Nikon future

[Andrew1]

https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/12/2...ort-mirrorless

[Manfred M]

At the rate that Nikon has been discontinuing the F lenses, this surprises no one. Canon looks to be exiting the DSLR market slowly, so really Ricoh / Pentax are the only company left committed to the DSLR.

[lunaticitizen]

It's interesting that the English version of the Nikkei -which I assume was directly translated from the original Japanese article- mentions about 'Nikon to stop making SLR...' in the headline.

The original Japanese article is here, and the headline can be translated to 'Nikon to stop developing SLR...' which is a bit different from the English version.

But as Manfred said, this should surprise nobody.

[Manfred M]

It's interesting that the English version of the Nikkei -which I assume was directly translated from the original Japanese article- mentions about 'Nikon to stop making SLR...' in the headline.

The original Japanese article is here, and the headline can be translated to 'Nikon to stop developing SLR...' which is a bit different from the English version.

But as Manfred said, this should surprise nobody.

I believe your translation is correct Leo. Nikon will continue to produce certain DSLRs and F-mount lenses, as some 30% of their market is still these cameras. There had been talk about another high end D series camera aimed at sports photographers, but with the strong positive response with the Z9, I suspect this would not be a great investing resources into that line

[DanK]

A very important distinction. For example, Mercedes has been a bit vague, but it sounds like their plan is to stop selling internal combustion engine cars in most but not all markets by the end of the decade, but they have already stopped development of new internal combustion engines.

It's pretty clear that Canon has stopped developing high-end DSLRs, and they have stopped production of some EF lenses, but they are still selling a lot of DSLRs, including models (like my 5D IV) that have a mirrorless replacement already.

[lunaticitizen]

I hope they survive. They've been downsizing their IT infrastructure a lot and I feel like it's very demoralizing them, especially the teams I work with.

[Manfred M]

I hope they survive. They've been downsizing their IT infrastructure a lot and I feel like it's very demoralizing them, especially the teams I work with.

The whole photography business has been downsizing. This is typical as a business matures and people are not upgrading every few years for marginal gains in quality. It's not like the switch from film to digital where there the technology changed (and look at what happened to companies like Kodak, Agfa and Ilford).

There isn't a lot being written about the other camera companies, but one can be certain that they are going through similar issues.

[lunaticitizen]

The whole photography business has been downsizing. This is typical as a business matures and people are not upgrading every few years for marginal gains in quality. It's not like the switch from film to digital where there the technology changed (and look at what happened to companies like Kodak, Agfa and Ilford).

There isn't a lot being written about the other camera companies, but one can be certain that they are going through similar issues.

Yeah, what you wrote makes total sense. I wonder if the same will happen to smartphone industry, too

[Manfred M]

Yeah, what you wrote makes total sense. I wonder if the same will happen to smartphone industry, too

I feel that it is overdue too. I have often wondered why Sony, LG, Motorola and some others are still in the business, given how small their market share is.

I suspect that they are waiting to see how the defacto boycott of Huawei and other Chinese brands in some countries affects the markets.

[PentaxLuver]

At the rate that Nikon has been discontinuing the F lenses, this surprises no one. Canon looks to be exiting the DSLR market slowly, so really Ricoh / Pentax are the only company left committed to the DSLR.

Just read an article about Pentax may have "Lucked Out" by not giving up on the DSLR. Pentax has always had a good reputation and name recognition so now with Nikon and Canon giving up the DSLR, Ricoh/Pentax may become number one.

I am a Pentax supporter but at the same time do not put down Nikon and Canon (or Sony or Fuji or others), all are good products doing what they are made to do. I simple started with Pentax after Petri went bankrupt yars ago. To me, Pentax felt similar to the Petri and I appreciated the company's reasonable pricing. Pentax just seems to fit and feel comfortable in my hands.

I'll miss the "competitve banter" between users of Nikon and Canon users and Pentax users, it is similar to the competition amongst the different branches of the military.

[Manfred M]

Just read an article about Pentax may have "Lucked Out" by not giving up on the DSLR. Pentax has always had a good reputation and name recognition so now with Nikon and Canon giving up the DSLR, Ricoh/Pentax may become number one.

I am a Pentax supporter but at the same time do not put down Nikon and Canon (or Sony or Fuji or others), all are good products doing what they are made to do. I simple started with Pentax after Petri went bankrupt yars ago. To me, Pentax felt similar to the Petri and I appreciated the company's reasonable pricing. Pentax just seems to fit and feel comfortable in my hands.

I'll miss the "competitve banter" between users of Nikon and Canon users and Pentax users, it is similar to the competition amongst the different branches of the military.

I suspect that Pentax does not have a large enough design team to go mirrorless. Part of the attraction of that format for the manufacturers is that the format has around 25%+ less parts which makes it less expensive to build a mirrorless camera than a DSLR. Selling a camera that costs less to make and sells at a premium price (versus a DSLR) makes a lot of financial sense and for the cynical me, suggests why everyone else has gone that way.

[DanK]

I'm not sure Pentax has lucked out. They are banking on a continuing, sizable group that prefers a DSLR over mirrorless. Not long ago, there were lots of people who prefered a DSLR, but as mirrorless has improved, I'm guessing that number has been shrinking fast. E.g., in the past, the AF of DSLRs was better; now the reverse is true (in most but not all respects). EVSs have improved enormously in resolution and refresh rate. The question is whether there will be enough such folks to keep Pentax in this business.

I've been using SLRs since 1968, and I like an optical viewfinder and have to say I have a sentimental attachment to the ca-chunk of the SLR shutter. Nonetheless, I'm absolutely certain that my next camera, if I ever buy one, will be mirrorless.

[billtils]

I think that the title of this thread should be "DSLR Future", the post on Pentax notwithstanding. The DSLR to Mirrorless change is nothing like as significant as the film to digital one, but that doesn't mean it's insignificant. As Manfred has pointed out the reduced construction costs are a big incentive for the manufacturers and all the early drawbacks such as EVF quality can and have been overcome. Nobody buys a new film camera today and it's not going to be too long before the same applies to DSLRs.

That's not the same thing as saying that the DSLR is dead because it's intrisically inferior to the mirrorless offering - it will be in some regards and not in others. I was going to type "For any photographer wanting more than what their current camera can offer then they too should be looking to go mirrorless", but there are going to be a lot of very, very good DSLRs on the used market (I seriously considered moving up to a used D850 but that would not have dealt with any of the issues that made me go mirrorless).

[lunaticitizen]

Just read an article about Pentax may have "Lucked Out" by not giving up on the DSLR. Pentax has always had a good reputation and name recognition so now with Nikon and Canon giving up the DSLR, Ricoh/Pentax may become number one.

I am a Pentax supporter but at the same time do not put down Nikon and Canon (or Sony or Fuji or others), all are good products doing what they are made to do. I simple started with Pentax after Petri went bankrupt yars ago. To me, Pentax felt similar to the Petri and I appreciated the company's reasonable pricing. Pentax just seems to fit and feel comfortable in my hands.

I'll miss the "competitve banter" between users of Nikon and Canon users and Pentax users, it is similar to the competition amongst the different branches of the military.

Once I read that Pentax has a factory near where I live in. I went there and guess what, nothing was there anymore
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.7650...7i16384!8i8192

It looks like Petri the company still exists.
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0339...7i16384!8i8192

[Manfred M]

Once I read that Pentax has a factory near where I live in. I went there and guess what, nothing was there anymore
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.7650...7i16384!8i8192

It looks like Petri the company still exists.
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0339...7i16384!8i8192

I understand that Pentax closed its Japanese manufacturing plant in Tokyo after it merged with Hoya and moved its manufacturing to Philippines and Vietnam. I'm not sure what happened after the Pentax imaging business was bought out by Ricoh.

[lunaticitizen]

I understand that Pentax closed its Japanese manufacturing plant in Tokyo after it merged with Hoya and moved its manufacturing to Philippines and Vietnam. I'm not sure what happened after the Pentax imaging business was bought out by Ricoh.

Digging further, after they moved the manufacturing facility offshore, the former factory served as both the HQ and the R&D center for Pentax. After Pentax merged with Hoya, most of the building's functions were transferred somewhere else, and since the building was already really old and dilapidated, they decided to demolish it.


It indeed looks dilapidated

[PentaxLuver]

Once I read that Pentax has a factory near where I live in. I went there and guess what, nothing was there anymore
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.7650...7i16384!8i8192

It looks like Petri the company still exists.
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0339...7i16384!8i8192

I believe the Petri Company does still exist but they stopped making cameras in the 80s but still (according to Wikipedia) in business making telescopes.