DSLRBodies

As with my other sites, dslrbodies.com got a complete refresh over the holidays, and is now ready for 2025, not that I expect anything DSLR to happen in 2025. But you never know. The site is ready for whatever happens.

Because I never fully fleshed out and filled the Canon support on this site, dslrbodies has been trimmed to now be Nikon DSLR only. I’ve taken out the Canon DSLR pages from the site. As part of that, I’ve restructured the Nikon DSLR pages, separating them by DX/FX rather than current/older. 

You’ll notice that the menus are leaner and more organized, pages have been updated—I even added why I stopped recommending various products in some places (typically because a better version came along or a new higher-pixel camera obsoleted the recommendation—and links are cleaned up). Some new charts have popped up on the review index pages. Most pages have been updated to the current site style (there may be a few exceptions I didn’t catch). B&H links have been checked and removed when no longer available, added where they were missing. 

My DSLR books will eventually be moved off this site to a separate byThom Press site. No books will be harmed in the process. Everything should work cleaner and more clearly with the downloadable books once I've made that change. You might even see a couple of older books return once I get some time to clean them up.

One of my goals is to put general photography stuff on the byThom site, and keep the film SLRs, mirrorless, Z System, and DSLR sites focused more narrowly on those systems. 

An interesting thing happened recently behind the scenes. Nikon apparently was going to provide some huge discounts on F-mount lenses (e.g. US$4400 rebate on a 180-400mm f/4E TC FL ED VR lens, and similar big discounts on four other exotics as well as three f/1.4 primes). Nikonrumors published a hint on a Wednesday and a full list the next day. By the end of that second day, Nikon had apparently cancelled the program. At least that was the gist of an email B&H sent to its affiliates.

So, nothing announced, nothing launched, basically. 

The question I have is this: for nikonrumors to have published that list, it meant that there was a leak out of the NikonUSA dealer network, because that's the only place the rebates were discussed, let alone specifically enumerated. In the past few months several dealer leaks have occurred, and at least one of those was on nikonrumors via Service Photo, one of that site's advertisers. The NikonUSA staff was not happy with this, I'm told, and apparently has considered punishments. 

But that's not the real story here. The real story is that Nikon DSLRs (and lenses) are nearing last call. The only Nikon DSLR that clearly survives December's European Union regulation change is the D780. The Japanese plant that makes a number of the F-mount lenses is undergoing a complete overhaul. Nikon's market share in DSLRs has dropped to 20% or less, depending upon which statistics you believe, and the overall DSLR market has plummeted to the point where total units will potentially drop below 800k this year, worldwide. 

It seems incredible that it's only been seven years since the D850 was introduced. For much of its first two years of life, not only was the D850 the best all-around DSLR you could buy from anyone, it was in my top three interchangeable lens cameras, as well. Today a new D850 is selling for US$2500, which if we judge solely on features and image quality, still makes it a screaming bargain. It's just that flappy thing in its middle that keeps it from being a camera everyone wants to buy today. 

I'm on record as saying that I don't believe that DSLRs will be continued to be manufactured by Canon and Nikon in 2025 (though the D780 is a possible exception given that it uses an image sensor still in production for other Nikon cameras (Z6 II, Zf) and can survive the EU regulation changes. 

What usually happens at tail-end of market is that the camera makers use price in distribution third-world or emerging countries to sell out the last units. I believe that's where DSLRs are headed in 2025: South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and maybe India. By 2026 I doubt we'll see them anywhere, though it's unclear how much arbitraged gray market inventory is still sitting in Hong Kong and Taiwan. 

So, if you're a dedicated mirror slapper, should Nikon actually finally offer those big lens discounts, it's probably your last chance to pick up superb optics at unheard of prices; at least new, with warranty. 

Nikon's a little busy recovering from the Olympics at the moment (and some other things we should hear about by the end of summer), so it might take a bit for the next deals to appear, but I'm confident they will.

Meanwhile, Sigma has started discontinuing some of their Canon EF mount lenses, in particular two well regarded ones, the 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM and the 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM. Elvis is in the process of leaving the building, folks.

With Nikon DSLRs now aging out in every way, this is starting to pose a problem for those who wish to continue using their cameras.

First up, NikonUSA now is specifically one-year warranty only on new DSLRs and F-mount lenses (90 days for refurbished). So you don't have a long period where you can get your camera repaired free of charge for non-user caused issues. Europe and some other locales have two-year warranties or offer for-fee extensions. 

Second, there's the issue of whether a product is still being manufactured or not. Here in the US, Nikon generally follows the California repair rules, which means that they will repair or replace out of warranty products for up to seven years after last date of manufacture. This is starting to push older DSLRs into "unrepairability." To wit: D3400 or earlier, D5500 or earlier, D7200 or earlier. The D3500, D5600, D500, and D5 are getting close to that same status.  

One thing to note is the "or replace" clause. It is very likely that at some point a non-repairable under warranty DSLR or F-mount lens might be replaced either with a refurbished item, or problematically, with a Z-system item. The latter hasn't happened, to my knowledge, but the former has happened when parts are not available for repair in a timely fashion.

Frankly, the D5 and D500 are state of the art cameras still. In particular, the D500 is still the best all-around APS-C camera today, as far as I'm concerned, even though you can no longer buy it new in the US (gray market "new" is still available, though). So it's insane that the D500 is nearing end-of-repairability (by Nikon; a third party repair facility may be able to scavenge parts and repair it). 

Moving on to older cameras, where you might eventually have an issue either to a part wearing out or an accident with the camera. What do you do when, say, your D3x suddenly needs repair? It's long past the seven year guaranteed repair rule. But maybe your camera can be repaired; only NikonUSA can tell you if they have the parts and ability to make repairs on older cameras.

My long-stated advice about repair versus replace still stands. If a repair is something other than superficial, it's going to more often than not cost US$300 to US$600 at NikonUSA to repair these days, depending upon how much tear down is involved (the only parts specific costs that tend to drive that cost higher are image sensor or digital camera board). The very first thing you should do is look at what the cost of a used version of your camera in excellent condition would be from a reputable source (e.g. B&H, KEH, etc.). In some cases, NikonUSA may have refurbished (or even new) versions of older cameras available (currently D5600, D7500, D750, D780, D850, Df). If the price of replacement is lower than expected repair cost, it's a no-brainer: replace your broken product with a new, used, or refurbished copy. Keep your broken camera around for spare parts should you ever need to have the used version repaired. 

The trickier part is if you desire to "upgrade" to replace your broken older camera. Realistically, this doesn't tend to make monetary sense. If your older camera was acceptable before, repairing it or replacing it with a used version is likely less expensive than upgrading to something new. Given that your DSLR choices are limited now, it's likely that you'd consider mirrorless for any true upgrade, and then other costs start piling on top of the body-only cost. 

Most people justify the upgrade option by convincing themselves that the newer features and performance are what they need. This is not necessarily true. Again, the D500: you can't get any APS-C camera as good as the D500 from anyone, DSLR or mirrorless,  so you end up "buying upward" (e.g. D850 or Z8). Yes, you get "more," but you're going to pay big time for that when perhaps all you wanted was what you had to continue to work.

There's little doubt that the DSLR options are going to get fewer and fewer over time. If you're the "plan ahead" type, buying an extra body today might be a wise choice, while they're still available. Either that or plan for an eventual upgrade to mirrorless and the costs that are likely to come with that. 

The number of Canon DSLRs introduced in 2023: zero.
The number of Nikon DSLRs introduced in 2023: zero.
The number of Canon EF-mount lenses introduced in 2023: zero.
The number of Nikon F-mount lenses introduced in 2023: zero.

With a year's worth—actually more, but annual is a good way of framing things—of nothing from the two big DSLR makers, it's time to make a clear point: the DSLR era is over:

The line is the three-year moving average. It's remarkably straight, which implies careful management.

2024 is the year I expect to end up calling Quiet Discontinuations. 

NikonUSA, for instance, currently lists 13 DSLR bodies "available." Nikon Japan lists only 6. 
Nikon USA currently lists 84 F-mount lenses as "available." Nikon Japan lists only 37. 

Nikon Japan is the canary in the coal mine. Nikon has a tendency to use the home region to effectively signal discontinuation of a product. The home region has been much more aggressive at reducing available DSLR products than the subsidiaries, many of whom may have unsold inventory still hanging out in their warehouses. Moreover, the yen has declined against the dollar fairly significantly in the past two years, so it's also likely that Nikon is micromanaging how much they get for the lower volumes that they're now selling by shipping it to where they fetch the highest return.

I expect many more DSLR products to leave the shelves in the US in 2024. Neither Canon nor Nikon will announce such discontinuations—the reason why I write Quiet Discontinuations is the theme—but I'm pretty sure when we're able to look back with more clarity, we'll see that the choices dwindled. Perhaps significantly.

I'm using Nikon as an example here for a reason: they just had a really strong mirrorless year. The Zf, Z8, and Z9 have led a significant transfer of DSLR users into the mirrorless world, and I'm betting that will encourage Nikon to be even more aggressive at forcing the inevitable full transition from DSLR to mirrorless. 

The three Nikon DSLRs that use essentially the same image sensor as a mirrorless camera are the D7500, D780, and D850. Those cameras also use the now previous EXPEED6 SoC processor. There has to be end-of-life inventory management on those two key components that will likely dictate how long those cameras will still be made. However, as I've noted previously, the changes in the European cabling and charger requirements also play into DSLR end-of-life. Exactly how still seems murkily unclear, as the published regulations don't specifically forbid on-going sale, however in my talks with those trying to meet those new European standards by the end of the year, they tell a different story. 

I'm going to write a series of strawman statements that illustrate where we very well might be at this point in time (these statements will eventually become true, the question is whether or not they are true today):

• No new DSLR bodies will be announced.
• No new DSLR lenses will be announced.
• Many current DSLR bodies will be discontinued.
• Many current DSLR lenses will be discontinued.

If you're a DSLR owner and user and agree that those statements are likely true, you need to plan accordingly. New bodies and lenses would slowly disappear from the market, meaning your only source of "staying DSLR" would become the used market. As a corollary, if you think maybe it might be time to trade in your DSLR gear for mirrorless, you'd be late to the game; so many have already done so that it's lowered the future trade-in values for your DSLR gear. 

Over a decade ago I wrote about Last Camera Syndrome. Those that fell under that label tended to be a combination of two things: (1) reluctance to continually upgrade; and (2) aging into retirement (and thus a reluctance to spend more money). 

Here's the good news: you may find yourself in the Last Camera Syndrome simply because the transition from DSLR to mirrorless is just too expensive (and perhaps you're aging out of the market). How's that good news? Well, DSLRs of the last 10 years are remarkably capable cameras still. Used properly, they still have plenty of service left in them. A Nikon D7500 and two or three well-chosen lenses used well can still do most anything you need other than perhaps produce giant-sized prints. Are you making giant-sized prints? Didn't think so. 

However, don't be surprised if this site is pretty quiet in 2024. There's not a lot to say DSLR gear wise these days that I haven't already said.