Nikon has been dormant in the camera market for quite some time, leaving the mirrorless market mostly to Sony and Canon. But with the release of the Z9, Nikon is back into the play. And the top-notch features only indicate Nikon’s intention of regaining the lost fame Nikon once had. Undoubtedly, the Z9 is a massive blow to all the top-tier flagships of Canon and Sony. But what’s next? What strategies will Nikon adopt in the future to keep its dominance in the mirrorless market? We will discuss that in this article.
Nikon’s Financial Position
Let’s start our discussion by looking at Nikon’s current financial reports. If you can remember, Nikon has been going through tough times in terms of finances for the last few years. The rise of mirrorless and smartphones has caused a sales decline in DSLR cameras. And as Nikon stuck to its DSLR lineup for a long time, it has been struggling with camera sales. In 2017, Nikon announced “Extra Ordinary Loss,” and its stock value dropped by 15%.
But the Year 2021 has been a good one for Nikon as it has been more focused on its Mirrorless lineup. In addition, it released the Z50 during the first half of this year. Nikon has recently released the financial statement for the first quarter of 2021. And it shows that Nikon has been doing well. The sales numbers are really encouraging. It has been found that Nikon has managed to sell about 220,000 interchangeable lens cameras, 390,000 interchangeable lenses, and 70,000 compact cameras during this time. And these numbers have clearly surpassed the number of the previous year. According to the reports, Nikon was able to increase revenue by ¥24.9B in revenue and ¥17.5B in profit compared to the last year from its imaging business. So clearly, Nikon is getting back into the business.
Nikon Lens Plan
One of the main complaints of Nikon users is the lack of native Z mount lenses. The company has created a buzz in the market by releasing Nikon Z fc, Z50, and the flagship Z9. However, as there are not many lenses, Nikon lovers still can’t get the most out of these cameras. Currently, Nikon has 29 lenses in its z Lineup and more to come. The official announcement of the upcoming lenses shows that Nikon is currently working on four upcoming lenses. Among them, 3 are prime lenses, and the other is a zoom lens. Moreover, the list also shows 3 Nikon-S lenses. And if you are aware of the S-Lineup, those offer the highest level of quality.
Meanwhile, there are many rumors about the upcoming Nikon Lenses too. According to Nikon Rumors, Nikon will have a total of 30 Z Mount lenses within March 2022. This means we will witness at least two more Z mount lens releases within a couple of months.
Nikon Future Plan
Nikon has been ignoring mirrorless technology for a long time. But all those notions have been changed now. Previously, Nikon announced to be more focused on the Mirrorless section, which has been reflected through their mirrorless camera launches. Nikon has released 3 mirrorless cameras, and all of them are well-performing, giving tough competition to Sony and Canon.
So what’s next for Nikon? Nikon has recently published a report stating their Future strategies. According to the official statement, Nikon will continue to target bringing more mid-to-high-end camera models in the market that are more suitable for professionals and hobbyists.
Apart from that, Nikon is also planning to introduce more entry-level cameras with impressive video features within lower price ranges to allure beginners. However, one field where Nikon cameras have always been lagging behind is Video shooting. Nikon has proved its video-centric expertise in the Z9, and it can capture wonders. Still, integrating high-quality video specs in entry-level cameras, like what we have seen in Sony APSC mirrorless cameras, would be a bit challenging. It is because Nikon’s entry-level cameras already have a terrible reputation in the market for their poor video and autofocus quality. But it would be a brilliant move for Nikon if they could collaborate with a camera brand with a reputation for bringing affordable cinema cameras for budget users. And the only name that comes into our mind, in that case, is Black Magic. A black Magic and Nikon collaboration would really be exciting. However, Nikon is still not financially capable enough like Canon and Sony. Thereby it is much of an expectation from our side.
So that was all, and we are really looking forward to seeing Nikon stand up and regain its lost fame by releasing some impressive mirrorless cameras. So what are your thoughts regarding Nikon?
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