Nikon's New Mirrorless Camera System: Failure or Sucess?

Today, Nikon just announced a new mirrorless (EVIL) camera system in an attempt to break into the lucrative mirrorless camera market that has been taking DSLR camera sells from Nikon. Although the features included sound terrific - fast burst rate / fast processor / smallest EVIL camera available / great movie options / phase detect autofocus / etc - many people (mostly camera enthusiasts) are disappointed by it. Nikon showed a graph at today's unveiling (left), that suggests they expect people upgrading from compact cameras to choose their new solution as well as people purchasing it as a backup to their larger and bulkier DSLRs. (Mirrorless cameras cater to people looking for high quality images as well as compactness)

However, many big names in the photo industry (and many on photo forums) seem to believe that it is not a worthwhile option compared to other available options of that size - Thom Hogan, David Hobby, Ken Rockwell, etc. And when half of your intended market believes your product could have been better suited for them, well, it's not a good sign.

Seeing that Nikons aren't Leicas, this announcement has gone against most of TRIBE. Consumers often do not have tastes for expensive (you can buy DSLRs for less) and not pocketable (what's the difference if you have to carry around a bag anyway). Photo enthusiast consumers often do not have tastes for low resolution sensors, expensive, 2.7x crop factors, slow / few lenses, etc. There are related products that already have a large lens selection and very competent camera bodies. Expensive items are usually not good for income. The number of buyers has decreased because half of the consumers (DSLR owners looking for a smaller / backup option) does not believe in the suitability of the product. And finally consumer expectations of product worth was not particularly high because of the two relatively late and low visibility teasers that were unique (shall we say) - The Big Hands / I AM COMING (really? unintended pun?) So like Wired believes, "Nikon may have screwed this one up."