The Endless Possibilities Now That Nikon Has Acquired Cinema Camera Manufacturer RED

I woke up this morning to some pretty exciting news. Nikon, the legendary still camera manufacturer, has agreed to purchase RED, the company behind some of the most popular cinema cameras on the market today.

Now, I should say that I first heard of this via a post from a satirical Instagram channel focused on the filmmaking industry. So, at first, I wasn’t 100% sure that I wasn’t falling for a fake news post. Then, I googled the news. And, yes, in fact, it is true. Nikon has purchased RED, bringing both brands under the same umbrella.

Personally, I find this to be excellent news. As someone who has worked as both a professional photographer and a filmmaker for three decades now, I’ve always had something of a split gear closet. Nikon is the brand of still camera that I have used to build and sustain my career as a professional still photographer. But, when it comes to my filmmaking, I often find myself having to rent different brands because, until now, Nikon has never had a huge hold on the cinema world. I’ve written several times about how much I love my Nikon Z9. Much of that love is due to the fact that it is the first Nikon camera that I’ve felt has really offered me the necessary tools I need as a Director/DP to operate at a level comparable to other systems. I’ve used my Z9 to create multiple films now, as well as commercial content. Films I’ve shot on the Z9 have literally shared the same movie screen with projects shot with Alexa and Panavision cameras without missing a beat. The only real quibble I’ve had with my Z9 is that I wish I could get the exact same features in the box form of a cinema body.  

With that said, there has, no doubt, inevitably been a bit of pushback from some of my crew members. To be clear, the Z9 is one of the best mirrorless cameras on the market for capturing professional video. But, since the film world is incredibly brand conscious, and Nikon doesn’t yet have the reputation in the motion picture industry in the way that companies like Arri, RED, or Sony do, many industry veterans just aren’t used to thinking of Nikon cameras in that way. They end up liking the results. But it can take some convincing.

RED, on the other hand, has built up a stellar reputation in the motion picture industry. With cameras from the original RED ONE to the V-Raptor and Komodo, the company is known for dependable products that have served productions large and small for going on 20 years. I’ve had the pleasure of shooting multiple projects on RED systems. And, while I don’t currently own a RED camera, the systems have been in my shopping cart on more than one occasion.

In many ways, the prospect of these two companies merging into one seems like the least likely scenario. Especially because of the well-known patent lawsuit RED and Nikon waged last year over Nikon’s implementation of raw video capabilities. When that lawsuit settled discretely, the belief was that the two companies had just agreed to coexist. But, perhaps, part of the behind-the-scenes conversation was how to come out of the dispute with a win-win.

By purchasing RED, Nikon has an immediate place within the established film industry. This negates the need for Nikon to develop a cinema camera line of its own, which is something I’ve hoped for in the past. Or, if it does still develop a Nikon-branded cinema camera, it can do so incorporating some of RED’s technology to combine the best of both worlds. Overnight, the company becomes a powerhouse in both the still and motion markets.

With all the possibilities ahead, I still have a couple of questions which will no doubt be worked out over time. For instance, how will Nikon position the brands within the ecosystem? As I see it, both companies bring unique values to the combination. Nikon has a storied history among still photographers. It has a legendary collection of lenses, many of which have been used on motion picture sets for decades. It has amazing autofocus technology and a strong presence in both the consumer and prosumer markets.

RED brings a reputation among professional filmmakers. Its REDCODE Raw is a commonly used codec in the industry. I’ve raved about the new Nikon NRaw video. But it is still relatively new to the market. And a well-entrenched filmmaking community is used to its creature comforts. Colorists who have been used to working with REDCODE Raw over the years are simply more familiar with it than NRaw. In terms of physical dimensions, RED has the experience producing products designed for filmmakers. Nikon’s mirrorless cameras are amazing for the hybrid market. But they don’t yet have any dedicated cameras for filmmaking. RED brings simple things like more filmmaker-friendly form factors and tools such as their goalposts and traffic lights for exposure that can advance Nikon’s offerings.

But, without a doubt, what RED brings most to this acquisition is name recognition. One of the things that absolutely infuriates me about the film world is that gear really does matter. Not the gear itself, mind you. If you know what you’re doing, you can make a great film with almost any modern camera. But the name badge holds far more sway in the film world than it does in the still market. I’ve pitched clients on projects that could be shot for half the price using my Nikon and still get the same results. Yet, most clients still opt to spend more money rather than less just because they are more comfortable with the industry’s established brand name cameras. I’m not complaining about those cameras. They are excellent. But the Nikon cameras are excellent video producers as well, yet often aren’t even allowed into the conversation. The same cannot be said for RED which is welcome in any discussion among clients and agencies regardless of the scale of the project. This frees filmmakers up, in practical terms, to incorporate more Nikon products onto professional film sets. Over time, this accomplishes Nikon’s goal of making more inroads into a video market that has proven reluctant to give the new kid on the block its chance.

So Nikon will need to be careful with how it rolls out the first batch of RED cameras following the acquisition. They could choose to leave everything as is, with little outward facing acknowledgment that the Komodo II (or whatever comes next) is a Nikon product. Or, they could go to the complete opposite end of the spectrum and start branding everything with a yellow logo instead of a red one. I have no idea what their plans are. If it were me, I might leave the higher end products like the V-Raptor, Komodo, Komondo-X, etc., as RED-branded products. Then I would firmly establish Nikon mirrorless cameras as video leaders in the consumer and prosumer market. Think the Sony a7S III versus Sony Venice. Nikon would be the leader among content creators, while RED would be the brand for professional filmmakers. All the revenue would end up in Nikon’s pocket. But this strategy would allow the company to continue to build on the RED established brand name while building its own reputation for the Nikon line of cinema products.

The acquisition also offers a great chance to merge the companies’ technologies. Could we see REDCODE RAW available in a Nikon Z9?, for example. Can a firmware update give the RED Komodo the autofocus capabilities of the Z9? Could we get things like goal posts and traffic lights in Nikon cameras? Might RED cameras now be able to capture stills using the Nikon raw format? I’m assuming that RED cameras going forward will be developed with the Z mount as opposed to the Canon RF mount? Think what this might spur in terms of product development on the cinema lens side from manufacturers now needing to offer the Z mount as an option. All these little things would just serve to further entrench Nikon into the cinema world without cannibalizing its current product lines. And, even better, this joining also gives Nikon a complete line of camera products in much the same way that Canon and Sony have cameras for everyone from the point-and-shoot market to Academy Award-winning cinematographers.

The possibilities are endless. And, as a longtime Nikonian and filmmaker, I am quite excited about this news. I might finally be able to bring all my camera needs under one roof. I see this as a big step in making Nikon a major player in the filmmaking world (even if the label itself still says RED). But what about you? What questions do you have following the announcement of the acquisition?