원문 : http://www.e-fotografija.com/artman/publish/article_1195.shtml
| Nikon interview: Charles- André Wamberque, Assistant Manager,
Product Planning and R&D Department By Jernej Burkeljca, Alan Orliè, Matjaž intihar Oct 17, 2006, 06:43 |
|
Nikon interview: Charles- André Wamberque,
Assistant Manager, Product
Planning and R&D Department
Matjaž Intihar: Photokina is a great opportunity for us
to meet with Nikon representatives.
Charles- André Wamberque:
Absolutely. It’s a nice opportunity for you to meet people from
different departments within the company like product planning.
Jernej
Burkeljca: Since you mentioned product planning... Do you have a
plan to introduce a digital Nikonos or something designed with the
spirit of Nikonos in mind?
Charles-André: As
you can imagine I'm not in a position to reveal future
products. Furthermore, Nikonos was aimed at the professional market which I'm
not responsible for so I can't really say what is being
developed.
I'm not really convinced there's a big enough market for
it especially because of all the different underwater housings for dSLRs
like D70, D200 as well as compact cameras.
Jernej
: The main problem with compact cameras when used underwater is
lack of wide angle lenses. They simply don't go wide enough.
Plus the auto focusing and everything else is usually way too
slow for demanding subjects.
Matjaz: In the film
era I owned a Nikon 35Ti as a backup for my
SLR. In those days many companies had higher end compact cameras
in their lineup and a number of people bought them. These
days however, all we have are compact cameras with 8 or
10 megapixels on a small sensor. You're giving us more pixels
rather than better quality. It would be really nice to have
a compact camera with an excellent lens and image quality.
Charles-André: I agree. APS-C sized sensors are getting cheaper
all the time and maybe, someday we'll make a compact
camera that will have the same sensor as our dSLR cameras.
The problem is that every company, not just Nikon, is
looking for profit. We need a market for our cameras and
we cannot afford to fail. In the days of 35Ti and
28Ti Nikon was more an engineering company than marketing company.
In 2006 we're half engineering and half marketing. Luckily engineering
is still going strong and we're quite capable of surprising everyone
but we have to make sure there's a potential market for
our product. Maybe one day, why not.
Alan
Orliè: How would you comment recent developments at Pentax? They
introduced some very competitive products at very competitive prices.
Charles-André: As you know we have sold over
35 million lenses. Canon is also over 30 million. So
we feel we can still retain our position when it comes
to dSLRs. It’s unlikely that people will suddenly sell all their
lenses and switch to another system. Especially with a camera like
D200 which supports all AI lenses and a lot of older
lenses. People don’t want to sell them and change everything.
Of
course Pentax can be nice for some people. Especially in the
entry level category but still – the K10D will sell for
around 1000€ and that’s not exactly cheap either. So far we
also haven’t seen any reviews.
We know D80 is good and
the reviews so far have been very positive. D80 has one
of the best AF systems ever, the best metering, the best
photo processing, we know how to manage the sensor… as you
know we have basically the same sensor as Sony and Pentax
but the way they are processing the signal from that same
sensor is different. That is what the end customer will see.
We have done a great job with D200 and the D80
won’t be any different. There are also many other improvements like
red eye reduction, D-Lighting etc.
Dust removal system is nice
but we have yet to see how reliable it is. How
long will it last? We haven’t really emphasized this feature but
with the D80 we’re introducing a new anti-dust coating on the
sensor.
With the new 17-135mm kit lens you can cover most
situations so there’s really no need to constantly change lenses. Most
professionals and enthusiast know how to clean their sensors and others
don’t change lenses very often. We’re very confident with our new
products.
Pentax is nice but it’s not really a big threat.
It’s not like the war between Canon and Nikon which has
been going on forever. Our market share has improved in Europe
and the US.
We’re battling the megapixel wars now. Last
year Canon was introducing 8mp cameras while we were still at
6mp. This year we’re balanced at 10mp. It may sound stupid
but consumers are still asking for more megapixels. But the body
will always be very important and our D80 is very good.
We’re getting many orders for it already.
Matjaz:
We all know that Nikon was always about quality. The body,
the viewfinder, the shutter etc. What I find interesting is that
these days nobody questions the quality of the shutters. Years ago
we were testing for accuracy and durability but nowadays nobody does
that anymore. You remain in a good market position because you
have good products.
Charles-André: It’s not a coincidence
that Fuji decided to enter into a partnership with us and
not some other company. They wanted the best body and they
chose Nikon. We provide the D200 body for their S5
pro. It’s made for a different target user and at
a higher price. They’re looking at photographers with different expectations like
studio photographers and a lot of them are using Nikkor lenses.
It’s good for us, it’s good for them and good for
the end users. We’re happy with the arrangement otherwise we wouldn’t
be involved in it.
Matjaz: Two years
ago at Photokina we learned that Nikon is still thinking about
the full frame sensor. Any news on the issue?
Charles-André: We never said we abandoned
the full frame. But then again, we never said when we
will introduce a camera with a full frame sensor. As
you might have read in the Canon white paper – full frame sensor is still six times the price of an
APS-C one. That has a big impact on the retail
price. 5D costs 3500€ and it’s not easy to sell such
an expensive product. We have to be careful not to
make the full frame idea too popular. We’re definitely still thinking
and working on it but I cannot tell you when it
might happen.
DX lenses are only four years old and
they are still very popular. The quality is still very good
and the users know it. But sometimes the full frame is
necessary.
Jernej: What is your comment on the
OpenRAW iniciative?
Charles-André: Unfortunately RAW is not really
my area of expertise but I can tell you that, even
though we launched Capture NX, we’re still working with Adobe and
other developers to be compatible with their software. We’ve always done
that. But as far as OpenRAW is concerned I’m afraid
I cannot tell you much since I’m not an expert on
the issue.
Alan: In the last
couple of Photokina shows you always had a new pro camera
ready for display. Why not this year?
Charles-André
: That’s not entirely true. In 2002 we haven’t launched any
pro cameras during Photokina. We launched the Coolpix 3500, 4300 and
the F75. It’s not true that we launched a pro camera
at every Photokina because lifecycles of professional products are very long.
Even Canon hasn’t introduced a new pro camera this year. We
cannot launch a new camera every 6 months and I don’t
suppose professional photographers would like it either. We need some consistency.
We need to ensure there are enough innovations to justify a
new product.
Matjaz: Research is probably very expensive?
Charles-André: R&D is very expensive but it also
takes a lot of time. You need enough innovation to justify
the next product.
Matjaz: With all the new
VR lenses you’re becoming a good competitor to Canon.
Charles-André: And with aggressive pricing. We’re doing well.
Matjaz: But that’s not good for image quality.
Charles-André: Actually I disagree. Image processing is constantly improving in tandem with increasing pixel count. Even though the pixels are getting smaller the processing engine can make images look better than in the previous generations.
If you compare outputs from older cameras using the
1/2.3" 8 megapixel sensors and current ones with 1/1.8" 10 megapixel
sensors, you will see that the new cameras produce a better
image. Sensors themselves have improved, low-pass filters have improved, everything around
the sensor has improved so the end result is much better
than before.
Matjaz: I disagree. My tests show
that this isn’t true. Coolpix 5200 that I tested two years
ago makes better images than current 10 megapixel cameras.
(싸운다..ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ)
Charles-André: But Nikon doesn’t have
any 10mp cameras at the moment. We’re always looking for ways
to control the sensor before we implement it. From the marketing
point of view it would be great to have a 10mp
camera but we prefer being able to control the output before
introducing new cameras. Therefore, unlike others, we don’t have the new
10mp sensors in our cameras.
Matjaz: That was
always the way Nikon operated. Quality was always first.
Charles-André: We’re not late to the party. We just
want to make sure that we’re on the right track. That
is why it took a long time to develop and finalize
the D200. It was great when we introduced it, it is
still great and it won all the awards imaginable. It is
among the top 3 best selling dSLR cameras of 2006.
Matjaz: How much work goes into improving technologies
like the AF, metering, shutter etc. compared to image processing?
Charles-André: With the D2x we actually introduced a
new 11-area AF engine and in the D200 you can find
another version of the same engine. Multi-Cam 2000 and 1000. The
engine in D80 is a little bit different.
Auto focusing
is actually very important to us. We believe we’re the best
in AF and metering systems and that’s why we have a
huge R&D department working on both. We plan on doing that
in the future because we know that as a pro photographer
you depend on AF and metering to work in all conditions.
I suspect that our main competitors are also investing a lot
of money into these systems because pro photographers depend on it.
If you take a look at Olympus E1 you will see
that it isn’t a bad camera overall but AF and metering
are its major drawbacks. It’s so bad compared to Canon and
Nikon that nobody wants to use it.
Jernej
: Are you working with DxO Labs and their embedded systems
in any way?
Charles-André: We know them
and we haven't implemented any of their products yet but it's
always interesting to know about the latest developing technologies and have
connections with such companies. When you’re a big company like Nikon
or Canon everyone is approaching you. Everyone from software companies to
sensor manufacturers like Foveon. But in the end it’s up to
the engineering department to decide what to do and where to
go. I have full confidence in my co-workers in Japan to
make the right decisions.
Alan: We know your
sales have gone up in Europe but is that in both
segments – compact cameras and dSLRs?
Charles-André: Mainly
dSLR cameras.
Alan: What’s the situation like in
Slovenia?
Charles-André: I’m afraid I can’t remember all
the figures for the entire European market. I don’t have those
figures with me so I can’t really comment on that and
say something that may be wrong.
Alan:
Is it possible to get those figures?
Charles-André:
Those figures come from GfK so it’s probably best if you
talk to them.
Matjaz: How big is
your market share in Europe?
Charles-André: If we
include both western and eastern Europe we have about 34-37%. Canon
has about 40-45% and Olympus has about 7%.
Matjaz: How are you doing in compact camera market?
Charles-André: We’re improving, we’re doing very well in the
entry level market with models like L4, L3 and L2 but
we still have to improve in the upper class. We’re working
on that with the introduction of the S series, which is
very popular, but we have to continue in that direction.
Alan: Some companies regard the European market as more
important as the US. What is your position on the issue?
Charles-André: Projections indicate that the European market
will be the biggest from 2008 onward. It’s interesting to know
that US and European markets are very similar today.
Matjaz: Unfortunately the pricing isn’t.
Charles-André
: We are trying to coordinate both, especially in the pro
segment, but VAT is different and many other things as well.
Thank you for your time
=======================================================
니콘의 풀 프레임 센서에 대한 현재 생각을 아주 자~알(?) 나타내주는 듯한
인터뷰
---> 결론은 아직 알 수 없다.
일단 LBCAST가 어느 정도
안정 궤도에 올라야 뭔가 가능해 질듯 싶다만....
인터뷰중 흥미로울 법한
몇 가지를 들자면
1. APS-C 사이즈의 센서를 탑재한 컴팩트 카메라의 등장!!!
----> 이미 시그마에서 이번 포토키나에서 선방을 쳤지만 35 ti껍딱을 한 놈이
나온다면 잼날듯..ㅎㅎㅎ 컴팩트 유저들이 SLR로 넘어오는 가장 큰 이유중의 하나가 바로
심도 표현의 자유일건데 센서 크기만 커버 된다면 요즘 세태와는 완전 반대의
트렌드가 생길지도...;;)
2. 예전의 니콘은 엔지니어 중심의
회사였지만 지금은 아니라는거.
----> 뭐 세상 따라 다
변하겠지만 그래도 직접 확인을 하게 되니 서.럽.다. 기술로 선도하던 그런 시대는
이제 그만인건 당연 지사지만 그래도 소비자들의 기대치는 어느 정도 충족 시켜줘야하지
않을까...(뜬 금 없지만 삼성과 엘지의 LCD TV 사이즈 전쟁이 생각난다, 서로간에
영역 할당 비슷한 구도보다는 라이벌 구도로 가는게 더 현명...단지 내 생각일
뿐...ㅡㅡ;;)
3. Open Raw File Format
----> 내 생각이지만 지금 현재로선 하면 않될 듯 싶다,
좀 더 브랜드마다 각자의 format을 발전 시킨 후 합치는 것이 더
좋을 듯...
