Next time you take a train in Switzerland and go through a tunnel, you can rest assured that the inside walls are in perfect shape thanks to…. five fisheye Nikkor lenses:
This piece of fascinating technology is the front of the diagnostic vehicle for rail infrastructure of the Swiss Federal Railways, which was part of the Innotrans – the international trade fair for rail transportation that took place last week in Berlin, Germany:
After the DigiTimes article and the interview with Tetsuro Goto, Focus-Numerique (in English) published their own post-Photokina interview with Tôru Uematsu (Marketing Manager, Nikon Europe). After some Q&A about 3D, AF speed, megapixels count and EVF, the mirrorless camera question was inevitable:
Q: Your president, Makoto Kimura, has announced something in that sense [Mirrorless system by Nikon], didn’t he? (referring to this interview with Reuters)
A: Yes, Mr Kimura has already made few comments on this subject. We already started the development of such a camera and we call it the new generation of digital cameras. [then he talks about a huge gap between the popularity of mirrorless in Japan (20% market share) versus Europe only 5 or 6%, it seems European are more conservative]. We need to sell these cameras all over the world, and to take into consideration [the situation of] the global market to decide when to launch such a product.
Update: this is a detailed recap of the interview with Mr. Goto, sent to me by a reader:
When asked about interesting concepts at Photokina it seems the Samsung NX100 caught his eye with the camera’s small size as a key to this systems’ merit. The interviewer jumps at this and asks if it is OK to say that when so many people are waiting for Nikon to develop mirror less systems. He then asks that if Nikon was hypothetically willing to make a mirror less interchangeable lens system, would it be APS-C, considering the problem with size due to lenses used. He replies that going APS-C would only make things bigger and would detract from the F mount’s market value in terms of IQ and features. If the lens system and body are not smaller in total, the whole meaning of reducing size is lost. If it was up to him to make such a thing, a mount smaller than the F would be chosen (his personal opinion)
In the interview Mr. Gotou does not confirm whether they are developing mirror less systems, he says that they are “eagerly developing a new genre of camera” that president Kimura described (in a previous interview probably) as “something that no maker is currently making” and that there is a hush order on what that thing is and that Nikon president Kimura says “Nikon will introduce this product as soon as it is completed” but also Mr. Gotou added “Nikon will view the market movement to decide when to introduce this product”
When asked whether it is a concept that will appeal to people using such product for work (I guess he means a pro product) or more of an enthusiast type concept, he responds by saying that although it is not targeted towards people who use cameras in their work, some will look at this product as a really fun to use camera.
It is interesting that he says that the “current concept specs” may have many fans but also many naysayers at the same time. It is a concept that has a clear like or dislike idea.
Another interesting thing is that the inclusion of the letter “F” on the new caps hinting towards a new mount system other than the F mount coming is just a baseless rumor, nothing more.
Seems that Nikon is dedicated to the F mount and its continued support and development and there is no need to betray this format as it is not showing any sign of becoming obsolete.
This is according to DigiTimes, which is a popular website/newspaper from Taiwan (they claim it reaches 100k professionals). It seems that the source of this news is Nikon, since they mentioned “according to the company” in their article. Of course the term “mirrorless DSLR” is not technically correct:
“Japan-based camera brand Nikon expects its new mirrorless DSLR-similar camera will help expand its market share in the interchangeable-lens camera (ILC) market in the Asia Pacific to 40% in 2011 and 50% in 2012, according to the company.”
The article is called “Nikon to enter mirrorless DSLR camera market”.
Update: some readers in Australia already received their 24-120 lens last week on Friday.
Today NPS started shipping the Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens to members who ordered through their priority purchase program:
“Dear NPS Member,
Your NPS priority purchase request has been released to your selected Nikon Authorized dealer. Please make arrangements to follow-up with your Nikon Authorized dealer. Enjoy your new purchase and thank you for your continued support. Should you have any questions, contact us.”
Regular shipments should start by the end of the week in the US (this is also when B&H and Adorama will re-open for business again).
The latest updates from Photokina:
Interview with Robert Cristina (Manager Professional Products and NPS) – he dodged the question about a potential medium format camera from Nikon:
Nikon D7000 video test (manual focus):
