The Japanese camera maker Nikon is planning to stop making SLR cameras in favor of mirrorless camera models which will go head to head with smartphone cameras as reported by Nikkei.
![Nikon Camera 1](https://www.yugatech.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Nikon-camera-1-720x377.jpg)
Nikon is a known brand for more than 60 years because of their SLR cameras. It has been a favorite of many photographers who opt for professional photography. This type of camera uses the reflection of an image through a mirror that a photographer can see in a viewfinder.
![1. Nikon Slr](https://www.yugatech.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/1.-Nikon-SLR-720x288.jpeg)
Now that the world is in the smartphone age, SLR cameras are losing their charm because of the powerful but compact cameras inside a smartphone. Hence, the decision of Nikon to now shift to mirrorless cameras which can level the playing field with smartphone cameras.
With their shift to mirrorless, Nikon is eyeing to beat smartphones by offering new products with very unique features.
The last SLR produced by Nikon was last June 2020, it is the D6 SLR, and after that, no new SLR model was ever released.
![2. Nikon Mirrorless](https://www.yugatech.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2.-Nikon-mirrorless-720x530.jpeg)
Nikon clarified that they will still continue to distribute the existing SLR models while they’re focusing on the digital mirrorless cameras.
Mirrorless cameras took the top spot over SLRs last 2020 with 2.93 million versus the 2.37 million units sold for SLR type of camera based on Japan’s Camera & Imaging Products Association.
Their rival Canon is also planning to follow the steps of Nikon to stop creating SLRs and focus more on mirrorless in the near future.