Your just like my wife shadowness :^) Just wait it out until the end of October. There should be more "leaks" of a D700 or D3 update by then. Just use the time to save up and prepare your wallet for a major hit.

I am honestly completely undecided about what to do, I literally change my mind several times a day!

I HATE these decisions!!

D3 and the D3X of course, but like I said Nikon gear usually has a high demand and they have trouble keeping up. The D3 has been a huge hit for Nikon

Thanks. But if D3 is manufactured in another factory than the D300s, it's even stranger that it has been unavailable for some time and seems to be out of stock. What else is produced on the D3 assembly line?

qdos, the D3 is a separate factory then the D300. Nikon is a relatively "small" company so demand is often higher than supply. Nothing new there. I don't see a D4 coming within a few months though, but I didn't see a D40X coming three months after the D40 announcement either. I don't think a D3S is a likely candidate. My bets are on a D3H camera showing up soon. Perhaps Nikon will surprise us and buddy up the D700(S)/(X) with a D3H announcement? Maybe.

Shadowness, there are lots of those radio trigger devices out there (brands). Not the greatest build quality, but they aren't very expensive either. I know your in the UK but here's a link to amazon.com. You might find something similar at Jessops.

http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Wireless-Release-Digital-Cameras/dp/B00113AYUQ

Good luck

NikoDoby - Thanks for that info, I might look into it :)

Willis - Thanks for the post. If the D4 is that far away I dont think I will want to wait, and it the D3s (or whatever) is just the usual insignificant upgrades then I dont think I will wait either, and Im not interested in video if they add that too.

And out of the D700 variants and the D3, I would choose the D3 everytime.

I think I am bothered too much about what I might be missing, rather than concentrating on getting an exceptional camera for a very good price!

I don't understand how Nikon could let 1 out of 2 of their pro-body models be out of stock - especially when the one in stock is heavily overpriced - if that doesn't mean that the one out of stock is about to be replaced very soon.

Parts of this argument might of course come from my wishful thinking, but I still think it's strange that 50% of the pro-models are unavailable. However I don't know about Nikon's production facilites. Could production of the D300s have halted the D3-production, or are these production lines kept separate?

Shadowness take a look at this radio trigger. It should work on your D200 as well. Scroll down to the bottom and watch the video demo.

http://www.dpnotes.com/phottix-n1-wireless-remote-control-set-nikon-d300-review/

Sorry I don't mean to get off topic, hope you don't mind.

Let's be clear... If they update the D3, it will almost certainly be interface tweaks (Like the D300s vs. D300), and the addition of video. I suppose they could boost the FPS, but at some point your just shooting a movie)

I think a D700x update is far more likely.

The D4 is still a couple years away (based on Nikon's previous product cycles). I'm not as interested in when as I am in "What". At 24 mp, the D3x out resolves many of nikon's lenses. The extra resolution is useless for all but a small sub-set of people who have very high-end needs (Think the Govt. and their giga-pixel helicopter camera). Small audience means higher prices and lower production runs.

When the D4 launches, I think it will be one of several things

1. More megapixels - Even if nikon goes from 24 to 36, your only talking about a 20% improvement in resolution. I don't think 35mm has anything to offer us north of 48. I think Nikon realized before the others that resolution isn't driving growth the way it used to. Probably not the best use of your R&D $'s
2. Medium Format - This is what you want if you are going to be doing serious work in a studio. The two big downsides: Cost - Those bigger chips exponentially increase your production costs. Size - Those bigger chips are... well... bigger. I don't think Nikon is quite prepared to throw out the entire lens catolouge just yet. But they won't let Lecia\Hasselbad\PhaseOne have the market forever.
3. Non-Bayer - This is what gets me most excited. You could go backwards in pixels and still move forward in sharpness. No need for bigger hard drives, or better computers to process them. Or even better lenses to capture the light. Instant improvement to every peice of glass Nikon produces.

No I havent looked into it, mainly because setting it off manually works ok so far. The IR remote on my old D70s was brilliant for this though!

Have you tried using a remote radio trigger release?

Well to do a rig shot (from MY experience) I have someone in the car, one pushing the car (I wont use the engine if I can help it to minimise vibrations) and I walk alongside with the camera, and take photos normally.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask :)

Yes I had a look around your blog. I always get VERY nervous using the suction cups too. I've had a few pop off. Not a good feeling to watch your camera go flying off !!! How do you trip the shutter with your set up? You should post some pictures on the Photo A Day thread here.

NikoDoby,

Yeh my rig is custom made (have a better look on my blog if you havent already)

Thanks for the comments about my photography, much appreciated :)

Hmm..decisions! I think I might wait, as I have the D200 to use at the moment.

Well guys canon is scheduled to be announcing the new 1DmkIV around Feburary 2010. So Nikon could either make an announcement before or possibly after that. I hope canon goes first because history has shown that the "weaker" camera gets announced first.

The 1DmkIV rumors say it will include HD video so I'd be very surprised if the "D4" didn't. Of course the D3 replacement might just be a D3H or "S" but I think an "H" is more likely if we don't get a D4. A D4 would normally not be expected until fall 2010. Shadowness I like your kind of photography (I wonder why? :^) so I'm sure you'd welcome the faster frames-per-second of a D3 but if a D3H or D4 comes along then I'm sure you'd like that even more.

If you can, then just wait a few more months. At least by Christmas we should have a better idea of where the rumors lead if a camera hasn't be announced by then. However the D3 has been hard to find in stock lately so, if you can't wait then get one now before supply dries up completely which will probably happen anyway before a replacement is released.

Hey Sadowness, Did you make your own boom for your auto shots? I like that! Great work. Have you seen any "clear" booms? They're suppose to make photo chopping easier.

I would wait as well. Thom Hogan seems to think the next update for the D3 will be released sometime between now and November. Unless you have an emergency, and have no camera to shoot with, what's a couple of months?

What I have been hearing is that it will be basically the same camera as the D3, but with a larger buffer, and sensor cleaning. These two features have been common features on everything I have read. Anything beyond that is pure speculation.

At the moment I have a D200.
I thought it would be about the right time for a refreshed D3? It has been out for 2 years now. I might wait for a month or so until anything is announced officially by Nikon.

I really struggle to think what they could do to the D3 though, that would not step on the D3X's toes, and still separate it from the D700.

depends on what you have now .. (tell us please) My crystal ball tells me its probably going to be at least a year before they have a replacement for a D3.. its unlikely that they will have a replacement soon.. I would suggest that you wait till the end of the year ie the expected D700 replacement and either get the D700 or the expected D700S. on the other hand.. there have been some rumblings of a D3 replacement ..(although I believe its more wishful thinking than anything else)

As for me I am hoping for a D700 refresh so that I can get a cheap D700 :-)

PS WELCOME !!

I'm in the exact same situation, and I have decided to wait for the next release/refresh. Then I am either getting the D3 (used or new) at a lower price than today, or the next model if I can afford it.

Getting the D3 now, for more money than it was 12 months ago, will just make me regret when the next model is out. Just hope that the wait isn't too long...

Hi Guys,

Ive been lurking on here for a while now, mainly for news about anything to do with a revised D3.
I have the option to buy a D3 for £2400, which seems like a very good price to me! BUT, should I wait for the new D3?!

Im not interested at all in video capabilities, but there are rumours of more megapixels, better buffers etc. From my experience, the revised cameras (D70s, D2Xs etc) aren't too dissimilar to the originals.

My worry is that I will buy a D3, then regret that I didnt wait for the new model (but still be happy that Ive bought an awesome camera!)

What would you do in my situation? And what do you think would be worth the wait?

Thanks