"Retro" Nikon body to arrive by "end of June" (report)

"Retro" Nikon body coming in June, to rival Fujifilm and Olympus?
(Image credit: Nikon)

UPDATE: Up until now, we hadn't heard much about the upcoming "retro-inspired" Nikon camera recently. However, Nikon Rumors has recently advised that we could be seeing this new retro Nikon camera appear by "the end of June" – although the site states that it doesn't have an exact date yet.

According to Nikon Rumors, we should be expecting to see an APS-C mirrorless camera that features a retro-inspired design with mechanical dials and an articulating screen. The site also states that it will have a "very thin" camera body and won't feature a handgrip.

• Classic film cameras: Nikon FM2 review

With few details available on this new camera, it seems we'll have to wait until the end of the month to see whether this vintage-inspired Nikon camera will come to fruition…

ORIGINAL STORY: Nikon is working on a "retro-inspired" body styled after the old school Nikon FE10, fusing a classic chassis with cutting-edge tech, offering an alternative to the vintage cameras designs featured by Olympus and Fujifilm

That's according to a new report, suggesting that a "Df-like" camera is in the works – taking cues from the Nikon Df, where the 'f' stands for 'fusion', featuring a retro film SLR-styled body with digital image sensor inside. However, while the Df was a full-frame FX camera, this new throwback body could feature an APS-C sensor. 

In addition, we could be seeing this new camera as soon as June, as it has been rumored that Nikon Asia is planning a product event in the first week of the month – something that times with the new report by Nikon Rumors

"I have been reporting for a while that Nikon will announce a new APS-C base mirrorless camera," wrote the outlet. 

"Back in February, I mentioned that the official announcement is expected in the first half of 2021. We also have fresh rumors that Nikon could announce new products in the first week of June. Now the interesting part – the new Nikon APS-C mirrorless camera could be retro inspired:

• Nikon Df-inspired mirrorless camera with mechanical dials and articulating screen.

• Very thin camera body without a handgrip that looks something like the Olympus OMD or Nikon FE10 cameras"

Indeed, the classic styling of cameras such as the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV is what makes them stand out from the crowd – and something that could help Nikon attract a crowd that isn't currently being courted by Canon or Sony.  

Read more: 

Best Nikon cameras
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV review
Best Olympus cameras
Best Fujifilm cameras
Exposure histograms on a Nikon

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Louise Carey

With over a decade of photographic experience, Louise arms Digital Camera World with a wealth of knowledge on photographic technique and know-how – something at which she is so adept that she's delivered workshops for the likes of ITV and Sue Ryder. Louise also brings years of experience as both a web and print journalist, having served as features editor for Practical Photography magazine and contributing photography tutorials and camera analysis to titles including Digital Camera Magazine and  Digital Photographer. Louise currently shoots with the Fujifilm X-T200 and the Nikon D800, capturing self-portraits and still life images, and is DCW's ecommerce editor, meaning that she knows good camera, lens and laptop deals when she sees them.