Nikon is on a roll, like butter and jelly

I'm glad to see Nikon clawing their way back from the depths of despair.

The company seemed forever doomed to produce adequate digital SLRs, until the D300 arrived.

While I was not surprised by the D4 or the D800, the D3200 was a surprise.  The D5200 had to arrive just to hold off Canon's latest consumer entry.  I don't see it as good or bad but with the D7000's metering and auto focus, it should grab mind share and hopefully, market share.

I was really hoping to see the replacements for the D300s and the D7000.  As far as I'm concerned, the D7000 is the entry level, as I won't work without dust and splash protection.  Apparently, a lot of people can't wrap their minds around what seems to be a fact--that the D600 is the entry level (feature-wise) FX/135 format frame model.  It's priced above the D300s for a reason, the sensor is more expensive.  They can't put everything in there and charge a cheaper price.

Does this mean that the D300s won't be replaced?  I believe a replacement is still on the way but it all seems a bit crowded now.  Hopefully, they'll bring a sensor with superior image quality and an extended ISO sensitivity range, rather than push a huge number of pixel sites.  I would expect that the D7000 replacement would share the sensor, but there will be improvements similar to what the D800 got for the D300s replacement and nothing so grand for the D7000 replacement.

I'm still confused about what Nikon are doing with their lenses.  I was reading a few reviews on the 70-200mm Mk II and I wasn't impressed.  For that much money (and weight), I think it should wash the dishes, in addition to cooking a meal.  It's not a bad lens, but I would expect wide open goodness, the kind you couldn't find on another platform.  I'm reading similar reviews for other lenses.  Canon would like you to believe that their lenses are superior, but of course, they're not.  They're just a different exterior colour.  Since Sony are trying something similar with the exterior of their lenses, they should all do it.  I'm sure Pentax with have some Lego-like coloured lens bodies to brighten the day.  I saw the Olympus micro Four-Thirds 12mm f/2.0 has a special edition black body for an extra US$300.  That's serious money, just to match the lens to your camera body.  I'd rather buy some lens from Schneider-Kreuznach for that kind of pricing.

In any case, kudos to Nikon for presenting some fine equipment.  I hope that 2013 finishes their expanded lineup although 2012 would be ideal.