Nationmultimedia published the above table about the effect of the Thailand flooding on Japanese companies. Quote from the same article:
“Electronic manufacturers also are heavily dependent on production in Thailand. Nikon Corp.’s Thailand plant produces low- to mid-range single-lens reflex cameras, which account for 90 percent of the company’s SLR camera production.”
This is the second appearance of a Nikon D7100 on a major document (see the first one here) – Adobe listed the D7100 as a new camera in red in their Camera Raw 6.5 Read Me PDF document (see page 3):
The current AF-S DX Nikkor 16-85mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR lens
There are some rumors that the next DX lens may actually be a refresh of the current AF-S DX Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR ($650). This matches previous reports that the new DX Nikkor will be a consumer lens and it will be a replacement of an already existing zoom lens.
The Nikon D4 will probably be announced in the first quarter of 2012, maybe even in January (PMA show?) but it’s just too early to put any credibility to this rumor. Most of the tips I received point to a 18MP sensor for the D4, just like the Canon EOS-1D X. Note that the new Canon camera will be available in 6 months (March, 2012) which raises some questions why it announced it so early. Expect the D4 to be available around the same time – Nikon will not go to the Summer Olympics next year (July 27-August 12, 2012) without a new flagship camera.
Here are the specs for the upcoming Canon EOS-1D X camera:
The new Nikon instant rebates are now live on Amazon. As previously reported the savings are up to $400 if you buy a qualifying lens and DSLR.
Amazon also raised their prices, complying with the new Nikon policy, for example:
A reader just sent me this note from the French Chasseur d’Images (Google translation) suggesting that two major Nikon announcements have been postponed as a result of the flooding in Thailand:
“Two big major launches, expected in the coming weeks, have been cancelled / postponed. Some recently announced cameras are delayed due to lack of some material.”
