Df 2.0-Looking in to the crystal ball

[Mike G]

As a now outsider looking in, Hugh's list seems to me to be the most sensible!

I say that because what he says is that it would almost be a Fuji X-T2, with a Nikon lens mount!

Please don't all jump on me, this is just my view. But no doubt I will get a whole load of earache!

At one time I was really tempted by the Df, but went a different route. It's not a sin to go mirrorless, is it

I'm going to find my cotton wool. 

[Jan Anne]

- Simpler manual dials like the Fuji's
- All metal weather sealed body with a proper grip
- D5 sensor
- Proper AF module
- 10 pin connector
- Flip up LCD for frog view / over the crowd shots

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Mike: 'Going mirrorless' is neither a sin nor a panacea.

[stenrasmussen]

- Sensor and AF from D750
- Front wheel rubberised
- Improve the dials on top (Look to the X-T2)
- Keep the tab and screw in the mount (if one thing has to go, keep the tab)
- Rear screen from the D500
- Most importantly; hybrid viewfinder. JUST DO IT!

[Frank Fremerey]

"D500 AF & D750 Sensor & Exspeed 5 & mouniting next to all lenses even pre AI"

sonds very good to me!

[Mike G]

Bjorn, I never said mirrorless was a panacea, but I reckon Nikon will bring out a mirrorless model at sometime, why not start with a Df2?

Probably they won't, but I think it will be a missed opportunity, Nikon surely have the capability,

Sten, is right it has to be capable of using all of the legacy glass, otherwise far to many enthusiasts will be upset and grizzle in their beer!

Bjorn I've seen the boot of your car and some of your shelves so you have a very big vested interest!

Censor design moves at fair old lick these days, I wonder just how long it will be!

PS. If we had a real crystal ball now that would be something else!

[chris dees]

- Sensor and AF from D750
- Front wheel rubberised
- Improve the dials on top (Look to the X-T2)
- Keep the tab and screw in the mount (if one thing has to go, keep the tab)
- Rear screen from the D500
- Most importantly; hybrid viewfinder. JUST DO IT!

More or less this.
I'm not looking for the D5 sensor as I often use it at base ISO and that's not the forte of the D5 sensor

[Tristin]

While the D5 sensor is likely, I'd rather a Df2 with higher DR than with more speed.  Hybrid viewfinder could be fantastic, or it could be an abortion.  I would assume Nikon goes through many iterations before a design feature is implemented in a market model, but things like the D750's wifi dash that.  Hopefully with such a major, and contentious, change they will exercise much more attention in it's design and implementation.

[Roland Vink]

While the D5 sensor is likely, I'd rather a Df2 with higher DR than with more speed.
I'm sure the D5 sensor could be tuned for higher DR at lower ISO settings if a slower read-out speed is used. In a similar way the designers at Nikon managed to get better performance out of the D4 sensor in the Df by accepting a slower frame-rate.

3: no screw-drive AF
I was actually a bit surprised the Df supported screw-drive AF, as I felt the camera was geared towards manual focusing. Removing the AF motor would allow the camera body to be smaller and lighter (which is not always a good thing). Of course AF-S would still be supported. But it seems the Df was designed for maximum compatibility with ALL lenses - pre-AI, AI, AF, AF-S, D, G, E etc etc, which appears to have been a good decision.

4: D750 class AF module
At very least!

7: STOP-DOWN METERING
Better support for pre-AI lenses would be useful, the current metering seems a bit clumsy. Either stop-down metering in some form, or add a prong to engage the "rabbit-ears" on pre-AI lenses.

1: no rear LCD (fine-tune done in tethered computer)
8: smaller or thinner
Removing the rear LCD would allow the camera to be thinner - consider the thickness of the D5500 or D750 body with the LCD flipped out the way...
I don't think this is likely though, being able to review pictures on the spot is just too useful!
What about a removable LCD? You can either plug it in and use it like the D750, or take it off completely...?

Probably a better grip and more sensible placement of the card door would be useful improvements.

[BW]

Great! It seems like there is a general consensus that a new Df 2.0 will arrive during next summer. A moderate MP sensor combined with great low light ability, tweaked for high DR and great color OOC. Same form factor as the old Df, manual control, support for all f-mount lenses, touch screen with a bright and huge viewfinder adapted to MF. Who need a crystal ball

[bjornthun]

If you add a hybrid EVF/OVF finder, reviewing images or viewing menus can be done in the viewfinder, without reading glasses for viewing an LCD. An EVF as part of a hybrid finder would vastly facilitate precise MF for some of us. A mirror up EVF mode would probably be the easiest way of supporting closed aperture metering with non-AI lenses.

Add IBIS, it works well with adapted lenses on Sony, so the image circle should pose no problem.

For AF I would add the new D5/D500 "joystick" to select the AF point. Wish Sony had this feature.

You, should probably also wish for a metal alloy body, with a metal mirror box, so the lens mount wouldn't be attached to just plastic fantastic polycarbonate materials.

Make the external user interface much more similar to an FM2, i.e. radically cut down on buttons, like Leica M style concentration on the essentials (sic).

[Frank Fremerey]

If you add a hybrid EVF/OVF finder, reviewing images or viewing menus can be done in the viewfinder, without reading glasses for viewing an LCD. An EVF as part of a hybrid finder would vastly facilitate precise MF for some of us. A mirror up EVF mode would probably be the easiest way of supporting closed aperture metering with non-AI lenses.

No. Where yould you put the EVF-screen if the mirror is up?

Add IBIS, it works well with adapted lenses on Sony, so the image circle should pose no problem.

OK

Make the external user interface much more similar to an FM2, i.e. radically cut down on buttons, like Leica M style concentration on the essentials (sic).


YES, yes & yes!!! Simplicity like in the Fuji interface: Time, Aperture, ISO, distance, compensation

[stenrasmussen]

Put the EVF where today's occular is and add the appropriate lenses on either side to accomodate proper combo viewing. An added benefit is that the eyepiece would proteude a litte more rearwards which would make for a more comfortable use when lookin'.

[Frank Fremerey]

Put the EVF where today's occular is and add the appropriate lenses on either side to accomodate proper combo viewing. An added benefit is that the eyepiece would proteude a litte more rearwards which would make for a more comfortable use when lookin'.

why not leave out the mirror?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

A quality optical viewfinder without a mirror is quite "difficult" to implement, apparently ...