NikkeiCiting sources, Nikon will terminate its SLR camera business and will focus on the development of mirrorless cameras.In subsequent external statementsIt emphasized that this report was only unilateral speculation by the media and not an official announcement. It also stated that the company will continue to produce and sell SLR cameras in the future and will continue to provide technical support for subsequent products.
Compared to Sony's continued strong development of mirrorless camera products, companies including OM Digital Solutions (formerly the Olympus brand) and Panasonic are also actively developing mirrorless camera products. Nikon, Canon, and Pantex are almost the only ones still providing SLR camera products in the market.
However, as the camera market has been squeezed by smartphones in recent years, traditional camera manufacturers have gradually abandoned their pursuit of lightweight, portable models and turned to developing higher-end digital SLRs or entering the mirrorless camera market. Nikon and Canon subsequently made compromises and began to offer mirrorless models in response to market trends.
However, perhaps to prevent mirrorless cameras from impacting the existing SLR market, both Nikon and Canon initially chose to position their mirrorless cameras as entry-level models. Even though Nikon chose to use a 1-inch sensor in its mirrorless cameras to address image quality issues, it ultimately lost out to competition from mirrorless cameras launched by Sony and other manufacturers due to a limited lens selection and unattractive product prices.
Canon, which faced the eventual discontinuation of its earlier EOS M series, is now attempting to seize market share from Sony's full-frame mirrorless cameras with the EOS R series. Nikon, on the other hand, is currently attempting to gain market share with the Nikon Z series, but its market share remains significantly lower than Canon's.
Although Nikon has clarified that it has not announced the termination of its SLR camera business, the content of its statement seems somewhat reserved. It only stated that it will continue to produce and sell SLR camera products and provide product technical support services, but did not specifically state whether it will continue to develop new digital SLR models in the future.
