Here is a recap of the latest financial results from Nikon, Fujifilm, Tamron, GoPro, Kodak, and Panasonic:

Nikon:

Nikon’s Q1 results (April-June 2026, fiscal year ending March 2027) showed overall revenue rising to ¥164.1 billion (+¥6.0 billion YoY), but the Imaging Products business declined sharply. Imaging revenue fell 8.8% to ¥72.9 billion from ¥80.0 billion, while operating profit dropped 27.5% to ¥8.1 billion from ¥11.1 billion, with the margin slipping from 14.0% to 11.1%. Unit sales of interchangeable-lens digital cameras fell to 210,000 (from 270,000) and lenses to 310,000 (from 370,000), driven primarily by a contraction in demand in China; higher memory prices further pressured profitability despite foreign-exchange gains and U.S. tariff refunds. Nikon responded by cutting its full-year Imaging forecasts (revenue down ¥13 billion and operating profit down ¥3 billion versus prior guidance).

Fujifilm:

The Imaging segment (cameras and Instant systems) performed well, with revenue rising 16.2% to ¥168.8 billion and operating income up 3.9% to ¥43.4 billion. Consumer Imaging led the growth on strong Instax demand, especially mid- to high-end models such as the instax mini Evo and instax WIDE 400, the successful April 2026 launch of the entry-level instax mini 13, and expanded film production capacity while Professional Imaging (X-series and GFX digital cameras) also posted higher revenue, driven by solid sales of the X-T30 III and X-E5 plus continued strong demand for the long-selling X100VI, particularly in Asia.

Tamron – four new lens releases expected this year:

Tamron’s 2nd Quarter/1st Half FY2026 results showed overall H1 net sales of ¥43.281 billion (+3.8% YoY) but operating income of ¥7.689 billion (-16.5% YoY), with Q2 sales up 11.4% and operating income down 14.5%; the Photographic Products (camera/lens) segment was the main drag, posting H1 sales of ¥27.534 billion (roughly -8-10% YoY) and operating income of ¥5.943 billion (-29.3% YoY), while Q2 segment sales dipped 1.1% and operating income fell 22.7%.

GoPro – camera sales down 38%, cash down to $27 million:

GoPro reported Q2 2026 results with revenue of $105 million, down 31% year-over-year, driven by weaker hardware sales as sell-through fell to about 291,000 camera units (down 38% YoY). Subscription and service revenue rose 11% to $29 million (28% of total revenue, up from 17%), including $2 million from an AI content licensing program, while the subscriber attach rate hit a record 69% (vs. 54%). Retail channel revenue was $58 million (56% of total, down 48% YoY), while GoPro.com revenue reached $47 million (44%, up 13% YoY). The $19 million tariff refund benefit was partially offset by a $15 million component-commitment charge; the company posted a net loss of $51 million ($0.30 per share) versus a $16 million loss a year earlier and adjusted EBITDA of -$29.5 million.

Kodak:

Eastman Kodak reported strong second-quarter 2026 results, with consolidated revenue rising 18% year-over-year to $311 million from $263 million, driven by Print segment revenue of $195 million (+10%) and Advanced Materials & Chemicals revenue of $105 million (+40%). Gross profit surged 61% to $82 million (margin expanding to 26% from 19%), Operational EBITDA climbed to $36 million from $9 million, and GAAP net income reached $17 million versus a $26 million loss in the prior-year period, marking the company’s fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in revenue, gross profit, and Operational EBITDA. Cash ended the quarter at $290 million (down $47 million from year-end 2025, largely due to Term Loan repayments partially offset by pension asset redemptions), as CEO Jim Continenza highlighted “stability and growth” and Kodak’s shift into a growth-focused phase with improved operational and financial leverage.

Panasonic:

Panasonic Holdings’ Q1 FY2027 results delivered the company’s strongest first-quarter operating profit in 41 years, but the camera business played no meaningful role in the surge. Group sales rose 6.4% year-over-year to ¥2,018.9 billion, while operating profit more than doubled to ¥182.5 billion (adjusted operating profit ¥186.4 billion) and net profit attributable to shareholders reached ¥188.9 billion, driven almost entirely by AI-infrastructure demand, especially data-center energy storage systems (nearly doubled) and related electronic components such as conductive polymer capacitors. Full-year guidance was raised to ¥7,800 billion in sales and a record ¥590 billion in operating profit (the highest annual figure in 42 years). In contrast, the LUMIX camera business sits inside the Imaging Solution Business Division, which is buried within the AVC unit of the Smart Life segment (alongside TVs and communication networks). Smart Life was the only major segment to post lower sales (¥311.1 billion, down roughly 2–8% depending on currency adjustment), with AVC itself falling nearly 14% to ¥73.1 billion from ¥84.8 billion a year earlier due to weaker demand in Europe and China; segment profit improved modestly only because of rationalization and restructuring, not volume or product strength. Rising memory prices were explicitly cited as a headwind that further weighed on the AVC/camera-adjacent business, underscoring that Panasonic’s record quarter had essentially nothing to do with cameras.

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Here are the latest Nikon news and rumors:

Typo ot leak: Nikon Z70 camera added to the Apple ProRes and ProRes RAW authorized products

Coming soon: new fast, top-of-the-line, high-end, professional Nikon APS-C (DX) camera

Japanese IP High Court upholds invalidation of RED’s key compressed RAW video patent

Another month, another fabricated story about the Nikon Z7III camera

What to expect next from Nikon (updated July 2026)

Nikon outlet deals at eBay from authorized dealers (USA warranty)

Nikon’s headquarters received an award from the Japan Association of Architectural Contractors

Nikon quietly shifts some lens production from China to Vietnam

Is the Z in Nikon Z just the letter N rotated at 90 degrees?

Today Nikon celebrates its 109th anniversary!

Nikon, please bring your Japan-only merch to the rest of the world!

Nikon Z9 image from Artemis II enables major scientific discovery: large-scale morphology of the optical F-corona

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Nikon has lost the patent lawsuit against Viltrox in China. Nikon’s Chinese Z-mount patent (202010127062.4) was declared fully invalid by CNIPA (see previous coverage of the Nikon vs. Viltrox lawsuit). The full court ruling can be found here. The documents are in Chinese – here is the AI recap:

Case Overview

• Patent in Question: Chinese Invention Patent No. 202010127062.4, titled “Accessory” (配件).
• Patentee: Nikon Corporation (株式会社尼康).
• Patent Type: This is a divisional application with a parent application (201811247662.3), both filed on October 25, 2018, with a priority date of October 26, 2017.
• Invalidation Petitioner: Shenzhen Jueying Technology Co., Ltd. (深圳市爵影科技有限公司).
• Outcome: The CNIPA declared the patent entirely invalid in its decision (Decision No. 661357) dated July 13, 2026.

Chronological Summary of Events

1. Initial Challenge (December 2025): The petitioner filed a request for invalidation on December 16, 2025, arguing that claims 1-11 were unclear and not supported by the description (Article 26.4 of the Patent Law).
2. Supplemental Arguments (December 2025 & January 2026): The petitioner supplemented their arguments, adding reasons related to lack of novelty and inventive step, lack of priority entitlement, and added subject matter. They submitted several pieces of prior art (US2016/0041453A1, CN103620496A, JP2000047308A) as evidence.
3. Patentee’s Amendment (February 2026): Nikon modified the claims. They merged features from original dependent claims 4 and 7 into independent claims 1 and 2. The final claim set was reduced from 11 to 10 claims.
4. Oral Hearing (May 15, 2026): An oral hearing was held. Key clarifications were made:
   • The petitioner withdrew their arguments regarding the right of priority.
   • The panel confirmed the amended claims (1-10) as the basis for the decision.
   • Both parties agreed on the authenticity of the prior art documents submitted.
5. Final Decision (July 13, 2026): The panel issued its decision to declare the patent invalid based on a lack of inventive step (Article 22.3 of the Patent Law).

Key Arguments and Reasoning

The main independent claims (1 and 2) define a lens accessory with four protrusions (第1-第4配件侧突出部) that engage with corresponding protrusions on a camera body’s mount. Key features added by the amendment include:

• Specifying that the length of the 2nd protrusion is shorter than the distance between the two closest protrusions on the camera body.
• Specifying that the center angle of the 2nd protrusion is smaller than the center angles of the 1st, 3rd, and 4th protrusions.

The Petitioner’s Argument (Lack of Inventive Step)

The petitioner argued that the claims were obvious in light of the prior art. The primary evidence used was:

• Evidence 2 (CN103620496A): A camera body, lens barrel, and interchangeable lens system.
  • The panel found this document disclosed nearly all features of the “accessory,” including the lens mount, terminal groups, a cylindrical portion, and multiple protrusions.
  • The key differences were that the patent used four protrusions in a specific arrangement, while Evidence 2’s main embodiment used three.

The Panel’s Decision & Reasoning

The panel ruled that the claimed invention was obvious for the following reasons:

• Number of Protrusions: Although Evidence 2 shows 3 protrusions, its description explicitly states that the number of protrusions can be “any number” (including four), providing a direct motivation to increase them.
• Arrangement: Evidence 1 (US2016/0041453A1) and Evidence 3 (JP2000047308A) disclose interchangeable lenses with four or more protrusions arranged around the mount, providing a clear technical teaching for the claimed layout.
• Preventing Mis-Insertion: The panel reasoned that even in Evidence 2, the different sizes of the protrusions inherently prevent incorrect insertion, making the patent’s solution a conventional design choice.
• “Second Center Angle” Feature: The panel found the relationship between the center angles of the protrusions to be a routine design choice (a “limited experiment”) for a person skilled in the art, and the resulting effects (shock resistance, load-bearing) were predictable.
• Terminal Protection: The arrangement of the protrusions relative to the terminal group was also deemed a predictable and conventional design to prevent damage.

The panel concluded that the modifications from three to four protrusions and their specific angular relationships were “obvious” (显而易见) and did not involve an inventive step. Therefore, all 10 amended claims were invalidated.

Final Verdict

The CNIPA invalidated all claims of Nikon’s patent (202010127062.4). The decision states that Nikon can appeal to the Beijing Intellectual Property Court within three months.

Via NikonRumors

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