COMMENT: Retro Cool – But Where is the Innovation?

-

As a long time Nikon customer I have been watching the recent marketing campaign for the Nikon Df with interest.  Nikon were going to draw on their rich heritage and produce a ‘Pure Photographers’ camera harking back the days of the Nikon FM2 or F3.  Yesterday the wraps finally came off the Df and it certainly looks the part BUT the price – wow.  With a rrp of just under £2750 (with 50mm lens) the Nikon Df is being pitched above the Nikon D800 – a premium price.  So the question is who is going to buy this camera?
I love it when manufacturers pay homage to their past but it has to be innovative as well.  Let’s take a car analogy.  At the turn of the millennium VW had the new Beetle and BMW was about to launch the new MINI.  The Beetle was a fine car but it was essentially a VW Golf dressed up in a party frock.  BMW took a different approach, probably because they didn't have a small front wheel drive car as a baseline, and they designed the car from the ground up.  This was a 21st century homage to the Classic Mini ; a car that handled like a proper Mini but had BMW build quality.  I have to confess we bought a MINI in 2002 and we still have it today.  It is an excellent car and worthy of the name it carries.
In the camera world Fuji brought out the X100 in 2010.  Again this was a product that paid homage to its past but had innovative touches like the hybrid viewfinder and a sensor that could simulate the film emulsions that Fuji was famous for.  This is a retro design, that is a top quality item and is cool to own but it also a working photographer’s camera that was, and still is, class leading. This is the BMW MINI of the camera world. 
Now this brings me back to the Nikon Df and I feel this is a ‘VW Beetle’.  This is a camera that has a beautiful chassis, made with premium items and is a typical Nikon professional level camera.  BUT it borrows its technology from other Nikon products – a D4 sensor, the AF system off the Nikon D610 etc etc. Where is the innovation? I don’t see it here.  This camera is a follower, not a leader, which is a big disappointment as Nikon have a history of innovation.
So who will buy this premium product?  Will professionals buy it?  Some will but I don’t think this camera isn’t aimed at them.  This will be bought by people who like the retro look, the stunning Nikon build and image quality and, I fear, people who just want to be seen with such a camera, the posers.  For those of us who make money from their cameras the Nikon Df is irrelevant, you can buy a D800 for a lot less money. 
So for me, the Nikon Df is a beautiful camera but, on first impressions, it isn't for me.   I hope that I am not typical and that Nikon have read the market correctly because they have a lot riding on this camera and I am still a Nikon photographer at the end of the day.  

 Personally I think it should have been pitched around £1200 cheaper to open it up to more people.  As it is I think the Df will be a niche product that only the select few will buy. But perhaps that is what Nikon wants - an exclusive item in their line up for the digital age. 

CLICK HERE to go to the Nikon website to see the Nikon Df
- picture courtesy of Nikon

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REVIEW: The New Fujinon 2x Converter

-
Image
Yesterday Fujifilm launched the latest edition to the Fujinon XF lens line up, the XF 2X TC WR teleconverter for use with the XF50-140mm f2.8 and XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 zoom lenses.  In April I was invited by Fujifilm to test the new converter and here are my thoughts on this new lens. Before I go into details I need to be upfront about something.  I've never been a fan of 2x converters because the optical quality of the lens is usually affected to a large degree.   I did have a 1.4x and 2x converter for my lenses when I was shooting with Nikon. While the 1.4x converter was regularly attached to my long f2.8 lenses, the 2x converter was probably used about three times in the 18 years I used Nikkor lenses.  I didn't like the results when using the converter so tended to not use it. Anyway back to the X-Series!  The 1.4x Fujinon converter was launched in 2015 and I have been a fan of this diminutive lens attachment on both the 50-140mm and 100-400mm.  The optical qu
Read more

REVIEW: Using Nikon Lenses on a Fuji X Camera

-
Image
I've been using the Fujifilm X-Pro1 for the past month and I haven't enjoyed my photography so much since I bought the Fuji X100 12 months earlier.  The only issue I have with the X-Pro1 is the lack of a long telephoto lens.  The longest lens I have is the 60mm f2.4, which is the equivalent of a 90mm telephoto; it's a great lens but I sometimes wish my Fuji system had a bit more pulling power.   Fuji have provided the X system with a telephoto zoom, the 55-200mm f3.5 / f4.8 R LM OIS and I will be testing this lens next week for three days. I will be showing the results on this blog. However my Nikon kit has one of the best short telephoto zooms in the world, the Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D.  I bought this lens brand new in 1996 for £1600.00 and it has been a faithful companion ever since. I've bought and sold plenty of SLRs / DSLRs in the past 18 years but I've never felt the need to upgrade the 80-200mm because it is still optically the best lens I own and it ha
Read more

Rode Wireless Go for the Fujifilm X-T4

-
Image
One of the things I learned very quickly when using video is the need for clear audio. It doesn't matter how good the video looks, if the audio is poor, then the video is not going to be well received. Over the years I have invested in good, portable microphones even invested in a radio mic system.  This worked really well but when working in a motorsport environment, a broad range of radio frequencies are used for various uses and radio microphone frequencies are strictly controlled.  in some countries you also need to buy a licence, which can cost hundreds of pounds, so I quickly reverted back to wired microphones. This brought its own problems as when interviewing drivers the surrounding environment can be noisy, so you need to get the microphone as close as possible.  Of course, the extra added complication in the last few months means the interviewer has to stand at least 1.5 metres, which means wires trailing across the floor, which isn't good. In March
Read more