Nikon won’t print brochures!!!!!!!

magiclens57

Finally making the move from APS-C mirrorless to full frame mirrorless, I find myself very open minded, comparing all current brands. I have product brochures from Sony, & Canon - lots. Actually, regardless of what kind of photo equipment I buy, I prefer printed catalogs/brochures for comparison and reference. However I have just found out Nikon won’t provide any printed catalogs or brochures for any product! I am close to Nikon’s USA corporate headquarters in Melville, NY, and went there yesterday, but was told by everyone there Nikon produces no brochures - hasn’t for a long time. He said it frustrates everyone, but it’s true. I said I was interested in the new Z system, and surely they have literature for a new product system, but I was assured it wasn’t the case!!
I called the national product support/inquiry 800 number, and was told exactly the same thing - the company does not print any catalogs or brochures for any products! In fact the guy at their big, national headquarters told me “there’s not a brochure for anything in the whole building”.
Now I don’t know what’s going on, but I can put two and two together..Nikon must be bleeding so heavily, they have cut expenses to the bone. Is this why only 2 Z lenses were launched? Do I really want to consider spending almost $5000 on a new system, when the company can’t even afford to support a major product launch with some catalogs? They must be in severe financial trouble.
Meanwhile, I am awash in Canon and Sony beautiful brochures, a staple of the industry for decades, so looks like my choice got easier!
Please, someone, ANYONE tell me I’m wrong about this.

Pistnbroke

You must be old school ...nobody wants paper (well you do) its all gone computerised these days. Print out the details from the Nikon site if you want paper....control P

Sports

This one must have required some finance to produce. No money left for actually printing it, I guess:
https://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96RZZo-RRZZFeeMiveET0gVQ--AxJI7g-xcLVNVcp7mdwZQz5w==/Misc/Z7_Z6_Brochure.pdf

magiclens57

Don't get me wrong - Nikon is one of the greatest names in photography. I very briefly held the Z7, along with the R and A7iii. I liked the feel of the Z7, and just want some (old school) printed matter to peruse and compare, without being glued to a computer.
On another note, unavoidable, I have to question what kinds of resources and realistic time frames for lenses and building this mirrorless system out will be available to Nikon if they're in austerity mode. I can see not throwing brochures from the rooftops, but to not even have 1 available for a shopping customer calling into their USA corporate office sends a very bad signal as to their overall financial health. It doesn't help to dispel the rumor that Fuji might acquire them to save the name.
If I do manage to actually get my hands on one (if they exist!) I'll keep it a secret.

WestEndFoto

The world has changed. I would worry about Nikon’s financial health if they were printing brochures.

Pistnbroke

If you are an NPS member you get a great glossy thick magazine every 6 months ...now where did I put them ...oh in the bin....

magiclens57

Well, with a little more digging, the plot thickens...someone just advised me sales brochures for new Nikon camera models are alive and well on eBay!!! They average $10 each - this is SICK. And they all come from Japan, and are in Japanese at that. Very poor customer service you provide, Nikon! So, sales brochures are printed (for real!) for Japanese customers, but American customers can use up their own printer ink for the privilege of learning about your equipment. Now I will appreciate the brochures Canon and Sony have lavished on me even more to help decide this mirror-less camera purchase.

mhedges

I mean, come on. Brochures are nice for those that want them, but I wouldn't base my purchase decision on whether they give you one or not.

magiclens57

I’m not going to base my decision on additional sales info or not....I started this thread saying I liked the Z7 for the minute I was able to hold it...after that, if I’m going to lay out thousands of $$ for a brand-new system, I sure would have appreciated some material that every other camera company provides, in droves. It’s totally valid to ask why a premier company won’t provide ANYTHING at all - and I still just don’t have an answer. When I bought my D810, I got at least 3 or 4 pieces of printed literature about technology, lenses, and the whole system - all printed and from Nikon!

WestEndFoto

They do provide stuff, on the internet.

NSXTypeR

When DPReview gives you a very good idea about how cameras operate and perform, do you think a brochure is necessary? I mean it certainly is nice to have, but I can't think of the last time brochures were available for cameras. Do you see Canon, Sony, Panasonic or Olympus doing it? I've been to B and H, a well reputed high end electronics store and I haven't seen them handing out brochures for individual cameras. I've seen them summarize all the models and prices in a generic handout though, printed from B and H.

I wouldn't put it past Leica or Hasselblad to have brochures, but they sell expensive jewelry disguised as cameras.

magiclens57

I have multiple new-product brochures for every brand you mentioned - especially Canon and Sony. Add Fujifilm - they have slews. I just attended the PhotoExpo show in Manhattan a couple weeks ago at the Javits Convention Center - it is a yearly 3 day event. They give everyone a shopping bag (Nikon bag!!!) upon entering the show - this is to put all the brochures in!!! I went by each booth to test the cameras I was interested in, got tons of brochures to take back home and study, but was rushed at the end at the Nikon display - I got to hold the Z7 for a quick minute, but didn't get a chance to grab any brochures. When I got home, I figured no big deal, I'll just call to get one - only to find no dice. I'm amazed no one else finds anything odd about the premier name in pro cameras not having ANY sales literature!!
BTW, I can't speak about Hasselblad, but I have for a fact many Leica brochures - and this is a company truly skirting in and out of bankruptcy for years now.

snakebunk

Why not save the environment and get up to date information online instead of collecting brochures?

Capt_Spaulding

I'm not sure I understand the fuss. Brochures are nice to look at, to put on the wall in a "wish list" sort of way, but at the core, they're marketing tools. Sure they have pretty pictures of the product being sold, but they really tell us only what the manufacturer wants us to know about it. I'd certainly never make a major purchasing decision based solely on a brochure. What I'd want are tests, the more objective the better and from as many sources as possible. Testimonials from trusted sources are nice to have, as are as many hands-on experiences as possible.

Why is a glossy piece of paper, put out solely to hype a product so important? I've bought a few pieces of photo equipment over the last few years and never really considered asking, or even looking for a brochure.

NSXTypeR

Forget about brochures, good luck getting accurate information about cameras at Best Buy. Their sales people barely knew anything on the cameras they sell and I ended up giving camera buying advice to a customer I saw in the store. Not to mention there were cameras on display with no lenses mounted to the cameras.

mhedges

NSXTypeR said:

Forget about brochures, good luck getting accurate information about cameras at Best Buy. Their sales people barely knew anything on the cameras they sell and I ended up giving camera buying advice to a customer I saw in the store. Not to mention there were cameras on display with no lenses mounted to the cameras.

Yeah that's just nuts. My Best Buy has a D850 and a D750, but only had a lens (the 24-120) on the D750. Made no sense.

Even though the employees may not know much it's still a very handy place to get hands on a camera. You can handle all the latest Nikon, Sony, and Canon products there. Very nice for those of us in towns without a dedicated camera shop.

Symphotic

I got a Z7/Z6 4 page glossy with my Wall Street Journal today, along with an ad for Black Friday Specials.