Nikon Acquires RED

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Will be interesting to see how Nikon adapts its branding color-way to the new subsidiary… 🥸 And, how RED’s RAW will live with Nikon’s own (and ProRes and Blackmagic).
 
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Ad Astra said:
That's interesting news, lack of a dedicated video range has been a weakness in Nikon's portfolio. I wonder what auto focus technology Nikon can port from Red to Z cameras for even better autofocus performance.
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Red's AF is meh. Sensor is the biggie, immidietly applicable to a flagship (assuming heat can be controlled), followed by compression.
 
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rangerider said:
RED has a lot of brand equity in the cinema world. What do y’all think, does Nikon keep both or wrap it all under Nikon? Going to be interesting to see how this one plays out.
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Keep both brands. Cinematographers look down on photographers and there is already going to be some blowback from Red shooters, who are the most fanboyish in that world.
 
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MMoretti said:
RED is RF… I imagine they’ll add Z (with F available via FTZ-RED…)
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On the Kommodo for sure, not the Raptor (which is a PL). Although given the flange depth, this will require redesigning the camera since it can't be accomplished with an adapter. And then they can introduce cine lenses (which Red doesn't have). Canon rehoused some of their EF lenses recently so they now have a full, inexpensive RF set.
 
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Perhaps they’ll change the sensor too for proper coverage, as I understand the RED sensor has different proportions than the current Z FX sensor. (I‘ve read that the Z sensor is actually larger than 46 MP to manage corrections… ?) Anyway, I’m looking forward to learning if this was an acquisition more for technologies/patents, the product line or both. I do agree with @Nimi that RED will continue as a separate brand.
 
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Presumably, RED cameras will be getting the Z mount, the universal recipient for other adapted optical mounts....

www.cined.com

Nikon x RED - What it Could Mean for the Filmmaking Industry?

Following the recent acquisition of American camera manufacturer RED by the Japanese master Nikon, it is time to start analyzing and thinking about what this co
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www.cined.com

Nikon to Acquire RED Digital Cinema Camera Manufacturer

If you think you just fell victim to a clickbait headline, trust me, you haven't. Indeed, in an official press release, Nikon Corporation announced that they ar
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www.theverge.com

Nikon is acquiring US camera manufacturer RED

RED will become a subsidiary of Nikon.
www.theverge.com www.theverge.com
 
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MMoretti said:
Perhaps they’ll change the sensor too for proper coverage, as I understand the RED sensor has different proportions than the current Z FX sensor. (I‘ve read that the Z sensor is actually larger than 46 MP to manage corrections… ?) Anyway, I’m looking forward to learning if this was an acquisition more for technologies/patents, the product line or both. I do agree with @Nimi that RED will continue as a separate brand.
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Resizing is easy. Heat management, which is done actively in cinema cameras is hard. Nikon has a 3x2 sensor dimension which is cropped depending on your setting. For video it's cropped to 9x16 and loses about 15% of the pixels in the process. Cinema cameras have "open gate," meaning the user can utilize the full sensor when shooting, then cropping in in post. But that's very hard to do in hybrid bodies with large, dense sensors because of processing power and heat.
 
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Nimi said:
I am most concerned about the potential clash in cultures. RED is as Sillicon Valley as it gets and Nikon is as Japanese as it gets. Jeans vs. Suits.
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They manage - in my tax career I did a lot of work for Olympus, and other Japanese parent companies. If they focus on the possibilities, the bean counters will sit quietly at their desks.
 
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BarkingBeans Coffee said:
They manage - in my tax career I did a lot of work for Olympus, and other Japanese parent companies. If they focus on the possibilities, the bean counters will sit quietly at their desks.
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I worked for Olympus as well, on the M&A side for the microscopy division in Pennsylvania and I was actually going to use them as an example of how bad it can get! Small world.
 
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Nimi said:
I am most concerned about the potential clash in cultures. RED is as Sillicon Valley as it gets and Nikon is as Japanese as it gets. Jeans vs. Suits.
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A little bit off topic but before I retired, I worked for a huge corporation. We bought another large company. While it started off as a "merger" with Co-CEO's and all the corporate vowels to maintain two cultures and leverage the benefits from both to form a new culture, blah blah blah. Within 2 years, the other company's corporate office was closed, the entire executive suite with the exception of a couple managers was fired and everything was folded into the company for whom I worked. The other company took the "two cultures and leveraging best of both" a little too seriously and wouldn't always play ball. Once it became obvious the 2 culture thing wasn't working, the larger company decided to return to one culture. Since I was managing several of the merger projects, believe it or not, the CDA I had to sign had no expiration date thus not mentioning the company names, the business sector or types of products or services offered.

I suspect if RED tries to play the Silicone Valley thing too heavily, RED will be nothing more than a Nikon brand and all corporate decisions will come from Japan with the founders and current management of RED getting a nice golden parachute as all the corporate office apparatus is packed up and sent to Japan.
 
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jeffnles1 said:
A little bit off topic but before I retired, I worked for a huge corporation. We bought another large company. While it started off as a "merger" with Co-CEO's and all the corporate vowels to maintain two cultures and leverage the benefits from both to form a new culture, blah blah blah. Within 2 years, the other company's corporate office was closed, the entire executive suite with the exception of a couple managers was fired and everything was folded into the company for whom I worked. The other company took the "two cultures and leveraging best of both" a little too seriously and wouldn't always play ball. Once it became obvious the 2 culture thing wasn't working, the larger company decided to return to one culture. Since I was managing several of the merger projects, believe it or not, the CDA I had to sign had no expiration date thus not mentioning the company names, the business sector or types of products or services offered.

I suspect if RED tries to play the Silicone Valley thing too heavily, RED will be nothing more than a Nikon brand and all corporate decisions will come from Japan with the founders and current management of RED getting a nice golden parachute as all the corporate office apparatus is packed up and sent to Japan.
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Nikon would actually benefit from some aspects of RED's culture. I am curious what Jarred Land's plans are. Also curious whether Red Studios is part of the deal.
 
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Nimi said:
Nikon would actually benefit from some aspects of RED's culture. I am curious what Jarred Land's plans are. Also curious whether Red Studios is part of the deal.
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Of that I have no doubt. The company for whom I worked could have also benefitted from the culture of the other company. Unfortunately in business, the one with the most money usually wins and the "bought" company has to be careful how seriously they take the "you keep your culture and identity" thing. Big fish eat small fish. Time will tell how this plays out. I seriously hope it is good for not only RED and Nikon but the entire industry.
 
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