Nikon is ready to retire its reflex cameras, or the previous generation professional cameras still equipped with pentaprism and optical viewfinder: according to rumors reported by the economic publication Nikkei, the Japanese company will focus solely on the range of mirrorless cameras from Z series, consisting of the flagship Z9from two Z7 II and Z6 II professional cameras and a number of smaller models for fans, like the Z FC.
Nikon has responded to the rumors with an official statement that neither confirms nor denies anything, but in which it assures that the production of the existing reflex cameras will not be stopped yet and that the assistance and support of the cameras on the market will continue still. The clarification has a purely semantic nature: the important fact is that the company will no longer present any model with pentaprism.
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Nikon in recent years already has moved almost entirely the resources on the creation and promotion of mirrorless cameras: the latest reflex of the Japanese house is the D6, which dates back to more than two years ago, that is to June 2020. In the same year, the overtaking of the cameras without mirrors on traditional SLR models, with 2.93 million units sold against 2.37 million.
Despite the advent of mirrorless cameras, which accounted for 60% of sales in 2021, the camera market has experienced a continuous decrease in the last five years: according to official Cipa data, it has gone from the total of 11.68 million units sold in 2017 to 5.3 million last year.
Also CanonNikon’s historic Japanese rival and the first manufacturer in the world, has shifted all attention to the production of professional R-series cameras: in 2021, the company announced that the EOS-1D Mark III will be the last professional SLR in the range EOS. A mirrorless flagship ready to replace it (which should be called EOS R1 and mount a 100 MP sensor) is expected in all probability for 2023. The latest addition to the range is the EOS R3a very fast professional camera designed for sports and wildlife photographers, direct competitor of the Nikon Z9.
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However, neither Canon nor Nikon, despite the push in recent years on mirrorless development, dominate the mirrorless camera industry: the lion’s share goes to Sony, which with the Alphas was able to interpret the change in the photography market well in advance of the competition and today holds 32% of the market share. However, Canon must be recognized for a very rapid climb to the detriment of Sony: at the end of 2021, just 3 years after its debut of the new EOS R system, the company had already conquered 28.2% of the segment; in third place there is then OM Digital Solutions, that is Olympus, while Nikon is only fourth, with a share that fluctuates around 8%.