Yesterday, I reported that Nikon might be throwing in the towel for its SLR business. Today, the company issued a statement that says the truth may be a bit more nuanced:
There was a media article regarding Nikon’s withdrawal of SLR development. This media article is only speculation and Nikon has made no announcement in this regards. Nikon is continuing the production, sales and service of digital SLR. Nikon appreciate your continuous support.
Reading between the lines, though, there’s something strange going on here.
In my experience, typically, when a company refutes a media article, they highlight that they have more SLRs in the pipeline, or that they are continuing to invest in development, or any number of other things to reassure potential customers. This statement is actually raising more questions than it answers; The company says it is continuing production, sales and service. That… doesn’t actually contradict what I reported yesterday; of course they are going to continue to sell and service the existing cameras. It also doesn’t include any reassurance for fans that the future of Nikon’s DSLR cameras is safe and secure.
“Nikon has made no announcement” that they are quitting the SLR business doesn’t mean they’re not quitting the SLR business, and my sources at Nikon suggest that there’s indeed a bunch of internal turmoil going on at the company. On top of that, the company has stated multiple times – both through official channels and off the record – that it’s refocusing its attention on mirrorless cameras. It’s possible that the company is slowing down its SLR model update cycle, to focus on mirrorless, for example.
I’ve reached out to Nikon to try to get some additional information about its product pipeline and investment in the SLR camera models, and will keep you posted.
