Nikon is buying US digital camera producer RED

Nikon is buying RED Digital Cinema, the corporate based by Jim Jannard (founding father of Oakley) and finest recognized for digital cinema cameras together with the RED One 4K and V-Raptor X. Actual phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed in Nikon’s press launch, which outlined how RED will grow to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the digital camera firm.

Nikon hopes to make use of the deal to increase into the skilled digital cinema digital camera market, drawing from RED’s “information in cinema cameras, together with distinctive picture compression know-how and shade science.” RED boasts that its cameras have been used to movie quite a few main movies and TV exhibits, together with a number of Marvel productions like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Captain Marvel, nature documentaries like Planet Earth II, and TV exhibits like Squid Sport, Mindhunter, Peaky Blinders, and The Queen’s Gambit.

RED president Jarred Land introduced the information on Instagram with a picture adopted by “Heh heh heh…”

RED was based in 2005 and at present has round 220 staff, per Nikon’s press launch, and has its headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California.

Land shared the next in a press launch posted to his Fb web page:

This acquisition marks a major milestone for Nikon, melding its wealthy heritage in skilled and shopper imaging with RED’s modern prowess. Collectively, Nikon and RED are poised to redefine the skilled digital cinema digital camera market, promising an thrilling way forward for product improvement that may proceed to push the boundaries of what’s attainable in movie and video manufacturing.

The acquisition comes lower than a 12 months after RED’s lawsuit in opposition to Nikon for infringing on its video compression patents was dismissed. RED sued Nikon in 2022 for allegedly copying its knowledge compression tech in a firmware replace for Nikon’s Z9 digital camera. Nikon responded by difficult the legitimacy of RED’s patents, and the case was dismissed final April.

Though finest recognized for its digital cinema cameras, RED tried to increase into the smartphone market in 2018 with the discharge of the RED Hydrogen One. The cellphone boasted a holographic show and assist for modular add-ons, however was a vital failure and was discontinued a 12 months later.