Nikon has stated that it will introduce a mirrorless equivalent of its flagship D5: a check against Sony?

2019.06.19 06:00

On June 12, 2019, Sony announced the release of two new interchangeable lenses for full-frame mirrorless cameras.

On June 17, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reported the following in an article titled "Nikon Introduces Top-of-the-line Mirrorless Model Equivalent to 'D5'".

"Nikon will introduce a top-of-the-line mirrorless camera. The timing is undisclosed, but President Toshikazu Madachi revealed the news in an interview with Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. The model is expected to be the equivalent of the top-of-the-line D5 digital SLR camera."

Nikon and Canon have long been the two-top players with a strong following among sports photographers. Although they share a common position of being in a position to face Sony, which has hit the interchangeable lens full-frame digital camera market with a new weapon, mirrorless cameras, the difference in stance between Nikon and Canon is quite significant.

On August 24, 2018, Mynavi News published an article titled "Preparing professional models too! Ask Nikon about its mirrorless strategy," reporting the views of Hirotaka Ikegami, General Manager of Nikon's Imaging Business Development Division.

"Nikon's policy is to make solid products in both the Z (mirrorless) and D (SLR) series," Ikegami reiterated. He stated that the theme of the development team is to continue to provide excellent products in both series, and clearly expressed the intention to continue to develop new SLR products as well."

Nikon has continued to use the "Nikon F mount" for its SLR cameras since its flagship "F" was launched in 1959. This is why Nikon has a large number of hardcore SLR camera users who have been loyal to Nikon for half a century. It is true that the company's full-size mirrorless SLR "Z" series can also utilize the lens assets of the "Nikon F mount" via a genuine mount adapter, but many of them are conservative and refuse to switch from SLRs to mirrorless SLRs.

On February 13, 2017, Nikon issued a press release announcing the discontinuation of the "DL Series" premium compact digital cameras. The company announced that it would not be entering the market for premium compact digital cameras with 1-inch sensors, a market in which the Sony RX100 series and the Canon PowerShot G single-digit series compete. This market has many players and is less profitable than the SLR camera market. Since Nikon's forte is only high-end digital SLR cameras, I think this business decision is the right one.

If Nikon utilizes the management resources it secured by exiting the market for high-end compact digital cameras with 1-inch sensors, it will have a better chance of "making solid products in both Z and D," as Mr. Ikegami said.

Nikon's flagship digital SLR camera, the D4, was released in March 2012, just in time for the London Olympics. The next flagship, the D4S, was released two years later in March 2014. The current flagship, the D5, was launched in April 2016. From the D4 to the D5, Nikon has updated its flagship at exactly two-year intervals, but no flagship was announced in 2018, giving us a glimpse of Nikon's efforts to "counter the full-frame mirrorless camera market.

In 2018, Nikon introduced its first full-frame mirrorless cameras, the Z6 and Z7, to the market, so it was probably not time to revamp its flagship models. Both the Z6 and Z7 belong to the upper middle class. Although they are not as robust and durable as the flagship models, they meet the needs of high-amateurs and can be used for professional use in fields other than sports and news reporting.

Whether feasible or not, Nikon is expected to plan to launch a new flagship digital SLR camera and the company's first full-frame mirrorless camera flagship (with Sony's "α9" as a virtual enemy) by next spring.

Canon launched its first full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS R, in October 2018 and the EOS RP in March 2019. The former belongs to the middle class and the latter to the lower-middle class. It is obvious that Canon has avoided launching a mirrorless camera with as much enthusiasm as Nikon.

Looking back at the situation, my own prediction for the situation of each company before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at this point is as follows.

Nikon: Launch flagship models in both digital SLR and mirrorless cameras
Canon: Will revamp its flagship digital SLR cameras, but will not launch a flagship mirrorless camera until 2022 or later
Sony: Continuing to update the software of its flagship mirrorless camera, the α9, to enhance its perfection
Panasonic: Will not launch its flagship mirrorless camera in time and will only be used by photographers under its influence on a limited basis at the Olympic venues.

Sony recently set up a professional support base at the site of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race held at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. In this race, racing cars compete for the number of laps around the circuit, so one could say that there are more opportunities to photograph the subjects than in the Olympics, but there are not multiple opportunities to take exactly the same picture. Photographers who switch to Sony mirrorless cameras will be grateful for Sony's experience in this kind of "battlefield.

By clearly stating that Nikon will introduce a flagship mirrorless camera, Nikon seems to be trying to deter photographers who are considering switching to Sony. This makes me wonder about Canon's move, which has been silent for some time. I will continue to keep a close eye on Canon to see if they will not introduce a flagship mirrorless camera for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as I predicted, or if they have something in store that will surprise the market.

first appearance : AGORA