“Nikon pulls plug on SLR camera development in shift to mirrorless”
Japanese camera maker Nikon will withdraw from the development of single-lens reflex cameras and shift toward digital offerings amid intensifying competition from smartphone cameras, Nikkei has learned.
An earlier version of this article said that Canon was also stopping DSLR development, but that was removed in a later update; still, it’s inevitable that they will follow suit.
The article attributes the change to “smartphone cameras”, and while those have certainly changed the face of the camera market more than anything else in decades, this change is likely more due to mirrorless formats taking over the professional market, as the title suggests. Mirrorless cameras—especially now that Nikon (and Canon) have finally put in full-throated efforts—have advanced to the point where their benefits to pros outweigh the few remaining cons.