Let this old man ratter on a little as we are about to get to the next generation of Pro Bodies.....
It seem like only just 2012 I bought my D4 and each model seem to come out faster and faster in frequency. When I was using the SLRs like F3, F4s and F5 it were about like 5 years apart for each general. And it was not even as pricey as today's and built to last mechanically. I think I paid like $5000+ for a new F5. With the digital ones, it is even more price crazy. When I got my D4 it was $8,750 in 2012. I love the D4 even when the D4s passed it in some features but the fundamental functions are still more then enough to capture what i like it to as an intermediate type shooter and have been doing for decades..
With each generation it is getting so much more functions but I can only see them as for the most extreme situation which most of us hardly touch 1-3 frames per second. We prefer to shoot in the ISO 50 to maybe 64000 to control noise, my shutter speed never need more then 1/4000 of a second, 16-24megapixel is more then enough for 95% of shooters I dare say.
How many are really going to film at 4K when your TV or monitor are only about half of that resolution. And even if you do, wait till you start to edit in 4K for a few months then you see how easy or tedious it is especially since you want to do good editing with audio mixing and using SFX..etc to justify all the expensive equipment you bought. Try telling your wife that. To edit in 4K, get ready to throw in more money and time like a fast computer, other peripherals and the number of long hours editing high file size video including color correcting and long render time. I have done all that before.
I still have years of photo RAWs and JPGs of even travel trips, I still have not edit LOL I am still editing them when the mood catches me and some series as far back as 2009. I think I represent a majority of shooters like me who shoot well enough that we have less to discard and most are for memory sake too but still need some tweaking as all fussy people do, enjoying the shooting more but dread the post edit production.,eh.
I love to shoot more then i want to edit and show people what i shoot. It is more for me and my family and friends. And if I shoot to show people, 95% does not know how high the resolution was or cared. Was the photo too grainy or not. Was the noise good or bad? Was my exposure right? why did I use black and white instead of color? Did they notice I dodge or darken the photo? What ISO was I using? Did I compose the photo just right and why I did it? So it is more about having a photo album and not so much a portfolio heh.
Yes I am hard on myself with how I shoot and am very strict with what I think is good or not good. And I take a lot of effort to get the shot right and want to have all the best features at my finger tip to shoot. But with the D300 to D4 i have now, I see very little features I need to get the kind of shots I like to shot each time i go out.
AF wise, i love using 1-9 focus points with back button AF, how many of us really use tracking and do it well as it is i wonder. The new Sony has almost AF every damn place in the viewfinder heheh.. and I heard it is still not able to track well. So you think the Nikon one will? Even if it did, how often you use it? And if you fire off too rapidly at full megapixel, how much memory card are you going to burn thru and how much more editing you going to do?
At 52 I am still lugging a D4 with trinity lens set and then 1-3 extra primes, 055 Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod and full accessory even for a holiday trip even like Malacca where I have gone many times or a simple walk down Haji Lane.heheh. I am usually 99% a lone shooter. Shooting alone help me focus. Friends who tag along will be neglected most of the time or ask to leave if they whim.
. Meaning I value my gear as much as I value my time when i am shooting. So my gear reflects that.
I saw those specs on the Nikon rumor site and for me anyway, I am keeping my D4. It more then does the job. It is still a very relevant body. I think in the last few years pass, we have come to a point where MORE is BETTER but NOT NECESSARY. I do keep up with technology on photography but i try to keep my wallet tightly shut
against silly spending fume by emotion then sense.
Given a chance i am sticking to jumping a generation or even giving the next generation mirrorless like the present Sony or whichever brand that can come up with something as good like the A7Rii feature wise but with an awesome AF mechanism, great battery life as my D4 and keep the weight where it is or a little heavier. I never like bodies that are too light..
For the Professional photographer who are already shooting at the top of their game in extreme scenarios (which 90% of folks will never do including me), yes each DSLR generation makes sense to them to squeeze just a little bit more from the gear to get that near impossible shot. But even then, when you view their work and look at the settings they use, they hardly peaked the best features of camera in the last decade. And of course, if you want bragging right to being the first with cash to burn heh..It's your parade.
I think I will sit this one out for now.