The NEW 2018 Nikon Pro Mirrorless SHOWN TODAY! What do I think?

The NEW Nikon Pro Mirrorless has been SHOWN TODAY….My thoughts…

Well if this does not breath some excitement into my bones, not sure what will. The new Nikon teaser for their new big time, full frame, interchangeable lens mirrorless camera has been shown off today and it’s just that, a TEASE. But I noticed what they were doing in this tease, as did you I bet. If you have not yet seen it, check out their new video HERE. 

The rumor sites are speculating all kinds of things, like two versions, large “Z” mount, 5 Axis, Fast AF…but I am more interested in what Nikon is teasing and showing so far. To me, this futuristic video that they put out tells me this camera may just be a new low light beast, capable in any and all light. They are going out of their way to keep mentioning light and showing off a LOW LIGHT image/portrait and even having the mount glowing with a blueish light. My guess is that this will be a LIGHT SUCKING LOW LIGHT capable camera.

I took frames from the video and lightened them up a bit, and it looks, from what we can see, to be a fantastic design and size.

Nikon MUST have a winner here to go head to head with Sony. They can not have ANY screw ups, and they may have…may have just done it. But a new mount means new lenses, which means limited glass at launch. Rumored official launch is August, and my guess is they will ship shortly after that. I WILL BE PRE ORDERING ONE on DAY ONE if this pans out with a decent set of launch glass AND it is fast, is a new low light leader, has great video and can mount Nikon lenses many of us already have (via adapter).

I mean, I see Nikon here coming out into the mirrorless game, finally, giving all they got. If this fails or looks wimpy next to the Sony’s currently out there then they lose. SO IT HAS TO BE, I REPEAT! IT HAS TO BE AMAZING. I predict it is going to be fantastic, but of course, not perfect. No camera ever is. I love the way the grip looks. A tad beefy but with a slim body. The dial on top looks nice and solid, and I bet the battery life will be superb. I can not wait for more on this new Nikon. I think it is going to be just what I was hoping it would be.

What are your thoughts on this teaser from Nikon today?

 

 

35 Comments

    • Well, they will have two models and I hope, for their sake, that the lower MP version is $2k and the upper is $3k otherwise they will not be able to compete against Sony. So I expect $2k and $3k. Lower res and higher res.

  1. I don’t think its mirrorless or slowly die for Nikon. DSLRs are superb in many situations and will not be easily outdone by mirrorless for wildlife and birds in flight photography . There is NOTHING better than a DSLR today to quickly and accurately focus on a small, fast moving target like a bird. DSLRs too big? Add up the weight of camera AND lens for your X1D, Leica SL, A9, GFX, or similar kit and compare.

  2. I for sure would try it out for the sake of my collection of F-mount lenses. I would keep purchasing z-mount lenses if they make it right.

  3. If Nikon comes out with an adapter to use the Ai coupling with manual-focus lenses, this could be a hit with Nikon fanatics. I like my Df, use with mostly manual focus lenses and can use in very low-light where the AF gives up. Having the F-Stop recorded with the exposure with manual focus lenses is nice, hopefully an adapter can provide similar coupling with a mirrorless camera. I’ll sit back and let others try out the “bleeding edge” cameras, I bought the Df the first weekend that it was available.

    I wonder how long it will take for someone to come out with an S-Mount adapter for it. I use my S-Mount lenses on the Leica.

  4. Why didn’t Nikon release a df2 version ? That would have helped them get some sales from people who wanted smaller bodies. They could have released one or two small manual focus primes. That would have been super

    • Df is still a DSLR, not mirrorless and much fatter than mirrorless. Also, no EVF capabilities which today, IMO and others, much better than an OVF for many reasons. So a Df2 would not have worked. The 1st one did not sell very well as is.

  5. Based on the video and images, it seems that Nikon is putting a lot of emphasis on exaggerating the mount size. Just look at the penultimate image where the actual mount is significantly smaller than the glowing ring.

    I hope this isn’t the only differentiator. 49mm vs the previous 44mm (vs. 54mm for Canon EF) is relevant but not fundamental.

    I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come: I hope Nikon isn’t planning on milking a marketing gimmick (like Fuji X-trans) instead of providing real functionality.

  6. Nikon left my 8 mirrorless Nikon 1 lens for good. I too have to leave Nikon for good. My next camera will not be a Nikon.

  7. Tell me you didn’t halfway expect to hear William Shatner’s voice at the beginning of that teaser video?!? “Space … the final frontier” … these are the voyages …
    right? 😉 Looks like the Z will be a winner!

  8. How cool would that be, an LED ring around the mount to make it easier to mount lenses at night.

  9. I’m definitely intrigued by this thing. And you’re right, Steve. Nikon can’t afford to screw this up, like they’ve screwed up so many of their compact/mirrorless cameras before. Nikon needs to take the mirrorless category very seriously and make this a true pro camera.

    But I’m skeptical that Nikon will pull it off. My feeling is that institutionally they’re still mired in old school DSLR thinking, even after their recent restructuring. I hope I’m wrong, and I’ll certainly look forward to checking it out in August, but I’m not holding my breath.

    • I hear ya. I mean, I want them to get it right but I also have doubts. If we go by the past, it’s clear why we would be skeptical.

    • Nikon cannot afford to mess up this release, and they know it. The good news is that whenever Nikon has released a new flagship model over the past 50 years, it’s been a winner. I suspect this camera will be like the D3 when it was introduced; everyone will be like, “Whoa, what just happened?” And I anticipate performance equal to or greater than the Sony A7III, with some new surprises of its own.

      Part of the reason Nikon waited so long to release this camera wasn’t just because they didn’t want to cannibalize DSLR sales, it was because they didn’t want to release a serious mirrorless model until they could be sure that it had performance that could reliably revival its prosumer DSLRs…at the very least. It also had to meet their standards for ergonomics and build quality. They’ve been quite clear about this in interviews, actually.

      For those who think Nikon lacks mirrorless experience, this is simply untrue. The Nikon 1 came out seven years ago and had the fastest AF of any mirrorless camera at the time…by a wide margin. Its only shortcoming was a sensor too small and a price too big. But they’ve had the engineering know-how to build state-of-the-art mirrorless cameras for a long time now. I suspect they were just biding their time.

  10. The ending of “2001 A Space Odyssey” by Stanley Kubrick is much better IMO

  11. One can only imagine the cost of the camera and the new glass. Hopefully Sigma will soon modify their mirrorless Sony lenses with a Nikon mount and allow one to use glass that is as good and much more reasonably priced.

    Will prints of your files with this new camera be better than prints taken with your present camera? Very unlikely. Colin is completely right.

    Then again, camera manufacturers must introduce new models or go out of business.

    Perhaps competition will drive down prices for the comparable Sony and no doubt the soon to come Canon.

    Try to control your breathless anticipation and walk the dog….then read a book…

  12. The way Nikon has left its previous mirrorless cameras for dead, I’d call it stillborn.

  13. It’s a camera. If you’re a great photographer, it will take great photos. If you’re a terrible photographer, the photos will be terrible.

  14. Nikon will do great with this new FX system. I hope the sensor will be stabilised like the Sonys and there must be be very good quality control in the production, not like the Nikon DSLR bodies, this time.

  15. I’m thinking that the Fuji X-H1 that is arriving at our studio this week has a big enough sensor for great stills and a strong enough video feature set to handle the work we will throw at it. Fuji’s colour is outstanding, and that really should mean so much more for video work than is generally spoken about. The lenses are excellent and well priced when considering the quality. (Have to concede that out and out bang for buck is still sitting with the MFT lenses though). And because of some special that is currently running, I’ve just picked that Fuji body up for less than half the cost of the rumoured entry level Nikon pricing and about two thirds that of the excellent full frame Sony alternative. At just over $1000, the Fuji XT-2 is priced in GH4 territory and they just gave it faster frame rates and F Log via a firmware update for free.

    No way I’m going to go back to Nikon now that I also have the 56mm 1.2, 10-24 f4, an excellent walk-around kit lens and affordable options in between. Also no way a Sony shooter is going to jump from their excellent offerings, especially if they have some good glass too.

    That leaves the Nikon guys, those wanting to step up to full frame and some seriously annoyed Canon shooters. The Canon guys will figure out that Nikon is no match for Canon colour in about 30 seconds. If the rumoured Nikon pricing is ballpark correct, there will be more affordable full frame options from Sony for those wanting to step up from MFT or APS-C.

    So Nikon absolutely must have an excellent lens converter to F mount or they will annoy their only real market that is left – the remaining Nikon shooters who have invested in existing glass. Which is the very least they need to do if they intend to be around in another five years.

    • “The Canon guys will figure out that Nikon is no match for Canon colour in about 30 seconds.”

      LOL. And the Nikon guys will figure out that Canon is no match for Nikon DR and high ISO in about 10 seconds.

  16. “What are your thoughts on this teaser from Nikon today?”

    Well there are things we know we know and there are things we know we don’t know and then there are things we don’t know we don’t know.

    I think they should call this camera the Nikon Rumsfeld.

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