Nikon Has 'New Concept' Camera in Works - Hints at Mirrorless Design

[Amin]

According to an interview given at Bloomberg, Nikon President Makoto Kimura stated that Nikon has plans to intoduce a "new concept" camera, possibly within this fiscal year or next. The new model is said to have enhanced video and possibly a mirrorless design.

Although this is getting wide coverage, it's not much of a news item. We all know that Canon and Nikon will get into the mirrorless interchangeable lens market. It's just a matter of when and how.

Source: Bloomberg via 1001 Noisy Cameras

 

[Underneath]

Being a life-long Nikon man, I hate to say it, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Nikon to hit this market. They are notoriously conservative to a fault, last to market, and have not innovated beyond the DSLR segment since the mid-nineties with their under-appreciated swivel body Coolpix cameras. Their only stab at a serious compact, the P6000, was lackluster at best, and they've shown no signs of understanding why it's not a great camera.

This "micro format" Nikon rumor has been swirling for a while, and the latest patents submitted by Nikon indicate roughly a 17mm image circle. That would seem to imply a 2.5-2.7 crop. That's tiny. What's more, Nikon has built about 2 pancake lenses in it's roughly century-old history. If this system isn't VERY compact with tiny, fast, amazing glass, then it's already dead.

Despite being a Nikon lifer, Mr. Kimura has been very busy making statements since he accepted the position a few weeks ago. So who knows? I'm hoping he'll bring some desperately needed vision to Nikon's non-DSLR (and DSLR) lines. Maybe this system has been waiting in the wings for a while. And Photokina would be the time to unleash some new weapons.