kyoshinikon said:
They will eventually be big discs that can read your mind and take the nikkor 10-900mm f/1.2 with utopia coating to reduce all chromatic aberrations, ghosting, trash, people, billboards, and just about everything else...

Thats probably more true than you think :-) There is tech where they can change the focal length of the lenses electronically ie soft lenses that change shape with electrical changes across it. and canon had tech where it reads your eyes to see where you are looking and then sets the focus accordingly. though probably 900mm will be way too large to carry around I would be happy with 10-300 F2 dx 8-)

jsa said:
Windows like... open SDK DSLR... PC analogy

Gee, we will have to install firewalls and antivirus in our cameras and worry about Canon made virus that will kill Nikon autofocus and high ISO... Soon we will need 64 gig of ram and 1 TB disk just to run the OS and wait 3 minute for the camera to boot.

What's about publicity rinning in your viewer?

Looks like Sony has already started the publicity trend, a few years ago, I had baught a mini-DVD sony 2 MP video camera that would block the entire screen for 2 seconds, everytime I turned it on, warning me that I should put Sony-made double-priced DVD disk while there was absolutely nothing wrong with the competitor disks. I got so pissed that I returned the darn thing, and promised myself to never buy a camera from sony.

NikoDoby said:
I think cameras have so much more evolving to do. So I doubt they are "perfect" yet.

I agree, Niko, but it will be evolution not revolution. I'm not expecting sudden, dramatic change.

BTW, I'm VERY impressed with your left handed D4X - a lot of 'skill' must have gone into creating that.

They will eventually be big discs that can read your mind and take the nikkor 10-900mm f/1.2 with utopia coating to reduce all chromatic aberrations, ghosting, trash, people, billboards, and just about everything else...

Shhh Jonny! That was only suppose to be between you and me! ;^)

Niko, that's the pot calling the kettle black. I remember you saying you have one:
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=1534#post-27088

According to Ken Rockwell Nikon made a left handed prototype just for him! I'm serious! He actually wants you to believe that! :^)

I think cameras have so much more evolving to do. So I doubt they are "perfect" yet.

Also...

Has any camera maker ever made a left-handed SLR?

NikoDoby,

Excellent.

But I think it kind-of proves my point that SLR design has EVOLVED into what works and what we all like ;)

With your teeth of course!

LOL. How do you grip it?

Sure, with a great Video mode !!!

A little late for that kind of jokes, Nikon should only get Sensors from Sony, not idiotic design ideas

Pete

So if I had photoshopped this into a Nikon D800 it would have been the greatest camera evar? ;^)

Actually I should have said this was a D4 prototype and that it was the new direction for future Nikon DSLRs. Damn, that would have been an awesome April Fools!

Looks just as great as their current A2## and A3## models, might even have a better grip ;~)

Pete

lol, that looks like something Sony would make.

I guess Ryan Francis, an industrial design student, read this thread and decided to reinvent the Sony DSLR :^)

Looks interesting but I think I would have prefered a smaller mirrorless version with a swivel screen.

more pics on his website here

http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_set.asp?individual_id=295296&set_id=403014

I was going to be mean and photoshop Nikon on this and say it was the new D800!

PB PM said:
Linux has been an open standard for years, yet it is no more or less successful than Apple's extremely closed system.

Windows is most popular because of the wider range of software packages (modules if you will) available.

Windows itself is nothing special, nor is it open, but the variety of apps make it suitable to more people.

I 100% think an open SDK DSLR is a market winner, even if the underlying OS is closed.

Within a DSLR series hardware modularity would be nice, but to use the PC analogy, hardware tech moves on the point where the old hardware is just not worth upgrading or suitable in many cases.

Cheers
John

Kyoshinikon hit the nail on the head, four cameras, one for each segment, but to me there should be more shared accessories. Lets get rid of 10 pin remote cables and have affordable cable releases for all levels of cameras, maybe have a basic consumer CR and a pro CR. Lets purge the cameras of PC sync pros and replace them with a better system (many pros are calling for this anyway). Why should only pro cameras have dust and weather sealing?

I think I meant more that the camera manufactures to to reinvent how they think cameras should be?

Anaxagoras said:
Shape and layout? Well, my D90 is pretty much the same as the (film) SLR I bought in the 1970s and all the SLRs I've used since.

I'd be very pleased to see a clean-sheet re-design, but remember the SLR has EVOLVED over a more than half century so I wouldn't expect any radical improvement.

And as for fewer cameras in the range - well, if Nikon didn't sell a D90 (or something VERY similar) I MIGHT have bought a D5000, but I suspect I'd now be the not-quite-so-proud owner of a Canon!

The D90 is needed in the lineup as it is the only pro/consumer camera Nikon makes.

There were several features that turned me off the rebel and the D5000 seemed to be it's Nikon counterpart!

If Nikon was to reduce the amount of bodies Nikon makes, they should have 1 consumer (3000-5000 merged), 1 prosumer (D90esque camera with a few more D300 features), 1 Mid Pro (Merge the D300 and the D700 but keep it FF), and 1 Pro with offshoots (like the D3 and D3x or s)

PB PM said:
I think we all agree that the camera manufactures need to have smaller, high end camera bodies, and some would even think that a lower end, FX type camera would be great. Nikon, Canon etc, really need to break out of the mindset they had at the end of the film camera era, where top end bodies have to be huge. A few months ago I would have disagreed with that statement, but after thinking about it now, I think that is something they really need to do.

A modular system, with different manufactures for different parts of the body would lead to some of the issues we've seen in 4/3s, where some lenses don't work properly on all the bodies (NO THANKS!). Unlike some people these days I do not have a problem with a closed system, it works for companies Apple, so why should the camera makers change? The 4/3 standard is nice, but lets face it, only two manufactures are using it, hardly making it an industry standard. Linux has been an open standard for years, yet it is no more or less successful than Apple's extremely closed system.

I think a lot of this is true, but also take into account the premium cost that a closed system requires, when as shown by a modular system (building your own computer, then putting windows or linux on) it is possible to get the same results, much much cheaper.
Don't get me wrong, I am typing this from a macbook unibody that I bought in the end of 08, but I am typing it from windows 7, hah. Although I really do long for the day when I'm no longer in a dorm and I can build my dream machine desktop, for probably not much more than I paid for this, which is ridiculous.

wow did I get off topic there.

But like in the other thread, Nikon have to make a smaller FX body, and it would be fun to see a more classic looking body also, maybe one that looks a bit like the Olympus Pen

Pete

Would I like a lighter camera? Yes, but it's the lens(es) that account for much of the weight.

Would I like a smaller camera? Yes, but it's the lens(es) that account for much of the size.

Would I like a camera that is easier to use/has fewer buttons? Yes, but the auto-everything option on today's cameras gives me that (and, wow, is it good!).

Shape and layout? Well, my D90 is pretty much the same as the (film) SLR I bought in the 1970s and all the SLRs I've used since.

I'd be very pleased to see a clean-sheet re-design, but remember the SLR has EVOLVED over a more than half century so I wouldn't expect any radical improvement.

And as for fewer cameras in the range - well, if Nikon didn't sell a D90 (or something VERY similar) I MIGHT have bought a D5000, but I suspect I'd now be the not-quite-so-proud owner of a Canon!

If you are talking desktop OS thats true but more than 70% of websites are Opensource.

Open systems doesn't stop the bad manufacturers from creating modules. You will still have to buy the good quality Nikon products !! :-)

I think we all agree that the camera manufactures need to have smaller, high end camera bodies, and some would even think that a lower end, FX type camera would be great. Nikon, Canon etc, really need to break out of the mindset they had at the end of the film camera era, where top end bodies have to be huge. A few months ago I would have disagreed with that statement, but after thinking about it now, I think that is something they really need to do.

A modular system, with different manufactures for different parts of the body would lead to some of the issues we've seen in 4/3s, where some lenses don't work properly on all the bodies (NO THANKS!). Unlike some people these days I do not have a problem with a closed system, it works for companies Apple, so why should the camera makers change? The 4/3 standard is nice, but lets face it, only two manufactures are using it, hardly making it an industry standard. Linux has been an open standard for years, yet it is no more or less successful than Apple's extremely closed system.

I am one them too PB, Yes the EVF is getting better, and would work well in future sports/video models, but for portrait and other more normal shooting conditions I would still prefer a normal viewfinder and BTW I doubt for a very long time if ever Nikon would start a new highend lens line to work with a shorter EVIL style camera system.

Pete

Simply Nikon has to get away from having just one style of DSLR, the current All-In-One and make different styles like mention in earlier post