(FT3) After Pentax also Nikon will announce a tiny sensors mirrorless system? The “nikon coolpix pro”
Is that the “Nikon Coolpix Pro“?
You can stop to hold your breath Olympus and Panasonic. Breathe! If the latest rumor we received from a new source turns out to be true than Nikon will announce a mirrorless system with very tiny sensor in April!
UPDATE: The system will be named “Nikon Coolpix Pro“. The name suggests that Nikon might uses tiny sensors for it and there are patents that support a sensor size of 16mm, and lenses with a coverage of approx 17mm. This will be approx 2.5x cropfactor.
You can read more about the story at MirrorlessRumors.com.
Snowbird_UT
3 years ago |Too bad, I’m looking for some company to push the EVIL cam forward into the high-end enthusiast segment. I don’t care if it is Oly, Panny, Fuji or others. I just wish someone would make a digital rangefinder-esq body with built-in EVF and a set of fast primes other than the uber-expensive Leica. Add weather sealing and IBIS and we’re golden.
Eric
3 years ago |+1
Tobias W.
3 years ago |Well, if anybody would in fact do all that, the price would end up to be close to what Leica charges.
Vlad
3 years ago |I hope you are joking. What he described is basically an E-P2 with EVF and a WR rugged body. Or a NEX with more analog controls, EVF and a WR rugged body. I don’t see why that would cost 7000US.
Miserere
3 years ago |Samsung is close to what you’re asking. The NX10 needs a better sensor and improved firmware, but the NX primes are here or soon-to-be here. I’m with you in wanting a high-end MILC with fastish primes for serious photography, NOT as a novelty 2nd camera system.
Eric
3 years ago |I actually really liked the Samsung NX10 when I tested it out. I thought the body was far better than anything in m4/3′s land as far as ergo’s and utility go, but they simply need a better EVF. The EVF they use is not up to par with the Panasonic G1/2GH1/GH2 or the Olympus EV-2.
RW
3 years ago |…other than that it is not full frame (like the M9)
Esa Tuunanen
3 years ago |Samsung NX10 is even farther from high end.
It has lacking basic entry level controls and ergonomy is even worser than that of Panasonic GHs because of bigger lack of grip. (and just 720p video)
Nathan
3 years ago |Is that 1:2.33 or 1/2.33″?
cinquEventi
3 years ago |“Sounds like the Sony NEX system will remain our only and real competition”
Now, Samsung NX is more competitive than Sony NEX…
MikeS
3 years ago |NX may be more competitive for the heart and minds of enthusiasts, but the success of NEX led to Sony knocking off Nikon for the #2 position in interchangeable lens camera (ILC) sales in the UK (and also Taiwan), and has bolstered their sales in other markets, as well. Samsung, regardless of the quality of its products, has yet to establish itself as a major player in the ILC arena. The much-publicized move of Schneider-Kreuzach, whose brand name has been prominently featured on the lenses of Samsung’s compact cameras for years, to the 4/3 group, without a commensurate commitment to making NX lenses (and the similar announcements from Zeiss et al), highlights the fact that the system has yet to gain a foothold in the marketplace.
WT21
3 years ago |I’ve not been a Ricoh fan, but the GXR (or is it GRX) with the m-mount adapter makes that system interesting.
panasonic
3 years ago |Thought Sony Nex is APS-C and Panasonic is M43, can these draw to the same group for the fight?
fta
3 years ago |APS-C and 43 is a lot closer than 43 and 1/2.33
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensor_size
APS-C (Sony) is about 370mm2 surface
43 is about 225mm2 surface
2.33 is about 30mm2 surface
Looks like Nikon is out of the race for a compact mirrorless. They can still make mirrorless in their current format though.
Ok Canon, lets see what you have?
Stavros
3 years ago |I want a mirror less camera with interchanging lenses, a fast processor and very good video encoding (variable frame rates 24,25,30,50,60), with a foveon like sensor that will not have bayer interpolation with good dynamic range and decent low light performance, with articulating screen like the gh1/2 that can focus in low light.
Can any company make this?
Chris
3 years ago |Sigma. I think they’ll test how the mirrorless market is with their 3rd party lenses first, though.
Luis Sanz
3 years ago |Lol, this wasn’t what I expected when we were told it was going to be a “pro model”. It may be an interesting product if it’s weather sealed, with very fast (f/1.0-1.2) lenses, BSI sensor with high fps, etcetera… but IQ will be far from a “pro” camera.
Behind these three announcements (Kenko, Pentax and Nikon) I suspect there is a new, powerful Sony sensor we have not seen yet…
drj
3 years ago |@Luis Sanz. This is the hint: very likely that an unknown Sony sensor underlies these three systems. One thing for sure : neither Nikon nor Pentax would compromise on IQ as a result on an reduced-size sensor…
Godot
3 years ago |How can you be so sure they wouldn’t compromise? Both already put out plenty of IQ-compromised P&S cameras. It’s the other features that are supposed to make you forget the compromises (or at least be willing to live with them).
I sure hope there’s been a breakthrough in tiny sensors, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
In the meantime, this new rumor says to me that we don’t really know what Nikon is up to. It’s in complete contradiction with the “pro” rumor. Until proven otherwise, I’m assuming that one of the two rumors is wrong.
As far as Pentax goes, I do believe the 1/2.33″ EVIL rumor. But I don’t expect any IQ miracles.
Godot
3 years ago |Admin updated from 1/2.33″ sensor to 2.5x crop while I was writing that.
Makes way more sense. Still needs a sensor breakthrough to make the “Pro” badge more than a marketing gimmick, but at least it would be a mere breakthrough, not a miracle.
admin
3 years ago |Yes my fault. I thought the name “Coolpix PRO” would suggest the use of a 1/2.33 sensor but I was wrong. Hope to know the exact size soon!
io
3 years ago |competition is good for us (users)
Dan
3 years ago |Exactly. If Nikon can do with mirrorless sensors what it has done with APS-C sensors, they will produce a system that has the IQ of m4/3 in a much smaller package. It sounds to me like Olympus and Panasonic have everything to fear.
Vlad
3 years ago |You mean, what Sony has done with APS-C sensors…
Dan
3 years ago |Yea, Sony. As some others are speculating, the new Pentax and Nikon small-sensor interchangeable lens cameras might have Sony sensors. They could be really fantastic little (and that’s the key word) cameras.
Joey
3 years ago |depends on what the glass from sony is like, i bought into m43 with the idea of very small and compact package, with APS-C lenses are going to be bigger, so may as well carry my DSLR, which kinda defeats the point. btw stavros what you want is impossible atm, foveon sensors can’t do video, mainly as i expect due to massive over heating due to the multiple layers.
Stavros
3 years ago |Do you know for sure that its a matter of overheating and not processing?
Dummy00001
3 years ago |> If the latest rumor we received from a new source turns out to be true than Nikon will announce a mirrorless system with very tiny 1/2.33 sensor in April!
But what if the sensor would turn out to be 6-8MP? probably boasting a decent DR and good ISO performance? Provided that sensor wouldn’t suck, if they would throw some unique features, the system might find its niche.
I’m more interested actually in more technical details, like e.g. flange back distance? variable aspect ratio? would the system feature shallow DOF or telecentric design? could the system support larger sensors later?
Godot
3 years ago |How would they achieve shallow DOF on such a system? The only ways I can see are
1- long, fast lenses (compromising the size advantage)
2- processing tricks (the peripheral defocus mode seen on some P&S cameras)
If it’s option 2, then it’s fundamentally no different from any other P&S, is it?
Dummy00001
3 years ago |Large lens’ rear element (closer to the smaller sensor) -> Larger circle of confusion on open apertures -> shallower DOFs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field
Please correct me if I’m thinking wrongly.
I’m simply trying to understand how smaller sensor can be exploited in a good way, to justify its pitch to professionals.
Archer
3 years ago |I think you’re mistaken. CoC is a function of print size; the larger your final display, the smaller your acceptable CoC. DoF is (mostly) dependent on aperture size (in mm, not ratio) and subject/lens distance, combined with CoC.
Nikon’s 2.5 crop factor (how I hate that term!) will require greater enlargement for the same size print, so the acceptable CoC will be somewhat smaller than for 4/3′s or APS-C. However, the focal lengths have to be shorter, hence the apertures will also be smaller, resulting in an increase in DoF (at least the term independent of CoC). I believe the aperture term dominates, but I’d have to recheck the math.
Best discussion I know of is here:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/articles/DoFinDepth.pdf
Dummy00001
3 years ago |Math matches (See Wikipedia’s “Derivation of the DOF formulas”).
Key variables: distance to the object, distance of the “lens” to the sensor, f-number.
Shorter the distance to the object; shorter the distance between “lens” and sensor; smaller the f-number (ration of the image circle diameter to the aperture) – all results in shallower the DOF.
“Lens” is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_lens – so the actual design of the photo lenses also plays the role, as it influences the distances to the sensor.
But I’m of course just guessing what direction Nikon might take. They might decide for video, for edge detail to go with telecentricity.
Igorek7
3 years ago |Imagine if it is not the 1/2.33″ but 1/1.7″ (as in COOLPIX P7000) or slightly larger sensor, and the response would be not so negative. Honestly, I am having a hard time to believe that Nikon would go the same path as Pentax or Kenko.
Soeren Engelbrecht
3 years ago |Well, a small sensor could have one significant advantage for the serious shooter: Tiny lenses. Look at this picture showing the Pentax 110 lenses, for instance:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/4330790876_8caef3e279.jpg
If you mount these on a x6 crop camera, the smallest of those lenses would correspond to a 150/2.8, and the largest a 300/2.8 (that “big” one has a 37 mm filter size !!) So if the sensor is up to snuff, just image the size and weight of a wildlife shooting kit
Finally: These Pentax lenses were designed for 110 mm film, i.e., just about 4/3 coverage (m43 adapters already exist) – just imagine, how small (quality) primes you could design for the small sensor format…
Soeren
Johan
3 years ago |Good thinking by Nikon and Pentax.
No use investing in a new product that will compete with your own profitable entry-level SLR business.
This mirrorless system will compete with high-end compacts, cameras that both companies do not have at this moment.
With MFT Olympus has just cannibalized their own SLR business and is once again left without a comprehensive interchangeable-lens product-line.
Archer
3 years ago |AFAIK, there wasn’t much business to cannibalize.
Eric
3 years ago |So I guess that high end Nikon mirrorless rumor you reported a few weeks ago was complete bunk?
Sensor that small + interchangeable lenses are totally pointless. Consumers can already buy pocket cameras with 28-300mm zooms; what exactly is the point of changing lenses? It doesn’t matter what lens you mount on it you still won’t have any DOF control. They should at least use a 2/3′s size sensor. That is still plenty small enough, and with an f/1 lens mounted you can still get a bit of background separation.
Inge-M
3 years ago |INFO, Olympus use 2/3″ sensor on E-10 and E-20.
Eric
3 years ago |The Olympus C-8080 also used that size sensor. It’s a mystery to me why no one uses it anymore. Don’t get me wrong, 4/3′s is as small as I will go because I want something to replace my DSLR, not something to compliment it, but I’d be willing to wager a good number of DSLR users would love to have a truly compact system built around the 2/3′s sensor. Heck, if they were cheap enough I’d even pick one up myself for times when I don’t feel like carrying my messenger bag. It would make a great pocket size street shooter. With todays sensor technology I bet they could get fairly clean ISO800 out of a 12mp 2/3′s sensor.
Olympius
3 years ago |So what’s the point in buying a point & shoot with interchangeable lenses? There are already very good cameras, like the Lumix ZS7, that has a very nice 12x Leica zoom lenses, and you can put it in your shirt pocket.
These tiny sensor Nikon/Pentax cameras sound like products in search of a market.
But…it could be that Nikon and Pentax are both working on a dual mirrorless strategy, where they will both have tiny sensor EVIL cameras, and those with bigger APS sensors. But we’ll know for sure by the end of 2011.
Still, I can’t see a market for what’s being proposed in this newest rumor.
Thomas
3 years ago |Agree.
BIG disappointment
3 years ago |Yet another useless toy camera. Really.. who needs that kind of crap?
Miroslav
3 years ago |Don’t see the point if this turns out to be true. A Canon G12, Olympus XZ-1, Panasonic LX5 or any compact with 1/1.7″ sensor could easily beat image quality of this … Then, there is relatively compact Nikon superzoom P&S with 22-810mm lens. What other focal lengths would one need?
MikeS
3 years ago |If the P300, P5/6000, and to a lesser extent, the P7000 (aka the Nikon G12), are any indication, Nikon has no idea how to design a camera for enthusiasts. If these rumors are true, I think Nikon and Pentax are gearing up for a major misfire. Mirrorless has been successful because there is a demand for DSLR performance and image quality in a compact package. It’s doubtful that people want P&S performance and image quality with extra lenses.
RW
3 years ago |+1
BornOptimist
3 years ago |There are no patents filed by Nikon that support this rumor. OTOH there are many patents that support a sensor size of 16mm, and lenses with a coverage of approx 17mm. This will be approx 2.5x cropfactor.
I think your sources are wrong!
admin
3 years ago |Correct! Sorry I confused the sizes. The source said only the name of the system and another source said it has a tiny sensor. I corrected the rumor.
tmrgrs
3 years ago |You should probably also consider changing the title of this rumor. A 2.5x sensor with a good selection of Nikkor lenses to go with it is indeed a threat to m4/3 and the NEX as well. People buying these small cameras will gravitate to Nikon because of its reputation for making good cameras and lenses and they’ll be on the shelves a lot quicker than the GH2/GF2 has been so far. I think Nikon will jump to the head of the pack in ILC mirrorless sales within a few months after this new camera becomes available. And when that happens, Canon will finally get off its rear and get serious about mirrorlass ILC’s as well.
Nikon 4/3 m4/3 coming in April - Page 7 - Micro Four Thirds User Forum
3 years ago |[...] Sensor 43 Rumors | Home There have been persistent rumours of Nikon releasing a compact camera size sensor as their [...]
mochapaulo
3 years ago |1″ is really welcome. It is because 1″ is the closest size to the classic S16mm film which means with a proper adapter, all the 16mm lens will be revitalized and also the large sensor size CCTV lenses can be used without cropping! That would be a great fun to have a camera body like this!
G_C
3 years ago |what everyone has not realised is that nikon would be cannibalizing their DSLR sales if they released a mirrorless with an APS-C sensor. So they’ll release this mini version, market it better than oly/pana, and sell way more!
so stealing oly/pana’s market share in this segment without too much loss on the DSLR front.
Eric
3 years ago |Why should they care if people choose an APS-C Nikon EVIL over a Nikon DSLR? They win either way so long as people buy Nikon cameras. Nikon isn’t competing with Nikon; they are competing with Sony, Samsung, Canon, Olympus, Pentax, and Panasonic.
Vlad
3 years ago |The DSLRs are old technology – it costs cheaper to produce those.
MikeS
3 years ago |It costs more to put in a reflex mirror and a pentaprism than not. “Old” does not necessitate “cheap”.
Vlad
3 years ago |Old means that everything is already in place. The whole production line is there. Now make a new body with new parts and start a new production setup and see how much it costs.
MikeS
3 years ago |Production cost boils down to the individual components. Removing some (mirror, pentaprism) while reducing the cost of others (~66% smaller sensor) will more than offset the cost of the production of new plastic molds and tweaked internal electronics.
Vlad
3 years ago |66% smaller sensor? What are you talking about? We are discussing here the possible cannibalization of DSLR sales by an APS-C sized EVIL – Eric is asking why if a second product is eating off the sales of the first one it should be negative for the company. The camera described in the article surely won’t do that – nothing to discuss there.
The new product will eat Nikon’s own market share instead of expanding it. The overall sales stay the same. Now, depending on what you want, cannibalization can in fact be a viable strategy, rather than have a negative impact.
1. margins – is the new product having a better margin? If yes, then cannibalize.
2. why do you introduce a new product? In the long run it can be the turning point for a company, generate interest and expand market share. But introducing a new product is costly in the short term.
3. do you have the money for introducing a new product? Or for seeing it fail?
Production cost may boil down to individual components, introducing a new one certainly not. There are contracts, there are product lines, there is marketing, etc.
MikeS
3 years ago |Pardon. Forgot that it the original question wasn’t about the rumored 2.5x crop. The point still stands, however, regarding the production cost; in the long run, a mirrorless (APS-C or not) camera will be cheaper to produce than a DSLR, with “old technology” being a cost burden rather than a benefit. Additionally, short term cost to introduce new products is a long term investment, the alternative to which is to lose market share due to a stagnant product line (e.g. Canon DSLRs).
Speaking market share, Nikon can expand theirs if (big if) their new product eats into that of others.
Vlad
3 years ago |Agreed. I was simply trying to explain why normally internal product competition is considered bad.
There are several valid reasons why Nikon isn’t introducing APS-C mirrorless, but that doesn’t mean it would be the right move. I think they should do it asap. IMHO mirrorless is the future and letting Samsung, m43 and NEX eat the market is a bad idea. NEX being the biggest danger, of course – Sony has plenty of resources and they seem to be leveraging everything they can lately.
My hope is that Pentax will come up with something decent – those DA limited would be the perfect mirrorless companion – small and good IQ.
MikeS
3 years ago |Agreed
Esa Tuunanen
3 years ago |Company decision makers look it this way:
One product sold to consumer – Good business
Two products sold to consumer – Lot better business
Chris
3 years ago |Because if people buy their DSLRs, they can still market an upgrade path to the D300s and full-frame models.
John
3 years ago |No, they won’t be cannibalizing their DSLR sales – especially if this is a high end/expensive product. Folks like me, who are not interested in a D3000 or D5000 (I own a D300 and a D700) will get one of these INSTEAD of one of the several m43 offerings. Nikon needs to keep people from buying an Oly or Panasonic m43 or the Sony NEX offerings. Right now they have nothing to compete – they are losing potential sales.
They only way they will screw this up is if it indeed has a 2.5x crop factor sensor. People are not going to pay PRO type prices for sub-APS-C image quality AND a whole bunch of new lenses that can only be used on this type of camera.
Now if they develope a CoolPix line-up with a fixed fast zooms lens that use a 2.5x crop sensor – I’d buy one of those in a heartbeat if it had a lens that started at 24mm FX equivalent and was the size of a GF1/GF2.
Eric Calabros
3 years ago |Nikon version of Oly PEN can sell like pancakes, but EVIL version of D7000? doubt about it
Miroslav
3 years ago |No, I think it will sell like zooms, not pancakes
.
Mr. Reeee
3 years ago |Wake me when it ships…
Agent00soul
3 years ago |I suppose this will make m4/3 go from “too small” to “the golden middle”.
Reverse Stream Swimmer
3 years ago |No chance in a commercial launch, that we’ll see a such tiny sensor as 1/2.33″ in an ILC. The mechanical tolerances of the mount will not support it.
Rather I believe in 1″, 1/1.5″ (=2/3″), and even the popular 1/1.7″ sizes. Those corresponds in 2.7x, 3.9x, 4.2x crop factors. Seeing what good optics does to the XZ-1, anything in that ballpark, will be competing with the MFT, provided that the ILC lenses are really good and bright. But remember how large the E-10 & E-20 were, and they were equipped with a fixed zoom and the 2/3″ sensor.
Olympius
3 years ago |Admin,
Thank you for correcting this rumor! A sensor with a 2.5x crop factor makes a lot of sense, as you can have really small lenses with incredible reach.
So this is very much a direct threat to micro 4/3, no doubt about it, especially since Nikon can count on selling two million units just by the fact the camera will be a Nikon. It will eat Oly/Panny marketshare for sure, and neither company is in any position to be able to afford that, let alone combat it. Nikon sensors are also more advanced, so I can see them easily equalling the performance of the 4/3 sensors with a smaller design.
Just think, to get the reach of a 300mm lens on a full frame camera, you would only need a 120mm lens on this baby Nikon. A 11-120mm zoom would be the equivalent of the 28-300 on a D700…wow!
So Sony & Samsung will eat Olympus/Panasonic from the top with better quality APS sensors, and Nikon will get them from the bottom with smaller, high quality camera bodies and lenses. Nice.
Olympius
Common_sense
3 years ago |It is only question of time when mirrored cameras will vanish. Mirrored cameras have too many moving parts, the lenses are too large. The future belongs to mirrorless, shutterless cameras. Sony will get large customer base for mirrorless with NEX professional system released september this year. And after that, Nikon will have NO CHANCE to get this market back.
Producing small coolpix makes no sense. How small you can go? Making camera smaller than Samsung NX makes it uncomfortable to use. In too small body LCD (or oled) will be too small, electronic viefinder will be too small, buttons will be too small and NOISE will be TOO BIG.
Nikon should know that people who go for travel, want their images to have some quality. That’s why they paid for the cost of travel !!!! Also many travel pics are taken inside the buidings/monuments or during the night which require better noise performance than stupid small coolpix. I see now clearly Nikon will be replaced by Sony as second “large sensor camera manufacturer” in two years.
Nikon, I have message for you. You do not want APS mirrorless to cannibalize your dslr sale? So Sony mirrorless will cannibalize it. In one year from now, Sony and Samsung will cannibalize nikon entry level dslr but that time it will be too late to react. Expecially that both companies make their own sensor. And if Canon brings their mirrorless with 1.3 sensor, we all attend Nikon funeral
Godot
3 years ago |Except in the smallest size categories, small sensors have been improving pretty dramatically as time goes by.
Everyone is banking on one “small” format or another reaching “good enough” status sooner or later. APS-C is already there. 4/3 is not too far off, and arguably is “there” when you look at the top of the line (GH2). Even the small sensors in the LX5, S95, etc. are now good enough for most people, most of the time.
So it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me for Nikon to lay a wager on a 2.5x crop sensor being good enough, and the size reductions in lenses making the system a winner.
Long story short… Panasonic and Olympus laid a wager on 4/3 being the sweet spot in between APS and the tiny compact-cam sensors. Nikon appears on the verge of making a similar bet, only by going a little smaller and thus making even smaller lenses.
If the Coolpix Pro offerings are any good, and even if they aren’t all that great, they will spell big trouble for Panasonic and Olympus. Nikon funeral? I highly doubt it.
pdc
3 years ago |I differ your statement “small sensors have been improving pretty dramatically as time goes by”? In terms of IQ, the GH2 sensor is no better than the G1, now 3 years old (and I have tested the cameras side by side using the same lenses). In good light, and at slower shutter speeds, they are mostly “good enough”. Whenever the scene DR is high or the light is weak, the images are not good enough for the “enthusiast”(insufficient saturation, too much noise, blown highlights and detail clipping in the shadows). So, the bet that a 2.5 crop factor will be good enough is a really long bet in my book. I bet 3 years ago that 4/3 would be good enough, and we haven’t got there yet, but I continue to invest in lenses and accessories as 4/3 sensors will improve more, and I’m patient. The competition from an even smaller sensor based system jostling for position is good for continued 4/3 development.
Nathan
3 years ago |If they do it right, and make plenty of fast primes, it will devour micro 4/3 (unless Olympus does the same thing).
One caveat-
With a 2.5x crop factor, it will be less attractive for legacy lens users. There’s just no reason to use a full-frame or APS lens on a camera like this. They won’t have the resolving power for a sensor that small. Even on micro four thirds, it’s difficult to find lenses good enough to resolve detail to 12MP at 2x crop.
Most Nikon glass will not be adequate for this task, and will be a bit too soft.
Olympius
3 years ago |Nikon already has cameras that can use legacy glass: Nikon DSLR’s. Of course they can only use Nikon legacy glass, but I don’t think any Nikon user really cares if their new mirrorless can handle their non-existent collection of Rokkor-X lenses.
Anyway, it’s not legacy lens users who are driving mirrorless camera sales — it’s basically the “Japanese school girl” demographic, than and the 20 year old and 30 somethings out there.
Olympius
Eric
3 years ago |“If they do it right, and make plenty of fast primes, it will devour micro 4/3″
I’m not buying this argument at all. The thing about a sensor that small is aperture will basically have no effect on DOF characteristics. I change lenses for two reasons, obviously focal length, but also for the way various lenses render out of focus areas. There will be virtually no out of focus areas using a 1/2.33 sensor.
There is however one way to get nice bokeh with a tiny sensor. Look up “Nikon Reduction Optical System” on the Nikon E3. Nikon used a series of reduction lenses behind the main lens to scale the light from a full frame lens down to a small sensor. Now, I suppose they could use something similar for this camera, but the lenses will be just as large as m4/3′s lenses and the dynamic range and noise on the small sensor will be much worse; so I really don’t see the point.
Eric
3 years ago |Edit: I now see the rumor has been changed to a 2.5x crop sensor instead of a 1/2.33 sensor. If that is the case disregard my comment above.
Henrik
3 years ago |Is there really a market for these TINY cameras? I mean I own the XZ-1 and any smaller and it wouldnt be very comfortable or practical to use. With these cameras being able to switch lenses one must also think that they have implented alot of settnings that would appeal to amateurs/pros (looking for a 2nd camera). Alot of settnings combined + small body = alot is touchscreen based?
43photo
3 years ago |Yes Oly and Pana still hold your breath when Nikon squezes equal IQ out of a smaller sensor and a smaller camera… Nikon can do this!
napalm
3 years ago |yeah… just look at their Coolpix line… LOL
Robbie
3 years ago |What a Joke.
People are saying that if Nikon does this he’s going to buy, they are going to sell like hot pancakes etc.
With a sensor even smaller than 43 thirds!
Now I know it’s not about sensor size, it’s just everyone hates Olympus LOL
napalm
3 years ago |“Now I know it’s not about sensor size, it’s just everyone hates Olympus LOL”
haha right on the money
inteliboy
3 years ago |Terribly disappointing. Yet another camera line with a small sensor. May as well use an iPhone.
Some of us do like to shoot portraits with shallow DOF – something nigh on impossible with these cheap 2.5 crop factor sensors.
Martin
3 years ago |>Some of us do like to shoot portraits with shallow DOF – something nigh on impossible with these cheap 2.5 crop factor sensors.
Nonsense. All depends on the lenses. If you get 30mm f/1.4 with the camera, the DOF control will be pretty good. For portraits, ultra-thin DOF is rarely needed. Have not seen any portraits made with Zuiko 50/2?
My feeling is that the new Nikon system will become a VERY strong competition for m4/3.
rUY
3 years ago |the one that offers better crop factor and nicer lens will be the final winner not Nikon at 2.5x Crop factor.
Lee
3 years ago |I actually think this sensor size may be the “goldilocks” size – just the right balance between sensor area and lens size. Fast zooms will still be big on Micro 4/3rds (that’s why nobody’s released any yet), but on this sensor size, they should still be manageable. So you’ll be able to use extra lens speed to (possibly more than) offset the slightly smaller sensor area (this sensor size isn’t that much smaller than 4/3rds – 3/3rds in fact), and still have a small and light camera. Indeed, if Sony makes the sensors with their present tech, they may equal or even exceed current 4/3rds sensor in performance.
43photo
3 years ago |+1
Miroslav
3 years ago |You’re right about the sensor, especially if they make a 10mpx one, a crop of Sony’s 16mpx APS-C. But in order to compensate for smaller amount of light hitting the sensor, the lenses should be faster, i.e. bigger and thus will be around the size of m4/3 lenses.
What I’d like to see is sensor with 2x crop, close to 4/3, so that third party lens manufacturers could make same lenses with various mounts, like in APS-C.
Olympius
3 years ago |+2
The smaller the sensor, the easier it is to make high quality lenses to go with it. Also, a f.1.4 lens designed for a 2.5x will be tiny compared to the monster lenses at that speed that find on full-frame cameras. They could easily get down to f.1 with a prime, and still have a surprisingly small lens with narrow DoF, that would be fully usable at f.1.
I’ve been holding off on micro 4/3 for the past two years, because, honestly, an EPL-1 with a 14-42 isn’t all that much smaller than my E-620 with it’s kit 14-42, and I get way, way better lens choices for the E-620. Same with the Sony NEX–tiny cameras, but the zooms are way too big.
But if these Nikons are as good as the rumor, I might bypass Olympus and Panasonic entirely and see what Nikon has to offer. I just hope they are smart enough to bring out high quality, fast primes from Day One, unlike the Oly/Panny alliance.
Olympius
Mark
3 years ago |Nikon Coolpix Pro–what a hokey name. Leave to the ashen men of Nikon in their gray suits to turn things over to hideous advertising men. “Coolpix”–ugh.
This camera does not pose a serious threat to m4/3. I doubt that these will be interchangeable lens cameras, and Nikon obviously assumes that their real high end business will remain the DSLR. What a lack of imagination.