I think Niko and paperman are right that it's reasonable to have some price penalty for being an early adopter. I think with every gear purchase you have to make decisions based on the value the new gear will add to your photography and buy things that are worth it at their current price. It's like all those people who change their rating of apps in the iPhone app store once the price drops or they offer it free for a day: "I gave this 5 stars but now they offer it for free. I paid $3! What a ripoff. I'm changing my rating to 1 star." Was it worth the price you paid when you bought it? If no, why did you buy it? (and I bought an NEX5 at intro and don't feel cheated ;-)

adamz said:
...and it pisses me out when I get one camera today, and two months later the price drops by 20% (aka NEX-5)

The price of a newly introduced camera is always higher in the first few monts than the actual targeted price :

- to test the market to see the highest possible price it will hold( same with every product )
- to sell to those who have been waiting for months for the camera to come out ( those delaying their purchases/holding themselves once rumors of a new body begins )
- one might think they are also benefiting from the X-mas craze - introducing new cameras to the market usually after the Photokina in September ...

I bought my D80 + lens after the market settled , used it for nearly 2 years and sold it with a total loss of $225-250 with less than %30 loss - after 42,000 shots .Maybe I was a bit lucky.

You will lose the most when you go for a not-tested product like NEX or PEN etc. the minute it hits the markets. Consider it a premium for owning a camera that others don't .

Now I understand what you meant :^) but that's just the way it goes Adam. When you buy a new car the second you drive it off the dealership it's value falls. Computers are "obsolete" usually six months after You buy them. Apple products are no longer cool unless you have the latest gadget etc. etc. I usually don't pre-order new cameras. I just wait a few months after launch to avoid the MSRP and any early production problems that might arise.

niko - I'm not complaining about price drops in general, I'm complaining that a camera launched today looses app. 50% of it's value annually (with some minor exceptions of course), and it pisses me out when I get one camera today, and two months later the price drops by 20% (aka NEX-5)

Then again Niko, Nikon added a superior AF system to the D80, not to mention a better screen. The body was also lighter and slightly smaller, a much better design overall. Can the same be said for the 60D? It has the same crappy AF system of the Rebels and 50D. Hard to say if Canon moved in the right direction, guess we'll know when it hits the shelves. If sales tank don't expect to see a 70D.

adamz said:
there's too much new cameras on the market. the prices are dropping too fast right now - I know that companies are trying to get new customers, but I think they have crossed the thin line between new customers acquisition and price drop of cameras that are already on the market

Whah whut?!? You're complaining of price drops?!?!? Price drops are good Adam, price increases are bad,bad,bad. How would having fewer cameras on the market that are more expensive be a good thing?

swartzfeger said:
It's stupid because of expectations and perception.

Let's suppose the D90 replacement had been called the D95. One could reasonably expect a modest bump in specs considering it was a newer camera and and was in the DXX family. If Nikon had simply upped the mp to 16mp, added some questionable features, didn't add some were looking forward to and dropped some key features, there would be a lot of people calling for Nikon's head.

Actually nikon has done that. The D70 was replaced by the D70S with "only" a few minor changes. The D80 replaced the D70S and Nikon took away CF cards and "only" added four more megapixels. They also took away the faster flash sync speed and the 1005 pixel metering.

swartzfeger said:
[...]
Let's suppose the D90 replacement had been called the D95. One could reasonably expect a modest bump in specs considering it was a newer camera and and was in the DXX family. If Nikon had simply upped the mp to 16mp, added some questionable features, didn't add some were looking forward to and dropped some key features, there would be a lot of people calling for Nikon's head. That's what's happening to Canon right now.

The 60D is ostensibly the successor to the 50D, but it's hard to consider it such looking at the specs. There's a modest mp bump and not a whole lot more. Some 'lateral' upgrades, some missing features, and some features dropped altogether. So it doesn't feel like a true successor to the 50D but instead is perceived as a 'Super Rebel.'
[...]

but don't You think it's our (customers) fault. we expect don't know what. I'm not agains progress, but it has to be made in a good way. and for me, this what happens right now on the digital camera market is unhealthy. there's too much new cameras on the market. the prices are dropping too fast right now - I know that companies are trying to get new customers, but I think they have crossed the thin line between new customers acquisition and price drop of cameras that are already on the market

NikoDoby said:
You know I just don't understand those who say it's "stupid" for canon to have both the 7D and the 60D with pretty much the same features,except for a few different controls and a metal instead of plastic body. "Why would you NOT go for the 7D for only a few hundred more?", they say. Well that's what Nikon's doing for years with the D70series and D100 series. However now that the D90 and D300 "might" merge into one badazz MotherF'er people start saying THAT would be "stupid". I don't get it.

Why is it "stupid" for canon to have two similarly equipped "semi-pro" cameras around the same price. But the D90 is Nikon's "greatest" camera and a better "deal" than the D300?

It's stupid because of expectations and perception.

Let's suppose the D90 replacement had been called the D95. One could reasonably expect a modest bump in specs considering it was a newer camera and and was in the DXX family. If Nikon had simply upped the mp to 16mp, added some questionable features, didn't add some were looking forward to and dropped some key features, there would be a lot of people calling for Nikon's head. That's what's happening to Canon right now.

The 60D is ostensibly the successor to the 50D, but it's hard to consider it such looking at the specs. There's a modest mp bump and not a whole lot more. Some 'lateral' upgrades, some missing features, and some features dropped altogether. So it doesn't feel like a true successor to the 50D but instead is perceived as a 'Super Rebel.'

Canon may have been wise to go the Nikon route of managing expectations -- don't name it a 60D; that infers that it's a successor/replacement body.

With the naming of the D7000, Nikon managed user expectations a lot more than by calling it a D95 or D90S or something that tied it much more closely to the D90.

I don't necessarily agree 100% with the reception of the 60D, but this is how I interpret it. I can see why users wouldn't be thrilled with the announcement.

Niko, they are Canon fanboys, nothing they do makes sense. Mind you, the same can be said for Nikon fanboys. Anyway, each camera user has a different set of needs/desires in a camera. For some it is a D90, for others it is a D300. For some it is a camera like the 50D, while others it is a Rebel. Point is, most of the users who are wanting to jump ship are previous xxD users, who don't want a body as big as the 7D, but still want the tougher body. At the end of the day that is what it comes down to, from most of the comments that I have seen.

You know I just don't understand those who say it's "stupid" for canon to have both the 7D and the 60D with pretty much the same features,except for a few different controls and a metal instead of plastic body. "Why would you NOT go for the 7D for only a few hundred more?", they say. Well that's what Nikon's doing for years with the D70series and D100 series. However now that the D90 and D300 "might" merge into one badazz MotherF'er people start saying THAT would be "stupid". I don't get it.

Why is it "stupid" for canon to have two similarly equipped "semi-pro" cameras around the same price. But the D90 is Nikon's "greatest" camera and a better "deal" than the D300?

Man....It looks like the Canon folks are ready to riot in the streets in response to the specs of the new 60D.

As a long time Nikon shooter,(Label me fanboy if you must)I rarely read the Canon forums....so I'm mostly used to Nikon shooters who seem to use their cameras for door stops saying...."If Nikon doesn't do this"...."If Nikon doesn't add this" yada,yada, then I'm jumping ship for Canon.

It's ironic that Canon has inadvertently caused so many of their fanboys to yell that they are jumping ship for the yet unannounced and unreleased Nikon D7000!

No announcements from Nikon yet, they never announce a product before it is released. The latest speculation points to a release on the 15th of September, which means it would become available in mid-late October.

has nikon announced release date of d90 replacement?

haha, I love it! Canon seems to announce two cameras for every one of Nikon's, but it's starting to look like that's really not the way to do it. The D7000 and 700 replacement (PAH-LEASE come before next summer!) will do more than hold their own against the two or three Canon competitors they're matched against.

Not at all. Think of the possibilities! They could branch out into Photoshop plugins, too... have one that frames every shot in clove cigarette smoke.

You're nuts, ASD.

Oh. So they're going after the hipster/lomo fanboy market. Any word on whether this will be the first camera with ironic facial hair?

The 60D has a new creative filter called "Toy Camera". That's too appropriate!

Well,I'm not a Canon or Nikon Fanboi :) Even,though I shoot with my D90 (use Canon Pns ).

those who have rebel and got lots of canon lenses ,then this looks like a good choice if they need video .

50D users will need to Move 7D route in order to upgrade .Canon looks dumb ,but they are quite smart too .
though I agree they shouldn't have called it 60D :|.

New 8-15mm Fish eye from canon looks amazing though :)

They say the grass is greener on the other side, but it's looking a tad parched at the moment.

Not impressed here. Just another piece of plastic crap by Fisher Price, errrr Canon. Certainly nothing that would entice me to jump ship from Nikon.

Yeah, really odd choice with the 60d, especially at that price point.

It is one confused little camera, IMO. I took a look at Canon Rumors website last night, at least a dozen people were saying they would switch to the D7000 if it comes out as spec'd as a result of what Canon did with the 60D.

This 60D announcement from Canon -- along with the recent D3100 announcement -- makes things really, really interesting. What will happen to the D5000? I can't see Nikon slotting a new D5100 between the D3100 and the soon-to-be-announced D7000.

And then there's the name change from D90 -> D7000. Does anyone sense how this is sussing out? Nikon releases an absolutely rock solid entry level D3100, lets the D5000 quietly die, D7000 replaces the D90 with a moderate bump to image specs but adds decidedly semi-pro body features... where does Nikon's DXX line stand now?

I completely agree with PB PM, Nikon seems to be moving in the opposite direction of Canon. I sense Nikon consolidating, and Canon covering a spread between consumer/prosumer with an additional model.

Cruising various forums, reaction from Canon users to the 60D appears to be overwhelmingly negative.

I was in a tough position 4 months ago. Last year I had to sell my D80. This May, I had saved enough money to buy another DSLR, and since I was not invested in glass I had given Canon a serious look. I loved my D80 and the ergonomics, I generally dislike Canon's menus/UI but the higher specs of the 50D/7D were very tempting. I chose the D90 knowing that in a few months a D90 replacement would be announced.

I've been thrilled with my D90, and I'm sure if i had gone with the 50D I would've been happy as well. But if I had gone Canon 50D, the 60D offers nothing that would've made me want to buy it... in fact, there seem to be too many features stripped out.

Is it just me, or does Canon seem more 'market focus group' oriented than Nikon? I can see Canon becoming bifurcated with an eye on high end 1D Mk line, and the other eye cramming as much video features into an entry level DSLR as possible.

How the !@$# do you remove the af point selector joystick but keep the quick print button on an $1100 body-only DSLR? Are consumers so fixated on getting HD 60fps that they don't care if it's only 5fps with no af selector joystick? I just don't get some of the decisions with the 60D.

Interesting move by Canon, it is basically a rebel with a xxD style body. Smart move in some ways, push the demanding hobbyists and semi-pros to the 7D, but give the Rebel users something to move up to, that is in a consumer friendly price range. Kind of funny that it is the opposite of what Nikon is thought to be doing with the D90 replacement, as Niko pointed out.