Nikon: Drive Home Test Drives?

[cgw]

Not sure if this indicates desperation/panic after their late-to-the-party MILC roll-out. Side-stepping the dealers was a bigger surprise which might be consistent with a possible corporate reorg suggested by the beginning of NikonUSA-only service early next year:

Nikon Yellow Program | Worry-Free Z 50 Camera Home Trial

Nikon Shuttering Its Authorized Repair Program

 

[tirediron]

Wow... that' repair policy is a kick in the spheres!

 

[Derrel]

Try at home, for free. I have never seen cameras sold that way before. Sounds more like a mattress sales technique. However I think it shows some flexibility for the first time ever on the part of Nikon corporate... who knows it might really help sales. I guess time will tell.

 

[Braineack]

Hmmm. If it's still going on in may, maybe I do this instead of buying the rx100 for travel.

 

[cgw]

Has Nikon marketing been reduced to seeing what sticks to the wall? To me, the new lens mount/belated MILC commitment was an epic error in the face of shrinking sales. Nikon reps at a recent Toronto photo show did a poor job concealing their dismay and confusion with their firm's direction. Fujifilm.ca runs a short 3-day camera/lens loan program through dealers that seems to give prospective customers adequate time to decide to buy. Obviously, cynical cons will try to game the Nikon offer.

 

[waday]

Try at home, for free.

It's not really try "for free", though, is it? It's more like a 30-day "no questions asked" return policy (assuming it's in like new condition). Nikon specifically states that you return it within 30-days for a refund, so you're still paying for it up front.

 

[Derrel]

You can also buy it on the installment plan with PayPal, but you are correct you have to commit to buy the camera either with credit card or debit card, or on the PayPal installment plan.

 

[JBPhotog]

Has Nikon marketing been reduced to seeing what sticks to the wall? To me, the new lens mount/belated MILC commitment was an epic error in the face of shrinking sales. Nikon reps at a recent Toronto photo show did a poor job concealing their dismay and confusion with their firm's direction. Fujifilm.ca runs a short 3-day camera/lens loan program through dealers that seems to give prospective customers adequate time to decide to buy. Obviously, cynical cons will try to game the Nikon offer.

I disagree with your lens mount position, I think an entirely new lens mount was necessary to maximize the optical potential in a MILC offering. We have already seen some remarkable glass for the Z series and there will be many more exceptional lenses to come.

However, I would agree Nikon was slow to the MILC party and are now fighting an uphill battle with the established brands. Nikon's failure to recognize there was a real need for something other than an pro or prosumer DSLR has cost them market share. I guess it is easy to gauge this from the peanut gallery but I for one would not have dropped a few grand on a Fujifilm X-T1 and lenses if Nikon had something compatible to offer. FTR, I have since sold off all the Fujifilm gear, it was nice but the user interface and menu decisions were just pathetic after decades of using pro gear. There has been a number of discussions on this topic and some would argue Nikon was afraid of investing in what was considered a uniquely fringe market that would cannibalize their DSLR market share. R&D takes years to develop and IMO Nikon was caught sleeping with MILC.

FWIW, the Yellow Box promotion doesn't seem to be available in Canada, might have something to do with our consumer laws. And yes it is hardly free, with so many people carrying an outstanding balance on their credit cards, they will pay interest even if they do send it back and get a 100% refund.

 

[Derrel]

I read a bit of the website details, and the "welcome to yellow" promotion says that it is only available in the United States so I guess that leaves out our Canadian friends.

Like Samsung, Nikon may have felt it better to enter the market last, or at least late, and see what the competition in the mature Market for mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera or milc offerings was. Samsung has long made it it's standard operating procedure not to enter markets early on, but to wait and see what the competition does and where the competition has failed, and to then make a better product, hoping that consumers will be driven by the pursuit of Superior product, rather than who was first to Market

 

[Braineack]

At least they came to market with the ztf adapter

 

[Derrel]

Four years ago the Sony A7 system was a joke when I tested it, and even though I had the money, I was unwilling to put up with the problems that the first generation of A7 cameras had. Today, Sony has greatly expanded their lens offerings and has corrected almost all of the faults in their current a A7 offerings. Nowadays Sony represents a formidable opponent for Nikon and for Canon.

We will soon see what kind of sales traction the Z series aps-c camera offers. Both Canon and Nikon have seen small-sensor mirrorless cameras that yielded pathetic sales. I think that aps-c might be a good Market for mirrorless .The Nikon 1 series and the Canon M series have both been disappointments for their parent companies, at least in North America. Canon has not seen fit to import a number of M-series lenses that are sold in other markets, And the Nikon 1-series was such a sales disappointment that Nikon decided to scrap it. I think that aps-c might be a good place for Nikon to replace the 3000- and 5000- series DSLR cameras with mirrorless offerings, possibly even using the F- mount.

The thing is Nikon is both a camera and a lens maker, and I don't think sticking with the old F-mount offers Nikon itself much increase in profits. The Z-mount means people will buy new lenses.

Both Canon and Nikon decided to enter the full frame mirrorless Market at the same time, about four years after Sony had entered it, and after Sony had carved out a solid market segment. It will now be up to Canon and Nikon to see if they can make inroads against Sony. I actually have a bit of faith in Canon and Nikon in the camera Market... they are after all longtime members of the Camera & Photo Market, while for seven years in a row Sony failed to turn a profit.