How to Build Nikon Mirrorless Camera System That Raises the Bar

How to Build Nikon Mirrorless Camera System That Raises the Bar ?

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jeff7id

jeff7id

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Oct 15, 2008
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In a statement sent to DPReview this morning, a Nikon spokesperson said:

"While details are confidential, we can say that we are currently developing new mirrorless products that build upon Nikon's strengths, and offer the performance prospective customers expect, including the ultimate optics performance, image-processing technologies, strength and durability, and operation."

As with all things 'official' before a product has been released, both statements are vague, but official confirmation from Nikon corporate is a big deal. Nikon hasn't given up on mirrorless; in fact, they're determined to raise the bar in that market.

Further clues can be taken from the original interview quote, translated by a native speaker:

"On the product side, we should compete in the mid-range and high-end DSLR. We aim to be the top in a genre, and earn profits even if sales are down. For a smartphone generation, we put out a very Nikon-ish mirrorless camera which is superior to rivals in quality. Making the best use of industrial lens technology, we would like to overwhelm them in lens quality. On the other hand, we need fun."

Source: DPReview.com
 

These are my humble opinion.

  1. Sometimes it is OK to pay slightly higher price as long as everything MADE IN JAPAN for sentimental reason. Don't you feel good if your camera & lenses are made by the hand of Japanese?
  3. Nobody want to upgrade camera every 2 years. "KAI ZEN" or "Change for Better" is welcome. It is good to have continuous firmware update as possible.
  5. Quality Assurance and QUALITY CONTROL are the most important thing to do before you release a product to the market. Ensure there is no faulty or defect. No more product recall.
  7. If you believe that curved sensor it the future of sensor, then let's start new system with CURVED SENSOR and develop lenses for it. Curved Sensor is claimed to produce higher image quality than traditional Flat Sensor.
  9. But if you have a lot of collection of manual focus lenses and still want to use it, then better stick with old system using flat sensor and ensure FULL COMPATIBILITY with old AI, AI-S, AF, AF-S mount lenses.
  11. Please just Focus on HIGH END mirrorless only. Nowdays, smartphones have replaced entry-level market. No point to spend R&D to develop for entry-level market.
  13. If you were a Sport Photographer then ERGONOMIC would be important. Need to balance between size of the Body and the Lens. Also important to have high shooting speed and high buffer especially when shooting Raw. No blackout on EVF and no distortion from rolling shutter are also important when shooting Sport.
  15. If you were a Street / Travel Photographer then AESTHETIC would be important. It is good to have Nikon F camera look. Make the body as small as possible, as you just shoot using small prime lenses.
  17. Having good Electronic View Finder with bright, high resolution and high magnification, no black-out EVF are also important.
  19. It is good, but not necessary to have 693 points AF. Good Auto Focus system shall come with good Speed, Tracking, and Accuracy. Zone/Wide Tracking AF and Eye AF are also useful. Also improve the low light AF capability. At this moment, I don’t know any mirrorless with low light AF as good as Full Frame (even the entry level) DSLR.
  21. Touch screen and Flip LCD in horizontal and vertical direction are always welcome for creative shoot, such for shooting from low angle, high angle, steep angle.
  23. One of the weakness of mirrorless is poor battery life as everything is electronic. Having good BATTERY LIFE is important.
  25. It is important to have backup images in case of your first memory card goes wrong. DUAL Memory Card Slot is welcome.
  27. Nowdays, 4K Video is a must in mirrorless system. Important to shoot 4K at min 30fps using entire sensor (not cropped).
  29. Please implement Dual IS with both In-Body and Lens Stabilization to get sharp image at lower shutter speed handheld. Also for better handheld video recording. Because of you may not always have the luxury to open tripod at public space.
  31. Make the price as CHEAP as possible, as it might affect the decision making whether to choose Nikon mirrorless over other well-known mirrorless brand. It is OK to be manufactured outside Japan, as long as it can reduce the cost.
  32. Produce own IMAGE SENSOR and get the best sensor for yourself. Do not rely on Others.
  34. Develop SnapBridge MARK II. Fix current SnapBridge connectivity issue and make it more user friendly for sharing to social media.
  36. Can consider to JOIN LENS with other mirrorless Manufacturer, i.e. Olympus-Panasonic partnership.
  38. Need to develop both PRO and BUDGET lenses line-up together. Similar to Fuji XF lenses for Pro and XC lenses for Budget.
 

1. MIJ. The DSLR killer will require Nikon to put forth it's very best. See 3.

2. Must have firmware upgradability and such that an awesome camera can be made even better through software upgrade.

3. Do not follow the pack and outsource for cost savings. Everyone is doing it and everyone is having problems. Stop the cycle even if it means high price. This is the DSLR killer we are talking about. It will sell big numbers for big profits if it can walk the walk and talk the talk.

4. Again the DSLR killer will require industry changing innovative sensor. Built in house. How about something akin to old Fuji S3/S5 Pro sensor with dual pixel stuff on a curved wafer? Innovation like the F which killed the rangefinder.

5. Yesterday is gone.

6. High end only. The very first DSLR killer will be expensive but cheaper than Sony.

7. Ergonomics critical. No one likes a camera that does not feel just right.

8. Aesthetics critical. No one likes an ugly camera.

9. EVF out. OVF superior. The first DSLR killer must keep a link to the past history and also reflect Japanese Zen aesthetics. Mt. Fuji prism like the original F prism. This will be one of two odd things about the camera but consumers and professionals will love it. Finally, the mirrorless F. How they will pull that one off I do not know. Perhaps resort to old rangefinder tech.

10. Superior to anything known. No marks in VF whatsoever. It just does it. One mode only because that is all that is needed. Like smart mode or something. DSLR killer. No other camera like it.

To be continued... :)
 

I would think a better bet to selling in huge numbers would be a new device that is a companion to the smartphone and at the same time able to work as a companion to a different smart device to shoot as a higher end camera


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I've read they lose money on the high dollar cameras and that glass is where the biggest chunk of profits come from...multiplier effect is my guess. Is it true? I do not know.
 

Nikon is working on compact Mirrorless system with Hybrid sensor. The figure shows the camera adopt a Hybrid AF adapter built in Pellicle (Transparent) Mirror and a dedicate phase AF module. With the use of Hybrid AF adapter Mirrorless system camera will get converted into DSLR system. The AF adapter will compensate the flange distance and will allow you to use traditional DSLR lenses in your APS-C or FF Mirrorless camera.

Nikon-Patent-2017.jpg


The image taken from Nikon patent document that shows a Hybrid PDAF sensor. We do expect that the upcoming cameras (including DSLRs and Mirrorless) will feature Hybrid sensor for enhanced AF support.

Nikon-Hybrid-AF-patent.jpg


:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Source: thenewcamera.com
 

Currently there are several patents of the lenses for 35mm Full Frame Mirrorless

1. Nikon 24-68 f/2.8-f4
JPA_429129668_000039-916df-700x873.jpg


2. Nikon 52mm F0.9
52mmdiag-800x525.jpg


3. Nikon 36mm F1.2
36mmdiag-800x533.jpg


4. Nikon 35mm F2 with curved sensor
illustration.jpg
 

1. Nikon 24-68 f/2.8-f4

2. Nikon 52mm F0.9

3. Nikon 36mm F1.2

4. Nikon 35mm F2 with curved sensor

This is the evidence that Nikon is very serious with the Full Frame Mirrorless, and Nikon is going to the right direction !

:vhappy:
 

For a start, two new electronic big mounts say DM and FM to complement DX and FX:

1) Made In Japan (these would reduce the quality issues)

2) KaiZen for firmware updates

3) Quality Assurance & Quality Control (link to point 1)

4) No CURVED SENSOR (High Risk)

5) Introduce adaptor to be compatible with FX lenses

6) Start with a M7500 and M750 to complement D7500 and D750

7) Introduce a DSLR grip accessory to increase the ergonomics (for action / sports)

8) Introduce matt black and silver editions for aesthetics (street / travel)

9) Good Electronic View Finder with dot sight

10) Touch focus with touch screen AF select and AF focus

11) Flip LCD in horizontal and vertical direction

12) Bigger Battery

13) dual SD card Memory Card Slot

14) 4K video capability (with S35 sensor size)

15) In body image stabilization and work with third party like Sigma / Tamron glass to speed up
 

I wonder how many Full Frame mirrorless bodies that Nikon should released ? 5 !!!

  • M7 - for low budget user, cheap and awesome, not so high Mega resolution (MP) and not so high ISO
  • M7r - for pixel peeper, ultra-high resolution (MP) with large dynamic range
  • M7s - for videographer, a bit low in resolution (MP), have very high ISO performance in low light, optimized in Video, able to shoot 8K without cropped
  • M9 - for sports photographer, large buffer, very high fps shooting, super fast AF tracking
  • MX - ultimate mirrorless, have all benefits of M7r, M7s, M9
 

jeff7id said:
I wonder how many Full Frame mirrorless bodies that Nikon should released ? 5 !!!

  • M7 - for low budget user, cheap and awesome, not so high Mega resolution (MP) and not so high ISO
  • M7r - for pixel peeper, ultra-high resolution (MP) with large dynamic range
  • M7s - for videographer, a bit low in resolution (MP), have very high ISO performance in low light, optimized in Video, able to shoot 8K without cropped
  • M9 - for sports photographer, large buffer, very high fps shooting, super fast AF tracking
  • MX - ultimate mirrorless, have all benefits of M7r, M7s, M9
Click to expand...
Or.... you could just get the Sony's :D

Seriously though, what time frame are you referring to? 5 mirrorless FF would mean 9 FF models altogether for all of Nikon's customer base. That's spreading your ROI pretty thin.

If it's a new mount, you need to get as many lenses out as quickly at possible. You build a system with lenses and it better share all of the existing accessories, rather than being proprietary like Nikon 1 speedlights.
 

I was not a Videographer and Sports Photographer. If I would choose among the 5 FF mirrorless above, I would go for M7r.

Regardless the model you choose, I believe that the X Appeal Factor is more important:
  • Fuji's X-Factor - great film simulation, most people think that Fuji has one of the best out of camera jpegs, Fuji body has classic look with good layout design of knobs and dials.
  • Sony's X-Factor - great high ISO performance and dynamic range.
  • Olympus' X-Factor - one of the best in-body image stabilization, with ability to combine in-lens and in-body image stabilization to achieve 6.5 f-stops of shake reduction. Also m4/3 system has a lot of NATIVE lenses.
  • Panasonic's X-Factor - best video with its unique 4K features, such as 4K Video and 4K Photo Modes. Also m4/3 has a lot of NATIVE lenses.
If Nikon have at least half of the X-Factors listed above, they will be able to penetrate the mirrorless market.
 

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