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Camera maker Nikon will reportedly shift its business away from making SLRs and instead focus on mirrorless options.
The Japanese company’s shift away from traditional DSLR-style products comes amid increasing competition from smartphone cameras like those on a iPhone† Nikkei has reported†
Nikon has lost ground to smartphone cameras that have become much more capable over the years. Rather than DSLR cameras, Nikon plans to focus on mirrorless cameras with more advanced digital and “unique features.”
It seems that the shift in strategy has already taken place. Nikon has not released any new SLR models since the introduction of the Nikon D6 SLR in June 2020. Nikkei says Nikon has already discontinued production of compact digital cameras.
While the Japanese camera maker plans to focus on mirrorless cameras, the company will still produce and distribute SLR models — at least for a while.
SLRs use a mirror to display the image seen through the viewfinder. Mirrorless cameras, as the name suggests, achieve this digitally without a mirror or optical viewfinder.
Mirrorless cameras have a number of advantages over traditional mechanical cameras, including smaller size and weight, faster operation, and real-time image previews. They may also include advanced features such as face and pupil recognition, and the ability to identify animals or objects.
They also already contribute nearly half of Nikon’s imaging products revenue, compared to just 30% for SLRs.