Nikon’s Medium Term Management plan has some pretty bold plans and some interesting insights into its digital imaging future
(Image credit: Nikon/Digital Camera World)
Nikon’s latest management report is available both as a PDF slideshow deck and a video presentation. Much of it is around Nikon’s medical and industrial business, but there are tantalizing glimpses into its camera plans too.
One of the tastier snippets is Nikon’s plan to offer 50 Z-mount lenses by 2025. There’s no detail on specific lenses here, just the broad intention. We can’t tell you how many there might be for Nikon DX format cameras, but we’ve already had a good old moan about the lack of DX lenses for the Nikon Z50 and Z fc.
Interestingly, Nikon uses the phrase ‘lens attach rate’. It wants a 2+ lens attach rate by 2030, which means it wants more people to buy more lenses for their Z-mount cameras.
Sadly, there’s no mention of Nikon DSLRs, so we must assume that they don’t figure in Nikon’s future plans. It’s also significant that Nikon sees the most growth in higher-value products for enthusiasts and professionals, which confirms our view that camera makers are steadily pulling away from the whole beginner market.
The report also says that Nikon intends to “Deploy advanced features from the Nikon Z9 across the lineup”. Hopefully we will soon see faster frame rates, higher-res video and more advanced AF migrating downwards into Nikon’s more affordable mid-range models.
Digital Camera World readers will know that Nikon doesn’t just make cameras and lenses, it also makes some of the best binoculars, astronomical telescopes and – especially for golf nuts – the best laser range finders.
Nikon’s report also highlights a shift away from simple product manufacturing towards more integrated ‘value’ solutions designed to meet people’s social and creative needs. If that sounds like a lot of corporate waffle, there is a specific mention of Nikon’s plans to develop its role in the “creator economy”, which is a good description of a major shift in the whole photography industry. If you haven’t noticed it, that’s because you’re not looking properly!
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It’s good to see Nikon forging ahead with bold new plans for the future. It’ll be even better when we get those 50 lenses. Right now there are 27 Nikkor lenses in the line-up, so there are some busy and exciting times ahead. Be sure to keep checking back to see our latest Nikon Z lens roadmap…
Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com
