Nikon

Nikon has a poor track record that should be considered before buying into a Nikon system.

This is why I won’t buy another Nikon: The non existent D400, the D600 shutter problem, the D750 shutter recalls, the failed Nikon 1 line, the failed Key Mission line, the Z6 and Z7 IBIS recall, no SD card slots in the Z6 and Z7, single card slots in the Z6 and Z7, and still no APS-C sensored mirrorless line as of Nov 6, 2019! All of the above add up to major management, engineering, and customer service disasters. Okay, so as of Nov 7, 2019 Nikon has an APS-C solution in the new Z50. Both the Canon EF-M line and Sony A6xxx line are maturing and have almost 100% of the mirrorless APS-C market combined since Nikon was 6-8 years behind Canon and Sony.

The D400 disaster – I’m reluctant to buy Nikon due to the D400 disaster. I owned a Nikon D100 (2002), D200 (2005), D300 (2007), and was anxiously waiting for the D400. By the time it should have been available in 2009-2010, I already bought a Canon T2i with full 1080P HD for $850 with a lens. This was the camera that started my switch to Canon after 30 years of shooting Nikon. Keep in mind if Nikon would have released a D400 with full HD video in 2009-2010 I might still be shooting Nikon. Nikon NEVER released a D400. They eventually released a D500 in 2016 skipping two generations. This was a major management error that lead to many loyal buyers switching to another brand. This floods the market with used gear putting pricing pressure on both used and new Nikon gear.

The D600 disaster was enough for me never to buy a Nikon. There was lubricant oil getting onto the sensor! Nikon consistently denied there was a real problem, even blaming the users! Nikon finally capitulated after a class action lawsuit was filed. The Chinese government even ordered Nikon to stop selling the D600 in China. Is this the type of company people should buy a camera system from? How many D600 owners ended up buying another brand and selling their D600 or D610 after months of going back and forth with Nikon customer service?

The D750 recall. The D750 was recalled three times for the same shutter issue! The multiple recalls were probably to manage the parts and labor supply and demand. I thought a similar situation existed for the Nikon Z6 and Z7 IBIS recall but apparently it really was limited to the initial serial number range published.

 The Nikon 1 Series was introduced in 2011 and discontinued in 2018. The CX size sensor is super small just above a phone sized camera sensor. See the image below to get an idea how small this CX sensor is.  Why didn’t Nikon just use an APS-C sensor in this line? The same sensor in their Dx DSLRs? The larger the sensor size the better the image quality and low light sensitivity. The APS-C sensor size would make the most sense with Micro 4/3 a distant second place, but a smaller and proprietary CX sensor size makes no sense at all. I’m surprised the 1 line hung on for 7 years, but what about all the customers who bought into this system? They are selling their systems for less than half of what they paid for and still are having trouble finding buyers.

I suppose Nikon was worried APS-C DSLR sales being cannibalized, but this proved to be a major mistake. Canon and Sony both used an APS-C sensor in their M and 6000 series both of which are still selling in 2019. There is still no APS-C mirrorless solution from Nikon in Sept 2019. If the 1 series had the APS-C sensors Nikon was using in their DSLRs the 1 line would still be alive today.

The DL line of premium compact cameras was announced in Feb 2016, never actually shipped, and then they were cancelled in Feb 2017. The cameras looked pretty good and generated a lot of buzz. Petapixel’s article, Nikon Cancels the DL Series Amidst ‘Extraordinary Loss’ and Restructuring, paints a different picture than Nikon’s press release, specifically pointing to an extraordinary loss in 2016.

 The KeyMission line was yet another disaster. A Go Pro wannabe that failed miserably. Introduced in 2016 it was discontinued by 2018! Look at the DJI Osmo Action camera or the Go Pro Hero 9 for a much better camera.

 The Z6 and Z7 IBIS In Body Image Stabilization system is not working according to this May 16, 2019 service advisory Note: “service advisory” is a marketing term for a recall. Also don’t be fooled by the limited range of serial numbers since Nikon is known to do this so they can manage the quantity of repairs. After they complete this range and restock the required parts, they will publish a new range of serial numbers that they recently found out also has the problem that needs to be fixed. The fix must be significant if a firmware update will not fix it. Sept 2019 update: It appears that the recall did in fact only impact the initially published serial numbers.

In Dec 2019 Nikon finally announced their mirrorless APS-C camera! The Nikon Z50 for $860. This was a great move and the camera is getting great reviews. However, Canon had a mirrorless APS-C camera since 2012 and Sony since 2014 so what took Nikon so long? They are 5-7 years behind their competition. If you add up all the resources for the KeyMission, 1, and DL line, Nikon could have a mirrorless APS-C camera system have launched in 2012-2014 and be really competitive. To be fair though, the Z mount strategy is sound, but Nikon then consciously conceded that whole market segment to Canon and Sony until January 2020?

The above failures were epic. They call into question the management, marketing, engineering, quality control, customer service, pretty much the whole organization. I’m glad I’m not a shareholder, but should I be a Nikon owner? I had problems with their customer service in the 80s-90s that I never forgot. I’ve been tempted to buy a D800, D810, and D850 but eventually stuck with Canon 5D and 6D line. I was also considering buying a Z6, but with an XQD card slot and no SD card slot that really annoyed me. The recall due to IS problems. I’ll just keep shooting my Canon M6II and Lumix S5. Even if all the lenses I want were available in the Z mount, it would be a considerable investment, $2400 body and lens, $1300 14-30, $1400-$1900 70-200 f/4, so $5100-$5900 for the body, 3 lenses, and accessories. Ouch! Will I get better images than my Canon M6II or Lumix S5? Hmmmm… I don’t think so.

That Nikon 1 70-300 still has me wishing I could get a similar lens in an EF-M mount.

When I sold all my Nikon gear in 2010-2017 the prices were almost half of new. Even then it took 6 years to sell everything. There is a much smaller market for Nikon gear in the SF Bay Area compared to Canon gear.

Still, the Nikon Z line looks like a winner though a little too expensive for me. Of the 3 lenses I use all the time, the Z line has 2 of them. Still, why buy into a Nikon Z system and paying new prices when my Lumix S5 is just as good as a Z6 with more lenses? This is why sales of ILC is down since the technology has matured. slightly lighter and smaller bodies isn’t enough to spur new sales especially when the lenses are so expensive. I’d bet the first wave of buyers are just DSLR users who want the latest and greatest. If they end up switching then that will flood the market with used DSLRs putting price pressure on both used and new DSLRs of the same model. When technology was immature we were eager to buy each new model. Remember when AF had just been released in the 1980s?  Every new body was a must buy upgrade since it was so much better than the previous model. More images in focus due to vastly improved auto focus. My in focus images went from about 50% with manual focus to over 90% with first generation AF. Yes, just one AF sensor in the middle of the frame with the Nikon 8008! Remember when the D100 was available in 2002? More resolution was a must buy upgrade. The D200 in 2005, then the D300 in 2007, then the D400 oh no, that never came… This was a great time in photography. Well, those days are over.

Should any of the above failures influence buying decisions? I’d at least consider the track record of a company before buying into their system.

I wonder how many Nikon users switched brands due to the above issues or were dissuaded away from buying a Nikon after hearing about them?

Nikon is on the right track now with their Z line of bodies and lenses. I expect the D780 will be their last DSLR and they will just focus on the Z line of bodies and lenses which is a great plan.