There will be no new DSLR announcement during the Nikon press conferences scheduled for February 9th, 2011. At least five new Coolpix cameras will be introduced next week for the CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show in Japan (February 9-12, 2011). One of them will be a new super-zoom (Nikon Coolpix P500), the second will be a 24-100mm compact with a f/1.8 aperture at 24mm, similar to new OIympus ZX-1.
The first new Nikon DSLR for 2011 will be announced in the next two months and it will be positioned between the D3100 and the D7000. Since the Nikon D5000 is already discontinued, this new camera should be its official replacement (think D5000 with a D7000 tune up). The announcement can happen as early as the end of February. In the past Nikon has announced DSLR products a week after the Coolpix press event.
Most of the activities in the FX line will happen during the Summer and I was told that by the end of 2011 all old Nikon DSLRs (D300s, D700, D3s) will be replaced.
On the lens front, I was told again that a new 80-400mm lens is very high up in Nikon’s release schedule.
Nikon D90 will not be phased out yet and will probably be available all the way till the end of 2011 (similar to the D40).
Nikon will have a lot of new products this year, most of them are still listed only with code names. The word “surprise” was mentioned again to me, related to accessories and/or probably some new type of cameras. This “surprise” project is kept secret even to many people inside Nikon and only few know all the details. My assumption is a new Nikon mirrorless/hybrid camera system.
The above is not my personal opinion, it is based on several different tips I received lately.
