Nikon Sold More Z9 Cameras in Its First Year Than Any Flagship in Past 15 Years

The Nikon Z9 is widely considered a runaway success for Nikon, which used the flagship camera to springboard itself out of the financial doldrums when it launched in 2021. Its success was never doubted, but the company elaborated just how successful it was: it outsold every other Nikon flagship dating back 15 years.

Nikon’s Representative Director and President Toshikazu Umatate published a “message from the CEO” on Nikon’s website this week, spotted by Nikon Rumors, in which the success of the Z9 is given greater context.

“In the Imaging Products Business, profitability has improved thanks to structural reforms and a shift to mirrorless cameras for primarily mid- to high-end models, and the average selling prices of both interchangeable-lens-type digital cameras and interchangeable lenses have increased,” Umatate writes.

“Due to these factors as well as the positive impact of exchange rates, revenue and operating profit of the Imaging Products Business have significantly increased, and a record-high operating margin was achieved. The imaging contents business also got off to a good start. Also the Z9, our first flagship mirrorless camera model, recorded the highest number of sales in the first year after release among all flagship models in the past 15 years. Moreover, since its release it has continued to evolve with improvements to its features and firmware updates.”

Umatate doesn’t say exactly how many Z9 units were sold between its availability at the end of 2021 through 2022 but just saying it sold more than any other flagship over 15 years is impressive given that Nikon released some of its most beloved cameras in that time.

For example, Nikon’s D3 was released in 2007 and the D3X came out in 2008 — both cameras were heavily relied upon by professional photographers at the time and are revered as classics now. Outselling either of these cameras is a feat in itself. In 2012, Nikon followed up that success with the D4 and brought the D4S out in 2014. 2016 saw the release of the D5. In 2020, Nikon announced the D6, which was the final flagship DSLR it ever produced.

Looking over Nikon’s full timeline of cameras, the flagships probably didn’t sell as well in the later years of the DSLR since Nikon had so many high-end cameras that lived just below them but were far more popular. The D800, D810, and D750 all came out in the 2010s and were wildly popular with a wider audience than Nikon’s flagships tend to reach.

The Z9 may have changed that given that Nikon’s mirrorless camera line wasn’t nearly as robust in 2021 and it was the first time that the company had really “wowed” photographers thanks to the combination of fast frame rate shooting, high megapixels, and video capture capability. Its aggressive $5,500 asking price was surely another factor. The major firmware updates that released to the Z9 in the ensuing years would go on to make it feel like an entirely new camera. Even today, three years after launch, the Z9 competes extremely well compared to Sony’s a1 flagship and Canon’s not-yet-released R1 flagship.

“Since its founding in 1917, Nikon has been on a quest to uncover the potential of light, and has created new value while striving to meet the expectations of our customers and win their trust. This very history is the source of Nikon’s brand, and the origin of our corporate philosophy of ‘Trustworthiness and Creativity.’ Obviously, our brand is not merely an amalgamation of our history; it must continue to evolve with the times and in line with social expectations to heighten its value,” Umatate concludes.

“In order to provide products and services optimized to meet our customer needs, we will always consider what customers really want and deliver solutions integrating end products, service, and components. And as we aim to become ‘a key technology solutions company in a global society where humans and machines co-create seamlessly,’ we will continue to grow our business and improve our corporate value. We sincerely hope that you will look forward to what Nikon has to offer going forward.”

Image credits: Elements of header photo licensed via Depositphotos.