Nikon is BACK!

Tony and Chelsea Northrup review Nikon's history and pinpoint the choice that pushed Nikon from 2nd to 3rd place in camera sales, how they recovered from their struggles, and what the future holds for them.

[WakoJacKooo]

Nikon never died they just fell behind, listened, then came back

[salekinhimel]

Nikon coming back is a heart warming feeling for me. Started photography with Nikon D3300, then switched to Sony A6400, now it feels like this is the perfect time to get back to Nikon. Z8 is amazing.

[acemanfrog]

I've been a Nikon person for almost 50 years, owning through the FM series, DSLR and now finally the Z6ii. I do amateur wildlife photography, specifically focused on raptors here in Colorado. The Z6ii is perfect for my needs and I truly appreciate the Nikon history vid as it explains what happened to Nikon. Great work!

[RRRCCCDDD]

I'm not a professional nor do I have a ton of money. I have a good amount of Nikon lenses that I love. I cannot keep changing systems every time one 'leap frogs' the others. I am very glad that the Z8 came out. I traded my Z6 and Z7 for it. I get to stay in their system and have a modern cam that competes well. I almost got a D850 but waited a month+ because I heard something was coming from Nikon. I was rewarded. Thanks Nikon!

[larvenfritson]

Even though I don't use Nikon myself, I'm always happy when I see another company making good cameras. In the end competition is the thing that is going to push all manufacturers to making better gear, and also keeping prices reasonable.

[haydennettleton]

Wish Nikon still made their stuff in Japan instead of China and Thailand.

[TheTigers]

Although you mentioned the read out speed, Tony and Chelsea, you failed to mention the one big related leapfrog Nikon made with the Z9 and now Z8. They are not only mirrorless, but also shutterless. They are the first camera maker to do this on an enthusiast and professional interchangeable lens camera body. Now every other camera maker must follow.

[photo-markus]

I own the Z9 and ❤️ it. As backup I have a Z6II and I don’t feel the need to change it to Z8(but I might do it when the price drops). Yes, I am now proud of Nikon. I trusted them always but I had moments when I wanted to buy a fujifilm gfx and sell all Nikon gear…I was never inclined towards Sony or cannon.

[zzuxiou]

Nearly two weeks into Z8 ownership. I've been using D850 for 3+ years and I agree the Z8 feels like a mirrorless D850. Aircraft tracking is incredible, dynamically switching from nose to cockpit (if it can see it). Knowing there are likely S/W updates to make it even better is exciting. Well done Nikon.

[johnschofield]

Even the worse camera is better than most photographers. Instead of endlessly upgrading and swaping cameras take time to learn how to use the one you have. I know I just moved from Fuji to Z9 system and yes it is a big improvement over my old T2 but I am still working on getting the best from it.

[pedropaz]

I was a Nikon shooter from film to digital dslr. I loved all the cameras I had including the Nikon 3200, 7100, 610 and before that Nikon F50. Then mirrorless happened and I went to Sony, and now use a A7RIV but unfortunately I feel that they are more tools and not something I desire to use. Now that Nikon Z8 has my longing for another Nikon. I confess I have always enjoyed how Nikon feels in my hand and how the colors come out.

[allys]

Nikon had a lot invested into the Nikon 1 system. When it died they obviously moved those engineers to the Z, they took a few years to catch back up. The Nikon 1 system had potential but was kneecapped because of its small sensor size. I’m glad they recovered with the Z8.

[nagual]

Can’t believe you didn’t mention even once the shutterless revolution Nikon has brought to the industry. They deserve a huge credit to take this massive step.

Also, Nikon is not behind in video. They are ahead. Miles ahead. They don’t have a cinema line therefore they can cramp many more features without risking cannibalize higher models. The Z8 video features are above the R5 and the A7S3. So I Honestly don’t think they deserve this “behind” criticism.

Also not a word on Nikon image quality which looks better than Sony sooc and sole reasons people still love Nikon.

[sertacoral]

I just bought my Z8 last week and already very happy with that. Upgraded from D750, trying to adapt to differences of mirrorless. Yesterday I used it on an outdoor birthday party of my nephews. Way better experience than last year with D750 especially with AF and number of shots that I was able to take. I am excited to see more from Z8. ✌️✌️👌👌

[kappakumplete]

I held onto my D750 for years waiting for Nikon to release a compelling mirrorless option. The Z8 was it and I happily picked one up.

[duncanwallace]

My Nikon journey has been Nikkormat FT, F80, D80, D90, D4, Z7, Z9. It's been great. I agree the Z7 focus wasn't the best, but I still got a lot of good photos with that camera, even some wildlife shots, but for landscapes it was great. The Z9 is another level entirely, something I couldn't have dreamed of when I was using the D4. I'm not really a switcher, so generally I'm happy to wait for improvements, even if Nikon is a bit behind. At the moment though, I feel like its at the front of the pack.

[davidleonhardt]

As a young photographer, I was strictly a hobbyist, and that all started in 1971. At that time Nikon was The camera of professionals, and I dreamed of having one. Fast forward to 2002, after retiring from the military, I went to university and majored in graphic design with a minor in photography. College level photography was majority film, and I purchased a Nikon F4AS, my dream camera that I could afford. I loved that camera. The digital age was upon us and I bought a D100 to begin my digital journey. It’s been one Nikon after another, upgrading with last year’s model for affordability, but always staying consumer grade, and DX sensor, with the D7200 as my last DX camera. When I decided to go FX sensor, I had to buy an older camera, and settled on the D4. I love that camera, and it’s a beast, but I knew I would go mirrorless one day. I have been a high volume school photographer for 16 years and the company I work for used Canons up until Sony made them a deal for firmware that had a crop mask option. I’ve gotten to use the Sony A7IV for about 6 months and it had me almost convinced in getting a Sony as my next personal camera. I had tried out the Z6II, but didn’t really like it. So now here comes the Z8, and hearing your review as well as many others, this is my next camera. I am retiring from the school picture business as I have reached the age where I can begin drawing my SS payment, and plan on doing headshots, family photos, and whatever photos gigs I can get as a supplement. I will invest in the Z8 and some glass as the date of my retirement gets closer. Thanks for your reviews, you tell it like it is. And thank you for rooting for Nikon Chelsea, I am too.

[MehdiRF]

I'm Nikon shooter and never switched to any other brand, As soon as I saw Z9's specs & aggressive price I said here we gooo. It was quite obvious that Nikon will continue aggressively but slowly expanding Z cameras with high end specs as well, Z lenses are also exceptional. It's great time to be a photographer these days!

[matthieuzglurg]

the thing about the sensors is that they're made by Sony Semiconductors, which is not to be confused with Sony Imaging.

Sony Semiconductors is a big manufacturer or semiconductor components, that could be processors, PCBs, etc, and that includes camera sensors. Think like both Nvidia and AMD have their chips made by TSMC, using TSMC processes.

Thing is, TSMC uses designs from either company, so does Sony Semiconductors. Sony Imagine gives Sony Semiconductors schematics for camera sensors, and Sony SemiCon makes them. If they make it available on the market for everyone or not, that's a matter of do you want your competitor to be able to get their hands out your tech by buying it out. And that's why you have cameras like the Sony A6400 and Fujifilm X-T2 that use the same 24MP chip, or why the same 26MP BSI chip takes its place in both Fujifilm X-T3/4 cameras, Sony FX30s and even Pixii cameras. That's because it's a common components that anybody can buy and use in their products.

Their best tech, like their stacked 24MP full frame, or their 50MP full frame, it never ends up on the catalogue. Or when it does, then it means that it has a replacement.

Looking at Nikon and how they've been dealing with other companies making sensors for them : Nikon really much acts like an AMD would act with a TSMC. They do not use TSMC designs, they use THEIR designs. When Sony was putting out a 43MP sensor, Nikon designed a 45MP one. That was made by Sony SemiCon, but it was a full Nikon design.

Same for the 24MP full frame sensor in the Z6, same for the APS-C 20MP sensor in the D500 and Z50. And of course, same for the 45MP stackes sensor in the Z8 and Z9. NONE of the Z cameras so far had a sensor that was a Sony design, they all ended up with a Nikon design.

So you say that Sony is not giving them their best tech, I say that it much more a competition between Sony Imaging and Nikon to who's gonna use Sony Semiconductors to the best of their abilities.


(also I don't know what you're on about saying that Nikon hasn't touched the high end video market while the Z8 and Z9 have litterally the best video specs on the whole market right now. Like what, it doesn't have a flippy screen so it can't do video? Ridiculous. It even have more video centric features than Canon and Sony hybrid cameras. Nikon doesn't have a video line to protect so they just wen ham on the video specs, that's the thing)

[lsaideOK]

The two of you took a deep dive into predicting the death of Nikon. Overstated at the time. It isn't a miraculous rebirth. Just hard work in terms of business, design, engineering, and marketing. They were climbing a hill while you were saying they were falling off a cliff. At the time I said you weren't helping the situation. If people think a company is not going to be there in a few years, they're not going to be buying stuff from them. Fortunately you were wrong