Nikon, traded as NINOF.PK, recently announced its acquisition of the U.S-based luxury camera producer RED Digital Cinema. This strategic move is geared towards expanding Nikon's reach into the professional digital cinema camera market.
In a deal whose details remain undisclosed, Nikon has purchased 100 percent of RED's outstanding shares, effectively making RED a fully owned subsidiary of the larger Japanese firm. The acquisition strategically allows Nikon to incorporate RED's specialization in cinema cameras, remarkable image compression technology, and color science into its consumer and professional image products.
RED Digital Cinema was established by Jim Jannard in 2005 and is renowned for its groundbreaking products like the original RED ONE 4K and the sophisticated V-RAPTOR X, which feature its proprietary RAW compression technology. The company, which employs about 220 people, is highly recognized for its innovative products.
Movies and shows such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Captain Marvel, Squid Game, Mindhunter, Peaky Blinders, and The Queen's Gambit, to name a few, have utilized cameras from the California-based enterprise.
RED made a brief venture into the smartphone market with the launch of RED Hydrogen One in 2018. The phone was notable for its holographic display and modular add-on support, but it didn't earn the expected customer interest and was phased out a year later.
Legal skirmishes also marked 2022 for RED, as the firm filed a lawsuit against Nikon, alleging that the latter copied its data compression technology for a firmware update in the Nikon Z9 camera. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.
