Nikon restructuring?
- Thread starter carguy
- Start date
I wonder how other high end camera brands are selling? This would be an indicator if it's a Nikon problem or an overall global market problem. I suspect that it's a trend in the global photography, that people are satisfied with the quick cell phone snapshot and have a rapidly declining interest in the joy of photography.
sonicbuffalo_RIP
Senior Member
In today's society....everyone wants something right now! They don't want to even lug a DX camera around (too bulky), and are quickly becoming attached to their inferior phone cameras. For those who truly love photography, and don't mind lugging heavy FX gear around, my hats off to you. I am one of you and will continue to be. No phone camera can duplicate what my DX can do. I love my camera.
Honestly, I think the way cell phone cameras are getting, people who are not really serious about photography would pass up a DSLR for their phone. Also, from someone who has used Nikon since the mid 70's I am furious at the level of quality I am seeing from a lot of stuff they are putting out. Plastic lenses with plastic BAYONET MOUNTS and most are now made in CHINA. Nikon's name was once synonymous with top notch quality. Now they have lowered themselves to the level of that cheap junk Canon is putting out.
sonicbuffalo_RIP
Senior Member
Still better than a camera in a phone....and plastic can be tougher than steel with the right formulations...but I do agree that the leading manufacturers are "cheaping out" on us.
john*thomas
Senior Member
We may think it's better than a camera in a phone but a large portion of people and growing don't. Truthfully for what most people use their camera's for today, putting pictures on Facebook their camera phone does a great job. Click, send and your picture is there for all to see.
I don't know, have they? Nikon needs to partner with a cell phone maker. "Now with Nikon camera technology".
I don't know, have they? Nikon needs to partner with a cell phone maker. "Now with Nikon camera technology".
sonicbuffalo_RIP
Senior Member
I'm sure that day is coming, just like film has gone the way of dinosaurs....DSLR's are most likely on the way out....sad, but true!
Instead of making trendy cameras, they should go back to their original class act. The Df was an attempt but not having two card slots and not using their top-end autofocus system begs the question who were they attracting. It seems many pros were interested but because of the lack of some basic pro features it becomes just an expensive nostalgia item (albeit with a pretty good sensor). Probably the Nikon 1 series didn't have the impact they hoped for. When my wife wanted a compact camera, I got her a Samsung Galaxy with 16.3MP CMOS, 4.8" touch screen LCD, built in wifi and 21x optical zoom. The 1 series is from $350-550 and tops out at 14MP apart from their new J4 which is 18.4 and has built-in wifi (Nikon only recently began adding built-in wifi to its 1 series). Nikon is realizing the market for action cameras hence their Nikon 1 AW1 which is cool but can it compete with the miniature action cameras that shoot mostly video? If I was doing their marketing, I would look to higher end compact cameras with or without interchangeable lenses. They have the Coolpix A which is DX format compact camera, but for 1000 bucks that thing should look better than a $350 pocket camera. Put some leather look on it and give it more class...I understand the minimalist simplified look but there is also something to be said for a camera that makes people ask you "what kind of camera is that?". That happens all the time to my wife with her Samsung Galaxy camera and although its vanity talking, subconsciously it makes a difference for people doing camera shopping. If it really takes DSLR-quality photos, make it look special. Fujifilm seems to know how to approach that market much better than Nikon. Look at how Leica is even trying to tap that market. The difference between a basic compact camera and a smartphone camera is getting less so the compact camera has to be a lot better to justify carrying something extra around. A friend of mine wanted to buy a new camera just because he wanted a high quality images as he could get. He had just a pocket camera and so on my advice got a Nikon D7100, his first DSLR. The desire for better image quality cannot be understated. That's why we are here, and invest in this equipment. Also, working pros don't always upgrade to the next best camera because if you think about how slow progress was with film cameras, companies like Nikon expect this fast-paced market but pros are not that quick to invest every single year in the latest equipment. When a D800 comes out, then yes it means a huge shift in demand or perceived demand, but not when a Df or D4s comes out. I always think about how that Nikon Guy switched from his D4 to the Canon EOS 1DX just because it had better autofocus and shot 12fps instead of 10 (he liked the colors better too). Now the D4s is out and even with 16 vs 18MP, its a better camera image-quality wise (especially in low light) and in many instances out-performs the Canon with autofocus and is now 11fps. Yet, that single camera made him switch. Personally I would not have been so quick to switch just because of one camera. Anyway, I'm just rambling on here. 
Keep in mind, Nikon isn't just cameras, which is part of its Imaging Products division, there is also the Sport Optics, Precision Equipment, and Instruments Products divisions. For example my work group just bought a $240k imaging system from their Instruments division.
Keep in mind, Nikon isn't just cameras, which is part of its Imaging Products division, there is also the Sport Optics, Precision Equipment, and Instruments Products divisions. For example my work group just bought a $240k imaging system from their Instruments division.
I have to disagree with you about film. Film is far from going the way of the dinosaurs, it is just becoming more of a niche market. I know probably about 75% of all the professional photographers here in town and, like me, almost to a man they prefer to shoot their personal stuff on film. For my personal stuff I prefer the Hasselblad over everything else but I can't post much of it here for obvious reasons. It's quality blows the doors off digital. I only switch to 35mm when I need a focal length that is not covered by the 5 Carl Zeiss lenses I have. No one will dispute however that for commercial work digital is better because it allows much quicker turnaround times and is less expensive overall next to film and with a large enough card you have essential unlimited frames available. Back in the day when Hasselblad was king for weddings, you had to have a least a half dozen or more A12 magazines and assistants to load and unload them.
Instead of making trendy cameras, they should go back to their original class act. The Df was an attempt but not having two card slots and not using their top-end autofocus system begs the question who were they attracting. It seems many pros were interested but because of the lack of some basic pro features it becomes just an expensive nostalgia item (albeit with a pretty good sensor). Probably the Nikon 1 series didn't have the impact they hoped for. When my wife wanted a compact camera, I got her a Samsung Galaxy with 16.3MP CMOS, 4.8" touch screen LCD, built in wifi and 21x optical zoom. The 1 series is from $350-550 and tops out at 14MP apart from their new J4 which is 18.4 and has built-in wifi (Nikon only recently began adding built-in wifi to its 1 series). Nikon is realizing the market for action cameras hence their Nikon 1 AW1 which is cool but can it compete with the miniature action cameras that shoot mostly video? If I was doing their marketing, I would look to higher end compact cameras with or without interchangeable lenses. They have the Coolpix A which is DX format compact camera, but for 1000 bucks that thing should look better than a $350 pocket camera. Put some leather look on it and give it more class...I understand the minimalist simplified look but there is also something to be said for a camera that makes people ask you "what kind of camera is that?". That happens all the time to my wife with her Samsung Galaxy camera and although its vanity talking, subconsciously it makes a difference for people doing camera shopping. If it really takes DSLR-quality photos, make it look special. Fujifilm seems to know how to approach that market much better than Nikon. Look at how Leica is even trying to tap that market. The difference between a basic compact camera and a smartphone camera is getting less so the compact camera has to be a lot better to justify carrying something extra around. A friend of mine wanted to buy a new camera just because he wanted a high quality images as he could get. He had just a pocket camera and so on my advice got a Nikon D7100, his first DSLR. The desire for better image quality cannot be understated. That's why we are here, and invest in this equipment. Also, working pros don't always upgrade to the next best camera because if you think about how slow progress was with film cameras, companies like Nikon expect this fast-paced market but pros are not that quick to invest every single year in the latest equipment. When a D800 comes out, then yes it means a huge shift in demand or perceived demand, but not when a Df or D4s comes out. I always think about how that Nikon Guy switched from his D4 to the Canon EOS 1DX just because it had better autofocus and shot 12fps instead of 10 (he liked the colors better too). Now the D4s is out and even with 16 vs 18MP, its a better camera image-quality wise (especially in low light) and in many instances out-performs the Canon with autofocus and is now 11fps. Yet, that single camera made him switch. Personally I would not have been so quick to switch just because of one camera. Anyway, I'm just rambling on here.
Keep in mind, Nikon isn't just cameras, which is part of its Imaging Products division, there is also the Sport Optics, Precision Equipment, and Instruments Products divisions. For example my work group just bought a $240k imaging system from their Instruments division.
Amen to that. We have two $5000 microscopes in our lab. They blow both Leica and Olympus out of the water
Bentley make some amazing cars. Everyone loves them, and a lot of people could afford to take out a mortgage/big loan and buy one. But most of us don't because it isn't practical.
Big DSLRs are not practical for the larger consumer market. People in general are not interested in power and flexibility but more concerned about fashion and marketing. Apple prove that by becoming one of the most popular brands in electronics despite the fact their computers and such are far from the top end in power and quality. People still think "oh I'm doing photography, must buy apple!" and it's a joke. I sit here on an iMac for 2 reasons, it was an AIO and convenient, and my wife wanted us to have something stylish looking.
It's about how good your product makes you look, and holding a camera phone, or a nifty Fuji X-T1 camera to take your picture looks so much cooler than lugging around a massive camera with 200mm lens on the end and some big strap around your neck/shoulder and a big backpack full of gear.
My wife has the Nokia phone with 40+mp on it. Makes amazing quality images (not at night though) and she doesn't need a big-ass long telephone because she can post-crop that image and it still looks great.
Big DSLRs are not practical for the larger consumer market. People in general are not interested in power and flexibility but more concerned about fashion and marketing. Apple prove that by becoming one of the most popular brands in electronics despite the fact their computers and such are far from the top end in power and quality. People still think "oh I'm doing photography, must buy apple!" and it's a joke. I sit here on an iMac for 2 reasons, it was an AIO and convenient, and my wife wanted us to have something stylish looking.
It's about how good your product makes you look, and holding a camera phone, or a nifty Fuji X-T1 camera to take your picture looks so much cooler than lugging around a massive camera with 200mm lens on the end and some big strap around your neck/shoulder and a big backpack full of gear.
My wife has the Nokia phone with 40+mp on it. Makes amazing quality images (not at night though) and she doesn't need a big-ass long telephone because she can post-crop that image and it still looks great.
Camera Fun
Senior Member
Maybe instead of allocating resources for adding video to a DSLR, they could have lowered the price, or put more into construction and weather-sealing, or upgraded lenses. I bought my D7000 for photography, not video. My phone's camera (yes I consider it a phone with a camera, not a camera with a phone) is only used for basic pictures (ex; something in a store when I don't have my D7000 in my pocket).