Nikon in trouble?

[dimme]

I have been using Nikon's for almost 40 years and still use some of my lenses I purchased in the 80's. I have worked in the pro photo lab business in the day at state of the art lab. Working with all formats of film and images from top pros I have been lucky to work with some marvelous images in my time there. I think the biggest threat to Nikon (or any camera manufacture) is what is happening in the cell phone market. For years I resisted (resented) cell phone cameras but just look at the quality that is coming out of Apple and Samsung. I not ready to retire my Nikon's but who knows in a few years...

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Phones are great in a pinch, for some things, anyway. Part of the dilemma for me with phones is that there is certainly an artificial quality to them. I remember when Apple announced the iPhone X, they talked a lot about the camera. In one part of of the demo, they touted the noiseless blue sky, and said the AI of the phone makes that happen. Same with the bokeh in portrait mode. To me, the results are okay, but it’s hard not to think that the phone did more work than you did. It’s not that phones can’t be used to make great shots, and I use mine too for some things, for sure.

I guess to me, I don’t own an ILC for the ease of use, but for the joy of being in touch with most of that work myself (picking the lens and exposure), and getting to create. Phones, for the most part, have killed the point and shoot market, and I think they have also taken out those users that bought a nice camera when they had kids or went on a trip, but were never really committed to, or cared about, learning to use the camera outside of full auto mode. Maybe that was for the best, since it’s certainly a waste to buy $1500 worth of camera gear to just leave it in the bag.

I suppose ILC use will diminish to those that take an active interest in what I guess you’d call “advanced” photography (picking lenses and exposure, etc) and the professional. I still don’t know if there will ever come a day when someone would be happy to pay thousands of dollars for a pro to photograph their wedding, only to have them show up with only a smartphone. Maybe by that day, you can just crowd-source your wedding album, since almost everyone in attendance would have a camera just as good! Some might already be doing something like this to get married on a budget.

 

[Clix Pix]

This doesn't sound optimistic for Nikon and its future:

Nikon to end camera production in Japan After 70 Years - Daily Camera News

Japanese publication AERAdot (translated) has reported that Nikon is ending domestic camera production in Japan. According to the report, Nikon…Continue reading

www.dailycameranews.com

 

[mollyc]

It sounds to me like they have found an “easy” way to cut costs. Most if not all of the Z line is already made in Thailand.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Edit: Wrong thread

 

[r.harris1]

This doesn't sound optimistic for Nikon and its future:

Nikon to end camera production in Japan After 70 Years - Daily Camera News

Japanese publication AERAdot (translated) has reported that Nikon is ending domestic camera production in Japan. According to the report, Nikon…Continue reading

www.dailycameranews.com

Sounds optimistic to me . Nikon have provided guidance and a plan for returning to profit next year, the last I read recently. Not something any company does lightly. They can produce high quality optics and bodies in Thailand with fewer earthquake risks and for cheaper. The original petapixel news scrape to start this thread was somewhat disingenuous, selective and more for click bait - best to read Nikon experts like Thom Hogan and a few others. Nothing new for Nikon who has been here before. Of course, any company can go out of business, and the camera business is in transition/consolidation, but Nikon isn’t teetering on a knife edge just yet.

 

[v3rlon]

Many, many years ago I started out with my first SLR being a Minolta, followed by a couple updated Minoltas until the day I decided I was ready for the then-perceived "gold standard," a Nikon. Bought that N90 and loved it to death, and was a "Nikon Girl" for years and years after that....

Times change, priorities change, needs change.....and a year ago, on the 21st of November 2019, I became no longer a "Nikon Girl" as I traded in my Nikon gear and switched to Sony. This was not an easy decision, not by any means, and I wrestled with it for a very long time before finally arriving at the "decisive moment" and making the change..... Now, a year later in November 2020, I can wholeheartedly say that, yes, for me this was indeed the right choice, the right decision and for the right reasons. I don't exactly call myself a "Sony Girl," but wow, I am sure loving my Sony gear -- it has been and continues to serve me well and brings great joy and often new surprises as I explore my photographic options with the A7R IV and the lenses that I've purchased and used over the last year.

All that said, I would really be very very sad if Nikon does bite the dust.....I have some wonderful memories of experiences with my Nikon cameras and lenses through the years, some nice photos from those times, and, well, basically I learned photography with a Nikon in my hands..... No one can ever take that away, regardless of what happens to the company now..... I know that there are many, many others out there who feel the same.

So basically, you went from Minolta to Nikon and back to (rebranded) Minolta.

Even if Nikon doesn't survive, and that is FAR from a given, there is enough weight behind the brand to keep the system afloat for many years to come.

Sheesh, there are people STILL shooting Minolta film cameras. A Z7 will last a good long time.