Nikon has announced that sales of the long-awaited DL18-50 f/1.8-2.8, DL24-85 f/1.8-2.8, and DL24-500 f/2.8-5.6 premium compact cameras will be cancelled.

The three cameras, which were designed around 1-inch (12.8 x 9.6 mm) sensors, were announced roughly a year ago but have failed to materialise. Production was hit by damage to Sony’s sensor fabrications plants in April 2016 and further delayed due to ‘issues with the integrated circuit for image processing’. According to a statement from Nikon: Since then, everyone involved has worked very hard to develop products with which our customers will be satisfied. However, it has been decided that sales of the DL series will be canceled due to concerns regarding their profitability considering the increase in development costs, and the drop in the number of expected sales due to the slow-down of the market.  The company has issued an apology ‘to all those affected by this decision, especially those customers who waited so long for the cameras to be released, retailers and others whose business will be affected’.

Readers may find Nikon guru, Thom Hogan’s analysis of the situation to be of interest. It’s available at http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/dl-turns-out-to-mean-dead.html.