[carstenw]

The D3 isn't an answer to the 1Ds3 or the DMR. This is the interesting part: the D3 is aimed almost directly at (actually slightly above) the 1D3. This is a new tack for Nikon, and it still leaves the option for a D3x open, should they decide that they need to answer the 1Ds3. The 1D-series is Canon's bread-n-butter in the pro market, so the D3 is aimed extremely well. More MP, equivalent speed, higher-res screen (>900000 pixels!), more AF sensors, the ability to track focus by colour, and on and on. This is a really potent move by Nikon.

The 5D and its successor won't compete succefully with the D3 since it isn't a pro camera with weather sealing and the robustness. It also won't compete successfully with the D300 since it will be significantly more expensive, just like the last generation. It is all on its own there, and will steal just a few customers here and there.

Canon has their lineup set up in such a way that the only place they can really go wild on the specs is in the pro line. Every other camera is contrained by having to not compete with its next-up model, and so the Canon specs often feel like there is something missing, something which could easily have been there but has been left out. As an example, the D300 can do 9-exposure bracketing, whereas the 5D can only do 3, something which bothered me a lot when I still owned the 5D. Canon is always removing stuff from the specs to differentiate their high-end models, whereas with Nikon one gets the feeling that they are trying to give as much as they can.