Administrators Andrew Reid Posted May 18, 2021 Administrators Share Posted May 18, 2021 It’s been a bit of a trend for Nikon shooters to jump ship to Sony, Fuji and Panasonic in recent years. I even know a few myself. I am hearing rumours that Nikon might be about to finally wake up – to offer a broad range of filmmaking camera equipment (and lenses) for professionals. New blog post: https://www.eoshd.com/news/has-nikon-got-a-cinema-camera-range-in-development/ BenEricson, newfoundmass and Davide DB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kye Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Starting from scratch might be an advantage, especially considering they don't have a cine line to protect, or internal departmental politics to navigate. Canon has made a mess of their prosumer offerings, with potentially the architecture of the camera being a limiting factor, whereas starting fresh gives you an opportunity to design things from the ground up for the way that things work now, rather than either having to design custom chips (ala ARRI) or having to try and shoehorn new chips into a legacy architecture (ala Canon). Blackmagic did well by essentially designing multiple cameras from the ground up to fit underserved niches, but Nikon would be doing that with (I assume) much more resources, stronger relationships with industry, a proven manufacturing capability, large professional servicing network, a large customer base with brand trust and loyalty, and a huge body of lenses to draw from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Genheimer Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 What, they’re gonna repackage Sony sensors? Good luck competing with Sony or Panny then 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Plagaro Mussard Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 It's a hard road for Nikon that never showed much interest on video. Even if they were the first to put video on a DSLR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightsFan Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 In my opinion, it's wishful thinking to hope for a cinema line from Nikon. Not that I wouldn't welcome it, I just don't think it'll happen. And if it does, it might just be too late. 2018 Aug - Nikon's Z6 2019 Mar - Panasonic S1 (FF 10 bit internal) 2019 Sept - Z Cam S6/F6 (affordable box-style cine cams) 2020 Nov - Canon C70 (cine cam in hybrid-style body, NDs, 1st party focal reducer) 2.5 years ago, Nikon had a chance to make a big splash for filmmakers by adding the basic features we want. If the Z6 had beaten Panasonic to 10 bit log internally, it would have solidified Nikon's standing as a hybrid video leader. If they'd made a modular camera like Z Cam in early 2019, or if they'd made a C70 before Canon, it would have filled a spec and ergonomic gap that has now been filled. What is there left for them? We're not all clamoring for 8k now that 4k in mainstream. Very few people are looking for 12 bit internal now that we have 10 bit. We're not clamoring for a second set of internal NDs. The basic features we want haven't changed now that they are starting to be filled. And yes, I know there are still places to innovate. Internal ND's on a hybrid hasn't been done yet. We'd all like less RS and more DR -- but Nikon isn't producing its own sensors. And then the other side of the issue is lenses. I am very skeptical of investing in Z lenses as it would vendor lock me into Nikon cameras. EF, L, PL, and F lenses are much more flexible, and E mount has a nice long catalog of cine cams. We can be reasonably certain Nikon will continue to produce excellent photo cameras, but with no track record, investing in their lenses for cinema seems unwise. There is a lot of room for technical innovation for cine lenses, though. If there is a glimmer of hope for a Nikon cine line, I think that's it. bjohn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ND64 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Their user base is still far bigger than Sony. Its not about Sony users selling all their gears and switch. Its about keeping their own customers who are not doing video seriously...yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Romero 2 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Since the biggest share of Nikon users are shooting on F-Mount lenses and haven't made the switch to Z Cameras... Take a D750 body with F-Mount, use on-sensor PDAF, pull the mirror assembly out and put in variable ND filters instead. Give it 10-bit log, ability to record directly to SSDs, ProRes RAW out / BRAW out. And some decent IBIS, please. At least 4K 60fps with no crop (or just a minor crop). Better preamps (I don't think Nikon preamps were horrible, were they?). mercer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kye Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 7 hours ago, Caleb Genheimer said: What, they’re gonna repackage Sony sensors? Good luck competing with Sony or Panny then 😂 They could use sensors from Fairlight and leapfrog the generic video look that almost all Sony-sensor cameras give these days. Now that really would be something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSMW Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 A bit late to the party maybe...?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kye Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 2 hours ago, MrSMW said: A bit late to the party maybe...?? Which party are you talking about exactly that Nikon would be late to? https://imaging.nikon.com/history/chronicle/cousins18-e/index.htm https://imaging.nikon.com/history/chronicle/cousins19-e/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanzzxx Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 I can't believe Nikon entered the digital cinema camera line in the 1960s and has been steadily improving and expanding upon it ever since. Incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted May 20, 2021 Author Administrators Share Posted May 20, 2021 Fun to read about the history. Even when they went all in with the most advanced 8mm camera it was always a side show compared to photography though. If you look how diverse Fuji are now, making covid drugs and stuff... Compared to Nikon which basically only has two product lines - cameras and lithography - It spells trouble for them as they are just not exploiting the demand in other areas. KnightsFan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynDan Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 A line of Nikon cine primes would be an instant hit. Nikon manual focus glass has always been popular for filmmaking going back to the days of Vistavision, but their latest generation of still glass just has hopelessly crunchy and awkward mechanics that make smooth focusing impossible. Which is a shame since the glass is magnificent, with warm, beautiful skintones, smooth fall-off, subtle vignetting, and some of the best bokeh around. It looks like a mix of Cooke and Leica, but with a little Panavision character tossed in. If they rehoused their existing high speed G-series lenses into a sturdy cinema housing (like Zeiss does with the Compact Primes) with interchangeable mount, DPs would be all over it. As far as cameras go, trying to compete in the mirrorless arena is a waste of time for them, in my opinion. Too late, too crowded and always stuck behind Sony thanks to their sensors being inside Nikon cameras. Would rather see them release something more niche and out of the box. Zeng 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSMW Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 3 hours ago, kye said: Which party are you talking about exactly that Nikon would be late to? https://imaging.nikon.com/history/chronicle/cousins18-e/index.htm https://imaging.nikon.com/history/chronicle/cousins19-e/index.htm Ah...and then first to pop video into a DSLR I believe and since then... That party, the ‘since then’ party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kye Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 5 hours ago, MrSMW said: Ah...and then first to pop video into a DSLR I believe and since then... That party, the ‘since then’ party. I don't think that matters so much really. If they have enough money and are willing to listen to industry and customers to build something that people actually want then I don't think it's a problem. My two favourite cameras are the GH5 and the OG BMPCC. The GH5 is the result of a long line of Panasonic listening to customers and gradually pushing things further and further, and it's the most convenient and usable camera I have. The OG BMPCC is the nicer image, by a long way, and has no legacy whatsoever. If customers placed much emphasis on lineage and history then the OG BMPCC would have been a flop, and yet it was a massive hit, even though the camera itself had quality issues, many significant design issues, and came from a company with no service network. Give people what they want and the customers will come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkabi Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Nikon should focus its attention on anamorphic. Affordable Anamorphic lenses and camera system and they can corner the market. kye 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeng Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 22 hours ago, BrooklynDan said: A line of Nikon cine primes would be an instant hit. Nikon manual focus glass has always been popular for filmmaking going back to the days of Vistavision, but their latest generation of still glass just has hopelessly crunchy and awkward mechanics that make smooth focusing impossible. Which is a shame since the glass is magnificent, with warm, beautiful skintones, smooth fall-off, subtle vignetting, and some of the best bokeh around. It looks like a mix of Cooke and Leica, but with a little Panavision character tossed in. If they rehoused their existing high speed G-series lenses into a sturdy cinema housing (like Zeiss does with the Compact Primes) with interchangeable mount, DPs would be all over it. As far as cameras go, trying to compete in the mirrorless arena is a waste of time for them, in my opinion. Too late, too crowded and always stuck behind Sony thanks to their sensors being inside Nikon cameras. Would rather see them release something more niche and out of the box. In fact their G series are rehoused already by TLS into Vega set: https://www.truelens.co.uk/vega Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynDan Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 2 hours ago, Zeng said: In fact their G series are rehoused already by TLS into Vega set: https://www.truelens.co.uk/vega I wonder if you can actually bring a set of Gs to TLS to get rehoused?🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Verco Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 So it's been 3.5 years. What's the latest? About the time it takes for a camera development cycle. Either we're going to see something soon, or this was a genius SEO article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatstoomuchjam Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 The latest on Nikon's cinema range? There was this one small development in April... I'd say that gives a pretty decent insight into Nikon's cinema camera strategy. https://www.nikon.com/company/news/2024/0412_imaging_01.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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