For those asking to remove the mirror: you gotta be joking me, no EVF or live view system works like the performance you get from the phase detection system and it will take a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot of time in R&D before you see a decent (not even good) EVF or live view system… so don´t talk about something you don´t know, what´s sad is most of the people asking for this kind of “features” are IT dudes or hobbyist photographers who are to lazy to learn to use a camera properly.

Dunno why so many want 24 megapixels in a camera?? most of you don´t even print a friggin photo you take and you post only a small web sized version… so if you don´t print often at all nor you post at full resolution in your “pbase, flickr, smugmug” (and all those crappy places for IT people) Why the F you want 24 megapixels? to impress models at model mayhem/one model place or the likes? to compensate? … I can almost hear the reply “to crop” and I will laugh so hard I will die…

A thought has occurred to me since completing the survey, it was all about pixel density compared to dynamic range/image quality. Could it be that Nikon have developed two sensors, one a high pixel density one with the same problems that Canon are having with theirs, and another with excellent dynamic range/image quality which will appeal to people who take photographs rather than the ‘my camera has more pixels than yours’ brigade and are wondering which one to release?

Here is what I would like to see on a rugged, FX image capturing device for my worldwide travel:

• Fully move-able display (like on Lumix GH1 or Olympus E-3), or even better – a detachable one, without cable.
This would help ergonomics: today I have to hold up > 1kg in front of my nose, but rather have the camera around my neck and my hands resting on the device (almost ideal ergonomics can be seen at Sony’s R1 !!)
• Get rid of the mirror ! This is an ancient device from analog days. I want to have smooth, silent operation not the ‚clicks’ of a 70s style dial phone
• And without mirror, pls crank up the fps – look what Casio is doing here: 1000 pictures a second puts any DSLR to shame !
• No video please ! If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all. Any of the guys asking here for video features ever used it on Canon or Nikon ? – Manually adjust focus while filming ??? This is 2009, not 1989 ! I can buy a full HD video camera for 500 Euro, that will easily capture what todays visualization technology (TV screens, beamer) are capable of. And btw: Producing a decent film will need a different script than taking good photos (sound, cuts, movement, etc.)
• Yes, electronic viewfinder ! – Give me a proper Live view with the same performance of autofocus as today’s mirror technology (Sony, Panasonic are on this track already) ! E.V.I.L. is the way to go !
• Maybe even sealed lenses with integrated image conversion as we have seen from Rocoh’s GXR. So I can keep the body (processing engine) and use different options for my travel.
• I would like to see a ‚system architecture’ for the camera body, where I could plug and play different processing options according to need: display (large, small, detachable), processing engine ( 1-4 processors with narrow or wide bus systems, for pros and amateur needs), Exchangeable sensor, so various needs could be met (ISO vs MPs for example), etc… Like today’s PCs can be assembled by an enthusiastic amateur

…OK, I stop dreaming now, this is after all a Nikon forum.. I probably need to wait till Apple gets into the camera business…

Bring on better iso but more importantly greater Dynamic range. If they could get Fuji s5 style dynamic range with D3s iso ability then…. camera perfection!

plus 60fps 1080p would rock the video world too

in the old days when there was a 10 year gap between cameras i suspect there was not a 10 year gap between development of different films used? The development of Dslrs is more around the sensor than the camera (the sensor being the digital equivalent of film) and to date the Dpart of the slr is still not as good as good old fashion film, regarding dynamic range, tonal detail, or potential resolution. Technology is doing its best to quickly catch up and surpass film and one way which it is rocking the world of photography is through ISO development.

I too have my fingers crossed that they do some more with issues like view finder etc but at the same time love that they are doing their best with making new cameras all the time.

“No personal identifiable information will be collected or used. It may take up to 15 minutes to complete this survey and the survey will only be available through December 11, 2009 (PST). The survey site is managed by our Japanese research firm so the URL will not be a “Nikon” web site.”