Nikon have confirmed the impending release of a new mirrorless camera by issuing the teaser video below.
The market share of the major camera manufacturers have been reducing over the last few years due to mainly the penetration of mobile phone cameras into the market place. For much of my photography the mobile phone cameras do not cut it mainly due to the dynamic range offered and their low light capability.
It is good to see that there is something new in mirrorless on the horizon from Nikon. This new mirrorless camera from Nikon will have a new lens mount due to the fact that mirrorless cameras do not require a mirror box as the standard digital single lens reflex cameras require.
Nikon have gained plenty of experience with the Nikon 1 System.
Since the new camera requires a new mount, there is no reason that the camera will stick to the standard FX format and I would not be surprised if the new camera incorportes a new sensor size a little larger than the current FX format, time will tell as we get further information on this new camera format.
With a new mount, new lenses will be required and there is no reason why the new mount can not have new lenses with a larger image circle to cover a larger sensor size.
If the sensor in this new camera is larger than FX then Nikon could implement a crop mode with an adapter such that all existing FX lenses could be used in a crop mode. Also if the sensor is to be larger than the existing FX sensor then it is more likely that Nikons future camera business will be protected from any future ingress of mobile phone cameras into their sales.
More Information
The new camera that Nikon has announced is for the development of a full-frame, Nikon FX-format, mirrorless camera and NIKKOR lenses that features a new mount. It will not have a larger sensor than the FX size.
The mirrorless camera and NIKKOR lenses that are in development will enable better optical performance, with the adoption of the new mount. The mirrorless camera is the result of Nikon’s advanced optical and manufacturing capabilities gained through over a century of their heritage, as well as superior image processing technology. The expertise built up through the development of Nikon’s digital-SLR cameras has also critically contributed to this development.
With this new mirrorless camera and Nikkor lenses, they have stated that they are committed to providing photographers with the ability to capture images that are richer and more vivid than ever before.
Additionally, a new mount adapter is being developed for the new mirrorless camera. This will work with the F-Mount NIKKOR lenses that are part of the Nikon digital-SLR system, adding to the variety of choices for photographers.
I will update this post as more information comes to hand from Nikon.