Just put the Zf in a Z5 body. It's already a Z5II sort of
Could it still sell for $999 then? If so then very few people would buy the ZF (or Z6III).
Ehh, comparing sale prices to potential new products can be a bit tricky. Yes, the Z5 sells for $999, but it's MSRP is $1399. If a Z5ii comes in near or even slightly above that, at say $1599, I think it would still sell based on improvements and compromises between the old Z5 and new Z6ii - and that a condition:'new' Z5 (gen 1) won't likely be in production very long after a Z5ii release. The Z5ii would eventually go on sale too, but perhaps not as low as $999.
Yep.
Honestly, a Z5II could be a very inexpensive release for Nikon : just make a new PCB for the motherboard with the new processor, put an IMX 410 in it, everything else stays the same.
The shutter is most likely the exact same unit as is in the Z6 and Z6II, so it can probably be pushed to 8/10fps without any hardware changes. Same for the IBIS, I don't see a reason to change it, it's already the same as the Z6 cameras, and it's already more than enough for an entry level body.
release that camera at 1600 bucks, and you would have a pretty good product stack :
- Z5II with 8/10fps shooting, 5 stop IBIS, dual SD, uncropped 10 bit 4K30 at $1600
- Zf with 14fps shooting, 8 stop IBIS (+ focus point rotation), SD + micro SD, uncropped 10bit 4K30 and cropped 4K60 at $2000 (maybe decrease the price to $1900 or $1850?)
- Z6III with 14fps mechanical / 20fps electronic, 8 stop IBIS like Zf, SD + CFXB, uncropped 10 bit 4K60, cropped 4K120, 12bit 6K RAW video at $2500.
Then of course Z8 and Z9.
That would be a reasonable product stack that would compete well with Canon and Sony imho.
I don't know if Nikon intends on producing the Z6II for longer and use it as their entry level camera. I can see how this would be a smart move : production lines are already there, camera is well known... but I could see how a couple of things could prevent people from buying the Z6II at let's say 1500/1600 USD : first is the CFXB card, which turns off a lot of budget buyers, as the cards are much more expensive than regular SDs, and of course the fact that it does not have the newer AF, is generally harder to use if you want the same kind of results as let's say an A7III or Canon R6 which can be found at a similar price. Also, no internal 10bit video can be a turn-off, though I suspect people would prefer a Zf for that, with the articulating screen and whatnot.
