It exists! Nikon — after years of fans’ anticipation and speculation — has just confirmed it is, in fact, developing a full-frame mirrorless camera.
Further details are admittedly scarce. Nikon has been very tight-lipped about this camera. The company’s announcement did, however, clue us in on a few details. We know that the camera will use Nikon’s FX-format and it will feature a new mount. You know what that means: new lenses. But there will be an adapter for F-mount DSLR lenses, as well.
Almost every major camera company agrees that full-frame mirrorless cameras are quickly becoming the industry standard. Just look at the 2017 sale figures for mirrorless cameras. Sales were up 30 percent in 2017. We can’t stress how important this camera is for Nikon. Up until now, Nikon’s been focused primarily on DSLRs. This new mirrorless camera is the company’s second mirrorless camera line ever. The first was the Nikon 1 line which Nikon discontinued recently.
Just before Nikon made the announcement, they released a teaser trailer for the mirrorless camera. It got everyone talking:
A new lens mount means new lenses
In the very few details that we have about Nikon’s upcoming mirrorless camera, we know that the system will have a completely new lens mount — meaning there will be new lenses also.
But as we said before, there will be an adapter for F-mount SLR lenses available as well. As for which F-mount lenses will be supported, we don’t know. Nikon says the adapter will allow support for “a wide variety of F-mount NIKKOR lenses.” Which lenses will actually be included in that “wide variety” hasn’t been specified yet. We also don’t know if autofocus is in the picture either.
This announcement confirms the plans for a mirrorless camera from Nikon — but not much else
Details are minimal in Nikon’s announcement. All it really does is confirm the existence of a future mirrorless system from Nikon, but that’s all Nikon needs this press release to be.
As Nikon is working to break into the mirrorless camera market, Sony’s been in that market for quite a while now. Nikon doesn’t want to lose any current users longing for a mirrorless system to Sony.
This press release is basically Nikon saying “Hey, don’t switch yet. We’re working on a mirrorless camera right now. Just hang on a little longer,” and it does its job. While details are minimal, it lets us know that Nikon is getting serious about mirrorless systems.
Is this the beginning of the end for Nikon DSLRs?
As mirrorless cameras become an industry norm, the DSLR movement is over. Nevertheless, Nikon isn’t done with DSLRs.
In the announcement, Nikon says “Nikon will continue to lead imaging innovation with the launch of the new mirrorless camera and the continued development of Nikon Digital-SLR cameras as well as the impressive NIKKOR lens lineup.” So Nikon DSLR shooters can breathe a sigh of relief.
Pricing and Availability
The camera’s pricing and the release date hasn’t been revealed yet. There’s also no timeline for when we’ll get more information about Nikon’s full-frame FX mirrorless camera. We hope to see more details in the coming months.
It’s essential for Nikon to hit a home run with this upcoming mirrorless line if the camera brand wants to protect and grow its stakes as the industry makes to switch to mirrorless systems. We don’t know enough yet to determine if Nikon will be able to hit the ground running in the mirrorless market, but we sure hope it does.
