Well folks, we've been talking about it, you've heard the rumors, but now it is really going to happen!
The word on the street is that Nikon is holding multiple press conferences in Europe on August 19th. Now don't get this confused with the point&shoot event that is scheduled for the 17th. That is to release some new P&S cameras that they have been working on, which could be interesting if you are looking for something to fit in your pocket, instead of the D90... Usually Nikon will release products within a week of each other, but they seem to be straying from their past by scheduling two sets of press releases only two days apart.
You saw before how Nikon has begun to call back it's dummy D90's, the stocks in many different stores has been decreasing, and there has been a lot of smoke about a replacement. Currently, the favored name is the D95. I have heard both that, and the D8000. Personally, I like D95 better, because it still holds the double-digit number, which raises it to more of the prosumer level, instead of the four-digit number, which is meant to be entry-level. There still isn't total confirmation that Nikon will be releasing the D95 (or D8000) on August 19, but it has been two years (almost to the day) since they released the D90, so I would say it is definitely time for an upgrade.
Currently, the bets are all on a camera that has been called the D3100. Everyone is saying that it is most likely to be announced, as there has been a large market surge in this area... Also, Nikon has been shooting promotional and advertising videos in Page, Arizona. (Don't worry if you don't know where it is... I didn't either...) People are saying they probably plan on using Antelope Canyon to help highlight some of the features of the camera.
So what is all the hubbub about? What's so special? It's just another camera(s), right? What exactly is the effect it will have on the D90? Well, name the few things you don't like about your D90. For me, they are as follows: Video quality isn't the greatest, slow auto-focus in live mode, no auto-focus in video, and no way to capture external sound. True, most of those deal with the video mode... Well, the D3100 is being built up to fix all of those problems, which means if they are releasing the D95 as well, it will be even more amazing!
Regardless of whether they do release the D95, both press conferences should be exciting. It sounds like they have some amazing point&shoots scheduled to take off, and I wouldn't be surprised if Nikon once again sets the trend in the DSLR world...
