Hang on a minute – is Nikon suddenly cool again?

If you’re of a certain age, there’s a good chance you spent your formative photography years lusting after a Nikon. After all, Nikon was the it camera brand for decades. Its gorgeous SLRs were ahead of their time and captured the hearts and minds of millions. It even landed on the Moon. And when digital rocked the industry, Nikon acted decisively, beating its peers to the punch by launching the now-legendary D1. 

This trend continued well into the noughties. Remember hit crime procedural CSI? The whole forensic crew and their mothers were packing the best Nikon cameras. And so, for that matter, was everyone else. Owning a digital compact camera was like owning a watch: everyone had one. How else could you photograph your tipsy friends sipping WKD, while listening to Scooter in Ibiza?

But trouble was brewing…

Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, starting a chain reaction that would bring the compact market to its knees. In 2013, Sony challenged both Nikon and Canon’s dominance over the pro market with the release of the world’s first pro mirrorless, the A7R. Despite launching some of the best DSLR cameras ever made, Nikon was no longer seen to be operating at the forefront of camera technology. And it hurt.