Since Nikon’s acquisition of RED Digital Cinema, there’s been A LOT of speculation as to what this could ultimately mean not just for both brands involved—but also for the cinema camera industry as a whole. However, both companies have been a bit quiet as to what might eventually come from this acquisition. That is, until now.
According to Nikon Rumors, Nikon’s president shared details about the company’s plans to incorporate RED’s color science and video technology into Nikon’s camera lineup. Here’s what we know so far about the future of these RED-powered Nikon cameras.
Nikon to Incorporate RED Technology
Pulling from an interview in Yahoo Japan, it looks like Nikon President Yoshiaki Tokunari indicated that Nikon plans to incorporate RED’s video tech into Nikon’s cameras as a way for the company to expand its market share in the space.
Here’s a breakdown of the quotes shared by the Nikon President:
Nikon President Yoshiaki Tokunari said in an interview that “video performance is required in recent years” regarding the company’s main camera business, and expressed his intention to expand market share by incorporating video technology from a US movie camera company that Nikon acquired this spring. Regarding recent sales trends, he said, “We are seeing signs of recovery in interchangeable lens cameras.”
By region, he explained, “China has grown to the same level as Europe, and the growth rate is large in emerging countries such as South Asia.” Semiconductor exposure equipment, which Nikon and Canon handle, is an industrial machine that burns circuits onto silicon plates. Plans for new semiconductor factory construction across the country are a tailwind, and Tokunari expressed his enthusiasm for expanding sales, saying, “There are business opportunities.”
One could certainly infer from the quotes above that Nikon is going to look to add the best parts of RED’s technology—specifically, perhaps, RED’s color science and REDCode RAW image codecs—to better support their more popular camera lineups.
Could we see a new Nikon Z-series camera with RED-powered resolution and dynamic range? It seems like we’ll be finding out sooner rather than later now.
Author: Jourdan Aldredge
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
