RED Digital Cinema, specialist in digital cinema cameras, joins Japanese giant Nikon.
It’s official, the Japanese giant Nikon has just purchased RED Digital Cinema, an American company specializing in high-end digital cinema cameras. This acquisition marks a turning point in the image capture and processing industry, and suggests great collaborations between the two companies.
Who is RED?
Founded in 2005 by Jim Jannard, the creator of Oakley, RED Digital Cinema quickly established itself as a reference in the field of digital cinema cameras. Thanks to its high-performance products, the company has attracted audiovisual professionals looking for exceptional image quality.
Among RED’s flagship products, we find the RED One 4K, a camera launched in 2007, which democratized access to ultra-high definition video. More recently, the V-Raptor
It was not won
The history of RED Digital Cinema is not without twists and turns, as evidenced by the legal battle between it and Nikon in 2022. RED then accused the Japanese giant of having violated its video compression patents in an update Nikon Z9 camera firmware. The case finally ended in dismissal last April.
Another anecdote: RED launched in 2017 into the marketing of an Android smartphone, the Hydrogen One. Equipped with a holographic screen and compatible with modular add-on modules, this smartphone unfortunately did not meet with the expected success and was abandoned a year later.
Although the details of the agreement have not been revealed, it is certain that this operation marks a major turning point in the history of the sector, and of RED obviously which will now benefit from the support and expertise of one of the leaders world of electronics.
Nikon’s experience will extend to cinema cameras
Furthermore, this acquisition allows Nikon to expand its activity beyond consumer and professional photography. While Nikon cameras obviously offer advanced video functions, the Japanese manufacturer does not have a professional cinema branch, unlike its main competitors: Canon, Sony and Panasonic. By buying RED, it is therefore taking a first step into the world of cinema, which should not only increase its brand image, but also allow it to benefit from RED’s know-how for its own photo and video cameras.
In return, the Nikon press release indicates that this acquisition “will enable the development of innovative products in the professional digital cinema camera market“. However, we do not know how the Japanese experience could enable innovations in this sector where RED is already in a very good position.