I do not have the leisure of digging into Nikon’s financial statements, but I have a hunch that the article linked here is as well researched and grounded as the one you mention. At least that makes them.. consistent?
I don't know much about cameras but if I read something like "One Plus new budget phone sells more than any flagship" I'd definitely assume that that meant it had outsold the iphone, pixel, galaxy etc.
Why would you normally expect the most exclusive implication over the most inclusive when no other qualifying statements were given? The article title mentioned one branded camera and said it outsold all flagships. From only the words in title, where are you limiting the context to only Nikon products?
If someone said "Pepsi sodas are bad compared to all sodas" you're saying it would be normal to assume they're only referring and comparing to other Pepsico branded drinks?
> Why would you normally expect the most exclusive implication over the most inclusive when no other qualifying statements were given?
Because headlines like those aren’t there to downplay the importance of the article they’re promoting. There supposed to be a succinct way to encourage people to read the article.
Thus it’s usually better to assume a lesser exaggerated interpretation of a headline.
I don't want to pour water on this announcement, but I do want to add context before we run to attach a narrative here. The most probable explanation for the extra-high sales figures is historic yen weakness. Management even point to it themselves.
From a financials perspective, Nikon is a Japanese company with yen-denominated revenues. A weak yen means that Nikon earns more per unit sold in any non-yen currency.
"Flagship" cameras besides the Sony A1 aren't all-rounders, they're historically fast and rugged big bodies for shooting sports. The Z9 was very forward looking in this category in 2021 (shutterless design, speedy sensor readout) and is still very competitive.
Sports, weddings, other commercial stuff, sure. "Pent up demand" doesn't mean consumer demand though, could be lots of nikon invested folks that were waiting for the first post SLR one.
They don't provide unit numbers, likely for a reason. Look at their earnings presentation. If you go purely on camera unit sales, this wasn't even their best selling year (trailing twelve months) for cameras on a unit basis in the past 5 years. https://www.nikon.com/company/ir/ir_library/result/pdf/2025/...
This is shoddy journalism. What was discussed in MD&A does not support the article's headline.
It's not. "Highest number of sales" can mean either "highest revenue" or "most units sold". The author ran with "Nikon Sold More Z9 Cameras than..." when that's 1. not what management said and 2. there's good reason to believe that they're referring to revenue when reading the statement in the context of the release.
> The Nikon Z9 is perhaps the most complete camera we've ever tested. It shoots excellent 45MP images at up to 30fps (20 with Raw), it captures 8K video in everything from 8-bit MP4s to 12-bit N-Raw. Its autofocus system is both powerful and easy to use and works well for both stills and video. It's larger and heavier than some of its rivals, which make it less well suited to some applications, but overall it combines the best of a DSLR and a video camera in a single body.
Dpreview summary above. I'd say its well deserved success. Thay are the only major company in this space fully focusing on best photography experience as a whole, not just some side product of photo copiers or game consoles behemots.
I was confused as to why this hit the front page of hackernews, so I checked submitter history to see if it looked like astroturfing. Now I'm even more confused.
The submission to comment ratio gives me the sense that this may be a bot used for paid vote farming. OP feel free to correct me, as I don't mean disrespect.
@dang, do you have any opinions or insights on this -- could this be something malicious, should we even care as long as the content is good? It makes me feel iffy, as it doesn't look too... organic
Since you have an old account I’ll chime in. There are 2 main streams I’ve seen since I’ve been here for what feels like an eternity (15+ years). There are others, but these ones are lame in particular.
You have the people who just spam new posts every few hours. I don’t know when this started but I remember the old Digg getting a lot of shit for it. There’s no rhyme or reason it’s just post after post. It’s a post farm/botting.
The other, more sinister one which I hope pg and whoever else have addressed in Arc is being able to detect and halt downvoting brigades. People going through your post history and just downvoting as much as they can because you hit a nerve. I’m not sure which is worse, the downvote or the flag, but both in aggregate are just dumb.
Now, I don’t particularly care - this is easily my 50th+ account since I don’t care about the points per-se (it’s bullshit), but dang thinks I’m some new shitposter on the block when that’s not the case and it ends up making me not want to make valuable posts because what’s the point when assholes just downvote you because they don’t like what you’re saying?
Honest advice? Just hide points from everyone and everything. Nobody needs to know. It’s a dick measuring contest without a winner and it drives shitty behaviour. If people don’t have a visible metric to gauge themselves on, hopefully it’ll put a damp on the bullshit.
Not a fan of the serial posters but this seems like newsworthy as in Nikon actually selling a lot of cameras for first time in years/resurging interest
No, it is very much ugly (like every other camera in this weight class). But it has to hold a large weight in interchangeable batteries, accepts two full-size SD cards (for hotswapping), may be used with lenses that are even heavier and have a lot of leverage, and despite all that needs to be handled by a single person for hours in either orientation. A phone receiver isn’t particularly pretty either, but it’s hella ergonomic.
I am a photographer. Old school film, published etc.
It is so odd to see people with this camera out in the wild. I talk to them. For many it is their first camera. They show me their photographs and they are horrible and they tell me they are trying to sell them.
This camera is selling because baby boomers are in retirement and traveling and they all think they cam be a great photographer if they buy this camera. It is a tragic waste of money and a waste for the environment.
Why does it bother you how other's spend their money and time? If someone is sharing their pictures with you, they are really just hoping to spark a conversation. They probably are not seeking mockery and judgement.
How about not buying a camera at all and using the camera on your phone? But I had a Canon point and shoot that lasted 6 years so I have no idea what you are talking about.
A high end camera is probably one of the least wasteful electronics products. They last at least a decade. Just a few weeks ago, I sold my Nikon D70. So even entry level DSLRs stay useful for 20 years. There are few products with such a long lifetime.
Least wasteful is still wasteful, you are missing the point. How many people need these cameras, as opposed to wanting one based on marketing? Why are these people not buying all the used D70's on the market? There are 700 of them on ebay right now. 500 D80 and 500 D90's as well.
They would be better off carrying around a Cannon SX740 for 1/6 of the price. If you cannot take a good photograph with that then you will not take one with a Z9.
People buy these cameras because they have the money that other people do not and they think the camera makes the photograph. It is like thinking the paintbrush makes the painting.
I am still using my Nikon D4 (2012), but they simply don't make parts for it anymore. These are mechanical devices, so they will simply wear out with use (I got pretty much the last spare parts that existed in my country when it last needed servicing).
I find it a bit sad; I could understand it for a dinky plastic camera, but with a flagship device, why can't they just make a bunch of parts and put it on a shelf for 30 years?
Eventually I'll probably buy a mirrorless; but I guess with a shutter count of 196 613, it's had a pretty good run…
Because how others spend their time and money is not in some bubble that does not affect the environment and the economy which also affects me. (I am also homeless in a minivan so watching someone carry around a $6000 (mines the lenses!) camera for funsies just signals that they are not seeing the suffering of the world. And people who cannot see the suffering of the world,c an they be that creative? These people are also traveling in motor homes complaining about the climate change induced heat.
And flooding the internet with crappy photos just makes it harder for people to find good photos and uses more carbon to store their 90MB images in the cloud. Photography is just consumerism now. They care more about the technical than technique.
And to make a further point, they talk more about their camera and lenses then they do their photographs.
Also, I am the kind of assh0le that tells them to their face what is wrong with their photographs and the conversation ends. So they see my judgement.
I no longer own a camera but for my phone. And with that phone I take pictures that people print and hang. The creativity is in composition and subject, not in detail and pixels.
I am not bitter. I am upset that people are homeless and struggling and the same people who buy these cameras complain, or are "concerned", about the homeless. I am upset that it has been over 100 degrees for over 100 days in Phoenix breaking the record by 25 days.
I am not bitter, I have compassion.
I could imagine you being a Jew calling Jesus bitter when he kicked over the banker's table in the temple.
I’ve not seen one in the wild, except maybe at Photopia Hamburg. It sounds staggeringly accomplished, as all Nikon flagships, but people who have no experience or have forgotten how much big cameras weigh are in for a shock. I bought a used 1DX once and it was both heavy and complex, nothing improved about my photography until I sold it. But it satiated a long desire to have the bestest baddest beast there was.
At least it has helped to dig Nikon out of a hole, and the market is competitive again. I still have no need for any of it yet but maybe if I take up birding when I retire…
Agreed. I used to be a hardcore Nikonite (I'd argue with Canon people on Dpreview forumns) but the form factor of these cameras are just disgusting.
I made the switch to Fuji's X-T* and X100* line a few years ago and I haven't looked back. I unearthed a Nikon D4 from the camera bag a while back and I was just disgusted with the form factor. I'm so far gone from my brutalist photography days and I love life as a jpeg maximalist.
The arguments these days are at least well-spread out, suggesting people are finding great fit between themselves and kit. I neglected an X-Pro 1 for years before giving it away, but lovely camera for the right person. My mate shoots Olympus stuff, looks really well-made and professional.
Personally, I am occasionally taking full advantage of bargain top-notch kit on the second-hand market, as older gear and stuff that doesn’t fit people gets sold off.
Yes indeed. The arguments of long ago were truly unhinged. Every debate used to boil down to 100% crops of ISO 6400 images. Now, each camera system has meaningfully different properties. I've fallen in love with the simplicity of Fuji, BUT I got to try out a relative's digital medium format Hassy.. Horrendous AF, subpar shooting experience, but the images and color depth are undescribably phenomenal. I've got the medium format itch since then, but til it starts raining money, I'm happy with the fuji vibes.
I've been picking up lenses on the cheap too. I can't justify buying them new when the depreciation curve so favors the second-hand buyer.
The ratio of pictures OF cameras to pictures FROM cameras is still too high, though, at least on my new Threads feed.
I have a wonderful collection of old CAMERA Magazin issues, and plenty of old brochures and pro magazines from the 1990s, and technical image quality has not advanced as far as people think it has, even if pixel peeping suggests otherwise. That alone helps me calm the GAS down when flipping though the PetaStoppers of the web today.
A mate has been desperate for a Hassy for, I swear, a decade, and has finally bought his dream 907 or something, and the only pics I saw from him so far were shot through a plane window. If it makes you happy, I guess. On the MF itch, I found a cheap-as-dirt 645Z and as you suggest, the images and colour depth are a marvel.
AF is still Fuji's achilles heel, even on the newer models. That said, AF-S with multipoint focus is solid and face detection has gotten much better. AF-C is decent, but not great - the lens motor is the issue.
Video AF is terrible for both the X100s and the X-Ts to the extent that I consider manual focus a must.
57 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 133 ms ] threadNormally you’d say “any other camera make” (or words to that effect) if you meant other brands included.
If someone said "Pepsi sodas are bad compared to all sodas" you're saying it would be normal to assume they're only referring and comparing to other Pepsico branded drinks?
Because headlines like those aren’t there to downplay the importance of the article they’re promoting. There supposed to be a succinct way to encourage people to read the article.
Thus it’s usually better to assume a lesser exaggerated interpretation of a headline.
From a financials perspective, Nikon is a Japanese company with yen-denominated revenues. A weak yen means that Nikon earns more per unit sold in any non-yen currency.
Another factor is possibly pent up demand for mirrorless with all the bells and whistles.
This is shoddy journalism. What was discussed in MD&A does not support the article's headline.
Dpreview summary above. I'd say its well deserved success. Thay are the only major company in this space fully focusing on best photography experience as a whole, not just some side product of photo copiers or game consoles behemots.
What makes it confusing for you? It's an article about an electronic gadget outperforming expectations, something thats well within HN's interests.
Based on the submission cadence, it's either a bot or someone with insomnia.
You have the people who just spam new posts every few hours. I don’t know when this started but I remember the old Digg getting a lot of shit for it. There’s no rhyme or reason it’s just post after post. It’s a post farm/botting.
The other, more sinister one which I hope pg and whoever else have addressed in Arc is being able to detect and halt downvoting brigades. People going through your post history and just downvoting as much as they can because you hit a nerve. I’m not sure which is worse, the downvote or the flag, but both in aggregate are just dumb.
Now, I don’t particularly care - this is easily my 50th+ account since I don’t care about the points per-se (it’s bullshit), but dang thinks I’m some new shitposter on the block when that’s not the case and it ends up making me not want to make valuable posts because what’s the point when assholes just downvote you because they don’t like what you’re saying?
Honest advice? Just hide points from everyone and everything. Nobody needs to know. It’s a dick measuring contest without a winner and it drives shitty behaviour. If people don’t have a visible metric to gauge themselves on, hopefully it’ll put a damp on the bullshit.
and my second reaction was “oh wow, am i ever a photography dilettante”
It is so odd to see people with this camera out in the wild. I talk to them. For many it is their first camera. They show me their photographs and they are horrible and they tell me they are trying to sell them.
This camera is selling because baby boomers are in retirement and traveling and they all think they cam be a great photographer if they buy this camera. It is a tragic waste of money and a waste for the environment.
I think he explained it well.
btw how old is your phone? Car? MPG? Washing machine? Fridge? How many electronic devices have you bought in the last 5 years?
They would be better off carrying around a Cannon SX740 for 1/6 of the price. If you cannot take a good photograph with that then you will not take one with a Z9.
People buy these cameras because they have the money that other people do not and they think the camera makes the photograph. It is like thinking the paintbrush makes the painting.
I find it a bit sad; I could understand it for a dinky plastic camera, but with a flagship device, why can't they just make a bunch of parts and put it on a shelf for 30 years?
Eventually I'll probably buy a mirrorless; but I guess with a shutter count of 196 613, it's had a pretty good run…
And flooding the internet with crappy photos just makes it harder for people to find good photos and uses more carbon to store their 90MB images in the cloud. Photography is just consumerism now. They care more about the technical than technique.
And to make a further point, they talk more about their camera and lenses then they do their photographs.
Also, I am the kind of assh0le that tells them to their face what is wrong with their photographs and the conversation ends. So they see my judgement.
I no longer own a camera but for my phone. And with that phone I take pictures that people print and hang. The creativity is in composition and subject, not in detail and pixels.
I am not bitter, I have compassion.
I could imagine you being a Jew calling Jesus bitter when he kicked over the banker's table in the temple.
At least it has helped to dig Nikon out of a hole, and the market is competitive again. I still have no need for any of it yet but maybe if I take up birding when I retire…
I made the switch to Fuji's X-T* and X100* line a few years ago and I haven't looked back. I unearthed a Nikon D4 from the camera bag a while back and I was just disgusted with the form factor. I'm so far gone from my brutalist photography days and I love life as a jpeg maximalist.
Personally, I am occasionally taking full advantage of bargain top-notch kit on the second-hand market, as older gear and stuff that doesn’t fit people gets sold off.
I've been picking up lenses on the cheap too. I can't justify buying them new when the depreciation curve so favors the second-hand buyer.
I have a wonderful collection of old CAMERA Magazin issues, and plenty of old brochures and pro magazines from the 1990s, and technical image quality has not advanced as far as people think it has, even if pixel peeping suggests otherwise. That alone helps me calm the GAS down when flipping though the PetaStoppers of the web today.
A mate has been desperate for a Hassy for, I swear, a decade, and has finally bought his dream 907 or something, and the only pics I saw from him so far were shot through a plane window. If it makes you happy, I guess. On the MF itch, I found a cheap-as-dirt 645Z and as you suggest, the images and colour depth are a marvel.
So much for not lugging heavy cameras around.
Video AF is terrible for both the X100s and the X-Ts to the extent that I consider manual focus a must.
Sampling bias there.
The image quality is a lot better, the controls are better, and it's fun to focus on just taking pictures.
It's obvious some camera companies are going to die out, but I hope some of them stick around.