# Nikon rumored to announce two full-frame mirrorless cameras next week



## dascrow (Aug 14, 2018)

​Nikon Rumors reports that Nikon plans to introduce two full-frame mirrorless cameras next Thursday, August 23rd. The cameras are called the Z6 and Z7, according to the rumor, and they would be introduced alongside three lenses designed for the new system.

Here are the rumored specs of the upcoming models:

*Nikon Z6 *will include a 24 megapixel full frame sensor.
*Nikon Z7 *will feature a 45 megapixel high resolution sensor.
Source: NikonRumors


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## waday (Aug 14, 2018)

Interesting. While I won't be investing in them, I hope the cameras are worth the hype and fanfare.



dascrow said:


> they would be introduced alongside three lenses designed for the new system


According to the rumor: 

24-70mm f/4;
50mm f/1.8; and, 
One more wide angle lens (24mm f/1.8 or 28mm f/1.8 or 35mm f/1.8).
Apparently they also have a 58mm f/0.95 planned?


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## Derrel (Aug 14, 2018)

I read the NikonRumors 'roundup' article...looks like Nikon has got two very modern designs ready to launch soon, as well as some wide-aperture lenses, including a 58mm f/0.95 model, and two,or perhaps three, fast wide-angles (24mm,28mm,and 35mm), and a ...boring 24-70mm f/4...

Z-mount as possibly the name for the new lens mount...huh...

This ought to prove interesting...wondering if Nikon can convince people they need an FX mirrorless solution? An interesting article regarding mirrorless here: Photos and Stuff: MIRRORLESS REVOLUTION!

Of greatest interest to me is the alleged F-mount converter.


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## shadowlands (Aug 16, 2018)

I'll take a Z6, thanks.


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## astroNikon (Aug 16, 2018)

Going high end for the profit first.

Now we have to wait how long for the APS-C iterations ??


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## Destin (Aug 16, 2018)

Z7 vs D850 comparisons will be interesting. I suspect they’ll use the same sensor, or very similar.


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## Designer (Aug 16, 2018)

astroNikon said:


> Going high end for the profit first.
> 
> Now we have to wait how long for the APS-C iterations ??


Why would they pair a APS-C sensor with that huge-a$$ mount?  Makes no sense.


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## Destin (Aug 16, 2018)

Designer said:


> astroNikon said:
> 
> 
> > Going high end for the profit first.
> ...



To appeal to a broader market and sell more units. The more of the same parts you can use across different models, the more cost efficient your production can become and the more money you can make.

Why put different sensor sizes in the F mount? Why continue to make APS-C sized sensors in the F-mount once FX sensors were produced?


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## Designer (Aug 16, 2018)

Destin said:


> Designer said:
> 
> 
> > astroNikon said:
> ...


The F mount came first (in film cameras), then the APS-C (due to sensor manufacturing economics), then the "full size" sensor (as manufacturing capabilities advanced and became more affordable).


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## Destin (Aug 16, 2018)

Designer said:


> Destin said:
> 
> 
> > Designer said:
> ...



Right. But once the FX sensor was released they could have easily discontinued DX sensors. But that wouldn’t have made any sense from a marketing perspective. 

I can almost guarantee that the marketing department at Nikon has a DX mirrorless camera in the works to compete with Fuji. They would be foolish not to.


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## Designer (Aug 17, 2018)

Destin said:


> Right. But once the FX sensor was released they could have easily discontinued DX sensors. But that wouldn’t have made any sense from a marketing perspective.


Wrong!  The smaller DX sensor is still cheaper to produce than the larger FX sensor, so it fills a lower-price point than the FX cameras.  Marketing is partially about market share, so that is why they still produce the less-expensive cameras as well as the more expensive models.

The new mount is way larger, which implies a larger sensor is coming someday.  The new mount has nothing to do with introducing a new DX-sized camera.


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## waday (Aug 17, 2018)

Designer said:


> The new mount is way larger, which implies a larger sensor is coming someday.


I was wondering that... didn't some of the early rumors seem to indicate medium format?


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## Destin (Aug 17, 2018)

Designer said:


> Destin said:
> 
> 
> > Right. But once the FX sensor was released they could have easily discontinued DX sensors. But that wouldn’t have made any sense from a marketing perspective.
> ...



Yes, but based on that logic they will produce smaller sensors in this as well. Their options are:

A: allow other manufacturers to own the APS-C mirrorless market and give up market share

B: put an APS-C sensor in a camera with this mount 

C: Develop an entirely new mount for APS-C mirrorless camera’s. 


A and C seem extremely unlikely to me. B makes the most sense from a production and marketing perspective.


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## Dave442 (Aug 17, 2018)

Why don’t the camera makers release a sensor that makes use of 100% of the area that the lens projects. My binoculars and scopes show me a round image. It would seem that a new camera mount and lens lineup could exploit this potential. 

With digital not limited by the shape of film the sensor could be circular and different crop overlays could be shown in the viewfinder, or just crop later in post.


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## waday (Aug 17, 2018)

Dave442 said:


> Why don’t the camera makers release a sensor that makes use of 100% of the area that the lens projects. My binoculars and scopes show me a round image. It would seem that a new camera mount and lens lineup could exploit this potential.
> 
> With digital not limited by the shape of film the sensor could be circular and different crop overlays could be shown in the viewfinder, or just crop later in post.


My guess is that it has to do with production... if they cut multiple sensors from a single sheet, they have "nothing" left over with rectangular sensors. There'd be a lot of waste with round sensors. Hexagon sensors, though... there'd be less waste than circular sensors.

Not to mention that everything else is rectangular or square in format (e.g., frames, paper).

It's easier to just tilt your camera to get different perspectives than to do it in post.


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## Derrel (Aug 17, 2018)

As I understand it and from the drawings I've seen, it looks like these new Nikon bodies could easily take the digital medium format sensor size that is sometimes referred to as the 43 mm size, like the Fuji GSX, or the medium format Pentax models.


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## Designer (Aug 17, 2018)

waday said:


> Designer said:
> 
> 
> > The new mount is way larger, which implies a larger sensor is coming someday.
> ...


Yessir!  Don't know when, but I think it is coming.


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## Designer (Aug 17, 2018)

Destin said:


> Yes, but based on that logic they will produce smaller sensors in this as well. Their options are:
> 
> A: allow other manufacturers to own the APS-C mirrorless market and give up market share
> 
> ...


(B) O.K., they COULD, but why on earth would they?  The extra large mount simply doesn't want or need a "crop" sensor.

Nikon already has a good range of DX cameras, albethey DSLRs with mirrors, so they have that format fairly well covered already.

As to the "mirrorless" line, since there isn't any real advantage other than eliminating mirror slap, I don't think Nikon will be losing significant market share even if they never produce a mirrorless camera, in either FX or DX size.

What real advantages are inherent in mirrorless cameras, and why do people want them?

(edit) O.K., I just thought of one; silent shooting.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 17, 2018)

Derrel said:


> I read the NikonRumors 'roundup' article...looks like Nikon has got two very modern designs ready to launch soon, as well as some wide-aperture lenses, including a 58mm f/0.95 model, and two,or perhaps three, fast wide-angles (24mm,28mm,and 35mm), and a ...boring 24-70mm f/4...
> 
> Z-mount as possibly the name for the new lens mount...huh...
> 
> ...



Sony is the A lfa mount and Nikon is the Z omega mount....


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## astroNikon (Aug 20, 2018)

The larger mount was also designed to accept an adapter so non-Z mount F-mount lenses can be used.
No reason to make it perfect in size and prevent compatibility to the existing F mount.


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## petrochemist (Aug 20, 2018)

Designer said:


> What real advantages are inherent in mirrorless cameras, and why do people want them?
> 
> (edit) O.K., I just thought of one; silent shooting.



Personally:
Adaptability (including rangefinder lenses etc)
Low light shooting
WYSIWYG particularly in IR etc.
Focus peaking/magnified view in viewfinder
even sometimes Review of shots via the viewfinder

Then there's Viewfinder during video if that's of interest & there are other advantages such as 'live composite' with some models too.


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## astroNikon (Aug 20, 2018)

Designer said:


> Nikon already has a good range of DX cameras, albethey DSLRs with mirrors, so they have that format fairly well covered already.
> 
> As to the "mirrorless" line, since there isn't any real advantage other than eliminating mirror slap, I don't think Nikon will be losing significant market share even if they never produce a mirrorless camera, in either FX or DX size.
> 
> ...


At one time SONY didn't make Mirrorless cameras.  They had their DSLR cameras.

Based on your statement that "I don't think Nikon will be losing significant market share even if they never produce a mirrorless camera, in either FX or DX size."

Technically then, SONY should not have sold one Mirrorless camera against their DSLRs.
And Nikon and Canon should never lose market share against Mirrorless cameras even in their own lineup, and neither should produce any at all.

But what is another technical advantage of mirorrless? FPS

Nikon has their 20fps Nikon1 (others are 15 and 10fps).  They also had their now gone from their website "pro" mirrorless with a fixed lens that also did 20fps I believe.
But it's going to cost a lot more to get a DSLR's speed up to 20fps, and make it wholly affordable in the under $1,000 camera kit arena.

As SONY sells more mirrorless (and FujiFilm, Canon, etc) , you wonder what market share Nikon could have had additional to their DSLRs if they just do it right versus just making a weak alternative that they've hopefully had up until now.

Video has also driven the market.  You personally, may not do video, but that doesn't mean other people don't.

One's individual Personal preference doesn't drive overall market share.
The camera makers have to move with where technology is in order to continue to compete.  

You can probably list of a bunch of tech companies that thought newer tech stuff was fads and decided to compete too late and their names have gone to history.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 20, 2018)

astroNikon said:


> The larger mount was also designed to accept an adapter so non-Z mount F-mount lenses can be used.
> No reason to make it perfect in size and prevent compatibility to the existing F mount.


apparently,  they are going to include a free f mount adapter with the purchase of the camera and the 58mm f/.095


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## Destin (Aug 20, 2018)

Breaking News

The new teaser video that just got emailed to me has me really excited.


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## Designer (Aug 20, 2018)

astroNikon said:


> Technically then, SONY should not have sold one Mirrorless camera against their DSLRs.
> And Nikon and Canon should never lose market share against Mirrorless cameras even in their own lineup, and neither should produce any at all.


I did qualify that with "significant" market share.

Besides; I don't think Nikon needs to be concerned about Sony in the long run.  Sony is primarily a consumer electronics company, whereas Nikon has a solid foundation and wide product line in optics.  

As for "FPS", you can just purchase a Sony video camera and beat that 20fps speed any day of the week.

Yes, there are some advantages to an EVF, but how many photographers will be willing to spend the money?


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## Braineack (Aug 20, 2018)

Designer said:


> Yes, there are some advantages to an EVF, but how many photographers will be willing to spend the money?



a lot.

Sony tops full-frame camera market in US ahead of Nikon’s big announcement



> Sony has officially surpassed Canon to lead the full-frame camera market in the United States. The company claims to have taken a lead “in both dollars and units” sold. But it likely won’t have too much time to rest on its laurels, given that Nikon is expected to be looking to muscle in on Sony’s full-frame mirrorless cameras next week.



the sony system aint cheap...


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## Destin (Aug 20, 2018)

Designer said:


> astroNikon said:
> 
> 
> > As for "FPS", you can just purchase a Sony video camera and beat that 20fps speed any day of the week.
> ...


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## astroNikon (Aug 20, 2018)

Braineack said:


> the sony system aint cheap...



I'm going to take a leaping guess and state that the Nikon system isn't going to be cheap either.


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## astroNikon (Aug 20, 2018)

Designer said:


> I did qualify that with "significant" market share.
> 
> _Besides; I don't think Nikon needs to be concerned about Sony in the long run.  Sony is primarily a consumer electronics company, whereas Nikon has a solid foundation and wide product line in optics.  _
> 
> ...


And that's how many in various industries have lost their entire market; by ignoring competition.  SONY has been expanding their lineup with both cameras and lenses.  Matter of fact .. where does Nikon get their sensors ?

SONY has an entire lineup of mirrorless cameras. So people can initially buy into the system and move up the lineup if they wish.  They started with the APS-C sensors if I recall, then moved up the food chain.  Whereas Nikon is starting on top and hopefully will move down the line.
A9 - $4,100 (retail)
A7r3 - $3,000
a7r2 - $2,000
a7e - $1,100 (skipping a few camera bodies too)
a6500 - $1,200
a6300 - $900
a6000 - $450
a5100 - $350


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## Derrel (Aug 20, 2018)

Braineack said:
			
		

> the sony system aint cheap...



And it's because the Sony system is not cheap that Nikon is going head to head with Sony with 24 and 45 megapixel full frame mirrorless models at introduction in just a couple days.

It makes sense to try and offer an alternative to the leader especially if you are Nikon, and the leader is Sony. 
Pretty much the same sensors in the same mega pixel count but two different brands, one with a very long history and cameras and the other a much shorter history in cameras


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