Interview Nikon CP+ 2024

Photorend spoke with with Mitsuteru Hino , Head of UX Planning, Imaging Business Unit at Nikon Corp. Here are the most interesting parts:

  1. Selling products at higher prices, both cameras and lenses, has helped increase revenues and profits at Nikon’s Imaging division.
  2. Nikon is therefore the only manufacturer to produce its lenses from the glass stage. The glass company [Hikari Glass, Editor’s note] is part of the Nikon group, which allows us to have a constant exchange and to specify our needs in terms of lenses. This represents a significant advantage for Nikon, it’s a capability that other manufacturers do not have
  3. About future products: We would like to surprise you, so please be patient for that.
  4. we are putting more emphasis on firmware updates
  5. The reason some of our cameras do not accept third-party batteries is security. That’s why we prefer that you use official Nikon batteries.

Bad news: Sigma’s Full-Frame Foveon Camera is Still at Least ‘a Few Years Away’

PetaPixel had a quick chat with Sigma CEO Yamaki. And we have some bad news regarding the Foveon sensor development:

When asked about a timeline, Yamaki responded: “at least a few years, minimum.”
However, as disheartening as it might be to hear that, Yamaki promises that he and his team are not giving up.

The main problem they have is that the sensor requires a new manufacturing method. And Sigma still has not found a manufacturer that can do this. This is sad news because potentially the Foveon tech can you give you a true advantage in terms of resolution, and color rendering compared to the Bayer sensors. I am afraid it might get close to 2030 before we see such a sensor inside a new Sigma L-mount camera.

Scary prospect: AI Generated Videos Just Changed Forever!

This week OpenAi released a demo of Sora (Click here). It’s their text to video generation tool and the samples are impressive! If you are a photographer and/or filmmaker you have to take into account the devastating influence those tools will have on the industry. We have to learn from these tools how they work so that we can adapt are business. Don’t worry, AI is not going to replace the entirety of photography and filmmaking. But if your business is doing stock photography/filmography you might be in trouble :(

Find your camera if it gets stolen: PolarPro announced the new Defender Body cap with secret AirTag compartment!

PolarPro announced the new Defender Body cap you can buy now at BHphoto (Click here) and at Amazon (should be listed soon). It has a secret storage for Airtag or SD card or CFexpress card. I would have ZERO doubts that it would be best to store your own Apple Airtag (here on discount at Amazon). It’s your best chance to find your camera if you get robbed!

This is how it works:

The second option to keep track of your camera is to buy this Quick Release Plate for AirTag from Smallrig (here on Amazon). I kind of prefer this solution because I usually have a lens on the camera.