Finally! The Nikon D4 is Announced
Nikon did not have a good year in 2011 as they were affected by two major disasters. The earthquake in Japan and following tsunami forced the shutdown of their plant in Sendai. This plant produces their professional line of cameras and lenses. Later in the year, the flooding in Thailand submerged the Nikon factory at the Rojana Industrial Park. This plant produces many of their consumer cameras and lenses. Because of these disasters, their entire product line-up was affected and shortages of equipment were common. Nikon planned to introduce a few new camera models and lenses in 2011 but all announcements were postponed while they worked to rebuild their facilities and solidify their supply chain.
Towards the end of 2011, things were looking up and production was getting back on track. Nikon did make one product announcement, the SB-910 Speedlight but the year ended with no significant products for us to drool over. The good news is that 2012 has started off with a bang. Leading up to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nikon has announced a new flagship digital SLR camera, the D4 (official press release). Along with the new pro camera, they announced an 85mm f/1.8G lens and a wireless transmitter. A big announcement to start the year and I expect more to come in the coming months. The rumoured D700 replacement, the D800, is very likely the next body that will be announced but when that will happen is anyone’s guess at this point.
