Nikon is dying?

[Sharpshooterr]

A company, as Fuji, can easily design a MF to use std. FF lenses by just adjusting the flange distance. And it was smart of Fuji to do so.

I didn't think that was what they did though. As far as I am aware, the Fuji G-mount is exclusive to their medium-format cameras.

Wouldn't changing the flange distance result in a lens that might not focus to infinity? I mean, if this technique worked you'd see Canon EF users buying cheap EFS lenses and extension tubes for regular shooting to avoid vignetting.

Hmmm, I think you’re right. The adapters would have to be glassed to refocus the lenses!
I’m not actually familiar with the Fuji’s. Maybe Derrel can tell us if the the lenses were being used with glassed adapters??
SS

 

[Derrel]

The flange distance is something that Fuji had full control over. This is the advantage of mirrorless. However with the Fuji gfx 50, when it premiered, there were a huge rush of postings on the Facebook group in which users worldwide pressed legacy 35 mm lenses from all types of brands. As one might expect most of these lenses did pretty well, covering the entire 43 by 33 mm sensor
With a very little or no vignetting.

There are two issues here flange distance and also the covering Circle of the lenses.

One small bit of factual information might be of interest to some here that seem to think that on 35 millimeter and single-lens reflex digital systems that the mount width determines maximun lens speed possibkr....uh, no not really, the mirror box is smaller than the mount diameter by far. So it wouldn't matter if you had a quart-jar-size opening on the front - the mirror box is 24 by 36 mm across!Something to think about before repeating unsubstantiated "internet wisdom "....

 

[TWX]

Nikon Just Released Some Terrible Financial Results

"The company as a whole has reported year-on-year figures that don’t make for pleasant reading for shareholders: revenue is down 13.3% and operating profit has fallen by 42.9%. Profit before income taxes is down by 40.6%."

I donno about you, but bringing in only half of the profit that you previously brought in is not exactly good news, and is worse when growth is demanded, rather than contraction.

 

[Derrel]

I thought that Canon's 2019 year-over-year profits were down 62% in the Imaging division, according to what I read about 2 weeks ago. Sales were down too but the real alarm was the decline in profit margin.

We need to reset expectations. People are no longer rushing out in huge numbers to buy new and updated cameras, as cameras have reached a point of sufficiency. Almost any digital single-lens reflex released within the past 7 years can still do incredibly good work. A couple of months ago I was looking at some images made in 2006 and 2007 on my Apple 30 inch Cinema display and even images made with 6 and 8 megapixel DSLR cameras from 2004 and 2005 looked quite good .In other words cameras have been sufficient for a long time now.

 

[shadowlands]

Nikon's new Firmware for the Z6/Z7 is awesome!

 

[Lonnie1212]

I have read several articles in financial news pieces that Nikon is dying. How can this possibly be true. Nikon has been around a long time and is recognized as a leader in photography. The quality is excellent and the camera and lens choices are amazing. The articles seem to be based on the mirrorless cameras not selling as predicted and the quality of lens in cell phones.
I witnessed the fall of Minolta and as I shot Minolta it bothered me. I shot Minolta film cameras and even purchased a Minolta/Konica digital. (somewhat disappointing).
I think all photography will adjust to the fact that cell phones are the point and shoot cameras of the present and future and a lot of entry level cameras are going away. I think or hope that the serious photographer will continue to use a quality camera. But for carry around picture taking I use my cell phone.

Hi Jim C,

I will give you my 2 cents worth on this one. I have been dealing with Nikon customer service for the past 3 days. It has not been a good experience. The help desk technicians are not knowledgeable about photography or camera's. I can understand that people need to get experience working at customer service etc... But the help desk technicians have not gotten back to me as they promised they would. If their attitude is reflective of the upper leadership attitude, then Nikon is going to be in trouble.

 

[Indrajeet]

I have read several articles in financial news pieces that Nikon is dying. How can this possibly be true. Nikon has been around a long time and is recognized as a leader in photography. The quality is excellent and the camera and lens choices are amazing. The articles seem to be based on the mirrorless cameras not selling as predicted and the quality of lens in cell phones.
I witnessed the fall of Minolta and as I shot Minolta it bothered me. I shot Minolta film cameras and even purchased a Minolta/Konica digital. (somewhat disappointing).
I think all photography will adjust to the fact that cell phones are the point and shoot cameras of the present and future and a lot of entry level cameras are going away. I think or hope that the serious photographer will continue to use a quality camera. But for carry around picture taking I use my cell phone.

 

[Indrajeet]

Nikon have always been late, whether it be DSLRs, Video features, firmware updates, mirrorless et al. Having said that, they are a powerhouse of technology and have have many exciting patents, which we will probably see soon. Some of their policy decisions appear questionable and a good case in point is the much awaited firmware update for the D850 and D500, which would enable recall shooting functions, same as we had on the D7100 and D7200. The Z series of mirrorless cameras, though behind the field in several areas has been seen to be slowly catching up. It is my opinion that we will see an interesting introduction of models from Nikon soon, probably in the form of the Z8 and the upgrade of the D850, possibly even the first ever true "Hybrid". Time will tell, in the meantime, happy with the D500 and the D850, which remain to be some of best performing cameras in my world of photography, wildlife action, specially birds.

 

[Solarflare]

Would be great to see if Nikon would become more like Fujifilm and actually add new features to existing cameras, but I'm not holding my breath in that department.

The D850 and D500 are mighty fine cameras, but otherwise I'm very underwhelmed by what Nikon has released recently. The D780 is just an embarassing deal, and so is the D6. Mirrorless, well, the Z50 was perfectly fine for this price point. The full frame bodies, not so much. Only a single card slot, no support for autofocus with AF lenses on the adapter, missing battery grip, etc. Plus the Z7 was 75% more expensive than the Z6, but both are, except for the sensor, exactly the same camera. And the sensors have been identical technology, both are backlit, so there is no way the Z7 sensor is $1500 more expensive than the Z6 one.

 

[Derrel]

People who have actually shot the D780 have been impressed with it. The Z6 has been well- received by users. I remember the initial outcry when Apple introduced the USB port on the iMac, with all types of people roundly criticizing this decision, and look where we are now, the USB port has become a de facto standard in thousands of products in daily use all around the world.

One single card slot used to be the standard, and I have owned 9 different DSLR cameras which had only one card slot. I have never had a card malfunction, but then I've only been using digital cameras for the past 20 years or so, so someday perhaps I will need that second card. I have owned a couple of two-card cameras but my first 9 DSLR cameras only had one single card slot, and it never let me down, but it is a good feature to ***** about.

 

[Derrel]

The D3x was $7995 when released, the D3 was $4995 as I recall. If you remember the d3x was a 24 megapixel full frame sensor, and the D3 and d3s were 12 megapixel cameras many people bitched and moaned about the $3,000 price difference between the d3x and the regular D3 price. I can tell you that the d3x which I used for over 3 years was the single best camera I have ever used in my life. I bought a used copy in 2012, for a really good deal,$2,800,at the time when used d3x cameras were going for around $4,400 used all across the USA.

The 36 megapixel Nikon D800 was initially priced at around $3,500, but I bought myself a used example for $748 in the summer of 2017. The takeaway is if you can't buy something brand new wait for it to become trailing Edge and then get it for a steal.

 

[cgw]

Lord only knows how the coronavirus shock will affect Q1-Q2 earnings for Nikon or any other maker whose supply chains are linked to China. Fujifilm is essentially a chemical company whose imaging sector yields something south of 20% of earnings.

 

[Lonnie1212]

More news about Nikon from The Angry Photographer.

 

[Designer]

Watching Nikon from out here in the cheap seats, with absolutely no connection with Nikon, I find myself wondering what is going on over there, and did Nikon do anything to cause it, or is it simply a matter of market forces at work.

Some of us Nikon enthusiasts have noticed Nikon has made some disappointing marketing decisions over the past several years, leading me to wonder "what if" they had done things differently, would they still now be in trouble.

 

[Lonnie1212]

Watching Nikon from out here in the cheap seats, with absolutely no connection with Nikon, I find myself wondering what is going on over there, and did Nikon do anything to cause it, or is it simply a matter of market forces at work.

Some of us Nikon enthusiasts have noticed Nikon has made some disappointing marketing decisions over the past several years, leading me to wonder "what if" they had done things differently, would they still now be in trouble.

Complacency comes to my mind. It seems that complacency sets in the attitudes of people that become wealthy and comfortable. New ideas, visions, and dreams seem to come from people and organizations that want to become industrious and grow.