Is this Nikon’s new mirrorless? Teaser emerges for mysterious camera

Travel of Light

Update: Nikon launches the Z7 and Z6 cameras at a special event in Tokyo, and Digital Trends was there to document it all. Here’s what we learned.

The smoke from Nikon’s long-rumored advanced mirrorless camera is starting to show a tiny lick of flame. On Sunday, July 22, Nikon Europe published a teaser video that appears to show a high-end mirrorless camera. While the video doesn’t come with any details and Nikon isn’t saying if the silhouetted camera in the video is, in fact, full-frame as the rumors have speculated, the official video suggests that a big announcement is on the horizon.

The teaser shows a backlit profile of a camera that looks too thin to be any of the company’s existing DSLRs. The silhouetted camera doesn’t leave many details intact, but the video shows an LCD screen, a viewfinder and what looks like some control dials at the top of the camera. The image on the LCD screen is also a low-light portrait, suggesting Nikon may tout the camera’s low-light performance, which would further indicate this could be a full-frame camera.

The video is called Travel of Light and the description says that Nikon’s future mission is “to guide light into forming superb pictures,” which could be said of any advanced camera. An accompanying website includes an email sign-up that says subscribers will be among the first to know about new Nikon products.

There is little here to sate the appetites of photographers who have long waited for details that, so far, have only been rumors. Late last year, a Nikon representative confirmed that the company is developing a new mirrorless line, but didn’t say if the upcoming cameras would be full frame — or even when photographers may see them.

Nikon began restructuring the company late in 2016 with a focus on high-end products. A professional-level mirrorless camera would fit with that goal. The company just discontinued its smaller-sensor, consumer-oriented mirrorless Nikon 1 series, so a new mirrorless announcement now would be timely.

A pro-level Nikon mirrorless camera would certainly be late to the party, but Nikon’s patience in waiting for the technology to mature may not be a bad thing. With a young camera system, however, a shortage of lenses is usually an issue, but Nikon could have an edge if the upcoming system is able to use existing DSLR lenses, likely via an adapter. Without any details, however, Nikon fans are left to speculate about what the mysterious camera in the teaser may be.

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