Nikon Acquires RED

[Alistair]

At least 3 of Nikon's recent acquisitions has been a partial investment, so the relationship is more about collaboration

Nikon Acquires Controlling Interest in Morf3D – April 2021 | NewCap Partners Inc.

www.newcap.com

Nikon invests in computer vision and deep learning startup ‘wrnch’

The company says it looking into providing ‘new imaging experiences’ with technologies such as artificial intelligence.

www.dpreview.com

Nikon Announces Investment in Ai Build Limited | News | Nikon About Us

Tey are leveraging on these innovations for new technology in all their principal divisions, besides Imaging

Nikon's AI Reconstruction draws on Deep Learning to deliver faster, clearer CT scans - Nikon Industrial Metrology

Nikon IMBU (https://industry.nikon.com) has released AI Reconstruction, an innovative 3D computed tomography (CT) reconstruction software solution powered by artificial intelligence that lifts the traditional trade-off between scan speed and image quality. By applying Deep Learning techniques to...

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Explained: Why Nikon is acquiring SLM Solutions

Nikon Corporation announced the impending 622 million EUR acquisition of SLM Solutions in September. Here is everything we know so far, including why it makes sense for both parties, what Nikon adds to SLM, and what happens next.

www.tctmagazine.com

I like Nikon's long termism. They do not expect the SLM transaction to yield a positive return until 2030! Try to get that through the shareholders' meeting of the average western listed corporation! The fit of SLM's low volume additive manufacturing with RED is probably more than coincidence.

 

[fcotterill]

It's interesting how the perception of both RED and Nikon is polarized between doom& gloom versus the opposite, verging into jingoism!
It's a mistake to underestimate their respective potential. Through its 100 year history, Nikon in particular has weathered many setbacks. They're solid reasons for its recoveries and persistence

Hot Takes: The Questionable Future of RED Cameras

We asked some of our content creators about their thoughts on RED cameras — accessories, investments, and the company's future — and they didn't hold back.

www.premiumbeat.com

How Nikon's takeover of RED Cinema will have huge implications

The announcement that Nikon is taking over RED.com LLC sent shockwaves through the industry. It will send shockwaves through camera development as well.

www.redsharknews.com

Why Nikon is Failing in the Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Race

A few decades ago, Nikon was the number one manufacturer for high-end professionals. If you were a pro photographer who shot with a 35mm full-frame

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The Best Thing for the Camera Industry Is for Nikon to Exit

Current orthodoxy in the camera market is based around the triumvirate of Sony, Nikon, and Canon. They hold the keys to the professional full frame sector, supported by wide ranging lens systems. However the last decade has taught us that change is normal, so would the best future for the sector...

fstoppers.com

Nikon is Doing Everything Right

Nikon's near-death experience made it a better company.

petapixel.com

Nikon Doesn't Want Cameras to Be its Core Business Anymore

Nikon isn't giving up on cameras, it just wants to be less reliant on them for financial stability.

petapixel.com

Nikon Story - CEO, Founder, History | Famous Companies | Success Story

successstory.com

Strategy Session: Nikon—Superior Optical Performance Drives Success - Digital Imaging Reporter

Jay Vannatter has been marketing Nikon products for the better part of 35 years. He began in 1983 and witnessed imaging move from film to digital.

direporter.com

 

[fcotterill]

".... Something else to think about is how this affects Nikon from a company image perspective. While it might seem like a superficial thing, owning a company like RED is a bit like owning a surf brand, and comes with its own company image enhancing properties. RED is a company that is constantly in the limelight, with a vast number of followers on social media, and so by simple association Nikon is getting a huge boost to its market footprint...."

How Nikon's takeover of RED Cinema will have huge implications

The announcement that Nikon is taking over RED.com LLC sent shockwaves through the industry. It will send shockwaves through camera development as well.

www.redsharknews.com

 

[fcotterill]

A fairly comprehensive overview of the pending merger

Nikon Buys Cinema Camera Maker RED, Shaking Up the Camera Industry - GadgetMates

In a surprising turn of events, Nikon has announced its plans to acquire RED, a renowned cinema camera manufacturer. This move has sparked a lot of buzz in

gadgetmates.com

Nikon Set to Acquire RED Digital Cinema in Landmark Move

Nikon has shared its agreement to acquire 100% of RED Digital Cinema. Here’s what we know.

nofilmschool.com

 

[abc123brian]

To add to the video links on the subject, here is one I just watched that reflects a lot of positivity of the acquisition. He references a life stream (which I didn’t watch) he had Jarred Land on from Tokyo. It is just under 22 minutes in length.

 

[fcotterill]

To add to the video links on the subject, here is one I just watched that reflects a lot of positivity of the acquisition. He references a life stream (which I didn’t watch) he had Jarred Land on from Tokyo. It is just under 22 minutes in length.

Here's the link to Live Discussion with Jarred Land

When RED is Nikon... What do you wish to see?

The original poll only allows a maximum of 2 answers https://www.cined.com/poll-when-red-is-nikon-what-do-you-wish-to-see/

bcgforums.com

 

[O]

This young film-maker summarizes the situation well, and coming from a Komodo-owner perspective.

I think its a big picture as to what's going to happen going forward.

Its been known that grass root R and D investment hasn't been a major pathway for Nikon, they would it seems rather let others invest develop then follow, and that makes perfectly good sense and is very cost effective especially when you glass is more your core business.

With Red its an innovative creative culture not so present in Nikons paddock, buying smaller innovative technology is a good idea, also pooling talents that may take Nikon and or RED forward.

Why did RED sell or merge and with Nikon, only they know, it's what the ingredients in the tech cook pot add to the broth is all that counts.

Selling glass is the core business for Nikon and point mainly the difference.

We will see things emerge in the future as we transition into AI and Videography.

Niche is profitable.

Price will define who benefits and who doesn't.

 

[JAJohnson]

Selling glass is the core business for Nikon and point mainly the difference.

For Nikon Imaging, its core business is cameras and lenses, not just lenses alone.

 

[fcotterill]

EDITED, Nikon spends a significant portion of its annual expenditure on R&D, which is an investment for future products. The amounts are in their financial statements

Judging from the recent interview with Jarred Land, and informed guesswork of TH's article, RED will probably carry on much like MR Robotics i.e. quasi-independently, but interfacing with Nikon.

A RED Z mount ILC on the Z9 sensor (EXPEED7 presumably) sounds an excellent first product

The Nikon / RED Combo | Cameras and Photography Explained | Thom Hogan

Additional thoughts on the acqusition of RED by Nikon

bythom.com

 

[John Navitsky]

A RED Z mount ILC on the Z9 sensor (EXPEED7 presumably) sounds an excellent first product

i would think an expeed8 is well into development and likely to show up with the next performance body

 

[John Navitsky]

random thought occurred to me. we talk (and speculate) a lot about the the business and market side of this situation, and a variety of people have mentioned how the cultures of these two companies are different.

but it occurred to me, maybe that's not true. in a lot of ways, nikon is somewhat of an extremist. and red has made their name by being disruptors.

exhibit a: the size of the z9. it is clear they could have made it smaller, but they had an idea of what it should do and they went ahead and did it against the trend. result: the only hybrid that doesn't overhead(fact check me here).

exhibit b: the z mount and how nikon had not been content to simply adapt their existing lens designs to z-mount. result: every lens has been a winner.

exhibit c: the dual stream architecture. it really appears that nikon did a full architectural redesign when they probably could have gotten to market faster by not doing that. i get the feeling that both canon and sony took a more iterative approach.

basically this suggests to me that both of these companies may have similar core values in a way that might not be apparent on the surface, and perhaps the lawsuit let each company discover that.

 

[JoelKlein]

random thought occurred to me. we talk (and speculate) a lot about the the business and market side of this situation, and a variety of people have mentioned how the cultures of these two companies are different.

but it occurred to me, maybe that's not true. in a lot of ways, nikon is somewhat of an extremist. and red has made their name by being disruptors.

exhibit a: the size of the z9. it is clear they could have made it smaller, but they had an idea of what it should do and they went ahead and did it against the trend. result: the only hybrid that doesn't overhead(fact check me here).

exhibit b: the z mount and how nikon had not been content to simply adapt their existing lens designs to z-mount. result: every lens has been a winner.

exhibit c: the dual stream architecture. it really appears that nikon did a full architectural redesign when they probably could have gotten to market faster by not doing that. i get the feeling that both canon and sony took a more iterative approach.

basically this suggests to me that both of these companies may have similar core values in a way that might not be apparent on the surface, and perhaps the lawsuit let each company discover that.

Very true indeed.
On the flip side, Thom Hogan is ranting about the Z9 and Z8 group not working together. How would RED fit in.

 

[rangerider]

I appreciated the candor from Jarred Land in the interview he did. I think everyone involved in an acquisition plans for the best but realistically there are a lot of unknowns that occur when you finally move in with that special lady. Opposites attract and you guys complete each other but then you find out you've both got different habits around the house. It's how you deal with that together and go forward that determines whether you're ultimately going to be successful together as a couple.

Jarred said something in his interview that I flagged and thought was telling. He said that he felt this acquisition was similar to the Sony acquisition of Minolta. Minolta was a scrappy little camera company that needed help in some areas and Sony was struggling to compete, so the big fish ate the little fish, and it worked out well for the camera industry despite the fact that many were upset about it. I think Jarred likely sees the writing on the wall here and that eventually Nikon will be the primary brand but everyone will be better off in the long run for it.

 

[fcotterill]

EDITED - Prior to selling off their camera business to Sony, Minolta had previously merged with Konica. Their ultimate buyer had no camera business but the advantages of capital and leading expertise in electronic consumer goods etc. Unlike Nikon, Konica-Minolta had missed both matured-AutoFocus and Digital ships (1990's into the 2000's); however, their optics were high quality, as well their film era SLRs.

In this case, both RED and Nikon have viable camera systems, quite different in some ways but also similar. One has little if any profile in optics, however except access to Canon's RF mount.

Nikon is probably going to prioritize bridging across their Z mount into the RED cameras. Logically, cinema Z Nikkors are inevitable. This is the low volume high margin arena of the cinematography market for Nikon....

The next few years are going to be interesting.

 

[fcotterill]

Nikon's engineers had likely done the feasibility studies for compatibility, potentials etc between the respective systems well prior to the takeover negotiations starting.

They must also be fully aware of the brand strength of RED in wildlife cinematography, besides Hollywood feature movies etc. So a possibility is Nikon integrates the existing Z System for wildlife film makers i.e. the Nikon wolf in RED clothing! A Z9 repackaged in the RED chassis etc using Z mount.... there're already all the existing cross mount adapters for existing shooters.

 

[fcotterill]

The first two sections discuss the realities of a struggling industry, which is generating new opportunities.....

 

[fcotterill]

From 36:00

And more commentary on the Jarred Land interview

RED & Nikon: A Possible Synergy - Y.M.Cinema Magazine

RED Digital Cinema CEO Jarred Land, sheds light on the Nikon acquisition. What is the possible synergy between the two companies?

ymcinema.com

 

[fcotterill]

RED will stay red, for the interim, Nikon Thailand reports:

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Nikon's statement: "no changes to the RED‘s current product lineup, the partners, and the relationship with the dealers" - Nikon Rumors

Following the news of RED acquisition, in a post on social media, Nikon promised that they will not make any changes to “RED‘s current product lineup, the partners, and the relationship with the dealers“: “We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming support and anticipation we have received...

nikonrumors.com

 

[rangerider]

Acquisition finalized and the first thing they announce:

"Upon RED becoming a wholly owned subsidiary, RED’s President Jarred Land became a close Advisor to the company, along with RED’s founder James Jannard. Keiji Oishi, of Nikon’s Imaging Business Unit, assumed the role of CEO and Tommy Rios, Executive Vice President of RED, moved into the role of Co-CEO." https://nikonrumors.com/2024/04/12/...n-of-red-appoints-a-new-ceo.aspx/#more-192047

Although they're not changing the product lineup for now, I think we have our answer on whether RED will continue to operate the same way and function as an independent subsidiary. Nikon bringing in one of their guys as CEO from day one with the RED founder and CEO stepping aside to advise. Should be interesting to follow!

 

[EricBowles]

Acquisition finalized and the first thing they announce:

"Upon RED becoming a wholly owned subsidiary, RED’s President Jarred Land became a close Advisor to the company, along with RED’s founder James Jannard. Keiji Oishi, of Nikon’s Imaging Business Unit, assumed the role of CEO and Tommy Rios, Executive Vice President of RED, moved into the role of Co-CEO." https://nikonrumors.com/2024/04/12/...n-of-red-appoints-a-new-ceo.aspx/#more-192047

Although they're not changing the product lineup for now, I think we have our answer on whether RED will continue to operate the same way and function as an independent subsidiary. Nikon bringing in one of their guys as CEO from day one with the RED founder and CEO stepping aside to advise. Should be interesting to follow!

The co-CEO is from Red. It looks like he will be taking the lead longer term.

 

[rangerider]

The co-CEO is from Red. It looks like he will be taking the lead longer term.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Nikon said before the finalization that they'd be leaving everything as is and not changing the business at all. If that's the case, why shake up the business so much on day one?

Usually with M&As the prior CEO and/or Founder stays on for a year or two to indicate it's business as usual during the transition. The fact that they both stepped aside immediately and Nikon is bringing in one of their own, even if it's as "Co-CEO," indicates to me that it's going to be Nikon taking the lead on this one. Usually when you stick your hands in the cookie jar like this after buying the company, especially on day one, the "old guard" of the acquisition winds up moving on after the culture shift.

 

[EricBowles]

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Nikon said before the finalization that they'd be leaving everything as is and not changing the business at all. If that's the case, why shake up the business so much on day one?

Usually with M&As the prior CEO and/or Founder stays on for a year or two to indicate it's business as usual during the transition. The fact that they both stepped aside immediately and Nikon is bringing in one of their own, even if it's as "Co-CEO," indicates to me that it's going to be Nikon taking the lead on this one. Usually when you stick your hands in the cookie jar like this after buying the company, especially on day one, the "old guard" of the acquisition winds up moving on after the culture shift.

I suspect the founder and the CEO were looking for an exit strategy from the beginning of discussions. The EVP is the insider that provides continuity. They have consistently said they won't be making changes, but the reality is they are a part of a bigger company and there is an expectation of technology transfer and integration.

I think it's also important to have credibility in working with the Nikon organization. An outsider would never figure it out.

While I've seen the CEO of the acquired company stay on, I've also seen them be slow to embrace the culture of the acquirer. I think its a good sign Nikon is aggressively moving forward with decisions.

 

[Nimi]

Acquisition finalized and the first thing they announce:

"Upon RED becoming a wholly owned subsidiary, RED’s President Jarred Land became a close Advisor to the company, along with RED’s founder James Jannard. Keiji Oishi, of Nikon’s Imaging Business Unit, assumed the role of CEO and Tommy Rios, Executive Vice President of RED, moved into the role of Co-CEO." https://nikonrumors.com/2024/04/12/...n-of-red-appoints-a-new-ceo.aspx/#more-192047

Although they're not changing the product lineup for now, I think we have our answer on whether RED will continue to operate the same way and function as an independent subsidiary. Nikon bringing in one of their guys as CEO from day one with the RED founder and CEO stepping aside to advise. Should be interesting to follow!

RED as we knew it is gone. Anyone who followed this company knows how much its products, strategy and stance were a direct reflection of those two: mercurial, unstable and brash. Not a bad thing, as a matter of fact I am now interstated in the products they'll introduce.

 

[John Navitsky]

i'm curious if we'll see anything quick benefits.

for example, it sounds like the way they basically take two images and combine them to increase the dynamic range is something they patented, and might be something that can be added to the nikon's stacked sensor cameras via firmware. it would be pretty cool if they could just start rolling out some features simply because they now are not legally prevented from doing so.

 

[Nimi]

i'm curious if we'll see anything quick benefits.

for example, it sounds like the way they basically take two images and combine them to increase the dynamic range is something they patented, and might be something that can be added to the nikon's stacked sensor cameras via firmware. it would be pretty cool if they could just start rolling out some features simply because they now are not legally prevented from doing so.

I think that requires the kind of readout speed you can get only out of a global shutter. The Z9 is no slouch, at 3.7ms, but that might not be enough.