know. Most of the times their answer is always “buy now, nothing better is coming anytime soon” – this is their job. I’ve heard of only 2 cases where Nikon reps had an advance knowledge of upcoming products and both cases were about a point and shoot camera. If we have some Nikon reps in the audience please correct me. On the other site I do not want to be biting my lips on Monday if I don’t post this and it turns out to be true, so here we go – an email from a reader (I added *** in order to protect the rep’s identity):
I was in *** store in *** today and they have a big sale in progress. As a result of this a Nikon Representative was there to answer questions that people may have regarding Nikon products. I asked him some very specific questions regarding future Nikon products. He seemed like he did not anticipate this type of question in the store from just an average shopper. Below are the questions and answers that I discussed with him:
1. Will there be an update to the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm VR lens in the near future?
Response: Definitely no, he stated that that lens is selling exceptional well and that Nikon has for too much work to do with AF Primes. He also stated that that lens is very time consuming to assemble and that they cannot keep up with orders for it now, so they definitely have no immediate plans to update it.
2. When and what Prime lenses will be released?
Response: He stated that there will be prime lens announcements on Monday, prior to Photokina. He was also unwilling or unable to answer what type of Primes would be announced.
3. What is the future of APS sensor Semi-Professional / Professional cameras?
Response: He stated that Nikon definitely did not have any plans to stop producing these types of cameras. He further stated that this type of camera has been one of there best sellers and that they would continue to produce them beyond the D300.
4. Should I trade up my Pro DX lenses and purchase the newer FX Pro lenses?
Response: He stated that I should not do this unless I wanted to go to a FX body. Again, he stated that Nikon will continue to produce Semi Professional / Professional APS bodies beyond the D300 for “Quite Some Time in the Future”.
I am not sure exactly how accurate his information is, but he stated that he had been working for Nikon for many year in ***.
5 Will Nikon release another Pro Model this year?
Response: He stated that there definitely will not be another Pro Model released this year. I quizzed him about whether he was talking about a D3 upgrade and again he state “No New Pro Model This Year”.
