Camera manufacturer Nikon is acquiring high-end cinema camera company RED. The financial details of the deal are undisclosed. This move comes after years of challenges for Nikon, mirroring struggles faced by the broader imaging industry. RED will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikon, and there have been no announcements of layoffs at RED.
Both companies stand to gain from this acquisition. According to RED’s president, Jarred Lang, the deal unites Nikon’s established product development, image processing, optics, and user interface expertise with RED’s innovative digital cinema cameras and award-winning technologies.
Founded in 2005, RED cameras have been behind the scenes of hit productions like Squid Game, Peaky Blinders, and Captain Marvel. Acquiring RED positions Nikon to make a stronger push into this high-end cinema camera market and potentially expand an already large footprint in the camera industry.
In a surprising turn of events, RED sued Nikon in 2022. The lawsuit alleged that Nikon’s Z9 camera infringed on RED’s patents for data compression technology. Nikon challenged the validity of these patents, and ultimately, the case was dismissed by mutual agreement.
