Nikon cancels the DL series completely; cites profitability concerns

Nikon cancels the DL series completely; cites profitability concerns

Remember the series of three large sensor premium compact cameras we reported on back in March last year?

Well, after numerous pushbacks to the release date, Nikon has decided to cancel the series completely.

Here's the statement in full from Nikon:

CANCELLATION OF RELEASE OF THE DL SERIES OF PREMIUM COMPACT CAMERAS

TOKYO - Nikon Corporation announced today that sales of the long-awaited DL series of premium compact camera, the DL18-50 f/1.8-2.8, DL24-85 f/1.8-2.8, and DL24-500 f/2.8-5.6, will be cancelled.

A June, 2016 release was originally planned for the DL series. However, with the identification of issues with the integrated circuit for image processing, release of the three cameras was delayed indeterminately.

Since then, everyone involved has worked very hard to develop products with which our customers will be satisfied. However, it has been decided that sales of the DL series will be cancelled due to concerns regarding their profitability considering the increase in development costs, and the drop in the number of expected sales due to the slow-down of the market.

We sincerely apologise to all those affected by this decision, especially those customers who waited so long for the cameras to be released, retailers and others whose business will be affected, for the inconvenience this decision may cause.

The announcement of the cancellation was posted on Nikon's website on Tuesday (Feb 14).Photo: Nikon


That's quite a disappointment as all three cameras looked most promising, with bright f/1.8 apertures on the wide end. It seems 2016 wasn't a good year for Nikon though, so that may have contributed to the decision.

The company posted another notice stating recognition of "Extraordinary Loss" of 29,790 million yen, mainly incurred from "inventory write-downs/write-off in Semiconductor Lithography Business, as restructuring expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 2016."

It seems approximately 1000 workers will be given a special retirement benefit as part of a "Solicitation for Voluntary Retirement" too.

One thing to note though, is that the term "Extraordinary" simply means that the losses weren't a result of the regular business cycle, and isn't a reflection on the magnitude. Nikon Rumours reader Semaphore says Nikon used the same terms when reporting on losses from the floods in Thailand years back too, so we shouldn't be too hasty to jump to conclusions.


Visit Hardware Zone for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.