If I were Nikon I’d call the rumored system “SX” for “small” and alluding to the historic Nikon S rangefinders:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1030&message=33682065

Good journalistic research you’re doing here, by the way…

Walter

However, there are situations when it’s very awkward to carry any interchangeable lens set — a dinner date, a business trip, or just going for a run, yet I want something better than an iPhone kind of thing. Most serious photographers have a need for a truly pocketable large-sensor solution (u3/4 would be acceptable). Currently we have the LX-3 and the S60, although I can’t really call those truly large sensor systems.

Sony’s main interest is selling sensors, Nikons main interest is selling lenses and optical systems. Developing a new camera format is expensive, there will be few lens choices available at the start.

Sony is never going to become top banana in the DSLR market no matter how good their product. But they do have an extensive range of pro camcorder systems that could do with some nice optics but lack the volume to make competition with the DSLRs possible.

I still think that the best choice for Nikon would be a DX format. So why do something different? Well if you look at the video world, then it makes sense. DX format lenses are too big to be competitive with the camcorder systems. Put a DX lens on a D5000 and you still have a honking great big camera to lug about.

17mm is about the right size for a camcorder system. 2/3rds of an inch is twice what the compact camcorders use. No system with interchangeable lenses is going to be ‘compact’.

Sony will probably do their usual braindamage and stick their proprietary memory stick on their version. Nikon will have a clue and use SD cards like everyone else. I really don’t know why Sony do that with their camcorders, I was willing to consider the sony but the assinine memory card is an absolute deal breaker. SD is going to be the only format that you can expect support for on a laptop.

Or maybe the Sony engineers use the excuse of a Nikon alliance to require SD support, I have done similar myself.

I think that the idea of a Sony hookup might well be on target. It is certainly logical. It would also explain the demise of Otoji. Nikon was serious enough about the big format to produce the lens designs. I don’t think there is any reason Nikon would have produced three different PC lenses in such a short time if they didn’t have other ideas as well.

I can think of plenty of reasons to kill Otoji, not least the fact that the D3x is already within sight of the Hasselblads and ahead of the second tier medium format digitals. But clearly launching two different new formats at the same time would be a really bad idea.

Lastly, you want a head mounted display? Kinda defeats the portability, and while I’m not the trendiest person around, I’m not about to start walking around looking like this guy http://www.ubergizmo.com/photos/2009/6/headmounted.jpg

One piece of the puzzle I am surprised the admin has not picked up on is that video headset prototype. That is obviously the key accessory for EVIL as far as I am concerned. I am not willing to ditch my mirror viewfinder for a back panel display, but I certainly would swap it for a head mounted display. The resolution is somewhat low, I think they need to hit 1080p resolution to be credible. But I think they know that.

As a matter of physics there is absolutely no reason that a 40MP DX format sensor is not feasible. The physics work right up to 160MP. If you look at low end cameras you will see much finer sensor pitches. From a production standpoint it is entirely possible to manufacture such a sensor at the moment for prototype use, yield would be low, but for a quarter million bucks you could make a set of masks and maybe get one working sensor per wafer.

I have no idea whether EVIL and Otoji are the same thing. From a design point of view there is really no difference in making a big camera or a little one. Quantum mechanics do not come into play until much finer scales. And please don’t try to ‘correct’ me on this, as some have, unless you also have a degree in Nuclear Physics.

From a lens designer’s point of view the only difference in EVIL is that the F-mount constraint of having to avoid the mirror sweep is gone. The whole FX format is really about just one lens, the 14-28 f/2.8. That is the only lens where the FX sensor makes the lens designer’s task a lot easier than the DX format.

Looking at the F-mount lens lineup, it looks to me as if Nikon is really approaching completion for a while. There are lenses that everyone wants, but that is really a matter of about five lenses max. With the launch of the s-series refresh, the D3 generation cameras are pretty much set for 12 months – if Nikon wants to leave it there.

This would be a really good time to launch an EVIL camera. From an engineering perspective, I think it makes far more sense for Nikon to choose the DX format than go to M3/4. While there is not a lot of difference in sensor size, there is a huge difference in production costs. Nikon would have to make up a new set of masks for the MX line sensors if they went for anything other than DX or FX.

The DX sensor format was introduced as a pro format, it was the standard for the pro format before the D3. for the first few years at least, MX format will be about persuading the point and shoot crowd to dare to go up range, not about persuading pro and serious amateur shooters to switch.

Another reason to go DX is that some form of F-mount adapter is inevitable. Moving to M3/4 would mean everyone having to remember a new crop ratio after adapting to DX.

This is only going to be good stuff when it comes. The FX purists may sulk because the only advantage they have left is a 24 month advantage in ISO performance, which seems rather little given that my DX rig costs about $4K and stacks up really well against an FX rig which would cost a minimum of $10K and weigh three times as much.

If real, the MX format would create a real need for the lighter-weight super teles folk have lusted for.

One final point. If I was Nikon and I happened to have a 24MP DX sensor nearly ready, I would offer a 12MP and 24MP version at launch. That way the camera would be established as a pro grade format right from the start. They can always make the plastic version later.