In a surprise announcement, Nikon is acquiring the cinema camera manufacturer RED, one of the foremost professional cinema camera companies today, and making it one of their subsidiaries. Nikon says that this decision will help with “accelerating expansion in [the] professional digital cinema camera market.”
In 2022, RED sued Nikon for infringing on its video compression-related patents. The lawsuit was dismissed in April 2023, and now, less than a year later, Nikon has taken the surprise move of acquiring RED outright.
The full press release from Nikon is reproduced below. For now, any further details on how RED’s technology may appear in future Nikon cameras or vice versa – and how this may impact RED’s cameras with a Canon RF mount – are pure speculation. But I’m quite excited to see Nikon take this step considering the continued growth of cinema in the camera market. With this move, Nikon is not just one of the top still camera companies today, but one of the top cinema camera companies today.
Nikon to Acquire US Cinema Camera Manufacturer RED.com, LLC
Accelerating Expansion in Professional Digital Cinema Camera Market
March 7, 2024
TOKYO – Nikon Corporation (Nikon) hereby announces its entry into an agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding membership interests of RED.com, LLC (RED) whereby RED will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikon, pursuant to a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement with Mr. James Jannard, its founder, and Mr. Jarred Land, its current President, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions thereunder.
Since its establishment in 2005, RED has been at the forefront of digital cinema cameras, introducing industry-defining products such as the original RED ONE 4K to the cutting-edge V-RAPTOR [X] with its proprietary RAW compression technology. RED’s contributions to the film industry have not only earned it an Academy Award but have also made it the camera of choice for numerous Hollywood productions, celebrated by directors and cinematographers worldwide for its commitment to innovation and image quality optimized for the highest levels of filmmaking and video production.
This agreement was reached as a result of the mutual desires of Nikon and RED to meet the customers’ needs and offer exceptional user experiences that exceed expectations, merging the strengths of both companies. Nikon’s expertise in product development, exceptional reliability, and know-how in image processing, as well as optical technology and user interface along with RED’s knowledge in cinema cameras, including unique image compression technology and color science, will enable the development of distinctive products in the professional digital cinema camera market.
Nikon will leverage this acquisition to expand the fast-growing professional digital cinema camera market, building on both companies’ business foundations and networks, promising an exciting future of product development that will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in film and video production.