With Canon’s announcement Wednesday of it’s new camera and lens lineup, it would appear very unlikely that I’ll be getting a chance to see a replacement for the EOS 5D. While I suppose there is a tiny shred of hope that Canon might say something at the actual PMA, their history would indicated this unlikely.

This leaves me in the terrible predicament of not knowing what camera I would buy now if I were to somehow come into a windfall of oh, say….$2500 cash. Seriously though my current camera roadmap leads me to a Nikon D300 purchase in about 6 months or so. And while it appears that the D300 might very well be all the camera I’ll ever need, especially if reviews like this are to be believed, I’m still not a 100% happy about it…

The problem is I really want to take advantage of a full frame camera sensor. If you’re not sure why, take a look at some of the IQ coming off the current 5D, Nikon D3, and Canon flagships and compare to their non full frame siblings. There is a difference. Unfortunately my budget and (ahem!) camera needs don’t actually need a professional grade DSLR. That leaves me longing for 2 cameras that don’t exist right now: a nikon D300x and a Canon 5D Mark II (or 3D, 7D). According to Luminous Landscape, there’s no need to expect a 5d replacement before the end of Q2:

As many people have suspected there will not be a 5D replacement announced this week at PMA. Recent discounting had lead many to believe that a 5D was imminent, but my guess is that it will at least late Q2 till it shows up.

My full frame hopes are now pinned on Nikon. The expectations are that Nikon might release a D60 at the 2008 PMA, but the fine folks at Photography Bay gave me a tiny reason to hope that something bigger might happen for PMA:

More new professional products on the way. Announcements will be made at PMA in Las Vegas, at the start of what will be a very busy year. Will let you know the details in the next week or so.

Could this be the Nikon D300x? Or just new lenses? We’ll know soon…