The End of Nikon?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Not necessarily, but I got your attention  Canon is also experiencing a significant drop in profits.

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/news/is-this-the-end-of-nikon-as-we-know-it-fiscal-report-shows-71-drop-in-earnings?utm_content=buffer92a55&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer_dcwfb&fbclid=IwAR1RVDlMcWzR5sKVeyIR92Srqo0niK6QpVt2lW_o8K9OqijPXcSyptW5MQU

"Is this the end of Nikon as we know it? Fiscal report shows 71% drop in earnings"

From the article:

As if there wasn't already enough doom and gloom in the camera industry, Nikon has released its first quarter FY2020 financial results. Hit by a shrinking market and the initial costs of developing Z-mount lenses, Nikon has reported a huge 71% decrease in earnings and an almost 15% drop in revenue.

Nikon's results presentation says that although it is enjoying steady sales of full-frame mirrorless cameras and interchangeable lenses, its revenue has been affected by the reduced sales of entry and mid-range DSLR cameras in Asia including China.

[Larry Heath]

Irrespective of the click bait, I think what we are seeing in the profits of “camera” company’s these days is obviously related to the ubiquity of the cell phone camera number 1. Second as a result there has been a diminution of the value of quality/artful photography, particularly that displayed in any other format larger than a small to moderate sized computer screen and vastly more often only on a cell phone screen if at all, much less an honest to god hard copy of an image, of any size, who’s quality is only remotely better than that producible by a 5 year old with finger paints. Given that damn near the whole of the human population has access to a cell phone and has little if any incentive to go beyond that, it seems pretty obvious that the whole of the “camera” market save high end camera pro level stuff has become superfluous. The whole of the camera market from point and shoot up much of the prosumer market is profoundly moribund if not dead outright. The vast majority of people don’t “do” or “engage in” photography for the sake of photography, they take snapshots, nothing more than a cell phone camera needed. So once again the whole of the “camera” market below the high-end prosumer and pro level stuff is gone, pifffit no longer there.

Nikon or Cannon dead? No I don’t think so, just the same market as before for pro level and high end prosumers who require or desire cutting edge quality images and are willing to pay the freight and have a desire to learn the techniques particular to producing those kind of images, most especially those who wish to produce a physical image larger than oh say an 8x10 and actually have a desire to have those images last and outlive the maker. I imagine or at least like to think that the vast majority of cell phone images will have long since evaporate or fallen into the bit bucket well before my poorest archivally produced prints even start to show signs of decline, but then again I don’t shoot snap shots with an I-Phone printed on Walmart or CVS’s best machine at 3x5, so I think it’s a reasonable bet on my part.


Later Larry

[BJL]

The 15% revenue drop is “uncomfortable”, but about in line with what the industry as a whole is experiencing, and in line with relaxing back towards but still comfortably above what revenues were before the decade long “bubble” of the film-to-digital transition. So not terribly scary.
The 70% profit drop would be innocuous if mostly explained by a big investment in the new Z-mount system. However it seems also related to declining sales of low- to mid-level DSLRs. To me this is related to the fact that Nikon almost uniquely offers _only_ DSLRs in this price range, with no mirrorless ILC options (and not much in the way of high-end compacts either.)

I hope that part of the solution is Nikon expanding the Z-mount system into the mainstream price range of formats like 24x16mm, now that it has signaled its seriousness about MILCs with the initial higher end offerings.

[Peter McLennan]

Blame it all on Samsung.

https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-takes-mobile-photography-to-the-next-level-with-industrys-first-108mp-image-sensor-for-smartphones

[Paulo Bizarro]

Well, at the beginning of developing a new project (Z system), the investment is big, so it is expected that revenue goes down. Hopefully, they will start making money out of it. Or not.

[josh.reichmann]

Blame it all on Samsung.

https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-takes-mobile-photography-to-the-next-level-with-industrys-first-108mp-image-sensor-for-smartphones

This is why I was interested in having Dan elaborate. Here's how and where he did so: https://luminous-landscape.com/of-phones-pixels-and-photons-why-a-100-mp-cell-phone-is-not-a-gfx-100/

[Alan Goldhammer]

Well, at the beginning of developing a new project (Z system), the investment is big, so it is expected that revenue goes down. Hopefully, they will start making money out of it. Or not.

I'm happy with my Z 6.  It's a great camera once you get all the settings configured appropriately.  I have the clunky lens adapter but I suspect the native Z lenses will be better for my needs.

[bassman51]

The 15% revenue drop is “uncomfortable”, but about in line with what the industry as a whole is experiencing, and in line with relaxing back towards but still comfortably above what revenues were before the decade long “bubble” of the film-to-digital transition. So not terribly scary.
The 70% profit drop would be innocuous if mostly explained by a big investment in the new Z-mount system. However it seems also related to declining sales of low- to mid-level DSLRs. To me this is related to the fact that Nikon almost uniquely offers _only_ DSLRs in this price range, with no mirrorless ILC options (and not much in the way of high-end compacts either.)

I hope that part of the solution is Nikon expanding the Z-mount system into the mainstream price range of formats like 24x16mm, now that it has signaled its seriousness about MILCs with the initial higher end offerings.

Both of my kids (not really kids, they’re in their 40s with three kids each) own DLSRs.   Both have traveled on exciting vacations this summer, traveling in the US and other countries.  Both have shared engaging, fun and well-taken pictures with us and their other family members.  Both of their DLSRs are gathering dusk while they enjoy the flexibility, ease and quality of shooting with their phones. 

Canon and Nikon may not be dead yet, but year after year 10-15% revenue declines is a really, really bad business model.  The camera business is booming, and there are more photographs than ever before being taken and shared.  Canon and Nikon are just not delivering products into that growing market.

[Alan Klein]

When I was younger, more people were into bowling.; now not so much. Times change.

Also, DSLR's and digital cameras in general have reached maturity.  There's not that much more you can do to improve the results.  So new features aren;t going to induce people to spend their hard-earned money on replacement or upgrade.  I'm not rushing out to replace my cell phone anytime soon either at a thousand dollar a pop.  That's nuts! What are they offering me that my 2-3 year old phone isn't doing?   A lot of camera manufacturers have gone out of business or were bought out by others since the digital revolution.  There's no reason that should not continue. 

Maybe I'll take up bowling again.