Gear & Apps
Nikon Highlights It’s Weather Sealing | Is This A Strength They’ll Carry Through to Mirrorless?
There’s a lull in DSLR sales at the moment, and that’s for a number of relatively obvious reasons. For one, DSLRs are, for the majority, on the way out. Second, Nikon and Canon are both on the cusp of releasing their own full-frame mirrorless units and the photographic purchasing public is waiting to see what they deliver before parting with their greenbacks.
[RELATED: New Nikon Mirrorless Body Details Revealed | The Design Looks Familiar]
But what do they need to deliver, and what can we expect them so deliver to be competitive? Given the fact that Sony mirrorless sales remain strong despite the lull for CaNikon, it may be fair to suggest that Canon and Nikon are really marketing their new mirrorless to their current user base and not so much convert from Sony. And to do that it would seem they would need to trade on strengths they already have, such as weather sealing and ergonomics. Nikon is clearly making a play with their latest video to show how much value it places on those things.
What we see here is a video that gives us a look into the world of Nikon’s ‘elements’ testing as performed on the D850, and perhaps that gives a clue as to what they’ll be performing on their mirrorless offerings. And it’s impressive.
Our friends at Imaging Resource conducted a rather (potentially) expensive water torture test on cameras including the D850 earlier this year, and how it held up under such duress is what pushed it ahead as their choice of Camera Of The Year, just edging ahead of the Sony A7Riii. Nikon takes this aspect of their cameras very seriously, and for the few that really need to brave the elements it’s a beautiful thing to see.
[RELATED: What To Consider & Remember For The New Nikon Mirrorless | Features, QC, Competition, & Market Position]
How important is robust weather sealing to you in a camera?
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The big takeaway from this article is that someone has finally stated that the imminent demise of DSLRs is a given fact. If you would also point out that the end of the reflex mirror does in no way signify the end of the essential DSLR form-factor we might hear less from the ‘I’ll never part with my dslr, NEVER!’ brigade.
A very good point. In fact, I strongly hope that Nikon’s MILC is indeed something along the lines of a D750, with a slightly smaller viewfinder prism. Gimme that big comfy grip, and spacious button layout, any day…
When the A7R first came out, that was the biggest difference between it and the D800e, for any landscape photographer who found themselves dealing with nasty weather. The A7R just wasn’t meant to be heavily abused.
By the time we’ve gotten to the A7R3, I’d say that finally luck probably plays a bigger part of whether or not you’ll “kill” a camera with inclement weather, than any difference between the exact standards of weather sealing.
To me, here’s the bottom line: I can’t find a reason for there to be a difference in the standards that Nikon sets for their weather sealing and overall durability when they debut a new mirrorless system, and I hope they can’t find any reason either. (Cost-cutting would be the only reason, and it’s a very, very bad reason for many serious shooters.)
The other bottom line is, even if Nikon might be slightly better, if you’re just a casual shooter, or even a serious/pro shooter who just never finds themselves in bad weather, then this shouldn’t be a deciding factor; the latest options from all manufacturers are quite sturdily built.