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Nikon has finally announced its MC-N10 remote control grip for Z mirrorless cameras

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Back in April when Nikon announced the Nikon Z9 firmware update (don’t install it, there’s a newer one), they also teased the development of a new product. But not just a new product, an entirely new type of product. For Nikon, at least. It was the Nikon MC-N10 Remote Grip for use with Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. Essentially, it was a duplicate of the handgrip of the camera for remote operation.

Designed primarily for use on things like shoulder rigs, the Nikon MC-N10 grip provides a whole extra set of controls including start/stop recording, ISO, AF-ON, shutter button, ISO, exposure control, and the usual array of buttons as well as front and rear command dials and an on/off switch.

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Nikon’s Nikkor Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S features a built-in 1.4x teleconverter for 840mm f/5.6 reach

Hey, guess what? Yeah, that’s right, more gear announcements. This time it’s Nikon’s turn with their new Nikkor Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S lens. This 600mm monster has a maximum aperture of f/4 and a built-in 1.4x teleconverter to give you the equivalent of an 840mm f/5.6 lens without any extra hardware required. Of course, for more extreme needs, it’s also compatible with Nikon’s Z mount 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, too.

The autofocus is powered by Nikon’s Silky Swift Voice Coil Motor (SSVCM) with an optical encoder to ensure precise positioning with high-speed motorsports and wildlife. Its built-in Vibration Reduction provides up to 5 stops of stabilisation or 5.5 stops when using a Nikon Z camera that supports Synchro VR. It’s built to handle extreme situations and is fully weather-sealed from dust, dirt and moisture.

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Yongnuo is releasing a $50 35mm f/2 autofocus lens for Nikon Z mirrorless cameras

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There aren’t too many third-party autofocus lenses on the market for Nikon Z mount. In fact, the only two that springs to mind are Yongnuo’s 85mm f/1.8 DF DSM and Tamron’s 70-200mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD, both released earlier this year. Now, Yongnuo’s about to release another one. A teaser posted to Yongnuo’s Facebook page, hints at an upcoming Yongnuo 35mm f/2Z DF DSM lens being released soon. Perhaps even later today.

There isn’t a lot of information in the image. There’s a diagram showing the focal length, maximum aperture and dimensions, but that’s pretty much it. It’s interesting to see Yongnuo pushing ahead with autofocus Z mount lenses, though, when almost nobody else is.

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1970s Nikkor 58mm f/1.0 lens fetches record-breaking €187,500 in an auction

We’ve seen our fair share of record-breaking cameras and lenses in terms of prices. And now, Nikon has broken its own record with the highest-ever price its lens fetched at an auction.

A super-rare 1970s Nikkor 58mm f/1.0 lens was sold for €187,500 (~$183,500) at the latest Wetzlar Camera auction. And this whopping price isn’t for nothing – the lens so rare that it seems to be the only one of its kind known to date.[Read More…]

Nikon is trying to invalidate RED’s raw video patent, arguing it shouldn’t have been granted in the first place

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It’s no secret that RED is very protective of its patents, particularly the one covering the internal recording of compressed raw video. They’ve pursued it pretty relentlessly over the years, stifling the competition and probably setting back camera development by quite a few years. DJI and Kinefinity are rumoured to have removed their internal raw capabilities over RED’s threats. More recently, however, RED’s sights have been aimed towards Nikon.

Nikon announced in April that the Nikon Z9 was going to gain internal 12-Bit ProRes RAW and 8K 12-Bit N-RAW in a firmware update. The very next month, RED sued them over patent infringement claims as a result. In September, Nikon denied that they’d done so and now we know why. They’re claiming RED should’ve never been granted the patent in the first place and this video from FrameVoyager summarises the whole saga in probably the best way I’ve seen so far.

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That Nikon Z mirrorless body roadmap that’s been floating lately around is 100% fake

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There’s been an image floating around for a few days now, first posted by Nikon Rumors and then picked up by just about every other rumours site. On first glance, it does look like it could be quite real, with various models being touted for release over the next couple of years including a new “Z90”, 2nd generation Z50, 3rd generation Z6 and Z7 bodies, a Z8 in between those and the Z9 and new Z f mirrorless follow up to the Nikon Df DSLR.

Well, the original creator of this chart reached out to Nikon Rumors to confirm that it is completely made up. The original creator tells NR that the chart is something he’d initially created for a forum post back in 2009, with a summary of Nikon’s interchangeable lens cameras so far and a wish list of sorts for future camera release predictions. The list that seems to have gotten everybody in a frenzy looks like this:

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Nikon releases the “new” 17-28mm f/2.8 Z mount lens but it looks an awful lot like a rehoused Tamron

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Nikon has announced the new Nikkor Z 17-28mm f/2.8 lens. We all knew it was coming, there have been several rumours that a “new” Nikon Z lens was on the way, and there were also rumours that this might be yet another rehoused and rebadged Tamron lens and it seems that the rumours were true. The optical makeup is pretty much identical to the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD for Sony.

While it’s a shame that Nikon doesn’t seem to be developing at least some of their own glass anymore, it does speak volumes as to the quality of Tamron today, if Nikon is willing to put their name on somebody else’s $1,200 lens. It’s also not much of a surprise that Nikon seems to be outsourcing Z mount lens development. Even though Nikon is starting to show a profit again, they’re not out of the woods yet.

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Nikon denies RED’s infringement accusations, ready to prove it in court

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Earlier this year, RED filed a lawsuit against Nikon blaming them for illegally copying their video compression patent. Nikon announced the new version 2.0 firmware for the Nikon Z9, and RED claimed that Nikon illegally infringed on seven patents that deal with “a video camera that can be configured to highly compress video data in a visually lossless manner.”

However, Nikon isn’t ready to give in without a fight. The company recently answered to RED’s accusations, claiming that they deny every allegation of the infringement. And from Nikon’s statement, it appears that they’re ready to prove their claims in court and challenge RED’s lawsuit.

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The Nikon Z7 is now marked as discontinued on the Nikon Japan website – but not the Z6

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It seems that the Nikon Z7, announced in August 2018 and released the following month during Photokina, is being retired. Despite the Nikon Z7 II being released two years later, Nikon Z7 production and sales still continued. Now, though, the Nikon Japan website lists the original Nikon Z7 as an “old product”. Or, in other words, “discontinued.

We all knew it was coming at some point, and, well, it’s been four years now. Interestingly, though, the Nikon Z6 released on the same day as the Z7 and also having been usurped by a “II” version hasn’t been listed as discontinued yet.

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Things are looking up for Nikon Imaging as they report a 48% increase in profit over last year

Nikon released their financial results for the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year (FY2023) recently and it shows an increase in revenue in just about every segment of the company, including its Imaging Products Business – ie, cameras and lenses. In fact, when it comes to profit, Nikon reported a 47.8% increase over the previous Q1 period in FY2022 and overall revenue appears to almost be back to pre-pandemic levels.

In Q1 FY2020 (reported at the beginning of August 2019), its Imaging Products Business reported a revenue of 67.3 billion yen (~$500 million) and an operating profit of 3.5 billion yen (~$26 million). Last year’s report for the same period showed Nikon at 50 billion yen (~$370 million) revenue and 9.2 billion yen (~$70 million) profit. This latest report shows revenue of 61.2 billion yen (~$452 million) and profits of 13.6 billion yen (~$100 million).

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