The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Nikon mirrorless ?

sc_john

Active member
Nikon and Canon also used to make Rangefinders that they dropped support for when moving to SLR cameras. So there’s that as well.
Did “they dropped support for when moving to SLR cameras”, or continue to provide support (parts, repairs, etc) for a reasonable time period after the rangefinders were discontinued? All products have a life-cycle and will be discontinued eventually. What separates the responsible manufacturers from the herd is how they support customers after discontinuing mannufacture of a product.

John
 

Bugleone

Well-known member
Canon particularly has a very poor record when it comes to the support of their customers. When they change to a new system the old(er) users are left 'up the creek without a paddle'. Canon (I don't know enough about Nikon) have always been ready to use their customer base to try out their latest marketing, without any moral dilema being visible. I speak as someone with two F1 bodies and 9 FD lenses when the EOS era began whose investment was essentially dead in one swoop as the whole FD system was kicked to the kerb......

.........Even before this there was the 'dodgy' saga of the Canon Pellix......

........and quite a lot of other stuff both before and after.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Did “they dropped support for when moving to SLR cameras”, or continue to provide support (parts, repairs, etc) for a reasonable time period after the rangefinders were discontinued? All products have a life-cycle and will be discontinued eventually. What separates the responsible manufacturers from the herd is how they support customers after discontinuing mannufacture of a product.

John
Can’t say from personal experience... that was well before I was born. I’m 38. Soooo maybe?

The only point was that they’ve switched mounts in the past with changing technology that could be advanced further than what DSLR’s are capablenof in time.
 

atanabe

Member
Canon particularly has a very poor record when it comes to the support of their customers. When they change to a new system the old(er) users are left 'up the creek without a paddle'. Canon (I don't know enough about Nikon) have always been ready to use their customer base to try out their latest marketing, without any moral dilema being visible. I speak as someone with two F1 bodies and 9 FD lenses when the EOS era began whose investment was essentially dead in one swoop as the whole FD system was kicked to the kerb......

.........Even before this there was the 'dodgy' saga of the Canon Pellix......

........and quite a lot of other stuff both before and after.
I came from the era of Canon FL mounts which morphed to FD mounts which still were compatible but the change to EOS was a total change with no "Upgrade path". No support in the way of trade in support from Canon, mount adapters etc. So I switched to Nikon in 1980. Nikon had at that time, a philosophy of keeping the filter mount at 52mm as much as possible so that users did not have to buy different filters. While this handicapped the lens designers in a big way, the consumer came first. Fast forward three decades and Nikon comes out with the N1 mount, they had the FT-1 adapter for the electronic AF lenses with full compatibility for the oldest of F mount lenses. Yes, it did not AF with the screw drive AF but you could still manually focus and shoot with it. Not too many third party adapters for Nikon F to XX camera AF are out there that even aperture control. So Nikon has to be lauded for thinking about the users of their F line in the launch of the new Z mount.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Anyone know the F3AF? The AF lenses made for that can not be used (they mount and dismount bout a camera can not be powered on with them mounted) on any modern Nikon cams at all. The F mount has undergone so many changes. While most F mount lenses can be mounted on F mount bodies’ not all them work.
 

atanabe

Member
Anyone know the F3AF? The AF lenses made for that can not be used (they mount and dismount bout a camera can not be powered on with them mounted) on any modern Nikon cams at all. The F mount has undergone so many changes. While most F mount lenses can be mounted on F mount bodies’ not all them work.
Vivek, yes, I do recall Nikons first foray into the AF realm. This camera was aimed at the pro market back in 1983, a not so popular camera with only two AF lenses and very rare today. But the camera did support the native F mount lenses with focus confirmation for lenses of f3.5 or faster. I do not know if those two lenses could be used on regular F mount bodies, I never saw one in the flesh.

My comment was to highlight that Nikon, unlike many manufacturers, has been sensitive to alienating their existing user base. When newer technology was introduced to their camera bodies, they stepped up with upgrade paths, AI and AIs are two examples where they had a program in place to upgrade the lenses. Turnaround time was very quick in even those days before FedEx. Another example is with the D1X buffer, they set up their technicians at UPS hubs to upgrade the buffer and get them back to the users faster. Throughout my history with Nikon, they have been a responsible partner, if they made a mistake, they owned up to it and did their best to make it right. My belief is that they carefully thought out the impact the new mount will have on existing users.
 

Photon42

Well-known member
The Nikon F Lens Mount was always about compatibility. Yes, it was not perfect. Yes, there were limitations and entry level camera models weren't able to support automation with legacy lenses. My take is they will continue this philosophy. This, my minimal expectation is complete compatibility with E lenses, AF compatibility and stop down metering with AF-S/I lenses and all manual with the rest. It would work for me, if the body is not a completely ugly.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Ten years after the D3, the mirrorless camera in a D3-like body. Now that’s the ticket.
I do remember this day exactly - was in San Jose (CA) at that time and we had an internal meeting. I told one of my colleagues that I would buy this camera and was very excited and half a year later I owned it. Was pretty impressive to shoot Joshua Tree NP with it :thumbs: as my first outing ....

Having high hopes for the new mirrorless Nikon :toocool:
 

jdphoto

Well-known member
I'm most intrigued by the new lens mount. I hope the battery gets performance similar to the D810's, but being mirrorless, likely not. Weather resistance would be key for Pro use too. Also for me, it's imperative it's made in Japan.
 

Frankly

New member
The teaser mentions some "pro" stating how small and light it is, easier to carry and all.

Hopefully they have a few pancake lenses too. So far all I've seen with these teasers is some Pringle's can of a consumer zoom. New cheesy plastic flavor.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I'm most intrigued by the new lens mount. I hope the battery gets performance similar to the D810's, but being mirrorless, likely not. Weather resistance would be key for Pro use too. Also for me, it's imperative it's made in Japan.
The more I think about it this camera would seem to affect Fuji sales more tha. Sony one’s and I believe Canon’s Mirrorless camera will be more direct competition for Sony. The main reason is that Canon shooters were much more likely to adopt Sony cameras into their kits with being able to use EF lenses (by adapter) “natively” on a Sony camera with a few new features like PDAF focus across the entire sensor/not having video features neutered in an effort to sell Cinema EOS Cameras. As such we saw many Canon shooters add a Sony and maybe a few native lenses if they weren’t inclined to completely dump their DSLR. Now obviously some did after getting tired of waiting on serious Mirrorless offerings from the “old guard” but a lot of people (myself included) shoot with multiple systems.

If Nikon were to offer FF 35mm bodies and down the line offer cropped MF sensors in the same mount, then the lenses could do double duty out the gate with the same system. Yes some of the high resolution FF cameras are getting close enough to all but the highest end MF cameras but there will always be an edge for the larger sensor in regards with the generation of the camera. This is where I think they COULD actually hurt Fuji more than Sony but time will tell and I’m still curious as to why Sony has been soooooo quiet lately.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Also for me, it's imperative it's made in Japan.
I don't know why that is important, but apart from the D5, the Df and the F6, all production DSLR bodies are made in Thailand, except for some shorter production runs, mostly for the Japanese market. They have invested heavily in their Ayuttaya factory over the years, so it would be strange if they didn't use it for these cameras as well.
 

D Fuller

New member
The teaser mentions some "pro" stating how small and light it is, easier to carry and all.

Hopefully they have a few pancake lenses too. So far all I've seen with these teasers is some Pringle's can of a consumer zoom. New cheesy plastic flavor.
Consumer zoom? The one in this most recent video looks ot me like the 180-400mm f/4E. It's a $12,000 lens. Not exactly 'consumer' fare.
 

rayyan

Well-known member
My take based on what I have read so far about the Nikon mirrorless, and the comments it has generated.

1. It will be a bad offerering. Everyone will bitch n moan.
2. It will be a camera worthy of Nikon’s serious effort at mirrorless. Many will bitch and, as usual, many will moan.
3. It will a very competent alternative to what’s currently available...many will bitch and many will moan.
4. It will be a class leading camera...many will bitch and even more will moan.

So what’s new?
You pay your money and you get what you wanted.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
The expectations for the new mirrorless are more excessive than the claims for the Sony A series . I have way too much gear and have struggled to see where the new N mirrorless will fit . (Of course I am buying ). Look at the potential applications and how it might benefit the photographer .

STREET ....it has rear potential for street shooting because of its smaller size and maybe some fast lenses . But to benefit you would have to keep the lenses small ...That 24-70 shown in the releases is a no go for street . The idea of f1.8 lenses maybe shows that small is a consideration . The NOCT could be terrific if they can keep that front element smaller than 67mm .

LANDSCAPE ....maybe could have some nice features ..but will it be as competent as the D850 . Yes less to carry but what lenses will you be using . When its on the tripod it doesn t matter .

SPORTS....what is the point ? The best lenses are huge and you will want a monopod . So unlikely it will be even as competent as the D850 and certainly not a D5 .

TRAVEL ..could really shine here . Smaller ,lighter ..very high IQ. All good .

FAMILY ...Not much of an advantage here .

Bottom line is it can benefit those that shoot between 24 -100 MM and prefer primes or a short zoom . Beyond that what is the point ?

Of course it could be a Swiss Army knife of versatility .

Biased as always by the subjects I shoot .
 

SrMphoto

Well-known member
The latest teaser shows Nikon Z camera with a 180-400 mounted. I assume that hints at a well working adapter. With focusing on the sensor, all micro adjustment work falls away (not that it was a big problem for me). Hopefully, focusing wide-open vs working aperture will be selectable by the user and hopefully, the camera will include focus bracketing and multiple exposures as in the D850.

And finally, hopefully, they include female photographers in the launch, thus avoiding the debacle of D850 launch.
 
Top