If anybody has an inside track that would answer your question they are not talking. The real question is who would supply a 24x26mm sensor chip to Nikon, assuming Nikon would guarentee a large enough purchase to keep the price competitive. Currently the only known producers of large sensors is Canon, Kodak and Philips. So on that basis afull-frame Nikon dSLR seems unlikely.

But today there are more players, like Sony. But then if Sony made a full-frame sensor now that they have all of the Minolta body technology, why not get the glory themselves. That would be a big gamble because how many pros would there be who would or could be interested?

I'm usually not inclined to be conservative but my imagination does not envision any other full-frame players, at least very soon. Some technology breakthrough like plastic rather than silicon sensor chips could upset the apple cart, who knows?

There are strong rumors of a full frame Nikon dSLR to be announced in March of this year. There is even the 3D name going around. We'll see.

If all the rumors that go around, strong or not, were to become true and real, this world would be very different from what it is.

The strongest rumor, fed by abundant wishful thinking, was that there would be a digital back that's cheap for 35mm SLR cameras. It took almost 10 years and Leica to finally come out with one, and its anything but cheap.

But you can't keep people from entertaining themselves with their imaginations, even with cynical curmudgeons like me around!

While it is not impossible, a look at Nikon's digital camera evolution over the past half-a-dozen years points away from it.

Nikon's full-frame lenses (35mm camera lenses) are becoming much less common on the camera-store shelves. They could begin building them again, but are putting all their effort into lenses for the DX format, which are not designed to cover a full frame.

The optimum lenses for sensors are somewhat different from lenses where film was the only consideration, specially in the angles that light hits the outer part of the sensor. DX sensors are great for those who love long lenses, and full-frame for those inclined to wide-angles. However, wide angle lenses can present problems with chromatic aberration near the edges, due to the angle the light strikes the sensor unless the lens is designed for sensors. Leica claims to have angled the photosites in their new M8 inward to lessen this effect, even though it is not a full-frame camera.

There is also the potential for light reflecting off the glossy sensor to the rear element and back again. Kodak 14n full-frame dSLR owners had problems with certain Nikon film lenses that way, killing contrast and even generating ghost images. Ideally this would mean a whole new line of lenses optimized for full-frame sensors, on top of the DX line.

I have heard the rumours, but tend to think it wishful thinking - rather than anything that has leaked from Nikon. If indeed they were to produce a full-frame model, you could bet the farm that at least the first model would be in the stratosphere of pricing, perhaps three or four times the price of a D200 body. It would be aimed at the Canon 1Ds and the Canon "L" lenses, and priced accordingly. While Canon also makes the lower priced full-frame 5D, it is priced well above the D200, and a fairly recent addition to the lineup.

For what it's worth, Nikon's public statement has been that they're not planning to come out with a full frame DSLR. It's easier for Canon since they manufacture their own sensors. Does that mean Nikon won't build a full frame DSLR? No, just that's probably not in the immediate future.

If you buy a D200 (or any other Nikon DSLR) there's nothing forcing you to buy lenses that are made only for DSLRs with a smaller sensor. You can still use your current Nikon 35mm lenses. If you do buy some lenses for the smaller sensor will they be obsolete if Nikon produces a full frame DSLR? No, of course not. You just won't be able to use them on the full frame camera but they'll still work perfectly well on the smaller sensor body. Obsolete means the item can no longer be used to perform the task for which it is built. It doesn't mean that a newer version of the item is produced.

With respect to the potential problems of using full frame lenses on a smaller sensor DSLR (i.e., reflections, CA, etc.); while this is possible it's not a given. In addition, manufacturers have been, for a few years now, producing full-frame lenses with additional coatings on the rear element to minimise the possibility of the problems occurring.

I'm not sure what research you've done on Canon technology but there is nothing wrong with the slower shutter speed or low light capabilities of the Canon DSLRs. Earlier generations of all digital cameras were poorer in these areas but advances in sensor technology and image processing algorithms have made those concerns virtually moot. In addition, one of the big problems of low light, slow shutter speed photography is noise. Noise is, in large part, a by-product of heat. CMOS sensors operate cooler than CCD sensors and if you were to look at the comparison of the noise levels of the latest Canon bodies (e.g., 5D, 30D) compared to the respective Nikon body you'd find the Canons outperform. The noise is different; Canon's tends to be more colour noise whereas Nikon's tends to be more monochromatic but the absolute noise levels of Canons is much lower.