Nikon responds- "rapid deterioration in the market occurred and fiercer competition"

I'm not the person who said that (that was Robin). I was just joining in and adding some new data to the discussion.

I didn't say anything about DX-only sports/action market. Nikon is not serving any of the dSLR sports/action market right now other than those who can afford the $6000 D4. So, all those earlier sports/action customers who bought the D700 or D300 becuase that's what they could afford have nothing from Nikon to buy. Gee maybe Nikon would sell more if they served that market.

If you ask me, sports/action is still one of the remaining reasons for amateurs (e.g. soccer moms/dads) to buy a dSLR. Mirrorless performance is really, really good for a lot of what consumers shoot, but for AF and tracking with fps it doesn't even come close to a good dSLR. If Nikon doesn't want to serve that segment, then their dSLR sales will erode even faster over time than need be because they remove one less reason for a consumer to buy a dSLR. If I were Nikon, I'd make sure I was serving the real strengths of the dSLR market - particularly the parts that mirrorless can't do yet.

Nikon can decide they don't want to sell to us, I guess. In a maturing market (which dSLRs certainly are), manufacturers generally create more specialized products that address different more specialized segments of the market and that's how they entice the most customers to upgrade. Nikon has gone the reverse direction for sports/action which is odd. They are now offering fewer products to buy than they used to for the sports/action shooter and none for the amateur, but discerning sports/action shooter.

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John
Gallery: http://jfriend.smugmug.com