F85 or F95 coming out?

[Mudpool]

I have a F65, and am thinking of upgrading to F80. But upon seeing that the price of F75 is much cheaper than F65 (which is quite a mystery to me) on the nikon sg website, I'm having second thoughts.

I would very much like a vertical grip with shutter release, which F75 has, but the F80 doesn't. F75 has a few new technologies like 25 segment matrix metering whereas the F80 has 10 segment. A new mount with AF couplings and contacts (what's the purpose of these?). And a new AF mode, which I don't think is relevant to me.

I don't know if these new technologies are really useful anyway. And I'm not choosing between F75 and F80, but rather complaining about some features that the F80 lacks, which of course is because it was introduced in 2000, F75 just came out. So I'm really looking forward to a successor to the F80 (F85? F95?), with the new features and most importantly a cheaper price. Anyone heard any rumours?

I know the impt thing is the person behind the camera, that's why I'm open to upgrading later or not upgrading at all. But it would be good to have a perfect cam at the right price correct?

 

[jeff49er]

There may be a digital version of F75 to compete ag 300D.

 

[Garion]

There may be a digital version of F75 to compete ag 300D.

That would be the rumoured D70. I believe he is talking about whether there are any rumours or news of Nikon releasing a new film body in the F80's class w/ new and improved features etc. No such news I've heard as of yet. :dunno:

 

[Larry]

there are rampant rumours of a new F6 coming... but so far that's all they are - rumours.

 

[Gabriel]

larry, how can there be F6 when The Fifth is still going strong...and also for me to yet own one

 

[taker]

That would be the rumoured D70. I believe he is talking about whether there are any rumours or news of Nikon releasing a new film body in the F80's class w/ new and improved features etc. No such news I've heard as of yet. :dunno:

D70 shouldn't be a rumour anymore since Nikon recently registered it as a trademark.

 

[Mudpool]

what's a normal cycle time for a product to be replaced?
Using that figure, maybe can project when F85/95 would be out =Þ

F80 was announced in 2000. F70, F90X when?

 

[sebastiansong]

If you are currently using F55, F65 or even F75, the next upgrade should not be F80 but F100 or F5

 

[Zerstorer]

what's a normal cycle time for a product to be replaced?
Using that figure, maybe can project when F85/95 would be out =Þ

F80 was announced in 2000. F70, F90X when?

If you are looking for direct replacement, then you shd be looking along the lines of F801->F90->F90x->F100

The F80 and F100 are successors of the F70 and F90x. With sales still going strong and the feature set still adequate, I don't forsee any quick replacement within the year.

The F6 is more likely since it is a flagship/statement product and there is no film body having the new CAM2000 sensor introduced with the D2H.

 

[Larry]

larry, how can there be F6 when The Fifth is still going strong...and also for me to yet own one

some speculations...
- the product lifecycle of the F5 is long overdue liao, if you go by the normal time period that they launch new products (that's by film cam standards, not digital). if i remember correctly, it's a 7 year-old cam now...
- the F5's not perfect: there ARE some issues with it, like lack of a lock for the cursor button (causing the AF to jump at times), lack of vertical command dials (even the F100 has one main command dial), etc etc.
- intro of new Nikon innovations, like the i-TTL flash sync (although i dunno if that applies to film), the CAM2000 AF module (like Zerstorer mentioned), etc etc.
- there's talk of the F6 being a hybrid cam (film/digital switchable), but personally i find that very unlikely. but wouldn't it be a dream cam if it was...

just some random musings. don't get too excited for nothing... these are not facts.

 

[Larry]

F5 Cursor can lock by pushing the Lock button and pushing cursor any direction.

what Lock button?

 

[Larry]

The "L" button on the back of the camera.

oh, i don't think you got what i mean... there is no lock function for the AF area selector switch as there is on the F100 and F80. meaning it's easy to accidentally knock the selected AF point to another, via fingers or even nose. The only way to lock the AF point is via one of the custom functions, in which case you're stuck with one AF point.

 

[Mudpool]

I'm really stuck now. In suzhou i manage to find a shop that's offering to sell the F80D for 3000rmb, about $638 sing dollar. Cathay quoted me $676 with GST. The cheap price is because they're having a clearance sale before moving to their new premises at the end of the month. Should i buy now or wait for the next cam?

 

[Larry]

I'm really stuck now. In suzhou i manage to find a shop that's offering to sell the F80D for 3000rmb, about $638 sing dollar. Cathay quoted me $676 with GST. The cheap price is because they're having a clearance sale before moving to their new premises at the end of the month. Should i buy now or wait for the next cam?

erm, $40+ savings for a overseas unit isn't really cheap you know. don't forget that you won't have local warranty, which IMHO is worth a lot more than $40. service charge for one time alone is more than $50...

 

[Mudpool]

i thought nikon's non digital products have an international warranty?

 

[Larry]

i thought nikon's non digital products have an international warranty?

i'm not 100% sure but i don't think so. best to check it out - from what i know, the SG workshop would charge you a service fee even if it's a international warranty.

give Nikon SG a call and check... also need to make sure the China warranty is international...

 

[Mudpool]

i'm not 100% sure but i don't think so. best to check it out - from what i know, the SG workshop would charge you a service fee even if it's a international warranty.

give Nikon SG a call and check... also need to make sure the China warranty is international...

mailed them. Their reply was all nikon film SLR has an international warranty.

Anyone has any idea why F75 is cheaper than F65? Is F65 still in production?

 

[SuRfTeC]

D70 shouldn't be a rumour anymore since Nikon recently registered it as a trademark.

ermm.... can anyone tell me when is the D70 that you all are talking about going to launch?

where do you all get the rumours from..? nikon website?

 

[AJ23]

The news of Nikon registering D70 has been all over the www.dpreview.com, go there and do a search.

 

[SuRfTeC]

hi aj23,

went to dpreview to search for d70 but no results...

is there any keyword to search for it..?

thanks...

cheers..