Nikon acquires US camera manufacturer RED

Nikon is acquiring RED Digital Cinema, the company founded by Jim Jannard (founder of Oakley) and best known for digital cinema cameras including the RED One 4K and V-Raptor In Nikon's press releasewhich explained how RED would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the camera company.

Nikon hopes to use the deal to expand into the professional digital cinema camera market, leveraging RED's “knowledge of cinema cameras, including its unique image compression technology and color science.” Red is proud Its cameras have been used to film many major films and television shows, including many Marvel productions such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 And Captain Marvelnature documentaries such as Planet Earth IIAnd TV shows like Squid game, Mind Hunter, Peaky Blinders, And The Queen's Gambit.

RED President Jared Land announced the news On Instagram With a picture followed by “Heh heh…”

RED was founded in 2005 and currently has about 220 employees, according to the Nikon press release, and is headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California.

Common ground follows in a press release He posted on his Facebook page:

This acquisition represents an important milestone for Nikon, fusing its rich heritage in professional and consumer photography with RED's innovative prowess. Together, Nikon and RED are poised to redefine the professional digital cinema camera market, promising an exciting future of product development that will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in film and video production.

The acquisition comes less than a year later RED lawsuit against Nikon For violating video compression patents And I refused. RED sued Nikon in 2022 for allegedly copying its data compression technology in a firmware update for the Nikon Z9. Nikon responded by challenging the legality of RED's patents, and the case was dismissed last April.

Although RED is best known for its digital cinema cameras, it attempted to expand into the smartphone market in 2018 with the release of the RED Hydrogen One. The phone featured a 3D display and support for standard add-ons, but was a miserable failure and was discontinued after a year.