Nikon officially confirms that a professional mirrorless camera is in the works

Will Nikon base their upcoming  Mirrorless camera on the DF?  (image via Nikon)

Nikon's mirrorless ambitions were confirmed a few days back as Nikon's President Mr Kazuo Ushida , revealed Nikon's future camera strategy which includes the release of new professional grade SLR cameras and Mirrorless systems which would include the best of Nikon's current technology . The camera(s) , which will probably  feature an APS-C or most probably a 35mm size sensor will be much bigger than the 1" sensors which were featured on Nikon's somewhat experimental Nikon 1 series mirrorless cameras launched 7 years back .  The new camera , which we hope would sit in the position occupied by the current Df  ,would mean that Nikon would be selling 4 full frame options (if you count out the D610 which would probably get axed as the D700/750 is successful) with one mirrorless option and FX options . This , if launched , will give Nikon the push it needs to compete with Sony who has basically enjoyed a total monopoly in the sensor size thanks to successful iterations of the A7R , 7S and the A9 series cameras .

So now that the whole saga is confirmed for launch , the next question is when ?, well sadly Nikon did not mention a specific time frame in their return statement issued to Dpreview (Nikon was asked by Dpreview to clarify Mr Ushida's statement ) .This means that Nikon may launch the camera during their 100th Anniversary celebration this month , or "soon" (whenever that is, it can be this year or even 2018!) .

So , will a Mirrorless Nikon camera cannibalize their DSLR sales ? , well probably not for a few more years . Nikon for starter  is still devoted to its Nikon F mount and even if they launch a new mount (lets say - Nikon N) , those hundreds of Nikon F mount lenses and DSLR bodies will still be in production as the professional Nikon users will still buy Nikon DSLR's unless they can design a ultra fast -focusing adapter which would accept the Nikon F lenses . Although the first generation (like any first gen product) will not be the "DSLR Killer" Nikon aims at , it will be the start of the end for the good 'ol SLR's as technology will improve considerably over the years and it will reach a point where on chip detection will defeat the mirror based focusing systems . The new Nikon Mirrorless camera will be similar to the first gen Sony A7 - not as impressive as the SLR offering at first , but after a few generations (and if they play their advertising and technology cards right) will be a gamechanger .


Written by Rakitha for MasHD

Source - petapixel