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Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

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Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#101

Post by numair »

KineticLensman wrote: post #69
numair wrote: post #42

Nikon hasn’t really made an amazing camera since the days of the F5 (the weapon of choice for greats such as Peter Lindbergh). I really feel that Japan Inc. needs a version of that Stephen Elop “burning platform” rant.

> Nikon hasn’t really made an amazing camera since the days of the F5 The F5 appeared in 1996. Are you really saying that Nikon haven't produced a great camera in 25 years? I personally think the D3s (2009) was a pretty amazing camera for sport / low-light work, although obviously it has been superseded since then.

There is a difference between “that’s a nice camera” and “wow.” The F5 was a “wow.”

It is the “wow” factor that ultimately makes or breaks the internal psychology that drives greatness at companies.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#102

Post by [deleted] »

oblio wrote: post #96
beagle3 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Traditional lens manufacturing is likely in its last days (which can easily take a decade or two, but ... the end is visible). Modern lens are made with techniques perfected in semiconductor manufacturing, and use advances in material science (meta materials in particular). I don't know how close this is to mass market, but I've seen superthin flat lens, with a marginal cost of production around ~$2 in a university f…

I can't find it now, but I remember reading about something with what seems a lot more boring than the articles I find about "metamaterial lenses". Maybe someone has a pointer for what it's actually called. It was something reproducing a sort of "solar furnace" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_furnace ) at a micro scale, coordinated with electronics. Think creating a dynamic lens by redirecting light from many m…

[deleted]

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#104

Post by mikece »

I recall reading years ago (after the Sendai earthquake) about the stoppage at the Nikon factory there. In the article the author mentioned that the pro and consumer camera division of Nikon was responsible for so little of their overall revenue (equipment for photolithography was the money-maker for Nikon) that board members were, at that time, advocating selling off Nikon's camera business. If that ever happens I hope Sony is the buyer... the idea of Nikon's ergonomics and color science married to the autofocus system on Sony's Alpha line would be incredible. Granted, its more wishful thinking than anything else (based on the small bit of logic that Nikon uses Sony sensors in most/all of their cameras) but it would be a powerful combination.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#105

Post by KineticLensman »

oblio wrote: post #100
KineticLensman wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Kodak would like to have a word They will have to join the queue behind a lot of Swiss watchmakers.

Why/which watchmakers?

The ones who used to make clockwork watches just before digital watches appeared in the 1970s. They failed to invest in time and lost a lot of market share. To be fair, unlike Kodak and cameras, they weren't completely wiped out, and the high-end precision Swiss watch is still a thing.

Incidentally, recent sales have apparently been massively affected by COVID, as many of them are sold in bricks-and-mortar boutiques that customers are no longer visiting.

[Edit] - this is the queue of companies who failed to consider a rival disruptive technology.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#106

Post by meowzero »

I've been around photography for a while. This is sad news but not surprising. Mobile phones have gotten good enough that you don't need a DSLR anymore to take "nice pictures." All the computational photography to create fake bokeh, good low-light photos, etc. pretty much ate up all the demand for DSLR.

If you look at the photos on a big monitor, you can spot the difference between a DSLR and smartphone. But on a smartphone screen, where 95% of the photos are viewed these days, the difference is negligible. Heck my wife recently printed out 4x6 prints of her smartphone photos and they looked pretty good too.

I've recently got a iPhone 12 Pro, and it's good enough that I'm thinking of selling my Fuji X100V. DSLRs used to be accessible for amateurs. But unless you need specific capabilities (strobe usage, fast sport shooting, ultra-telephoto, etc), most people don't need to buy a DSLR if you have a decent smart phones these days.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#107

Post by mikece »

tadzik_ wrote: post #24

Huh, that doesn't sound like news. I'm pretty sure that my D70s, over 15 years old by now, was produced in Thailand too. Maybe they always built the cheaper models over there?

I had a D70 -- my first digital SLR! -- and I recall the giddiness of getting my first "Made in Japan" Nikon dSLR (the D200 iirc). There was always a sense of "Yes, the stuff from Thai factory is still equal to being a Nikon, but 'Made in Japan Nikon' was more equal" but that was mainly because the professional bodies and best glass were only made in Japan.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#108

Post by m463 »

robotmay wrote: post #38
beagle3 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Traditional lens manufacturing is likely in its last days (which can easily take a decade or two, but ... the end is visible). Modern lens are made with techniques perfected in semiconductor manufacturing, and use advances in material science (meta materials in particular). I don't know how close this is to mass market, but I've seen superthin flat lens, with a marginal cost of production around ~$2 in a university f…

There's a couple of lens advancements I've seen recently that I found particularly interesting: Canon putting Fresnel elements in their lenses to reduce size/weight: https://kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/400mm-f4-do-is-ii.htm Canon making an f/11 800mm super telephoto lens that can still autofocus thanks to the new mirrorless camera bodies: https://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/eos-r/lenses/800mm.htm I think we'll see a b…

I don't know, the nikon p1000 is ~ 3000 mm equivalent by designing the sensor+lens together.

On the other hand, it doesn't behave like a good canon ultrasonic lens with immediate focus. not at all.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#109

Post by mikece »

numair wrote: post #42

Nikon hasn’t really made an amazing camera since the days of the F5 (the weapon of choice for greats such as Peter Lindbergh). I really feel that Japan Inc. needs a version of that Stephen Elop “burning platform” rant.

The D1 was a legendary and revolutionary camera: a WHOPPING 2MP digital sensor that allowed photographers for the news services to submit photos "only two hours after an event" (via dialup). I recall reading that the first two major events being shot all-digital by the AP were the 1996 Super Bowl and the RNC/DNC national conventions. Until it was pointed out that nobody could tell it wasn't film nobody knew. From there the age of film for journalism was over.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#110

Post by vmception »

meowzero wrote: post #106

I've been around photography for a while. This is sad news but not surprising. Mobile phones have gotten good enough that you don't need a DSLR anymore to take "nice pictures." All the computational photography to create fake bokeh, good low-light photos, etc. pretty much ate up all the demand for DSLR. If you look at the photos on a big monitor, you can spot the difference between a DSLR and smartphone. But on a sma…

I said the same thing about the iphone 12 pro here a few days ago

as predicted, enthusiasts wanted to argue the point instead of acknowledge what the market can bear

photography enthusiasts have to realize that “the market” is more concerned about their shoes being in the photo than how the bokeh looks, and in that respect AI depth of field that comes with a nondestructive parallel full focus image, with smart HDR on by default, also available in a derivative of RAW format is more than good enough!

All in a much more portable form factor.

The potential for a 5-10% optimizations in a larger traditional form factor just isn't good enough of a distinction.

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