Nikon bought RED

[p.giannakis]

A few years ago (2017) Nikon was doing so bad that we started wondering who was going to rescue it.

Today they announced buying RED. Obviously their finances are doing much better after the introduction of the Z-system.

More info here:

Nikon to Acquire US Cinema Camera Manufacturer RED.com, LLC | News | Nikon About Us

 

[Freakscene]

Nikon Acquires RED | Cameras and Photography Explained | Thom Hogan

RED digital cinema is acquired by Nikon

bythom.com

The Nikon / RED Combo | Cameras and Photography Explained | Thom Hogan

Additional thoughts on the acqusition of RED by Nikon

bythom.com

It is an interesting development. Like Thom, I am not sure there are many customer synergies, and it might be harder for Nikon to maintain the RED user base than they think.

And although I hope it keeps Nikon viable, I have no interest in RED, personally, at all. I am a photographer.

 

[x-ray]

I’ve been retired a while now and haven’t been on any cine shoots in a few years but when I was the two dominant cameras were Arri Alexa and Red. I saw more Arri but plenty of Red were used.

I think Nikon had a lot to bring to the table with this purchase. The certainly have the sensor / camera technology for cine use as proven by the D800, D810 and D850. The D800 was quickly adopted by the cine industry and used as a disposable camera to shoot scenes where the camera could be destroyed. The D800 intercut perfectly with the Arri Alexa.

Nikon has that sensor technology and a credible history in the cine industry and could introduce a series of Super Cine lenses for that camera.

I see it as a money maker for them.

I think about Hasselblad being bought by DJI for their sensor technology. I see that same kind of merger between Nikon and Red.