NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Other => Topic started by: Snoogly on January 17, 2026, 20:30:44
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Rumor has it …
https://nikonrumors.com/2026/01/17/rumors-from-china-nikon-is-suing-viltrox.aspx/ (https://nikonrumors.com/2026/01/17/rumors-from-china-nikon-is-suing-viltrox.aspx/)
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Viltrox already irritated Canon. And then Nikon...apparently.
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Yet Cosina is licensed to make their manual focus lenses for Nikon. I conclude that Nikon's customers have a severe dependence on auto focus.
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I suggest sell your Viltrox's before its too late! Lol!
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Nikon is acting plain stupid. The Viltrox lenses need Z cameras.
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Yet Cosina is licensed to make their manual focus lenses for Nikon. I conclude that Nikon's customers have a severe dependence on auto focus.
Canon doesn't allow third parties to make full-frame auto-focus lenses for the mirrorless RF mount. The only lenses they are allowed are either manual focus ones or APS-C auto-focus ones.
Maybe Nikon is taking the same path.
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Nikon is acting plain stupid. The Viltrox lenses need Z cameras.
Nikon's profit margins on lenses are much higher than on cameras, so selling a camera and no lenses is bad business for Nikon. Nikon has previously said that they will allow 3rd parties to make lenses that fill gaps in Nikon's line-up, so Viltrox making a DX AF 9mm f/2.8 or an FX AF 14mm f/4 is one thing, but making an FX AF 135mm f/1.8 with performance approaching Nikon's for US$899 is quite another.
Avoiding licensing payments is not the reason companies like Viltrox can sell good lenses cheaper than OEMs with factories in China - paper-thin profit margins appear to be the biggest factor - so even if Viltrox has to pay for an AF licence the lenses are unlikely to suddenly become as expensive as Nikon's. Reverse-engineered 3rd party lenses losing functionality with camera firmware changes has been a problem for years, and has affected many 3rd party lens and camera combinations. If no one is greedy (a big if, but we can hope), the legal action might actually benefit consumers if they end up paying a bit more for 3rd party lenses licensed by Nikon that will not stop working with firmware upgrades. (If Viltrox wins the case, in a lot of places Nikon could get into trouble for anti-competitive behaviour if it made firmware changes whose only purpose was to block Viltrox lenses, so that may be less of a risk than some people seem to think).
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Well, in order to buy any (new) Nikkor lens, the user ought to have suitable Nikon camera. If the available lens range is deemed insufficient, the buyer tends to to elsewhere. Thus the Viltrox offerings add, not detract, from Nikon as a brand.
According to this German report https://www.photografix-magazin.de/geruecht-nikon-verklagt-viltrox/ the dispute might be focused on an upcoming Viltrox teleconverter more than their lens range. Thanks Frank F for notifying me.
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Nikon is acting plain stupid. The Viltrox lenses need Z cameras.
Right, but Nikon sell many of their cameras at much lower prices than competitors, compare e.g. the Z8 to Sony A1(II) which arguably is the closest equivalent. Sony's business is more based on making profits on the sensors and camera bodies than lenses while Nikon and Canon are the opposite and need to sell their own lenses.
Since US customers are now taxed (tariffed) severely, Nikon's business is suffering. If they could get some backpayments on licenses for every Z-mount Viltrox lens sold, it could help them financially. I am sure it would not take Viltrox down, it would just mean Nikon gets a cut.
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Since US customers are now taxed (tariffed) severely, Nikon's business is suffering. If they could get some backpayments on licenses for every Z-mount Viltrox lens sold, it could help them financially. I am sure it would not take Viltrox down, it would just mean Nikon gets a cut.
Agree...Nikon is after the cut or a cease and desist order. BTW, there is a chance that a US Supreme Court case could be decided in a way that forces the US Government to pay everyone back for tariffs that are found to be illegally imposed. Ruling expected soon.
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Agree...Nikon is after the cut or a cease and desist order. BTW, there is a chance that a US Supreme Court case could be decided in a way that forces the US Government to pay everyone back for tariffs that are found to be illegally imposed. Ruling expected soon.
I think the US Supreme Court is largely in Trump's pocket and won't do anything that would seriously displease him.