There is breaking news about Nikon this afternoon. Shutterbug and Digital Photo Pro both covered the story that Nikon is canceling their DL line of cameras. That’s the upgrade from the 1 and was to be their premium 1-inch mirrorless camera. Even worse they racked up a loss (if my math is right) of about $460+M USD.
Those are extraordinary losses and a strong indication of the impact on their business of not acting fast or innovative enough in the “step-up” camera market. As David Schloss, writing for DPR puts it
The DL camera line had been announced as a competitor to the high-end compact digital camera market, which includes Sony’s RX100 V. After several delays, the fate of the DL was already in question, and reports surrounding this loss announcement indicate the camera will not see the light of day.
The Nikon issued press release is below and here’s the Notice of Extraordinary Loss. The impact to their signature camera lines is unknown, but this news should worry those hanging on to their mirrored cameras. Remember that Sony bet the company on mirrorless and took an enormous risk in doing so.
TOKYO – Nikon Corporation announced today that sales of the long-awaited DL series of premium compact camera, the DL18-50 f/1.8-2.8, DL24-85 f/1.8-2.8, and DL24-500 f/2.8-5.6, will be canceled.
A June, 2016 release was originally planned for the DL series. However, with the identification of issues with the integrated circuit for image processing, release of the three cameras was delayed indeterminately.
Since then, everyone involved has worked very hard to develop products with which our customers will be satisfied. However, it has been decided that sales of the DL series will be canceled due to concerns regarding their profitability considering the increase in development costs, and the drop in the number of expected sales due to the slow-down of the market.
We sincerely apologize to all those affected by this decision, especially those customers who waited so long for the cameras to be released, retailers and others whose business will be affected, for the inconvenience this decision may cause.
…My daily shooter is Sony A1 with a vertical grip and various Sony lenses attached like the FE 20mm F1.8. Find more gear recommendations in our shop. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
