I went for the D4 myself as I was sold on the build of it as I can find myself shooting in harsh cold weather as well the shutter life is rated twice as much as the D800. But the biggest thing is my clients can't handle the images that I could give them from the D800 as they are bitching at me if I gave them a JPEG file bigger then 5mb. go figure. One Client I had to put the images on CDR as they could not read DVD so you can imagine how old their computer is.

But for Fashion Shots it can shine as they love big images :)

Yes Tao, I see people trying to get 4 or 5k for their D3x on eBay but the ones I see getting bids start in the $2,500 to $3,000 range. Time will tell how much the price falls. I don't see a D3x being worth more than a new D800.

I also think Nikon is very likely to produce a D4s in 2 years because sports photographers will buy it. However, I think it much less likely that Nikon will produce a D4x because they didn't sell many of the D3x bodies in the past. Sports photographers don't need the increased resolution and landscape photographers don't need that heavy D4 body. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Nikon put their highest resolution FX sensor into the D800 body as a D800x or D810, etc. If Nikon produces a 50 or 60 megapixel FX sensor in a D800 body for $4,000 they will sell a lot of them. If Nikon produces a 50 or 60 megapixel sensor in a D4 body for $8,000 (highest mp sensor in the highest priced body as they tried to do with the D3x) they will sell few of them.

donaldejose said:
...So it seems to me in six months or so used D3x bodies will sell for about $2,500 (must sell for a few hundred dollars below a new D800) in order to get anyone to buy them.

As one who plays the ebay game, I don't see that happening for a couple of years. D2xs are still going for $1,200-1,800 and the D300 smacked them in almost every spec. Used one's are hovering around $5k. I saw one at $4k with no reserve and no one even bid on it. I think the D3x will go down in the Nikon annuals as the oops like the Nikon Pronea.

I'm going out on a limb and will guess that there will not be another D3x or in the way it was done this last time. In many ways, the D3x was the oddball, outside the norm for Nikon in the pro realm. I think they listened and heard the audience say, We want the MP but we are not paying that much of a premium for it - hence we have a D800. I think they will go back to modest updates like we saw with the D3/D3s.

after using d800 for more than 2 months already my only complain is the small speed of transferring pictures from camera to memory card as I often find myself waiting to use the camera which is really annoying (using 45MB/s and 60MB/s cards - I guess it's time to change them into 90MB/s).

For someone needing a hi-res camera to be used in harsh conditions, the D3x might still make the most sense. ... As well as the D800 is built, it is not up to the build quality and weather proofing of the D3X or a D4.

The D3X in its time produced the highest quality images available in a DSLR format...I expect that Nikon will introduce a D4x which will set the new standard in IQ. As an example, take the D3200 sensor, upgrade it a bit, expand it to FX and you suddenly have a 58.3mp DSLR in a full pro body. Toss in a pair of XQD cards. No AA filter. You get the picture.

The D3200 seems like a great vehicle for exploring the opportunities available with this pixel pitch.

From a marketing perspective, I would imagine that Nikon would like to hold on to the position of having the highest IQ sensors. So I don't think there is any way that Nikon can not introduce a D4x. Expectations will be high however, and a 58mp body with great dynamic range and color depth might meet those expectations. And of course the price tag would be stratospheric for a DSLR...but it doesn't need to be the largest seller, it just needs to be the best.

Well . . . . there have been plenty of people complaining that the D800 has too many megapixels and will produce files that are too large. Many people have said something around 20 megapixels would be enough. If those people had a choice between the D800 and a D3x for the same price perhaps some of them would choose the D3x. Sure the D4 would be the best choice for them but it would be twice the cost. So it seems to me in six months or so used D3x bodies will sell for about $2,500 (must sell for a few hundred dollars below a new D800) in order to get anyone to buy them. At that time the D400 (24 megapixels) should be out for less than #2,000 and will likely almost match the D3x IQ at low ISO and may even exceed it at high ISO. So that D3x is going to be an "orphan" camera body.

@sevencrossing...Oh, thank you for answering my question.....

sevencrossing + 1 :) LOL

I imagine people like Ren Crockwell how don't like the D800,s new focus switch will snap them up

IMHO there's no explanation why someone would buy d3x over d800. I'm with Nikon for the last 10-11 years and never seen such a great camera like d800. it is rugged, produces excellent snaps - I even noticed I'm using it more than my d3s due to better files, even though I love the d3s speed. as for d3x, IMHO they would need to put the price even lover for ppl to buy it.

I don't think there is any good reason to pay the high price of the D3X anymore (if there every was). I would think its price used would drop to less than $3,000 because for $3,000 people would just buy a new D800 and add a battery grip. Sure the D3x is more rugged but very few people should need that added ruggedness. Perhaps I am wrong. Can anyone here explain why a D3x would be better (worth more) than a D800 with battery grip?

If you shoot sports (or other fast moving or low light subjects) I think your ideal combination is an FX D4 and a DX D400 (maybe a D4 and D600?). If you shoot landscapes or primarily stationary subjects (including wildlife) I think your best combination is an FX D800 and a DX D400 (maybe /D899 and either D600 or D3x?). A good combo is the top FX camera tuned to your needs plus the top DX camera which should offer both maximum DX resolution and maximum DX FPS speed. The D400 should sell in great numbers because it nicely pairs with all FX bodies.

Just a question that came to mind with the 'reduction' of the D3X to 'only' $7300.00 USD. It appears to me, the D800 outperforms the D3X in almost every area. And the D4 crushes it except for the pixel count which is more likely than not, inconsequential. Can anyone tell me why one would spend the money on a D3X over a D800 or D4? Maybe I am missing something?

It would seem to me, the D3X should be selling for $4999.00 USD at the most. But, if there is an explanation, I am curious to know what it is. And on eBay_ they are starting at $2500 used.....

D4x,......Bring it on !!!

Win-win. I agree.

Sports shooters who could get by with a D700 will now be forced to buy the D4 rather than the D800 because they will fear the D800 won't have enough speed or high clean ISO. Sports shooters need to be working on the forefront of technology in those two areas to be competitive. Thus, Nikon sells more D4s to sports photographers and makes more money. Win for Nikon. Also a win for the sports shooter because they get a better camera than either the D3s or the D700 although they have to pay more for it.

Studio and landscape shooters who could afford the D3x bought them but many worked with a D700 or Canon to get the best value they could in high megapixel image quality. All these people and my D7000 owners will now buy a D800 because it will produce the greatest detail you can get in a DSLR at this time. Nikon will sell a lot of D4s but will sell six times more D800s than D4s. Consumer wins because he gets more megapixels for $5,000 less than a D4. Nikon wins because it sells more D800s than D700s and D3xs combined.

I think win-win for everyone.

Is should be easy for Nikon to offer variations in two years. Just swap sensors and make a D4x 36mp and a D800s 16mp. Add some new electronics and new software for even better speed and IQ. Then they can sell even more cameras for the last two years of the D4 lifespan.

I think Nikon is on a roll and will do well over the next four years. So do many other people. Hence the rise in Nikon stock. We haven't even considered how the D400, D7100 and D3200 are going to sell very well.

The D3x & D700 line (as it was with this last iteration) is gone and has merged. I don't get how that split the D3x owner in two - they can get the battery grip. There are a few features it will lack but I can't see many needing them for studio or landscape work.

I'm baffled by 1) Why people can't accept this, 2) Why people are not jumping for joy.
The highest Image Quality end Nikon Camera is now $4,000 less than the previous version.

It is obvious that the D700 cut too deep into D3 sales and Nikon had to do something - their solution - Move their Really high mp "studio" camera down to a price where many can afford it. It seems like a great Win-Win for everyone to me.

PaulR said:
I believe Nikon in their wisdom will bring a high spec, high price D4X out later in the year, so I am going to wait and see what happens,

Not likely. The D800e is most likely the replacement for the D3X. We'll probably get to see a D4s which will hopefully bring added improvements on the same level as what the D3s brought to the D3 line up.

I appreciate that there are not many D3X owners about, in fact these days very little is spoken about this camera, The professional photographers who use this camera just get on with the job, knowing that this camera gets the results everytime. We have seen all the negative comments from none owners and smile at their ignorance.

The new Nikon offerings D4/D800/800E have split the D3X owner in two, by putting the high pixel camera into the small body.

I am sure Nikon, when they were planning the changes had one very carefull eye on Canon specs and costing

I believe Nikon in their wisdom will bring a high spec, high price D4X out later in the year, so I am going to wait and see what happens, In the mean time this wait will also see the price of the new D4/D800 settle and supply useful feedback from other pro users