jonnyapple said:
It does have weather sealing, Gareth, and I guess insane is a subjective adjective. Most people would have thought pretty clean ISO 3200 shots on APS was a pipe dream 10 years ago.

Hey, people were dreaming for a CLEAN ISO 800 on an aps 5 years ago!

After seeing the quality of their last 5 pro and prosumer camera's (D3, D300(s), D90, D700, D7000) and the d3100 I have a feeling that the D4 is nothing short of a dream camera.

It does have weather sealing, Gareth, and I guess insane is a subjective adjective. Most people would have thought pretty clean ISO 3200 shots on APS was a pipe dream 10 years ago.

bhoveyga said:
I guess my last digital camera would be the wireless optical nerve tap implant... I hate surgery so this is probably something I'd only want to go thru once.

I'd wait until they get better than a 0.0001 megapixel model... (actually, I don't know what the resolution record is, but I know the U of Utah's Moran Eye Center is trialling a 64-pixel epiretinal prosthesis after some success with a 16-pixel one)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis

speeddemon229 said:
My Last camera will be whichever Nikon has the ff:
2 Card slots
Full HD video
10 or more FPS
FULL FRAME
Insane ISO
Weather Sealing

Damn, sounds like my D7000 if only it were FX...

you d7000 doesn't have the last 4 things on that list.

speeddemon229 said:
bjrichus; I lol'd.

Oh allright... I'll go as high as $299 then.

Must let them make a FEW dollars profit!

;-)

I guess my last digital camera would be the wireless optical nerve tap implant... I hate surgery so this is probably something I'd only want to go thru once.

bjrichus; I lol'd.

And I'd add;

Bracketing (3 frames either size of the "central" exposure)
Zero delay between pressing any control and it taking effect/zero lag times
Fully upgradable firmware - and a company dedicated to keeping it updated
10 to 1000mm f1.8 lens with zero aberration or distortion
Switchable (infinately variable) aberration or distortion
Switchable fisheye mode

(This is fantasy land isn't it?)

Everything in Nikon black (no crazy pink and silver matching paint jobs)...

All for $199.

My Last camera will be whichever Nikon has the ff:
2 Card slots
Full HD video
10 or more FPS
FULL FRAME
Insane ISO
Weather Sealing

Damn, sounds like my D7000 if only it were FX...

Pierre said:
Didn't you say you were a Canon guy?

I am very loyal to Nikon so I do consider myself a "Nikon guy". BUT... I "heart" cameras and regardless of the brand or specs I will never say no to one.

My wife however always does when I tug on her elbow and point at the store shelf :^(

Im with Niko on this one...

NikoDoby said:
My last digital camera/last camera of my life will be the Nikon D9XS
My last film camera will probably be the Nikon F7

Didn't you say you were a Canon guy?

Edit: I hope I will not get 'terminated' for bringing this up :^@

My last digital camera/last camera of my life will be the Nikon D9XS
My last film camera will probably be the Nikon F7

1. Nikon F100.
2. Nikon D3s, and every one of its successors (never say never.)

Mike you hit the nail square on the head. For know I will be content with my humble D3s.

The camera that would last me would be a D700 with dual card slots and maybe 100% viewfinder coverage. But, I'll settle for plain jane D700 once the price drops to my level.

At the consumer level, yes, batteries will likely be hard to find at some (near) point in the future for old tech. I have no doubt you'll fail to find a D90 battery at WalMart or Radioshack 20 years from now.

At the enthusiast level? Not at all. We're already in a battery golden age where one can, quite affordably, order any of thousands of LiPoly batteries by physical dimensions. Custom orders are growing cheaper and cheaper by the year as well. One will have no problem getting a D90-compatible battery sourced, cheaply, 20 years from now.

The only fear I think we have is that of intentional hobbling by the manufacturer. Already there are ink tanks and printers out there which refuse to work when the lifespan has passed an arbitrary point. Digital DRM is increasingly protecting physical goods and not just "virtual" goods.

A manufacturer putting a "genuine" verification chip in their batteries, THAT would be a high hurdle. Physical shape, not so much.

One issue I see with digital cameras- dead batteries. I have no idea how long Nikon keeps making old batteries, but I would imagine it would be quite hard to find batteries for the D1 or D100 right now.

At least those somewhat expensive button batteries are still being produced. Good luck finding a D90 battery 20 years from now.

SquamishPhoto said:isalousion
PhaseOne IQ180 paired with a handfull of Hasselblad V lenses. That would probably keep me happy. :]

I hate to disillusion you, but the Phase One IQ180 is a "digital back," not a camera. You'll need to buy an actual camera body to use with the IQ180. Phase One recommends their model 645DF body for around $5,990. The IQ180 digital back goes for $44,000. I have no idea what the lenses would cost.

I don't think there will be a camera for life. Just look back 10 years... how far we have come.

By 2020 I hope to have something incredible that we all think would be impossible today (not sure what), but it's likely to be at least three times the IQ/MP/DR of what we have today... and then as for 2030... well...

No "one device for life" anymore.

Hi,

Frankly - I hope it isn't made yet.

My best,

Mike

I am sure I can buy the batteries for my FM3a longer than I can buy film. And if not, I run it in full mechanical mode with an external light meter. From a feature standpoint my D700 currently has got everything I need. As I'm not into video I don't miss it and 12 MP is enough for me. But I have my doubts that I can buy CF cards or the EN-EL3a battery in 10 or 20 years from now. But who knows...

The exciting thing is, that we don't really know where technology goes. Today we can shoot images in light situations that we did not dare to dream of some years ago using the high ISO capabilities of current cameras. This opens a whole new type of photography. Yes I know that available light photography is not a new type of photography. But today we got new possibilities. Or having high quality still and video in one device.

These upcoming possibilities will give us the chance to develop our photographic styles to different levels. So it might be daring to say, that our current cameras will be our last ones.

But as I said: right now I am more than happy with the D700 and although I am very curious to see what the D400/D800/D4 etc will bring I have no plans of upgrading other stuff than my lenses.

it really would be nice if the d700 had video. i hate having to use the d300s for video when i want photos too from the d700.

as for lenses.

i have;
35 1.4
50 1.4
70-200 2.8
105 2.8 macro
300 2.8

i want
85 1.4
200 2
400 2.8
600 4
probably in that order

and that is just for stills. if i really get into video i will want a whole bag of wide mf nikkors or zeiss.

and my wife will want a divorce.

The D40 works fine still for me.

Yes there will always be better cameras, but for size reasons, there really isn't a better Nikon camera except for the D3100. Everything else in between was just a rehash.

My D90 is all I will ever need. Once I wear it out I'll get its latest version.

For me, I doubt I would keep any digital camera for life, they just keep getting better, and they don't seem to have the build quality to last 15-25 years like my old film cameras. Those cameras, like my FM/FM2 or my Rolleiflex, have lasted 30-50 years already, and are still serving me well, so I guess I'll probably be using those cameras for life.