I’m a Canon guy, but one of my Nikon friends forwarded me some specs for Nikon’s latest DSLR, the D2X. Allegedly, these were released by Nikon Denmark:

• 12.4 MP, 5 FPS, 16 shot raw buffer
• reduced-frame 6.8 MP, 8 FPS, 29 shot raw buffer
• Everything else basically similar to the current D2H.

The specs seem kind of weird to me–the buffer size and frame rates are closer to a sports camera (like the D2H) then a studio camera. The buffer sizes, particularly, seem aimed at people shooting lots of frames in a row, which isn’t the market the the DnX series has went after in the past. On the other hand, having a dedicated mode that only uses the center pixels of the image chip sounds like a decent way to please sports shooters–you get higher magnifications, which is fine when you’re using long lenses anyway, higher frame rates, and smaller files, all in one.

I’d wait to see official confirmation of this before I thought about ordering one. Of course, I’m not really in the market for a new Nikon.

Comparing the D2X to Canon’s two top-end cameras in interesting:

• The 1Ds (11 MP, 3 FPS) is slower with slightly lower resolution, but it has a much larger imaging chip which gives it better wide-angle performance and probably lower noise levels. Also, the 1Ds is rumored to be replaced soon.
• The 1D mk II (8 MP, 8 FPS) is in between the two D2X modes. It’s higher resolution then the lower-resolution mode and faster then the high-resolution mode. It also has a larger imaging chip, which gives better wide-angle performance, and a larger buffer.

Most likely, Canon will introduce a 1Ds mk II in a week or two, and Nikon’s new body will be left by the wayside again, just like the D2H was when the 1D mk II came out.