Nikon has never ruled out the development of a full-frame digital SLR, but has no immediate launch plans, the company told us during discussions following persistent rumours on AP?s website forum.

Jeremy Gilbert, Nikon?s group marketing manager (pictured), said that if the firm decided to make such a camera it would first need to meet the appropriate quality-to-price ratio. In other words, it would have to be the right quality at a price able to compete in the market.

However, Gilbert stressed that just because a camera is ?full frame? it does not necessarily mean that the quality of images it produces surpasses those of current Nikon DX models. ?The D2xs, used in conjunction with Capture NX and raw files, sets a high standard of image quality to respective cost,? he added.

A full-frame SLR is one that uses an imaging sensor the same size as a frame of 35mm film.

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