Nikon rumors 2024
The Nikon rumors have, of late, all come to fruition – which only gives further credence to the old "where there's smoke, there's fire" adage.
Longstanding reports about everything from the Nikon Z6 III to Z8, Z9 and Zf all came to pass – and now that Nikon owns Red, all eyes are on every sliver of information that might affect not just the mirrorless world but the world of cinema cameras as well.
So, with the Z lineup now comprising everything from entry-level to professional to prestige retro cameras, what are the latest Nikon rumors as 2024 hits its second half?
"Yellow" Red camera
In case you haven't heard, Nikon has acquired Red – the cinema camera powerhouse that is a pretty big player in Hollywood and filmmaking in general.
What does this mean for the future – will Nikon leverage its new cinema stronghold to launch a line of Nikon cinema cameras, the way Canon and Sony do? Will it start adding the Nikon branding to Red products? Will it start releasing Red cameras with the Z mount, rather than the Canon RF mount that has just been offered?
So far there has been very little said officially. The new, Nikon-appointed, CEO has confirmed that Red will continue to produce cameras with the RF mount, and added that he would like to launch models with a Z mount in the future – but other than interview chatter, nothing has yet been announced or made official.
Nikon Z9H
Nikon Rumors don't get any wilder than this! A report from late last year claims that a special high-speed version of the Nikon Z9 – potentially called the Nikon Z9H – will be launched in time for next year's Olympics. I'm highly suspicious of this, but it's being talked about enough to make it worth including for discussion here.
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The "H" is ostensibly a nod to the suffix Nikon used to give to its flagship cameras to denote particular performance specialisms – such as the Nikon D1H, which was a speed-oriented upgrade of the base D1.
The report notes that the new camera will have a 22-23MP sensor and "will be Nikon's fastest FX-format camera", positing that it might possess a global shutter like the Sony A9 III. The whole thing seems too leftfield for me, particularly with the Z9 and Z8 selling so well, but stranger things have happened…
Nikon Z90
Said to be the mirrorless equivalent of the venerable Nikon D500, this is the designated "APS-C flagship" of Nikon's Z series cameras – and is set to be a direct competitor to the Canon EOS R7.
Taking advantage of the 1.5x crop factor's amplification of focal length, the Nikon Z90 is reportedly built around a 33MP DX sensor capable of oversampled 4K 60p video (as well as FullHD at either 120p or 180p) and 15fps burst shooting.
Other supposed specs include 6 stops of in-body image stabilization, a 3.2-inch tilt-only touchscreen, and a hybrid memory card combo with one CFexpress B and one SD slot.
This is a camera that Nikon desperately needs in its lineup, so I would expect this – or something similar to it – to come to market sooner than later.
Nikon Z4
Take plenty of salt with this long-in-the-tooth scuttlebutt, as advised by Nikon Rumors. The site reports that this is an EVF-free camera along the lines of the Sony A7C – "think Z50 but with an FX-format sensor". It is said to be smaller (63 x 129 x 96mm) and lighter (565g) than the Nikon Z5, and may even be an "iCamera" with all-new interface and potentially apps. However, as Nikon's recent re-strategizing has seen the company move away from entry-level mirrorless, this one might be a relic of past concepts.
Nikon 1000fps 4K camera
Frames per second hadn't been Nikon's forte up until the release of the Z9, but the change looks set to continue with the advent of an astonishing new 4K sensor that can capture up to 1000fps – all while delivering what Nikon calls "the world's highest levels of sensor performance".
"This new stacked CMOS image sensor uses a fine-pitch wafer level wire connection technology consistent with the 2.7 um pixel size," Nikon told us. "Also, it has a total pixel count of approximately 17.8 megapixels that realizes 4K × 4K high-resolution imaging of 1,000 frames per second and 110-dB high dynamic range (HDR) characteristics. This is one of the widest dynamic ranges in the industry."
The caveats are that this is a one-inch sensor, and is likely to be intended for industry rather than consumer use. However, with Nikon working on such bleeding-edge technology, it could open some very interesting doors for its consumer cameras going forward.
The Nikon verdict
What we think: Nikon has struck gold with the Z8 and Z9 pro cameras, and the Zf and Zf c retro cameras – and it knows it. With the company working hard to claw back market share, we wouldn't be surprised to see more of a focus on these areas in particular. The Z6 III feels like the next big release.
More camera rumors: Canon rumors • Sony rumors • Olympus rumors • Fuji rumors • Panasonic rumors • Sigma rumors • Hasselblad rumors • Leica rumors • Ricoh & Pentax rumors • GoPro rumors
