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Former Nikon R&D General Manager says the DSLR era “is already over”

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With recent rumours of Nikon’s withdrawal from the DSLR market – to which Nikon quickly responded by denying nothing – it was almost inevitable, really, that more would come out of this. Now, former Nikon General Manager and designer of the Nikon Df DSLR, Tetsuro Goto has also responded to the situation essentially saying that SLRs have already reached their peak performance and there’s nothing left to do.

His opinion is neither confirming nor denying any claims on behalf of Nikon but he believes that the SLR system as a whole is dead – Don’t tell Pentax. “I think the ‘historical’ role of SLRs has already ended, he says in an interview with AERA dot. He believes that it’s reached the point at which the technology is the best it can ever be and that, in at least Nikon’s case, “the mirrorless Z series should inherit it”.

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Nikon Z9 is the first Z camera to get DSLR-like focus speeds with adapted F mount AF-S lenses

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When Nikon started shifting over from the screw-drive autofocus system of their regular F mount AF lenses to their AF-S system they started adding autofocus motors inside the lens itself. One of the key selling points at the time was that no matter which camera you were using, the lens would always rack from minimum to maximum focus at the same speed as the motor was in the lens itself.

Along comes Z mount with adapted F mount lenses and this didn’t hold true anymore, with them generally spinning slower (albeit achieving similar overall results due to the more advanced AF system). Not anymore, though. According to this video from photographer Dariusz Breś, Nikon seems to have gotten AF-S lenses spinning just as fast on the Nikon Z9 as they did with their DSLRs.

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Nikon reported to be abandoning DSLRS – But are they?

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There’s a lot of talk at the moment about Nikon leaving the DSLR market after a report was published on Nikkei Asia. Nikkei says that they have “learned” that Nikon is leaving the SLR business after a 60-year history with them in order to focus on mirrorless cameras now that they “have become mainstream products on the back of more advanced digital technologies”.

Nikon was quick to respond to the article, stating that it “is only speculation and Nikon has made no announcement in this regards” and that they will continue the production, sales and service of Nikon digital SLR products.  But are they? It’s not really a denial and it feels like Nikon hasn’t really shown their DSLR side any attention in a while.

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Nikon’s F mount legacy takes one step closer to death as Nikon kills off another seven lenses

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The demise of Nikon’s DSLR product line, along with the F mount lens system that Nikon has been using for over 60 years, was pretty much inevitable with the company’s transition to mirrorless. We’ve seen them slowly kill off their DSLRs and a few of the F mount lenses, and now a few more appear to have been added to that list, according to the Nikon USA website.

Seven lenses have disappeared from the current model lens list on the Nikon USA website with product pages for those lenses indicating that “This product has been archived”. This is code for “Don’t bother, it’s been discontinued”. While they’re still available from some retailers, they probably won’t be available for much longer and once stocks run out, new ones are gone forever.

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Nikon kills off more of its APS-C and full-frame F mount lenses

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I’ve been saying for years that the “Death of DSLRs” will come when the manufacturers give up on them and not before – no matter what people on YouTube or in Facebook groups might say. And, well, the time finally seems to be upon us where that’s happening. Canon is killing off EF mount lenses, Nikon probably isn’t planning to replace its DSLRs and they just killed off more lenses.

With just the AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR APS-C kit lens being killed off a few days ago and the 200mm f/2G ED VR II last month, it now seems Nikon has expanded the list of discontinued lenses. Nikon has said that they’re going to be bringing out more lenses, but they’re all going to be Z mount lenses, not F mount.

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Nikon seems to be killing off its DX DSLR body and lens lineup

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Well, this wasn’t much of a surprise, really. With the expected announcement of the Nikon Z30 and DX-format Z mount lenses already a thing, it was only a matter of time before Nikon started killing off their DSLR gear. Well, that and the fact the rumours of it happening started almost two years ago.

Now, though, that disappearance seems to be becoming official, with the AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens (the typical entry-level kit lens) listed as discontinued on the Nikon website and virtually all of their DX-format DSLRs being out of stock, at least in some camera combinations if not completely.

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Tamron warns of compatibility issues with some of its lenses on the Nikon D6

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Tamron has issued a statement about the compatibility of some of its lenses with the Nikon D6 DSLR. According to the press release, only a couple of lenses are currently known to be affected, although it’s worth pointing out that they don’t say mention that their other lenses have all been tested as fully working. So, there is potential for this list to expand.

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The Nikon D780 has officially been announced with Eye AF and 4K 10-Bit HDMI output

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It’s been a long time coming, but the Nikon D750 has finally been replaced. Nikon has today announced the new Nikon D780 DSLR. It offers a very slightly higher resolution 24.5-megapixel sensor, and 4K video at 30-fps with N-Log and 10-Bit output over HDMI. It also sees significantly improved high ISO performance capping out at ISO 51200 over its predecessor’s 12800.

It’s a nice refresh from its predecessor, with the full speed 1/8000th of a second fastest shutter speed, fixing one of the biggest complaints of the D750. It also gains Eye AF when shooting with live view enabled for a more mirrorless-like experience. Liveview also provides silent shooting at up to 12 frames per second.

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Z mount and F mount go head-to-head in this Nikon 85mm f/1.8G vs 85mm f/1.8S comparison

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One of the biggest issues any time a new camera system is released, is the lack of lenses. It’s what held back Sony’s first couple of generations, and it’s one of the hesitations amongst buyers towards Canon and Nikon’s mirrorless offerings – especially when the native RF and Z mount lenses are so expensive.

Fortunately, both Nikon and Canon have a long history and have released their own lens adapters for the new systems. But how does a Nikon 85mm f/1.8G lens compare to the Nikon 85mm f/1.8S? That’s what Dariusz Breś wanted to find out, so he compared the $427 F mount lens to the $797 Z mount lens on the Nikon Z7.

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Take a trip down Nikon lens memory lane from their first lenses for Canon cameras to modern Z mount

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Like many people, I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Ken Rockwell over the years. But it’s Christmas Eve, and I’m in a relatively festive mood, so here we go. Ken has put out a video on the history of Nikon lenses that’s actually got some quite interesting information about it. It starts way back at Nikon’s beginnings 100 years and goes right up to the modern Z mount lenses.

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