[UncleVanya]

Almost six to eight months ago I looked at the Q series. A Pentax insider told me the 01 Prime was discontinued.

Is it? Who knows camera companies seem to be pretty cagey about the continuation of their less popular camera lines. Nikon 1 and Sansung NX lines may or may not be discontinued but no one in charge seems willing to say.

[ogl]

The "1" line may well be finished, but the evidence for the rumor (third hand in the link above) is a little weak.


Steve

Simple logics says that Nikon 1 is closed project.
1. No new cameras from April, 2015.
2. Several P&S cameras (3 cameras of DL models) with 1" and different focal range are launched.

[clackers]

Almost six to eight months ago I looked at the Q series. A Pentax insider told me the 01 Prime was discontinued.

Is it? Who knows camera companies seem to be pretty cagey about the continuation of their less popular camera lines. Nikon 1 and Sansung NX lines may or may not be discontinued but no one in charge seems willing to say.

As a company, you're obliged to not be stuck with unsold items in warehouses.


Even if you no longer manufacture a product, you shouldn't state it's discontinued while you can still get people to draw down that inventory.

[surfar]

1. No new cameras from April, 2015.2. Several P&S cameras (3 cameras of DL models) with 1" and different focal range are launched

Sometimes projects get held up....these DL models were announced but I read they were delayed due to the earthquake( has everybody forgotten 2016 isn't a normal year?).So perhaps Nikon have delayed the 1 new stuff,so as to not take the attention away from the DL trio?...or pehaps the DL trio are the 1' replacements?

[beholder3]

As long as there is any significant stock left at any dealer or warehouse no manufacturer will ever state "discontinued" if they are in their right minds.
Anything else will kill their dealer relationships in a second as the dealers have bought that stock for the old price but would loose big money on it after the official "discontinued" statement, when it has to be discounted heavily.
On the other side a manufacturer simply has zero economic benefit in ever publishing "discontinued".
A lot to lose. Nothing to gain.

[ogl]

Sometimes projects get held up....these DL models were announced but I read they were delayed due to the earthquake( has everybody forgotten 2016 isn't a normal year?).So perhaps Nikon have delayed the 1 new stuff,so as to not take the attention away from the DL trio?...or pehaps the DL trio are the 1' replacements?

Just my thought - no any marketing sense to produce DL cameras together with Nikon 1.

DL kills sales of Nikon 1. Nikon 1 has no any special or outstanding primes, that's why if I was the fan of 1" sensor, I would buy DL24-500.

A lot of slowest zooms (for such sensor dimension) and very expensive 32mm f/1.2
Nikon 1 Lenses | NIKKOR Interchangeable Lens for Nikon 1 Cameras

This system is not interesting at all.

[Jonathan Mac]

Canon and Nikon have both severely crippled their mirrorless systems to avoid competing with their DSLRs and this showed from the beginning in the product ranges they brought to market.

For less-than-FF mirrorless Fuji is far and away the best option, followed by Sony if you only want it to use with non-native lenses, or m4/3 if you're looking to use native lenses and don't mind the price premium. Samsung cameras seemed nice but didn't get the sales they deserved. I wouldn't touch the Nikon or Canon offerings with a barge-pole.

[IchabodCrane]

Canon and Nikon have both severely crippled their mirrorless systems to avoid competing with their DSLRs and this showed from the beginning in the product ranges they brought to market.

For less-than-FF mirrorless Fuji is far and away the best option, followed by Sony if you only want it to use with non-native lenses, or m4/3 if you're looking to use native lenses and don't mind the price premium. Samsung cameras seemed nice but didn't get the sales they deserved. I wouldn't touch the Nikon or Canon offerings with a barge-pole.

What Nikon is probably thinking is the entire camera world is moving toward larger sensors now that they have come down in cost. A 1" sensor now is the basis for the evolving P&S camera. With few exceptions (primarily superzooms) smaller sensors are obsoleted by smartphones. Why continue to make an ILC system around a sensor that's now mostly for a high end P&S camera? Ricoh seems to be soldiering on with small a sensor ILC system but they've always marched to the beat of a different drummer... for better or worse

[Ratcheteer]

nikon screwed itself over with the ft-1 adapter, met a guy at a surf competition using nikon 1 v3 with a tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 vc attached to a kenko 1.4x tele converter he let me have a play with it and the continuous auto focus worked flawlessly but had to shoot with center weighted metering and +1 stop of exposure comp since matrix metering doesn't work with this setup

anyway the nikon 1 was fantastic for what brought to the table but in my opinion the flange focal distance was to big for the small sensor to really shine (shorter register would of made developing lens easier)

[Rupert]

The reason I hang on to my Fuji X10/X20 for small travel cameras is the optical viewfinders. Both have them and the X20 even displays shooting information on the optical viewfinder screen.
It is normally very bright sun here and an LCD screen is worthless in many...most....daylight situations. The viewfinder gives you a nice clear view in any light, and though a little hard to compose, it does get the job done.

Looks like Fun has also abandoned this line...I was hoping for them to continue it with a little larger sensor.

Regards!

[wildman]

What Nikon is probably thinking is the entire camera world is moving toward larger sensors now that they have come down in cost. A 1" sensor now is the basis for the evolving P&S camera. With few exceptions (primarily superzooms) smaller sensors are obsoleted by smartphones. Why continue to make an ILC system around a sensor that's now mostly for a high end P&S camera? Ricoh seems to be soldiering on with small a sensor ILC system but they've always marched to the beat of a different drummer... for better or worse

An interesting read.
Another possible future scenario:
1, For those who want a no-brainer more or less auto imaging device get a phone or something similar - the large mass market of snap shooters.
2. For those who have a serious interest in photography, technically and/or artistically - get a dedicated specialized camera.

So far as sensor size is concerned my own opinion is that all the different sizes bring something to the table that is unique to that size sensor. For instance is a 36mp FF camera really the ideal camera and sensor size for the dedicated street shooter? Would not a smaller high quality well implemented 1" 12mp sensor camera be better for the purpose? Is a FF sensor really "better" then a 1" sensor or just different with it's own advantages and disadvantages?

Maybe in the future we will see companies more specialized than now and based on sensor size rather than trying to do it all.

[reeftool]

I don't know... How many APS film ILCs did Nikon sell? That was a bit of a hot mess, though at least they got to reuse some of the tech for digital...

I think the M is a better bet. It lets the Canon fans have their mirrorless without disrupting the EOS ecosystem. If I shot Canon, I'd like one as a compact travel option.

I think the Q has been more successful just because of lower expectations...

-Eric

I got burned on the Nikon APS film camera. While it could use all Nikon lenses, the IX series that it sold with the Pronea system are mostly paperweights today although you can use them on a D200 or D300 with a little mount grinding with a Dremel tool. It's one of the reasons I went with Pentax when I went digital and have no interest whatsoever in any of the newer ILC systems out there.

---------- Post added 08-30-16 at 11:52 AM ----------

The reason I hang on to my Fuji X10/X20 for small travel cameras is the optical viewfinders. Both have them and the X20 even displays shooting information on the optical viewfinder screen.
It is normally very bright sun here and an LCD screen is worthless in many...most....daylight situations. The viewfinder gives you a nice clear view in any light, and though a little hard to compose, it does get the job done.

Looks like Fun has also abandoned this line...I was hoping for them to continue it with a little larger sensor.

Regards!

That line is different in that it is a camera with a lens. Sooner or later it breaks and you replace it but you can use it forever as long as it doesn't fail. With an ILC system, you are buying lenses and flashes, etc with at least some idea that you can add lenses down the road and get years of use out of them. If they drop the line, you not only can't replace the camera if it breaks but you have a collection of now worthless lenses that you paid good money for.

[Rupert]

That line is different in that it is a camera with a lens. Sooner or later it breaks and you replace it but you can use it forever as long as it doesn't fail. With an ILC system, you are buying lenses and flashes, etc with at least some idea that you can add lenses down the road and get years of use out of them. If they drop the line, you not only can't replace the camera if it breaks but you have a collection of now worthless lenses that you paid good money for.

That is a valid point...and distressing too. I do feel for those heavily invested in systems no longer being serviced. Change is not always welcome and not always for the better.

Having lived through years of "Pentax is Doomed" I am one that has taken the risk on many new bodies and lenses...so far, so good. It is finally actually getting better all around...and all those years I have enjoyed being a Pentax shooter and supporter.


Regards!

[reeftool]

That is a valid point...and distressing too. I do feel for those heavily invested in systems no longer being serviced. Change is not always welcome and not always for the better.

Having lived through years of "Pentax is Doomed" I am one that has taken the risk on many new bodies and lenses...so far, so good. It is finally actually getting better all around...and all those years I have enjoyed being a Pentax shooter and supporter.


Regards!

I never bought into the "Pentax is doomed" hysteria. I have been shooting with Pentax since the M42 days. If (God forbid!) Pentax did close up, I have at least had decades of use out of some of my gear. If Nikon does indeed abandon the F1 system, it hurts every manufacturer out there. It will become all that much harder to develop any new system. Photographers are a pretty conservative lot, at least as far as equipment is concerned. Their equipment, especially lenses, is an "investment". The general wisdom may become "stay away from anything that isn't F mount, EOS, or K mount because you may end up with a worthless collection of glass". Photographers don't consider their gear to be disposable consumer electronics although some manufacturers seem to want to turn in that direction.

[reh321]

.....
With an ILC system, you are buying lenses and flashes, etc with at least some idea that you can add lenses down the road and get years of use out of them. If they drop the line, you not only can't replace the camera if it breaks but you have a collection of now worthless lenses that you paid good money for.

My used-like-new {shutter count around 30} Q7+02+06 via Amazon plus my 01 from a Japanese merchant cost a total of perhaps $400. Oh, and I spent another $25 or so on a Q-to-K adapter. This was two years ago. Six months after I bought that combination, my Canon Rebel died unexpectedly, and the Q7 served as my primary camera {including when our younger daughter received her Master's degree - undoubtedly the last degree to be received by our family}, so I didn't have to "panic" and buy a replacement quickly {which was the case when my previous Rebel died}. Yesterday I took pictures at a drainage pond from a non-trivial distance {backyard tests demonstrated conclusively that the Q7 works better than cropping K30 images}




I already have my money's worth from this purchase, and I expect to continue using it.


BTW - I do have a collection of worthless-to-me lenses, old EF-S lenses which cost me more than I spent on the Q7. Yeah, I could probably sell them, but the markdown on lenses like that make me doubt it would be worth my bother.