Nikon to stop domestic production of single-lens reflex cameras

Nikon Corp. will wrap up domestic production of single-lens reflex camera bodies this year as it struggled against the demand for high-performance smartphones and compact mirrorless models.

The camera maker will relocate manufacturing of the last domestically made model, the D6 series for professional photographers, from Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan to its production base in Thailand.

The move will mark the end of Nikon’s camera body production in Japan that started in 1948. It will, however, continue making related parts and spare lenses in Japan.

Canon held the top spot in the Japanese digital camera market in 2020 with a 36.8 percent share, followed by Sony Corp. at 19.5 percent, and Nikon at 12.6 percent, a BCN survey shows that

Ichiro Michikoshi, a chief executive analyst at research firm BCN Inc., pointed out that with its domestic market share falling,d Nikon needed to shift its production base to Thailand to cut costs.

According to Michikoshi, Nikon continued using the original lens mount for the Nikon F model, but fewer digital camera buyers than expected use those lenses, prompting the company to change course in 2018.

With Nikon insisting on sticking to the lens mount, it was likely sidetracked from focusing on developing mirrorless models in the early stages.

Nikon, adds Michikoshi, also lagged behind Sony in the mirrorless camera field.

Interest in the digital camera market has also fallen off markedly.
Digital camera shipments in and outside Japan plummeted from 1.4681 trillion yen in 2012 to 420.1 billion yen in 2020.

Advancements in smartphone camera technology eliminated the need for consumers to always carry a camera with them.

Nikon's sales declined 23.9-percent on-year for the fiscal year ending in March 2021 with an annual turnover of 450 billion yen. It also suffered an operating loss of 65 billion yen after recording an operating profit of 6.7 billion yen in the previous year.