Nikon’s new mirrorless cameras, the Z cams, are due to be announced tomorrow. The ever-helpful Nokishita.com in Japan has leaked pictures which leaves no doubt as to camera Nikon had in mind when pushing through the design.
I’ll give you a clue — it begins with S. And is it pure coincidence that the Z (at least in our Latin alphabet) is at the opposite end of the alphabet to A? As Michael Johnston says, tongue in cheek, perhaps Z7III would have been a more appropriate name for the Nikon Z7, just to avoid any trace of confusion. But whatever happened to the Z1 to Z5? Perhaps they were prototypes that ever saw the light of day. Or perhaps there is a clue in that zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. Just like alpha is the first.
I’ll leave you to judge these leaked pictures for yourself. In the meantime, and on a more serious note, the Z6 and Z7 are sure to cause a huge stir in the mirrorless world. Sony owns the full-frame market at the moment, with only the Leica SL bobbing around on the periphery, occupying a very specialised niche. Now we have another major player with an impeccable pedigree. The big question will be whether or not Nikon can steal Sony’s lunch or if Sony is now too well established to feel the pain.
I have to say that the Nikons look very smart and businesslike, slightly less fussy than the Sony designs and I am looking forward to getting my hands on an early example. Much will depend on the range of lenses available at launch. This was a big problem with Sony when the first a7 arrived but now the E mount has a surprisingly rich and extensive range of glass from many different manufacturers. Tamron and others will probably jump quickly on the Nikon bandwagon and, of course, there will be adapters to allow Nikon fans to use their current lenses.
Whatever happens, we could be in for an interesting twelve months ahead. Photographs courtesy of Nokishita.
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I am traveling this week and am just about keeping pace with new announcements. ‘ Mirrorless’ is a term that I detest just as much other digi-babble terms such as ‘file’ which is often used to describe an image or a photo. What term will we use when only a small minority of cameras have flapping mirrors eg ‘with mirror cameras’? Remember that rangefinders also have mirrors in their rangefinder mechanisms, so they too are not ‘mirrorless’.
The major points from tomorrow’s announcements are the first change in Nikon’s mainstream lens mount for 59 years which will mean that a vast amount of existing F mount lenses will not be compatible without an adapter. Of even more significance is that the new cameras will be key to the survival of one the two largest mainstays in professional and amateur photography for the past half century or more. As for Sony, I know very little about their cameras, but the Nikon dealer I have dealt with in Dublin for the past 35 years tells me that he is selling an awful lot of Sony cameras these days, more than any other make. As they say in football, it is all to play for.
William
A agree on the long-term viability of the term mirrorless. It had its place in 2008 but that is long past. "Mirrorless" is becoming the norm and, perhaps, we should accept that "digital camera" is the universal term for all-digital devices with electronic viewfinders. DSLRs should perhaps now be referred to as "mirror cameras".
You are right that Sony is on a roll with the Alphas (especially the a7II which is priced just right and offered almost everything you get with the more expensive models). The question is whether Nikon can break this near monopoly.
I think Nikon may have messed this one up, as the stuck a single QXD card slot it in the devices. This effectively rules out all event photographers who use dual slot cameras for safety, and is also something Sony fixed between the A7r2 and the A7r3 because thats what Pro shooters wanted.
Wonder if the Z6 and Z7 ii will be released next September..
Excuse typos in this one, long shift, and I’m knackered and trying to catch up.. lol.
That’s a valid point, Dave, and one I hadn’t considered.
It is funny – everyone ran down Sony due to the limited native glass selection when they launched mirrorless. Now they have a comprehensive system for most users. Nikon and Canon are extremely late to the future of photography and people are excited – I find the fanboy enthusiasm ironic . I wish them well but they are rediculously late to an established business built by the pioneers of Sony, Fuji, Panasonic and Olympus. Hence I wish the visionaries of mirrorless my very best and hope the followers suffer appropriately. I always liked Nikon slr and glass but never got excited about photography with Canon but that is a personal preference. They have been slow to innovate so as a development engineer I hope they suffer and many companies in the past have disappeared in market spaces due to the lack of visionary leadership. I hope the real leaders that built a new market are the real succeeders versus rewarding the extremely late entries.
As I say in my article today (yet to be published), I doubt that Sony will roll on its back and let Nikon tickle its tummy. Over at Sony Towers, they will already be plotting to out Nikon Nikon. And they could succeed.
The mirrorless battle is hotting up and will likely become hotter when Canon make their announcement. Nikon’s EVF will be of particular interest to ‘see’ if it’s comparable to, or better than, that of the Leica 601. And I’m wondering if Epson EVF technology is used for Nikon’s Z cameras’ finders?