Nikon seems to have fallen behind a bit lately, with slow sales and competitors' releases putting the company in what appears to be a relatively weak position. In a recent interview, however, the company said "it's time to get excited."
In a recent interview with DPReview, senior members of Nikon's staff discussed the company's current situation and its future. Some highlights of the interview include:
- A priority on releasing lenses that "appeal to wide audiences," meaning lower-level lenses and DX lenses
- The company will not comment on when a flagship mirrorless model will appear
- Despite sales of higher-end models being affected by the pandemic, the company is "recovering, and at a fast pace"
Unfortunately, it seems the company was rather cagey about a lot of topics, though on October 14th, we will see the Z6 Mark II and Z 7 Mark II, which will likely have some refinements and improvements over the original models, such as double card slots. On the other hand, with Canon charging ahead aggressively and Sony still in a strong position, it will be interesting to see how Nikon evolves over the next year or so.
You can read the full interview over on DPReview.
I'm kind of curious as to what the distribution in sales at different price points and for different classes of products is these days.
Please have non overheating 8k just for the hell of it so I can crack up.
I'm waiting for the announcement of Z6_2
'It's Time to Get Excited'
Thanks for the pre-release hype but sensible photographers know to wait for the products and real world reviews.
Another day, another dig at Nikon in Fstoppers. Really rather sad. Did Nikon sleep with your girlfriends? Or are you paid shills for other brands? Or simply desperate for clicks?
Why so defensive? The reality is that Nikon is behind. It's quantitative fact. That's true in sales numbers and measurable autofocus speed.
*I'm very likely buying a z6ii because I don't need fast AF and love their files. I also like that Nikon doesn't change lens mounts often like Canon. That doesn't mean Canon and Sony isn't killing them
Sony stepping-up the pressure in the mirrorless market. Sony A9 getting a lot of positive attention. Nikon with two excellent DSLR cameras D850 / D780 worth raving about. Perhaps the latest Nikon Z cameras as a turning-point getting Nikon established in the mirrorless market. The question if Nikon has left it a bit late. Canon represents the biggest threat to Sony and Nikon because Canon have conquered the Chinese market; the biggest in the world by far.
You do know that Nikon has changed "Mounts" at least 7 or more times by your definition.
At least Canon was brilliant enough to create the EF mount over 30 years ago. And it is 100% compatible with the RF mount.
Nikon burned people with the Z mount by making it totally incompatible with all the AF lenses ever made.
Most all Canon users have NO clue what the FD mount ever was..
So all your Canon EF series lenses work perfectly with no loss of any features and now ALL the old FD mount lenses work on the RF mount including metering. Pretty sweet that Nikon cannot ever do.
Did you know you can practially use every lens Nikon has ever made on just about any body? Nothing new here....
wat? You can use any lens Nikon has created back to like.... 1958
Engineering and parts are downwind of Sony. A Nikon is just Sony partsbin of 4 years ago. Sensor, chipset, OS cheapened by not enough ram, weird proprietary decisions on features and marketed to wedding photographers where brides tell you they want the Nikon logo to supplement their personality on their egotrip wedding.
I like their lenses and they now work on bodies that have better resolution, faster cycling and 4, 6, 8k vid and up to 45 mp large sensors. My astroscape setup is a D 7000. Cool running, no spidering or hotpixels and getting resolution no new Canon or Nikon can match - heat noise is a serious issue with dense sensors.
It kinda reminds me of Canon since the D800 was announced.
It doesn't matter. We all know that Nikon is capable of building superb cameras. They will come back!
I’m a Nikon dslr shooter . Have been wanting to go Nikon mirrorless for some time . Mirrorless cameras are hybrids and high end hybrids at that . From the updates I’ve seen through Nikon rumors I’m still not excited about buying in to the system yet . As soon as I spend 2k or 3.5k on a Nikon mirrorless they will come out with what they should has a camera generation before . They are just a step behind where they should be and not being aggressive enough. I’m not a Canon fan at all but.... dang does the images out of the R5 look good and look at the 2021 lens roadmap . That’s five years of Nikons roadmap.
Still love my Nikon images so Nikon step up to the plate . I mean 10bit 4:2:2 with a 1.7 crop you can do better than that
The RF lenses are spectacular. Nikon's mount is bigger. They haven't made a single innovative lens with it. That 58mm F0.95 should totally be an AF lens, especially for that kinda money. But Nikon took forever to come out with the trinity while Canon has an amazing f2 zoom and those inexpensive, 600 and 800mm f11 lenses.
And all EF series lenses ever made for over 30 years now work 100% on the RF mount.
You're really on about that lens history. No matter who has the most both companies have fantastic lenses spanning decades.
The big N scored an own goal by not releasing a pro FF mirrorless early. They figured their DSLR users would buy the adapter and settle for yesterday's mirrorless. They're actually clueless about their tribe in expecting them to be satisfied with the 2nd rate.
As a shooter... I actually use cameras on a daily basis I am a bit dumbfounded by this observation and comentary
Shooting with a choice of d5/d850/d500, and the 2.8 trinity, along with a bag full of Nikon primes, I'm yet to find much to complain about. These are world class combinations, that shoot stunning raw files.
Yesterday I was in the sea, shooting a bride and groom, these cameras dealt with everything from great light to crap light with ease. To round the day off, shooting in near darkness with a D5, which grabs focus every time.
Now, whinning about 8k video, or overheating or mirror less is a total diversion to the plain facts that real photographers deal with day by day. I use cameras and lenses to go shoot real jobs I. E. products, weddings, events, real estate, the current crop of Nikon cameras totally deliver.
How many photographers actually use video? Nikon Z50 and Z system rocks for me although I am far from professional.
Compared it to Canon EOS R and the Canon simply didn't compare at twice the price. There was slop in the lens, the lens quality wasn't as good and the build quality of Nikon is simply amazing. Of course I have never shot a second of video. Nikon definitely caters more to the amateur and is a much better entry price point for just as good or better quality. All the best to Nikon for the future!
Realistically speaking, a significant number these days. A lot of segments of the industry pretty much require that you offer video services at this point in order to be competitive on services.
That's fine but for me I don't like overpaying for features I don't need
Nikon just don't get it I cant wait a year for nikon to catch up with sony or canon , these are tools for work not to play around with i like nikon But if they can not give me the best in technology bye
Companies leap frog all the time. It took Sony a while, then Canon was stagnant for a bit. Nikon is finding itself now. Meanwhile all the cameras are all still adequate. Unless you're that 0.1% that absolute need that fastest AF or durability, most cameras will do just fine. It's always exciting to see what's new though!
They had one chance to enter the pro mirrorless market and blew it. Stupid single slot. No trinity lenses at launch. Instant discounts ( after I bought a Z6 ). Lots of hoohah about the new lens mount but it was Fuji that produced an F1.0 lens. I’ve been shooting Nikon for 47 years but whoever is running the show needs a kick up the arsenic. Maybe Fuji will take over Nikon? That would produce some killer cameras/ lenses
The only time I ever felt Nikon fell behind was around 2005-2006 so I switched to Canon and luckily it didn’t cost me too much to do so as I had equivalent gear and back then gear held its value better, DSLR gear that is. Since the D3/D3s I have been back with Nikon and never leaving again and I’ve never felt my gear was keeping me from doing my job. I think Nikon makes some of the best cameras in the world and they definitely have many of the very best lenses on earth as well. I’m fortunate and I have two D5 bodies, a 300mm f2.8 VR, 500mm f4E FL VR, 70-200mm FL, 24-70mm VR, etc. All of my lenses and cameras are beyond amazing and can resolve details much past the limits of my 20.8mp sensors lol! This is clickbait. This is complete you know what. Nikon is coming out with new mirrorless cameras any day like the article gets to and it’s on pace with Canon for releasing a flagship mirrorless as well. Is it a little behind in some areas like video or AF tracking, yes slightly but they just started out on mirrorless not long ago!
For a company in a weak position...
- The Z5 was just selected the best value lower end Full frame mirrorless camera and completely trumps the Canon Rp and R as photographic tools
- Nikon has a huge installed based of both APC-C and FF DSLR users
- They have credible and realistic migration path to upgrade these users to the excellent Z50 and Z5. On the other hand, Canon has no solution, nor any coherent line up for APS-C mirrorless which represents 90% of their DSLR users
- The Nikon Z lenses line-up is both higher quality (as tested for the 3 f2.8 pro zooms that are directly comparable) and much more relevant for a majority of photographers than the Canon line up
- All the Sony FE glass can be used on the Nikon Z mount through Tech Art adapter that works reasonably well which offers many interesting options
- The Z6 and Z7 are still competitive with the R6 and R5 for many shooting scenarios 2 years after their introduction. The progress made by Canon with these camera mostly speaks about how poor the R and Rp were. Nikon needs to improve the Z6 and Z7 very little to get back on top, know that the Z9 is not that far.
So I really don't share your view that Nikon is in a weak position. If one of the 3 leading companies is, it's very clearly Canon.
Cheers,
Bernard