Buying guides 2015

News Reviews Articles Buying Guide Sample Images Videos Cameras LensesPhonesPrinters Forums Galleries Challenges

130

Delayed: Nikon Japan pushes D500 to end of April

Published Feb 4, 2016 | Allison Johnson

Preorder on Amazon.com From $1,996.95

Nikon shooters have waited a long time for a D300S replacement, and it appears that they're going to have to keep waiting a little longer. Nikon Japan has released a statement (in Japanese) pushing the D500's initial March release back to late April 2016. Nikon cites high demand for the camera as the cause of the delay. It seems that the D500's battery grip and WT-7A wireless transmitter are also delayed.

Come April, the D500 will be available for $1,999.95 body only or with the 16-80mm F2.8-4E ED VR lens for $3,069.95.

See our hands-on with the Nikon D500

Source: Nikon Japan

Tags: camera-news, nikon

Gear in this story

Nikon D500

I own it

664

I want it

I had it

Discuss in the forums

Shop now

Body Only, Base Pre-order now Released on Mar 15, 2016	From $1,996.95 »
w/ 16-80mm, Base Pre-order now Released on Mar 15, 2016	From $3,066.95 »

	Nikon D500 DX-Format Digital SLR	$1996.95
	Nikon D500 20.9 MP DX Format DSLR Camera Dual Pro Memory Card and Case Bundle	$1996.95
	Nikon D500 20.9MP DX Format DSLR Camera w/ 16-80mm VR Lens Dual Pro Memory Card Bundle	$3066.95

Comments

Total comments: 130

My vague recollection is that Nikon has been responding to decreased sales by concentrating on cutting costs. At some point, cost cutting results in decreased quality and/or decreased customer service.

That said, I hope that this camera turns out to be excellent, for the sake of Nikon customers, and Nikon.

0 upvotes

Your jumping to that conclusion over a camera that isn't out yet?

"vague recollection"..... Cite one source that hints that nikon quality has the potential to drop. If not your just talking out of your azz.

2 upvotes

Thematic I think there is a good argument and I applaud Nikon for not rushing this camera:

A big batch of D750 had misaligned AF systems
A Huge batch of D600 had the shutter throwing oil to the sensor
A batch of D800 haf misaligned pentaprisms, and poorly calibrated lcd monitors (permanent green tint)

Nikon is a great company with quality products, however they dropped the ball in terms of QA, the D5 and D500 are revolutionary products, this time around they are doing what is right for their costumers.

Dont get me wrong Canon and other brands have done the same thing of dropping the ball in terms of QA and we should demand always top notch quality assurance process.

1 upvote

@Thematic: "Cite one source"

"What I see is that Nikon is taking costs out of product, QA, marketing, and distribution, all of which can and do have impacts on customers."

"Customer support and service is thinner than it has ever been. Some products aren’t reliably in inventory when a customer might actually want to purchase them. Quality control has produced repeated recalls on high-end products. Indeed, I’m starting to believe that if I could actually follow every cost cutting measure that Nikon has performed, I could trace that directly and immediately to a customer problem that then surfaced." -Thom Hogan

http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/nikons-troubles-continue.html

0 upvotes

Thats pretty lame. Nice try.

1 upvote

@Thematic: You should try visiting Thom Hogan's web sites. You would learn some things.

http://bythom.com/

0 upvotes

Really? Nikon had better get it together! One problem after another, model after model.......

Comment edited 51 seconds after posting

2 upvotes

It'll be a real disappointment if after the delay(s) the product has any QC/design defects. Fingers crossed..!

5 upvotes

Release to Beta Testers is now end of April?

Delay to build up stock or to fix bugs?

4 upvotes

Not that it really matters but how they going to name the next generation after D500s? D600? :)

1 upvote

D600 was already taken. Remember the oil spots from the shutter? Nikon must get the new D500 and D5 right from the start and stay that way for sure.

Comment edited 10 seconds after posting

4 upvotes

D510 sounds logical.

0 upvotes

..maybe they still could not decide on the price of the D500......

1 upvote

Nikon cites high demand for the camera as the cause of the delay

huh?
if there is high demand, it would be "sold-out" status

how could high demand cause delay to market ?

do you guys see the logic?

6 upvotes

preorders

DO YOU SEE THE LOGIC?

13 upvotes

No, it wouldn't be sold-out before release. They are still taking pre-orders, and there are apparently more of them than Nikon expected. And instead of releasing the camera on schedule, they have decided to delay the release for about a month. This way, hopefully everyone who pre-ordered the camera will get it soon after release, and maybe there will even be some stock left for those who didn't pre-order. Isn't that better than having it listed as sold-out immediately upon release, until the next batch is ready for shipment?

I'm amazed how some people make a big conspiracy or cover-up of something as simple as this. Sometimes, if it walks like a duck, it really is a duck. ;-)

4 upvotes

I don't find it better. If I was one of the first with a pre-order for the D500, I expected it to be delivered late March. Now all the people that have already pre-ordered have to wait.

They also can deliver the cam to the first who pre-ordered it and let the rest/late comers wait when in stock again in late April.

Now everybody has to wait... and there is stock...

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

9 upvotes

@revenant so it's better to have a stock of cameras in time for those who were sleeping and we don't really know if they're going to buy the camera rather than to supply it fast to those who already preordered it. They might lose some preorders if someone really needed it for vacations or for a job

1 upvote

Yes, it's better than having a camera constantly being listed as out of stock, as was the case with the P900. Nikon got a lot of criticism because that model was never available. Some people even called it vapour ware.

0 upvotes

But just delay a camera because of low stock it's also not available for an extra month. Esentially the same as if it's out of stock everywhere with the big change that nobody can have one.

After the delay it's still possible that it out of stock again.

Better to have a camera that is hard to get then not to get at all.

0 upvotes

Hang in there beta testers!!!

Comment edited 37 seconds after posting

7 upvotes

Thank you Nikon, for giving us relief from multiple DPR Sony articles. :-)

Oh wow,... the Nikon D500 is going to be delayed by a couple months. :-)

8 upvotes

Hahaha, true!! Funny to compare the articles for the 1Dx and for the new Sony. The first one very serious, technical and critic. The last one "colorful", full of nice adjectives!

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

there gonna let the yen devalue a little longer and up their margins on US sales

6 upvotes

"April" in the headline should be replaced by "Consumer Patience and Loyalty".

3 upvotes

High demand that is hogwash! Did Apple delay their iPhones, shortages, lines and high prices for resold only builds more demand! Of course only if the product delivers, no flaregate, no oilgate, nodefectgate of some kind. It ain't like they don't have a track record for that, LOL. Of course there was a comment by an longtime Nikon expert that said the D500 looked rushed and the JPGs didn't look right.. Nothing like a early release, early adopters get suprised and everyone cancels their orders, their goes the 2016 earnings report!

8 upvotes

"Of course there was a comment by an longtime Nikon expert that said the D500 looked rushed and the JPGs didn't look right"

This is nothing new in any engineering, but if Nikon produced a kick-ass camera at the end of the day, all these will be forgotten (and forgiven). Putting things into context though, a few weeks delay is nothing when you consider the complexity of the device as well as the manufacturing processes involved.

3 upvotes

My understanding is that Nikon has had stockout problems with other models, so they might actually be telling the truth. :-) With Apple Fanboys, stockouts build demand, but with most other companies, I think that just makes prospective buyers annoyed.

2 upvotes

Apple has experience with pre-orders and stock, so they know not to disappoint by cutting if pre-orders when their launch stock is depleted.

0 upvotes

Nikon isn't Apple where a specific launch day is a big event. And while Apple has gotten better, there have been shortages of the iPhone.

0 upvotes

They have shortages, but they stop accepting pre-orders once launch stock is all pre-sold.

0 upvotes

Better to keep the camera's actual performance a mystery (ie no reports from actual owners vs Nikon-selected enthusiastic pre-owners) than to have the camera start entering the mainstream and possibly hinder the pre-release buzz (and sales), esp in regards to expectations for High ISO performance.

3 upvotes

hey nikon, just between you and me: Be honest with me, why the delay?? an oil leak in the d500 ??.....shhhh, enough said, godbye!!!

3 upvotes

Will keep ploughing on with the D300, gaffer tape and all. Please, please Nikon...no more delays

5 upvotes

"Fans of Nikon's performance-oriented APS-C cameras have been imploring the company for years to release an update to the well regarded D300s." -DPR

Since people have been waiting for years, a couple more months doesn't make much difference.

15 upvotes

How about this? Nikon found out that canon is developing a killer apsc dslr which they will announce in Barcelona and now nikon wanna tweak some things within their software? Would make sense to me since nikon only announced the d5 and during the CES the d500 came out of nowhere. Maybe canon is doing the same but only a bit better and now nikon is a little afraid.

3 upvotes

Canon will not update the 7D after only 1 year.

6 upvotes

If they wait long enough they can call it the D550

14 upvotes

D500s

2 upvotes

Nikon is skipping the D500 and releasing the D500s given the usual problems that will plague the camera. Might as well be proactive for once.

2 upvotes

Perhaps they are concerned about "scalpers" due to expected high demand. Imagine people buying D500s and then immediately putting them up on ebay for $4,000 because Nikon can't meet demand.

5 upvotes

Oops !! Nikon having a really bad year.

7 upvotes

A high demand does not delay orders surely?

And stop calling me Shirley

Comment edited 45 seconds after posting

14 upvotes

They do if you want to deliver then at the same time rather than first come first serve. What did Nikon imply about pre-order delivery?

0 upvotes

Good - this means better QC from Nikon.

3 upvotes

You wish.

14 upvotes

I wish, because I am really interested in buying some new DSLRs this year, either C or N, or both... I still own a collection of lenses that sits quiet for some time...

0 upvotes

Hey, Grant Petty:

Here's how you handle delays.

0 upvotes

@KrisAK
If Nikon were Grant Petty, they'd start shipping the camera the night before they announce it's replacement.
:-)

1 upvote

did they discover oil?

13 upvotes

Perhaps they are waiting for the price of oil to recover! :)

0 upvotes

DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!

I'd rather wait than get a defective camera and waste my time in dealing with recalls.

Lesson learned from D600.

7 upvotes

They will make it fullframe - maybe ...

5 upvotes

Yeah, make it full frame - they could call it "D5" and sell it for ~6500$. Oh, wait...

Comments here are amusing.

Comment edited 18 seconds after posting

10 upvotes

Well it's probably a safe bet that the D820 will be a FF version of this body style. Probably it will be slightly bigger, have 42mp, do 6fps in FX 7-8 in crop, but otherwise it will basically be a FF version of the D500. Most likely it will even lack the pop up flash and have the XQD slot instead of CF as well.

0 upvotes

Not likely at all, but I'd still like to see the old D300 -> D700 -> D3 lineup now. And no, the D750 is not in the picture.

0 upvotes

Make it fullframe ?!?! Horrors!

0 upvotes

Important they do the right camera, then if they reduce the price and not increase like they do... better!

0 upvotes

They're turning it into a Mirrorless with EVF AND Fully articulated LCD

Tom G

2 upvotes

Huh just like the Sony a77ii at $900

3 upvotes

I have a feeling there was a lot more demand for this camera than Nikon suspected. Which is probably why it took so long to be offered in the first place and when it finally was, probably just so Nikon had an answer to the 7DII, the high demand for the camera took Nikon by surprise. I love how everyone is making absurd conspiracy theories about defects and slamming Nikon for the delay. These same people would be even more critical of Nikon if they released on time and then immediately had a 3 month back-order just to fill the pre-orders.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 1 minute after posting

9 upvotes

Well it makes no sense to delay shipment because of high demand. There is a disconnect in that logic!

7 upvotes

Don't want to sound cynical but it's probably what is going to happen. If the demand is so high, they will ship the first batch worldwide and then what ? BO for a month or more. Why would Nikon be surprised at the high demand ? You really think they had no clue ? Serious amateurs, semi-pro's and pro's have been waiting for this camera for several years.

3 upvotes

Given the price, I think I'm surprised at the demand.

0 upvotes

Clearly they read my previous post and decided a pop-up flash would be a good idea after all.

8 upvotes

Re tweaking the specs based on the 6300 announcement. Need to remain competitive.

9 upvotes

Umm no. That is the most silly thing I have read here. Firstly for what it's designed for the D500 will easily run circles around any mirrorless ever made or that probably will ever be made in the next 5 years.

Secondly this late in the game the camera is already in production. The specs were probably finalized to the point of no return at least a year ago.

9 upvotes

You can take this to the bank: no Nikon user in this world batted an eyelash when Sony announced the a6300.

OTOH Sony supporters should be worried about Sony's lack of interest in developing crop lenses.

7 upvotes

That's at least eight who flunked the sarcasm test...

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

3 upvotes

I had to wait 4 months for my D200 and D800
When will Nikon learn?

2 upvotes

Nikon take your time and get it right , let's avoid D600 oil issues and assorted other minor mistakes.. I think will be all in on this camera , body only for me as I have lenes , been looking for a replacement to my D7100 ( which HS served me well ,but time to punt ) and was leaning to D750 ( still not out of the running , however with good all purpose zoom it is just so heavy ) but this seems to fits my all purpose needs better

3 upvotes

The demand is over due. Mirrorless is old. Viva Nikon D500 it's a KILLER!

7 upvotes

Oh, wow... I'm glad to see a non-Sony article!
Sighhhh... Bad news though.
Please... Were 'll addict to Sony game-changing news now! Please don't pollute DPSR with non-Sony bad news!

15 upvotes

Maybe is some of the other manufacturers would stop sitting on their butts and make some new products we wouldn't have to be stuck with Sony! I want a new 5D!

2 upvotes

@domsmith As far as I'm concerned, I am perfectly happy with my non-Sony cameras (that I probably use at <20% of their potential). I do not need to get a new camera every year. Pictures taken 10 years ago were as good as what we see today. And I truly believe that Sony's marketing is more and more disturbing. Boring at best.

2 upvotes

then "D500s" is delayed too .. that's so sad :(

4 upvotes

Maybe Thom Hogan knows. There is something in Nikon's corporate structure that leads to frequent backorders. Not only is this nothing new; Canon, by comparison almost always delivers on time. So, when you wonder why retailers sell so much Canon, part of it is because it's hard to sell from an empty wagon.

4 upvotes

Not really Canon 1D X (I) was delayed by many month.
Announced 18th october 2011 available somewhere end july 2012.

3 upvotes

I actually laughed when I read this headline. After so long a wait Nikon trolls us again. If it makes the camera better I can live with it; I wasn't planning to be an early adopter anyway.

8 upvotes

I said this from the very beginning: they should have rebranded a samsung nx1 and bundled an intelligent adapter to nikon lenses. It would have had better specs, would have been available yesterday and nikonians wouldn't even have noticed that.

2 upvotes

NX1 crusader strikes again

8 upvotes

Am I wrong somehow?

0 upvotes

Yes Mr. Sam Sung decided to close its door and leave the house. Nobody knows where he went to and for how long he will be away.

Some say he had a love affair with Mrs. Nikon.
But apparently that love did not come from both sides.

Comment edited 27 seconds after posting

1 upvote

Don, exactly, that's why a nx1 in disguise called d500 would have made a lot of sense!

0 upvotes

tbh - You are probably right.

A Samsung dressed up as a serious Nikon mirrorless would have made sense. A slightly different housing would have fooled a lot of Nikonians into thinking Nikon finally nailed it.

That said, I do think it won't be long before CaNikon will enter the mirrorless market with more serious cameras as they have now.

Its about time they will put some pressure on Sony as both companies let them steal the show.

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

1 upvote

I hope so. Being a Samsung's orphan, I hope some better apsc camera comes from nikon, able to surpass nx1, by 2018.

0 upvotes

I suspect that somewhere a widget maker, some supplier of an obscure but essential component, is being torn to pieces because they have failed to provide working components of the required design and number.

Little problems of this kind cause big problems like this.

6 upvotes

WTF?!? How can we take any of those comments overhere serious? ;-)
I see (at this moment) 42 people claiming "I own it" and 48 people "I had it". This sounds like nonsense to me?

How can one own and/or get rid of a camera that is not even on the market yet?

5 upvotes

They had a D5000. Between these cameras is only a "zero" difference.

1 upvote

Becauce it's a stupid service to be able to fill in if you had a camera that haven't been released

3 upvotes

Just ignore it - it is not so hard isn't it

0 upvotes

I occasionally review my profile and have seen items in "My Gear" list that I never owned nor entered in the list.

The inappropriate "I Own It" is a glitz in DPR. I once clicked the "Thumbs Up" icon on an article product review. Fifteen minutes late, I noticed the product appeared in "My Gear List".

Three weeks ago, I participated in a thread wherein the OP was trashing a camera. My post challenged his position on the said camera by citing his gear listed only one camera not even remotely associated with the subject of his post. He denied ownership of what was listed in his profile and suggested I must have mistaken him for another. After I posted a snapshot of his profile, he apologized and blamed DPR.

Comment edited 5 minutes after posting

3 upvotes

Just imagine how much longer we would have to wait if the D500 announcement had an "Oh, wow...!!!!!!!" in front of it. :)

16 upvotes

From Nikon's just released financial documents. (Presentation Materials)

Imaging Products Business

Sales forecast is downwardly revised by 10 billion yen as a result of the revised market forecast and because of the postponement of new D500 launch. However, operating income forecast is pushed up by 3 billion yen due to the 3rd quarter result as well as the expenses reduction effort in the 4th quarter.

3 upvotes

Well, at least they got some mileage out of the delay.

0 upvotes

After 6 years and 9 month of waiting the extra 8 weeks waiting time don't matter much is what Nikons' management probably must have thought.

8 upvotes

6 years and 9 months? So, you've been waiting for the D300's replacement from the day the D300 was released?

4 upvotes

Finally! Till then, we've got enough time to rob the bank!

7 upvotes

They found they didn't need the mirror after all...

13 upvotes

On the contrary, it will be with double mirror!
I've also heard that they're going to add more AF points..
..instead of 153 it will be 500 and all double cross type, and all down to f/11

4 upvotes

...Due to high demand, we will hold our stock of already produced cameras to give the impression that the groundbreaking D500 is wildly popular. While that gives Sony the chance to steal the show with the incredible A6300, we are confident that the loyal Nikon user will wait a bit longer to trash the worn out D300s and upgrade to our new flapping mirror machine with unparalleled video performance...

15 upvotes

Good luck shooting wildlife or sports using ultra telephoto lenses on an A6300.

17 upvotes

You've got the entire Canon lenas line-up to use on the A6300, so shouldn't be a problem.

10 upvotes

Sony A6300 is soo old news.. nobody will even remember after 1 year, anyway.
The future is strong with the flappy mirror thingy machines!
Mirrorless is soo old..

10 upvotes

Yep, io_bg will keep rocking this D90 for another 10 years. It has a bright future ahead ...

1 upvote

everlast66, have you shot BIF or anything that moves fast. Last I used an a7 adapter, AF is too slow for this type of stuff. Might get a few shots but most are throw away.

5 upvotes

Which adapter and which camera, I believe only with A7RII the on-sensor PDAF points became fully usable with an adaptor. And now Sony are promising the same thing with this new A6300 with its revamped AF system. We have to see if all their claims prove to be true, but for now sounds pretty good to me.

0 upvotes

I'm surprised you didn't see the 70-200 + 2x to which will hit 600mm f5.6 on the a6300.

Also, my a6000 did just fine with wildlife and bif.

2 upvotes

@Everlast66:
Mind your words, D90 is a damn good camera, earned good reputation & respect over the years.. and still good today!
You can shoot anything with it..

..sadly we can not tell the same about this 'overhyped' A6300 toy camera

5 upvotes

Dude wtf ever you are smoking don't be a bogart and pass it around .. That's the only way Sony is stealing anything , if we are all stoned to the point of a delusional visions of Jesus in a potato chip

3 upvotes

Sony trolls have infested DPR

3 upvotes

sony a7 with lae3 and sony a mount g lenses

0 upvotes

Everlast66, I've seen you've uploaded some beautiful photos taken with your mirrorless cameras. Keep it up.

0 upvotes

Insert " shooting themselves in the foot" comment:

0 upvotes

If you press the button accidentally.. with 10fps you can do that easily.. :D

2 upvotes

... found some bugs before the release?

8 upvotes

Whey does my gut tell me that they found a problem/defect already with the new camera? While my physical gut has grown a tad, the dark side of the force says if they shipped it on time, there would be a sh!t show with bad cameras. Yes. Indeed.

3 upvotes

Total comments: 130

Editorial content

Product database

Community

About us Work for us Advertise with us FAQ Feedback Interest-Based Ads Privacy Legal

All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998 - 2016 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.

Mobile site


GoPro to discontinue three cameras and exit entry-level market Feb 5, 2016	Oh, wow... Sony announces 24MP a6300 with incredible AF and 8 fps live view bursts Feb 3, 2016	Nikon KeyMission 360 price and specs appear on retailer's website Feb 2, 2016	Nikon releases D500 4K UHD sample video Jan 21, 2016

	I'm a Canon user and I'm excited about the 1D X II
	I'm a Canon user and I don't care about the 1D X II
	I'm a Nikon user and I'm excited about the D5
	I'm a Nikon user and I don't care about the D5
	DSLR is yesterday's news - bring on the pro mirrorless!
	Canon? Nikon? I'm waiting for the Pentax full-frame....

124	* This Week Through your m4/3 2016.02.06 *
102	Thinking about switching? This says it all....
78	#269\|MONOCHROME\|05-07 Feb'16\|POST YOURS!
70	The D750 is no heir to the D700 throne by any means!
66	Just saying -- m43 forum is very active with Olympus dominant…
56	PART 2 This Week Through your m4/3 2016.02.06
54	Why so little interest in the D5?
52	Does higher pixel count really make a shot sharper?
46	What's going on here?? Really??
44	Best Purchase of Older Olympus (M43) Camera
44	Bias against Panasonic. Did you notice?
42	Whats with Olympus OM-D E-M* quality/reliability?
40	A quick test of RAW and JPEG noise properties.
38	Initial demand could well be a problem...
38	Buy Panasonic G7 or Sony A6300?
38	Finally the A6300 is a true successor to the NEX- 7
37	Fuji says Acros simulation won't be coming to X-T1 or X100T
36	recovering from photo hoarding
35	Still not a fan boy.
34	Wanted to like it but here is why I will not buy A7RII