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Nikon Mirrorless? Nikon has announced that they are stepping into the world of Full Frame Mirrorless cameras. What, when, where and why? Questions that everybody are asking.

Nikon Mirrorless Announcement

This week Nikon finally broke the news to the world that they are working on a new mirrorless camera. Although this announcement is not unexpected, it certainly has got people talking. The wider photography community is asking questions about it. What will it look like? When will it launch? Where will Nikon launch it? And why has it taken Nikon so long?

What will the Nikon Mirrorless look like? – Part 1

Currently, this question is completely open for debate. Nikon has not released any actual pictures of the new camera yet. I have included some screen-grabs (where I have increased the brightness) from that video throughout this article. We will have to wait until Nikon provides images from an actual prototype before being able to visualize what it might look like. However, while we wait for that, we can certainly have fun surmising as to its look. At least based on what see on the digital render.

Firstly, the screen on the digital render looks nice and big. As Live View and the LCD used more and more by Landscape photographers filmmakers, this will be great news for them. Product Photographers might like a bigger screen too. However, a bigger display will mean less real estate on the camera body for buttons. And while some photographers might have the time to venture into the camera menu in order to get to needed features, sports photographers certainly won’t. It is hard to know at this stage whether it will have a fully articulated screen like the Canon 6D MK2 or will it have a tilting screen like the Nikon D750 and the Sony a7 series cameras.

What will the Nikon Mirrorless look like? – Part 2

The digital render also shows an EVF (electronic viewfinder) of some sort. This will certainly divide opinions. A lot of DSLR users still don’t like EVFs. But seeing as this will be a mirrorless camera you can be sure that it will not come with an optical viewfinder. And so the only choices will be to include an EVF or not. And I personally think it would be better to have a viewfinder than have none.

I do like some of the features that an EVF brings. The ability to see everything in the viewfinder as displayed on the LCD screen is fantastic. You can change your various settings and view the menu through the viewfinder just like on the back of the LCD. You can even review the images you have taken in the viewfinder. Which can be useful I guess? Best thing is you can avoid looking as if you are “chimping”. Instead of taking your eye away from the viewfinder and obviously chimping away at the back of the LCD screen, you can now just chimp through the viewfinder.

One big drawback of the EVF though is the delay and lag. There is an annoying delay that is noticeable on both the EVF and the LCD on my Sony a7r when shooting in lower light and at slower shutter speeds. I would strongly hope that Nikon does better in this regard!

What will the Nikon Mirrorless look like? – Part 3

There is not a lot of detail on the digital render as it is mostly in shadow/blackness. This is purely intentional on Nikon’s part. Either they don’t want us to know what will be the physical features on the Nikon Mirrorless camera or they don’t yet know themselves. I think it is a combination of both of those reasons!

How many buttons will be present on the Nikon Mirrorless camera is also completely open to conjecture at this moment in time. The digital render shows very little. The Fuji cameras have loads of buttons. Which a lot of Pro DSLR shooters like to see. More buttons, means more customization, less menu navigation and quicker and easier to operate. I for one would love to see more buttons than fewer buttons. But only time will tell whether it will be the former or the latter.

What will the Nikon Mirrorless look like? – Part 4

The Nikon Mirrorless body certainly looks like it could be bigger than that of the Sony a7iii body but perhaps smaller than that of the Nikon D850. Again, this is pure speculation based on what is depicted in the digital render in the Nikon teaser video.

I think a size in between the Sony a7iii and the Nikon D850 would be nice. I always loved the size of the Canon 7D with the battery grip and I always found the size of the Canon 6D to be slightly too small. The Nikon D850 is probably a little on the large side and is definitely heavy. On the other hand, the original Sony a7r is too small and light. And while the new Sony a7iii body is certainly shaped better, it is still very light and probably looses out on the ergonomics battle to its bigger DSLR counterparts.

What will the Nikon Mirrorless look like? – Part 5

Finally, there is the mount. The size of the mount depicted within the digital render is massive!

The mount looks really large in relation to the overall body size. Who knows if this will remain the case with the actual Nikon Mirrorless prototype. Nikon has stated in their press release though that the body will feature a new mount. And they also stated the Nikon F mount lenses will be compatible via an adapter. Canon also provides a mount adapter which enables users to mount Canon EF mount lenses onto the EF-M mount that is present on their APS-C mirrorless bodies, such as the Canon EOS M50. That adapter actually works well. I can envision Canon also doing the same when they get around to releasing their Full Frame Mirrorless body as it will probably feature a whole new mount as well.

I think both the Nikon and Canon full-frame mirrorless mount adapters will naturally work better than that of the 3rd party mount adapters when mounting lenses onto the Sony a7 series cameras. And that will be a big win for both Nikon and Canon users who have already invested heavily in existing glass.

When and Where will the Nikon Mirrorless launch?

This question is also open for debate but not as much as the look/features of the Nikon Mirrorless body. I think it is very possible and probable that Nikon will launch the camera later in 2018 at Photokina. I am hedging my bets that Nikon will have a working prototype to demonstrate at Photokina in September. But how much “final features” are actually present in that prototype will remain to be seen.

I could be wrong (wouldn’t be the first time!) but I doubt Nikon will actually be making their new full-frame mirrorless available for retail at Photokina. Instead, I think they will put on a big show and try to drum up a lot of hype and interest in their new offering. Similar to what Fuji did for the announcement of their medium format offering. I would be very surprised if people will actually be able to get their hands on this new Nikon Mirrorless offering in time for their Christmas stockings!

Why has it taken so long?

This is the age-old question that may Nikon and Canon users have been asking for a long time. I am a Canon user and one that is rather fond of the Canon system. It is my hope that both Canon and Nikon have been taking their time with their full frame mirrorless offerings for the purpose of seeing what works and what doesn’t (thanks to Sony!).

I love the image quality that Sony full frame mirrorless sensors provide. And I love some of the things that Sony are doing at a software level within their a7 series. I do still prefer the ergonomics and feel of both the Nikon and Canon DSLRs. Call me old-fashioned, but I just like big camera bodies and feel that they are more robust. I have more trust in that they can take a beating and survive. I currently cannot say the same about the Sony a7 bodies which are so small and light.

Both Nikon and Canon are late to the Full Frame mirrorless game. They have been the photography giants for years. But in recent years, Sony seems to be standing taller than them. If not in camera sales alone, certainly in the fanfare and admiration stakes. Canon is still number one in the Full Frame camera sales, with Sony now coming in second place. No doubt that Canon has been hurting as a result of the Sony a7 series, But I feel that Nikon has been hurting more. Canon still has a huge share in the full frame market, specifically in the sports, wildlife and speed arenas. And I don’t think that will change anytime soon. However, a larger portion of Nikon’s full-frame market has been Landscape photographers over a last number of years. Mainly thanks in part of the likes of the Nikon D750 and the Nikon D8xx series. And a lot of these users have been jumping ship to the Sony a7 series.

Like many other users, I am just hoping it is not a case of “too little, too late” for the pending Nikon Mirrorless.

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No matter how good compact cameras or smartphones get, there is one aspect in which they will never be able to overcome DSLRs (and, more recently, so-called system cameras): the ability to exchange lenses. While some people tend to argue that having a single large zoom on a compact camera is an advantage due to the portability it can provide, the truth is that the picture quality that can be achieved with a good lens specifically designed for a given type of photography is hard, if not impossible, to overcome.

I take that, if you are reading this article, you most probably have a DSLR camera and you are either puzzled by what lens you should buy next or at least you are familiar with the feeling. Most photography enthusiasts first go out and buy a camera and only after some time taking photos they find out what type of photography they enjoy the most and only then start thinking about going beyond the kit lens. So let’s look at the different types of lenses out there and what their uses are.

One thing to keep in mind all the time is that, due to the crop factor, the focal lengths of different camera lenses will vary depending on whether the lens is intended to be used on a crop sensor o on a full frame camera. You must be very careful with this because not all the lenses on the market will work with your camera and, even more important, trying to fit some lenses to full frame cameras might actually damage it.

Different Types of Camera Lenses Guide

Kit lenses

While this cannot really be a category on its own, I simply put it here to talk a bit about their capabilities and limitations. Kit lenses are basically those that manufacturers sell together with camera bodies. For most cameras, it is possible to buy either just the body or the body with one of those kit lenses. Usually, the quality of the kit lens depends on the quality of the camera, with full frame cameras offering the high quality option (like the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM that comes with the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV or the 24-120mm f/4G ED VR Auto Focus-S that comes with the Nikon D-750). For most of the entry-level and mid-range cameras, while the quality of the kit lenses has improved with time, they are a good option for a limited amount of time and rather sooner than later you will feel the need for an upgrade.

One of the most useful ways to look at the different lenses that are available on the market is by their focal length. These can be divided into five categories: fisheye, wide angle, mid-range, zoom, and telephoto. Different people use some of these terms differently, but I will clarify what I mean with each category further on.

Fisheye

If you think of the available focal lengths as a continuum from short to long, fisheye lenses are located on the short end. They have focal lengths around 10 mm or less and can have a range of focal lengths (e.g. Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM) or a fixed one (e.g. Nikon AF DX Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED). The short focal length is not the only special thing about fisheye lenses, though. The construction of the lens differs from normal wide angle lenses allowing them to provide fields of view close to 180 degrees producing highly distorted images.

They are commonly used in some specific applications such as all-sky cameras (used to study meteorological phenomena such as clouds or auroras monitoring) and can provide an interesting point of view for other types of photography such as landscapes or cityscapes. Unless you are really fascinated by how things look with the strong distortion created by these lenses, I would not recommend this as the first one to get after your kit lens.

Wide angle lenses

With focal lengths a bit longer than fisheye lenses, wide angles are one of the most useful (and many times forgotten) objectives out there, especially if landscape and travel photography is what moves you. Wide angle lenses are built to minimize visual distortions and even though getting rid of the distortion completely is virtually impossible, the good ones do a pretty good job.

The main advantage of wide angle lenses is that they let you get closer to your subject while still covering most of it and a good part of the background. This makes them ideal for some types of photography such as sports, travel, and landscape photography. For instance, if you think of the latter, a common reason for landscape photos to come out rather dull when compared to what we saw is the lack of a main subject located relatively close to the camera. The use of a wide-angle lens gives you countless opportunities since you can simply get close to something like a flower or a rock and still capture the beauty of the background. The same can be said for travel or architecture photography.

The price range of wide angle lenses vary significantly depending on what you choose. An amazing choice for those using Canon (although only for crop sensor cameras) is the relatively new Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM that provides great results with minimal distortion and at an incredibly affordable price. A Nikon alternative, although more expensive, is the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED.

Mid-range

By mid-range I mean lenses that are located, in terms of focal length, between wide-angle and telephoto objectives. Some of these, like the kit lenses that come with entry-level DSLRs (Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II or NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II), are sold like all-purpose lenses and there is some truth on that. While the quality of these lenses is not the best, they are a good option to start making photos with. The wide end (18mm) is wide enough to allow you to capture many wide scenes like landscapes and the narrow end (55mm) is good enough for getting closer to some subjects, especially for taking portraits and some studio setups. The big limitation of these lenses is usually the aperture which is 5.6 at the narrow end, producing rather dark and dull results in some cases due to the deep depth of field.

If your main interest lies in portrait photography, this mid-range is in fact a good place to stay and there are many good options in the market with a wide range of prices. Canon offers three different options for fixed 50mm lenses which are perfect for portraits: the famous and affordable EF 50mm f/1.8 STM, the mid-priced EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and the expensive Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM. Nikon has similar options with the AF FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D and the AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G. The magic of these lenses lies on their small size and the incredible depth of field, even with the cheaper options producing great portraits.

If you are working with a full frame camera, your best choice for portraits is to get an 85mm which is almost equivalent to 50mm on crop sensor cameras. As I mentioned before, be aware of the compatibility of any lens you plan to buy with your camera to avoid unpleasant surprises. Also, if you are considering switching from crop sensor to full frame, be aware that the camera is not the only thing that will get considerably more expensive; lenses will also become more pricey.

Zoom & Telephoto

While these two terms are sometimes used without any discrimination between them, they tend to be related but are not the same. A zoom lens is any lens with a variable focal length while a telephoto is a lens with a large focal length (usually around 90mm and above). I decided to put them into the same category here because, while some of the objectives mentioned before (10-18mm or 18-55mm) are zoom lenses, the term is commonly associated with those really large and bulky ones that you can see when press people are taking photos at a stadium.

Once again, the price range here is huge. For Canon, you can get a good zoom range with the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III. Once again, the issue with this lens is the aperture (5.6 at 300mm) although the truth is that to get a good aperture at telephoto ranges you might have to pay more than you are ready to like for instance the EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM II. The construction of the lens, especially in the case of zoom lenses, to get large focal lengths and apertures is very complex and that is definitely reflected in the retail price.

In terms of use, telephoto lenses (both fixed focal length and zoom) are perfect for wildlife, street and sports photography. When capturing wildlife, it is usually difficult to get close enough to your subject before they run off scared or before your own life is at risk. Street photography is based on capturing everyday life of people on the street and, unless you want to get an angry stare or a fake pose, you need to stay unnoticed and thus a large focal length is necessary. Finally, to shoot sports events you will usually be located quite far from your subjects (like for instance a football player on a stadium).

A good focal length to start with is 250 or 300mm. The already mentioned EF 75-300mm is quite affordable and will allow you to get close enough to some animals, although probably not enough to fill the frame if the animals are particularly afraid of people. A big problem with the cheapest options like the 75-300 is that they do not have image stabilization, meaning that when shooting at 300mm you will need to either shoot under very sunny conditions or shoot at very high ISO numbers which can produce very noisy results depending on your camera and how much you push it. Still, given the price, if you are simply exploring different aspects of photography, I would say is worth giving it a try.

If what moves you is sports photography, you will need a larger focal length and, more importantly, a faster lens. Here you are getting into the realm of really expensive gear (we are talking about usually more than $7000 for a lens) so this is most commonly reserved for professionals who are actually making money out of it. Still, if you can afford it, having something like the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x (that is f/4 over the whole range!) can work miracles on your sports and wildlife photography.

There is another type of lens that, due to its intended use, falls into a completely different category that is independent of the focal length. I am talking about macro lenses. These lenses are intended to take photos of small subjects and people have gotten to the point of adapting microscope lenses to DSLR cameras to get amazing results. I will not go into details, however, because describing macro lenses and how to work with them would require a full post and I prefer to leave that for experts on the field.

I want to finish with a small list summarizing the types of lenses that I went through and their uses so you can use it as a quick guide to decided what to buy next.

Fisheye: lenses with small focal length (usually less than 10mm). Somewhat useful for architecture photography, but only if you are actually looking to create a heavily distorted image.
Wide angle: the perfect option for landscape, travel and architecture photography (both indoors and outdoors). Sometimes over-looked, this is a great second lens unless you are really motivated by street portraits, street, wildlife or sports photography.
Mid-range: your best choice if your main interest lies in studio and portrait photography. Pay special attention to the aperture. In general, anything with at least 2.8 is going to produce nice results.
Telephoto: if you are mostly interested in subjects that you cannot get closer to (wildlife, people on the street or sports events), getting something with a focal length of at least 250mm is your best shot. If you are only starting, think about buying on of the most affordable options in the market, although be ready to spend significant amounts of money if you want to upgrade your gear later on.

Tag: nikon

Nikon Mirrorless – What does the future hold?