Delayed: Nikon D500 launch postponed until late April amid high demand
posted Friday, February 5, 2016 at 1:17 PM EDT
Nikon Japan has announced that the Nikon D500, which was originally scheduled to ship in mid-March, has now been delayed until late April.
Both the body-only D500 configuration and Nikon 16-80mm VR lens kit version have been delayed, along with the Nikon WT-7 wireless transmitter, MB-D17 multi-power battery pack, CF-DC8 semi-soft case, and other small accessories.
Nikon's reasoning for the delay (as translated by Google Translate), is that due to high demand Nikon is unable to have enough cameras available for sale, so the release date is being delayed. They also apologize for the inconvenience and thank consumers for their patience.
Personally, high demand doesn't seem like a very good reason to delay a product launch. Nikon routinely releases products that have demand that outpaces supply, such as the Nikon Coolpix P900 which has only recently become readily available again and the new Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E lens, which was sold out for a few months following its launch.
In any case, photographers who have been waiting for several years for the replacement to the Nikon D300/D300s will have to wait a bit longer. In the meantime, check out the 4K video sample below and read our preview of the D500.
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(Seen via Nikon Rumors)