fcotterill
Well-known member
Stimulating debate!
The Innovators dilemma certainly applied to Canon AF overtaking Nikon AF in the early 1990s. And it probably applies to those looking at Nikon's recent telephotos. Sigma's new 500 is probably a reaction to the 400 f4.5S and PF primes (?)
This includes application of Deep-Learning in the matrix-metering of the FA - R&D kicked off in 1977 preceding its 1983 launch. (Starting with Nikon in 1984, I struggled then to afford a FM2, as the costly FA was a Pro SLR in the league of the F3
)Point here is Nikon has many decades of experience in such innovations, although they have waxed and waned eg D1 and D3 peaks bracketing a slowdown, when Canon got ahead....
Nikon 1 was ahead of its time - high fps, novel AF system, but lacking in EVF as were all MILCs prior to CaNIkon R and Z Systems. Many N1 owners then and still today consider these cameras extremely capable. The EVFs of the Z6 and Z7 are excellent apart from the frame blackout, which is a processing artefact.
I was reminded of a 2014 interview with the late Hidehiko Tanaka San, former head of Nikon UK explaining why Nikon opted for the CX sensor: "....high-speed processing that can be performed by the Nikon 1 is simply not possible currently with the DX format size sensors. For example, the Nikon 1 cameras allow you to shoot a very rapid sequence of pictures and then choose the best frame(s) out of 10, 20 or even 30 images. The small sensor not only permits high-speed operation, but it also generates far less heat, which helps to improve image quality, so there are a number of factors that were considered when the Nikon 1 was being developed...." Nikon Owners Magazine.
They were definitely planning the Z System some years prior to 2018.
Several interviews support this, as stated by Nikon engineers
You mean selling at a loss - data for this?
Nikon has stated the D850 is one of their best selling cameras, which is presumably why they keep it in stock.
Using emotive terms undermines an argument. They prompt the readership to doubt statements.... as a Nikon fan(atic) I admit struggling to parse my prose in this respect!
Anyway, where's the Evidence for this? - In interviews since August 2018, Nikon has been extremely cautious not to admit it was discontinuing DSLRs. It would have been counterproductive - for the Nikon Brand especially - to have stopped R&D of the planned D6 and D780. However, there are suspicions Niko canned planned updates of the D500 and D850 (according to Thom Hogan). These presumably would have inherited the D6 AF Engine, which would have worked rather well to keep many DSLRs users well clear of the Z System
The D6 must have been planned in parallel with the Z System. Besides the DSLRs and MILCs, including the Z9, Nikon was also developing new Z telephotos relatively soon and in parallel with their recently launched F-mounts? BUT what to do with the considerable prior investment in their E FL F-Nikkors? Canon took the shortcut - slightly redesign for R Mounts, instead - most fortunately - Nikon have redesigned their telephotos on a blank slate, admittedly leveraging the Internal-TC knowledge into the new 400 f2.8S and 600 f4S
Together with the improved Networking, the D6 AF System must have taken considerable investment, including working with sports Pros such as a AFP
報道の最前線、その先へパート1 | ストーリーズ | Nikon 企業情報
報道写真の世界を長年支援してきたニコン。世界4大通信者の一つAFP通信とニコンのパートナーシップについてご紹介します。
www.jp.nikon.com
as mentioned, sufficient experience with the D6 AF algorithms reveals obvious overlaps with the Z9's algorithms . I've no experience, but the same could well apply to shared Networking tech across both flagship cameras.
Was the Z9 not ready or was it a case of waiting on the Z Telephotos (among others) to leverage the ILC:Lens ratio in sales? Only Nikon knows.
The D6 was the appropriate flagship released 4 years after the D5. This has been Nikon's tradition since the D1 to keep its dependent DSLR professionals etc
The "D5s putdown" keeps getting exhumed. It's hot air - like a DSLR luddite dismissing the Z9 as a D6s because it shares Networking, GPS and aspects of key AF features.
The reality is those of us who use the D6 alongside the Z9 know what this DSLR is capable of. Its completely new AF System, integral GPS, full touch menus etc.... the D6 is a significant improvement on the excellent D5 (which I also used intensively).
The 300 PF was released in January 2015, and you will be intimately familiar with this interview that the engineers overcame major challenges in the years preceding its release to manufacturing. Speculation, but their heavy lifting would have made the follow up 500 PF that much easier and indeed the 800 S PF and 600 PF more recently.
In several of these interviews, Nikon engineers admit to testing different prototypes (eg the 400 f4.5S) that fail to pass muster...all this takes much time and money.
小型化と高性能化を両立 ニコン「AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR」 位相フレネルレンズの仕組みとは?
ニコンが1月に発売した「AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR」は、従来から大幅に小型化を図ったと同時に画質も向上させた35mmフルサイズ用の超望遠レンズ。実に14年ぶりとなったリニューアルでは、ニッコールレンズで初めてとなる「位相フレネルレンズ」を採用した。
Structuring a technology company of Nikon's size has faced several challenges. Since public announcement in 2015, this included recovering costs invested in DSLR products, including lenses. This must have been even more difficult than clearing inventories of entry cameras and kit lenses. Besides many millions invested in factories, and staff, Nikon spent millions on R&D and had planned DSLR products for some years prior to 2015.
Nikon invests massively in its R&D and its clients are the ultimate benefactors. Obviously we pay, and the company prioritizes profitability. As in how a big portion of advertising funds are wasted - similarly in R&D. Using 50% as a heuristic example; one only learns which 50% of R&D is wasted after exploring the options and identifying the cul de sacs; all the time the market presents a shifting target. So tech companies aim for decent profit margins to recover R&D besides covering the production distribution, marketing costs
While some designs are discarded, others get to market, a strategy Nikon follows through profitably, as attested in their penultimate F System products since announcing their restructuring in 2015. This included the D5 Triumvirate, and it's unlikely at its RRP, the D6 has made a loss, although only Nikon knows this.
D850 was released in 2017 with the 105 f1.4E as Nikon's 100th Anniversary flagship products.
Unintelligible
Convincing rebuttals cite reliable evidence
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