Will Nikon stop making SLR cameras?

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Several Italian and international newspapers reported on Wednesday that popular Japanese camera brand Nikon will stop producing single-lens reflex cameras, the ones that for decades made the company a leader in professional photography and beyond. news Submitted by a reputable Japanese newspaper Nikkibut after a few hours Nikon released Hasty denialAccordingly, the company “continues to produce, sell and service digital SLR cameras.” A phrase that does not contain reassurances about the development of new models, and therefore may literally mean that the company will only produce and sell old models.

It is not clear what will happen, but the reasons why Nikon might have made or would like to make such a choice exist and are not neglected. One of these factors is the proliferation of camera models no mirror, that is, without the internal mirror that appears in the camera’s reflex view of what is framed by the lens. They have a more practical, lighter chassis and now give results similar to those of reflex cameras, at least than non-high-end cameras, but Nikon has never managed to establish itself in this segment like other companies.

Another reason, and perhaps the most inevitable, is the strong reduction in the number of cameras due to the now widespread use of smartphones with increasingly sophisticated cameras.

Nikon began producing cameras after World War II and in 1959 released the Nikon F, which was not the first SLR camera in history but was considered the most advanced and innovative. Nikon’s first digital SLR camera arrived decades later, in 1999: Compared to film cameras, digital cameras were easier to produce and Nikon was able to intercept the potential of this technology, so much so that Nikon digital models had a massive proliferation in the early 2000s. The company actually shares a large portion of the DSLR market with Canon today.

In 2009 Olympus released the EP-1, the first digital mirrorless camera in history. Mirrorless cameras do not have a mirror like reflex cameras: the image is collected by the lens and displayed directly on the screen, and without the mirror also in the viewfinder, which can be optical or electronic. This reduces camera size and shutter speeds, and increases accuracy and durability.

In the transition from SLR to Mirrorless, Nikon was not as fast as it was with the transition to digital and was expected by brands like Sony. Nikki He explains that the reason Nikon was late is that mirrorless cameras needed an adapter to be compatible with lenses that Nikon had sold for SLRs until that point—the company feared the move would not be appreciated by consumers. For this reason, he has delayed investing in this new technology.

Recently, this was joined by a general crisis in the non-professional photography market due to the proliferation of smartphones with increasingly sophisticated cameras. Telephones have effectively replaced compact digital cameras, products that in the early 2000s accounted for about 80 percent of the industry’s value. But that’s not all: with the proliferation of social networks, the quality of photos has become less important in public perception than the ability to post photos instantly.

In recent years, Nikon has narrowed its entry-level catalog, focusing on the product market for professionals and enthusiasts. But he still suffered significant losses: in 2019, he had to close two factories in Japan and lay off employees at foreign branches, and in 2020 he closed the fiscal year negatively.

2020 was also the year mirrorless camera sales surpassed that of SLRs, with Nikon introducing its newest SLR model, the D6, if what you’re saying Nikki That’s right, it will be the last in his history.