Nikon has been teasing the photography world lately with a series of seductive videos that hint at some amazing cool camera on the horizon. Will this thing actually be what people expect, and can it rival the recent Sony powerhouses?
The teaser videos have been sprouting up one at a time over the past week or so. They feature some lush environs and a strapping young lad wandering about, thinking deep thoughts with, yes, a camera around his neck. Until the latest video, you haven’t been able to really see the actual device, but now we have a more solid idea of what it will be.
Pretty much all the rumours have pointed to a full-frame body that is significantly smaller than a typical DSLR, and possibly containing the same sensor as the beastly D4. Looking at a couple of frame grabs from Nikon’s teasers, the compact part seems to be mostly true. However, the body we see is quite thick and not at all as small as Sony’s recent full-frame mirrorless cams, the A7 and A7r. A thick body means that the camera will probably work with Nikon’s existing DSLR lenses. That may be a disappointment for some, because if you really want a compact camera system, you need smaller lenses.
With Nikon throwing around phrases like ‘Pure Photography,’ and featuring detail shots of various manual controls, it is clear they are courting the high-end enthusiast crowd. It’s a pretty smart move — harnessing the type of imagery and sensibility that the taste-makers of the world will eat right up. Clearly, marketing for the low-end hasn’t worked, as mirrorless camera sales in the US have been sluggish.
After Sony announced their A7 series, many speculated that a host of similar rivals would come rolling out of the gate, and it looks like Nikon is the first to prove them right. Of course, we still know very little about this camera, but things should be cleared up soon, as the rumoured announcement date is as early as next week. So get those guesses in now.[PetaPixel]