Is Nikon stopping making DSLRs?

Piet van Kroonenburg wrote on Saturday 16 July 2022 at 21:42  | reply

As far as I'm concerned, DSLRs could have gone to the museum a while ago. I made the switch to the (Fujifilm) mirrorless camera back in 2016 and have been very happy with it. Since then, my Nikon D700 full frame has been gathering dust (figuratively speaking, by the way), and it has surprised me that Canon and Nikon in particular continued to cling to DSLRs for far too long. Against their better judgment or purely to please the professional group? The recent switch by both giants will undoubtedly have had something to do with the strong rise of Sony's mirrorless cameras among professional users. The DSLR is fit for a museum, so to speak.

I have a Nikon DSLR. I'm very happy with it. It would be a bit of a shame to switch to a mirrorless camera now... unless... I can take my lenses with me.

Stopping the DSLR line is simply a logical consequence of the system camera line reaching maturity. From a business perspective, it makes no sense to let both camera lines coexist, with all the duplicate costs that entails.

When the system camera was introduced, it was clear that it would eventually replace the DSLR. In the beginning, the system camera still had all kinds of disadvantages: no good EVF, sluggish AF, etc. However, these were all technical limitations, which sooner or later would be removed by technical progress. That point has now been reached for Nikon., and so it no longer makes sense not to invest time, money and effort in the DSLR line.

Sony was the first to leave the DSLR in 2010. On the one hand, there was the introduction of the NEX line with the new E-mount, and on the other hand, the DSLR line was replaced by the SLT line, using the existing A-mount. Yes, the SLT was also a system camera, and not a DSLR. The "mirror"was no more than a splitter to provide light to the AF module. Otherwise it was a system camera: always Live View, same PDAF for photo and video, EVF, etc. SLT was an interim solution, necessary because the AF system on the E-mount cameras did not have the required speed. Once the E-mount cameras were at the same level in terms of AF speed and AF accuracy etc. through PDAF on the sensor, Sony stopped with A-mount, and a good adapter was developed with which virtually all A-mount lenses can be used on the system cameras, while retaining AF, using the modern AF system in the camera.

Nikon has now reached this point, and it will not take long for Canon either.

The DLSR has been technologically overtaken by the system camera and has thereby become redundant.

@Nando,

Thanks for your response. Indeed, I see it that way too. Perhaps in due time I’ll drop by the photographer and buy a mirrorless body for my Nikon and then make use of the adapters for the lenses. First I’ll have to figure it all out properly.
Of course I understand very well that the line is not being continued and that the mirrorless camera will take over everything.
But such beautiful photos are still coming out of my DLSR, so I’ll keep using it for a little while longer anyway.

Nikon is stopping further development but not sales.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 19 July 2022 at 11:40  | reply

@Henri:
I was enthusiastic about the GPS of the EOS 5D4 at first too, but eventually stopped using it myself.
Now that I have a camera without GPS, I use the GPS tracker on my smartphone when needed. Then I can synchronize the data in Lightroom later and the GPS data is available in the EXIF.
I'm still looking for a good standalone GPS data logger, but that doesn't seem to be so easy. With such a little device, the smartphone could be left behind.
Anyway, something like that could be an alternative for you.

Henri wrote on Tuesday 19 July 2022 at 14:42  | reply

@Nando,

For the 5DMk4 I had the Mk3 including the GP-E2 GPS receiver.
I really regret selling that GP-E2, because now it turns out that it can also work with the R5 and R6 and it is no longer being manufactured.
The accompanying Canon software no longer works (very customer-friendly...) but with the free Picmeta PIE you can easily open RAW files in Google Maps and see where the photo was taken without strange detours.
For my travel photos I still find it very useful that I can see where the photo was taken.
In the original Canon software that came with the GP-E2 GPS receiver, you could even see where you had pointed the camera! That was really great.
I don't understand why there is suddenly no GPS to be found in the R series at all anymore: it uses power, but you can turn it off. All those (increasingly more complicated/advanced) video capabilities are in there, and I absolutely do nothing with them.

I get a bit of a 'Jomanda vibe' with this kind of text. Nobody knows exactly what the future will bring. Just look at the vinyl record

Personally, I prefer a DSLR, for several reasons. One of them is the weight: a D810 with battery grip and Nikon 70-200 mounted gives me more stability, precisely because of the weight. Maybe I’m Spartan....but I like it that way!

Henri wrote on Tuesday 19 July 2022 at 20:28  | reply

@ Johan Meynckens

Photoshop CS6 does not recognize the RAW files from this newer generation of Nikon cameras. Each new camera model has its own RAW files. Adobe regularly releases updates to support new cameras, but unfortunately no longer for their older Photoshop versions. That is part of their business model.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 20 July 2022 at 10:13  | reply

@Johan Meynckens:
The solution to this problem is simple. Download the DNG converter from Adobe (free) and convert your raw files to the DNG file.
The DNG file can be read by the old CS6 and LR5.