Nikon Has Received More ZR Preorders Than Expected; for Good Reason

The Nikon ZR looks poised to be quite the hit with customers. Scheduled to begin shipping in the next couple of weeks, Nikon Japan has already warned customers that it has received so many orders that it may be unable to fulfill them all at launch.

While it’s not unusual for photography companies to issue such statements in Japan, Nikon’s warning to customers in Japan, as Nikon Rumors reports, speaks to the ZR’s popularity, at least to some level. Admittedly, it is impossible to know how many people have preordered the ZR in Japan and elsewhere, and similarly impossible to know how many Nikon made to be ready for launch. However, it is worth noting that Nikon rarely issues these types of notices before a camera is actually released.

The last Nikon camera to run into issues like this before it was shipped was the Z9. Despite Nikon making 35,000 units of the camera per month, the company said in 2021 that it could take up to a year to fulfill all preorders. At the time, it was reported that there were around 400,000 preorders for the Z9 ahead of its launch.

The Nikon ZR may not be that popular, but given its very reasonable price of $2,196.95 and highly competitive features, it could actually sell even better than the Z9.

Here’s what is known. The Nikon ZR is popular enough that Nikon Japan has issued a statement ahead of release that it has received higher than expected preorders and may be unable to fulfill all preorders for “some time.” And the last time Nikon did that, it was for the Z9, which was instrumental in saving Nikon’s imaging business altogether.

It’s also clear that the Nikon ZR is receiving significant attention from hybrid users and videographers both in and outside of the Nikon Z ecosystem, thanks in large part to its very competitive feature set, attractive price point, and the integration of RED technology.

Taken together, all this information suggests that Nikon has a potential smash hit camera on its hands. Nikon told PetaPixel last month at the IBC Show in Amsterdam that it believes the Nikon ZR’s feature set is so rich that it ultimately fulfills many roles at once, from B or C-cam all the way up to a primary cinema camera for a wide range of content creators and filmmakers.

PetaPixel‘s initial hands-on impressions were extremely positive, too.

“I was very surprised by the $2,200 pricing. I consider the ZR a direct competitor to the Sony FX3, which sells for nearly twice the price at $4,100. The Nikon ZR offers internal RAW video, 6K capture, more effective IBIS, and more detailed stills for WAY less money,” PetaPixel‘s Jordan Drake wrote in September.

Drake shared more of his thoughts about the ZR today:

“I attended a ZR launch event put on by The Camera Store which was incredibly well attended. Talking to the participants, I was struck by how wide the appeal of the camera is for different skill levels. Potential purchasers included future creators looking for their first camera, a substantial number of film students interested in the Raw video recording at such an affordable price, and industry professionals looking for a B-Cam or crash cam to match with their RED cinema cameras.

“One thing is clear, though: Nikon’s aggressive pricing has garnered a lot of attention. The near simultaneous release of the Canon EOS C50, which lacks IBIS and has a much smaller, lower resolution display for a substantially higher price, makes Nikon’s pricing stand out all the more.

“The major hurdle seems to be the film community’s lack of investment in native Z-Mount lenses. The majority of attendees I talked to were also looking at mount adapter options for their initial kit. This reminds me of the early days of Sony’s E-Mount, but we know that eventually most E-Mount owners began purchasing native lenses. I suspect something similar will happen with future ZR owners.”

The Nikon ZR is available for preorder now in the U.S. through retailers like Adorama and B&H. It is worth noting that B&H has labeled the ZR a top seller based on high preorder interest. As for Amazon, most options, including body only, are not currently available. That should change in short order.


Image credits: Nikon | Elements of the header photo were licensed via Depositphotos.