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NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena wins the Camera Grand Prix 2024 award

The winners of the Camera Grand Prix 2024 award have been announced:

Grand Prize: Sony “α9 III”
Lens Award: Nikon “NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena”
Best camera award you choose: Sony “α9 III”
Best lens of your choice: Nikon “NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena”

About the Plena they write:

The unique name “Plena” describes the depiction that maintains a round bokeh with no vignetting all the way to the periphery of the screen. Many selection committee members praised the camera not only for its beautiful bokeh, but also for its sharp focus and three-dimensional effect. Plena comes from the Latin word plenum, which means “filled with space,” and the name comes from the designer’s philosophy and commitment to achieving this rendering quality without relying on digital correction, as well as from his shooting experience, where he was moved just by looking through the viewfinder. One commenter said, “My heart was filled.”

Did new EU regulations force Nikon to delay the Z6III launch?

You probably have noticed that some companies like Sony, Canon, Nikon have not announced cameras in 2024. A trusted source told me that companies have delayed some of their camera launches to make them compliant with new EU regulations.

The source is really highly trusted and didn’t share additional details other than making the example of the Nikon Z6III camera being one of those delayed.

New Nikon 2023 financial report: “revenue grew on increased sales volumes of mirrorless cameras and interchangeable lenses”

Nikon published the financial report for the full fiscal year 2023. The company as a whole had a great year and that’s what they write about the Imaging Division:

In the Imaging Products Business, revenue grew on increased sales volumes of mirrorless cameras and interchangeable lenses.

Revenue: Up ¥52.6B YoY (Up ¥4.7B vs. previous forecast)

  • DCIL market expanding mainly in China.
  • Nikon’s new products (Z 8 and Z f) are selling well.
  • Nikon advanced its shift to mirrorless cameras and interchangeable
    lenses.
  • Revenue substantially grew YoY as sales volumes of mirrorless cameras and interchangeable lenses grew and ASP rose. The weaker yen also helped.
  • Revenue beat the previous forecast due to changes in product mix and the weaker yen.

Operating Profit: Up ¥4.3B YoY
(Up ¥2.5B vs. previous forecast)

  • Operating profit grew YoY as the effects of revenue growth outweighed increased parts procurement prices and sales promotion costs.
  • Operating profit beat the previous forecast because of increased revenue.

And this is their forecast:

Revenue: Up ¥20.3B YoY

  • The overall DCIL market remains stable. The mid/high-end model market is expected to expand.
  • We continue to focus on mid/high-end models and expect sales volume and revenue to grow.
  • We acquired US cinema camera manufacturer RED in April 2024.
  • We aim to expand the fast-growing professional digital cinema market.

Operating Profit: Down ¥2.5B YoY

  • Operating profit to decline on cost increases including RED acquisition-related expenses and R&D

RED CEO Oishi: “We are thinking of introducing a Z-mount RED camera in the future.”


Image by FDtimes

In an interview released by FDtimes the new RED Ceo Oishi he confirmed that in the future we will get Z-mount RED cameras:

We would like to introduce RED cameras with a Z Mount as one of the options in the future. It will be in addition to the RF mount currently offered, but it could take a couple of years.

Interestingly they do not plan to phase out the Canon mount:

We’re not going to take away people’s Canon mounts, because that would be unfair to the customer.

And yes, they are considering making Z-mount lenses too:

Our current Z lens series has been designed for higher resolution and precise image reproduction. In the future, we would like to take these different approaches into consideration for an additional cinema lens lineup if we have a chance. We do understand the market requirements.