Nuked Hello, my fellow tech enthusiasts! Today I bring you some exciting news in the world of cameras and cinematography. Nikon has announced its acquisition of RED Digital Cinema, the renowned company founded by Jim Jannard, known for its high-quality digital cinema cameras like the RED One 4K and V-Raptor X.
Nikon’s press release did not disclose the exact terms of the deal, but it stated that RED will now operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikon. The camera company hopes to leverage RED’s expertise in cinema cameras, including their unique image compression technology and color science, to expand into the professional digital cinema camera market.
RED cameras have been used in a multitude of major films and TV shows, such as Marvel productions like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Captain Marvel, nature documentaries like Planet Earth II, and popular series like Squid Game, Mindhunter, Peaky Blinders, and The Queen’s Gambit.
RED’s president, Jarred Land, shared the news on Instagram with a cryptic post that simply said, “Heh heh heh…” RED, founded in 2005 and based in Foothill Ranch, California, currently has around 220 employees according to Nikon’s press release.
RED has been a pioneer in digital cinema for over 17 years, creating groundbreaking products like the original RED ONE 4K and the cutting-edge 8K V-RAPTOR X. The company’s commitment to innovation and image quality has earned them a Scientific and Technical Academy Award and made them a favorite among directors and cinematographers worldwide.
The acquisition comes on the heels of a lawsuit between RED and Nikon over video compression patents. The case was dismissed last year after RED accused Nikon of infringing on its technology in a firmware update for the Z9 camera. Despite this legal dispute, Nikon has now acquired RED and is poised to make waves in the digital cinema camera market.
While RED is best known for its digital cinema cameras, the company also made an unsuccessful foray into the smartphone market with the RED Hydrogen One in 2018. The phone featured a holographic display and modular add-on support but failed to gain traction and was discontinued after just one year.
