Interview with the Image Division director of Nikon France

An interview with Benoît de Dieuleveult, the new director of Nikon France's

Image Division, has just been published in the June issue of the photo

magazine "Réponses Photo". I enclose a translation of part of the interview,

which gives some indications about Nikon's future releases:

 

"Question: Nikon seems to have focused mainly on the amateur market in recent

times with the D80, D40 and the Coolpix. Has the professional sector become

secondary?"

 

"Answer: First of all, even if we haven't produced a body with 1 digit (D1,

D2...) recently, a body like the D200 is much appreciated by professional

photographers. We have sold almost 20,000 bodies in 2006. Also, Nikon has

continued to produce a large number of pro optics, which have also received a

very favourable response. Finally, we maintain a constant effort to develop the

quality of our services: Nikon School, after sales service."

 

"Q: What can we expect during the next months?"

 

"A: Nikon does not have the intention to reduce its activities on the pro

market, quite the contrary. We are preparing very nice products, which will

allow us to recover market shares in this sector. I cannot tell you anything

for the moment, but you will not be disappointed..."

 

In the last part of the interview, which concerns mainly Nikon France, the

director mentions the fact that all remarks made by Nikon users and also those

remarks made by professional photographers during specially organized meetings

are reported back to the R & D department of Nikon Japan. I really hope that

Nikon is indeed listening to its customer base.

 

The article that accompanies the interview is a reflection of the various

rumours that are circulating the web, so I won't go into these, as they have

surely already been discussed many times and are rather pointless anyway. It

does say however that we are likely to see some new launches during the rugby

world cup, to be held in September 2007.

Excellent. More competiton for Canon at the high end. Get those prices down.

Jan, thanks for the translation.

It is good to know that Nikon wants to recover some market shares in the pro sector. I am curious about the new "ammunition" they'll bring along... I definitely want a Nikon "5D"... Don't want to wait for it much longer too!

Rather lame of him to mention the D200 as a pro alternative since Nikon doesn't actually recognize the D200 as a pro camera (owning two or more of them does not qualify you for NPS).

Concerning new products, as far as I know, Nikon headquarters frequently does not inform their subsidiaries until very late, shortly before the actual announcement. Whoever is in charge is Nikon France (or Nikon UK, USA, Canada, etc.) does not necessarily know a whole lot, and even if they do, they won't say anything useful prior to actual product announcement.

 

Frankly, Nikon has pretty much abandoned the pro market for several years. The D2H/D2Hs has been hopelessly out of date for several years and the D2X is over 2 years old. Talk is cheap; I would take it with a grain of salt.

Time will tell Shun. Time will tell. :-)

 

I have nothing but faith in Nikon. That's why I've been shooting with Nikon cameras since 1980.

 

JMHO

 

Lil

hi Lil ...

 

and AMC has been making automobiles since 1954. oh wait, they quit in 1987. Bronica started in 1958 and killed off the last body in late 2005, Contax in 2005, etc.

 

i'm certainly not trying to be negative on this subject, but companies do examine their margins. it's a well known fact that Nikon has been concentrating on the consumer market for quite a while now, and for good reason, since much can be made there (in terms of volume).

 

yes, some predict that Nikon has been concentrating on the this market to enable them to fund R&D for a higher-end body. film is pretty much dead ... we havent seen much in the non-DX glass, but are seeing activity in the DX lens department.

 

so, if Nikon decides to come out with a D3(some letter), then the next logical question is, "is it a FF"?. based on current Nikkor activity, what WOULD be the logical answer?

 

personally, i think we're done (as well as the manfacturers) with the megapixel race. i think the most we'll see from now on is 12 MP sensors for the "35mm" category (which is why i now have a ZD).

 

i'd LOVE to see a collaboration and eventual marriage of the SuperCCD and Foveon sensors, say, one in the 10-12 MP (effective pixel) range for a "35mm" category body.

 

anyway, so back to Nikon and the future. it HAS been a long time since Nikon has done anything for the pro market. i'll give them till the end of the year before i make any sort of "switching" decision.

 

if Nikon offer's nothing "serious", i'll dump all my Nikon bodies, keep a couple of Nikkors for my Fuji S5, add another lens for my ZD, and fill my gear box with Canon equipment.

 

warm regards, michael

Michael wrote:

 

if Nikon offer's nothing "serious", i'll dump all my Nikon bodies, keep a couple of Nikkors for my Fuji S5, add another lens for my ZD, and fill my gear box with Canon equipment.

 

My reply:

 

That's curious, if Nikon does offer up a state of the art pro body (I'm pretty sure they will), then are you going to keep you Nikon bodies? Seems to me the point you are trying to make is you want to replace your Nikon bodies regardless of what Nikon does.

hi Anthony ...

 

let's say Nikon comes out with the D-300 with nothing very special beyond what the D200 offers (and offers no pro level body). i'll sell all my Nikon bodies and Nikkors and SBxxx flash units, sans a couple of Nikkors to use with the S5. i'll use that money to buy up Canon gear.

 

if Nikon comes out with the, say, D3, i'll keep all my Nikon gear, get the new D3, and push forward as usual.

 

regards, michael

Hi Michael,

 

My guess is that you will be pressed for cash to pay for that D3, so you probably will still need to sell some Nikon bodies to pay for it. Either way, got a D2x you will be selling?