Jag tror det här syftar på bl.a. 3D-tracking...
Dave Etchells: I think we've only got time for one last question, and I'll make it about autofocus. The Z-series has good autofocus, but it's not in the same class as the Nikon D5. How do you intend to improve the autofocus performance moving forward, and will you be able to close that gap with your high-end DSLR cameras?
Naoki Kitaoka: Speaking about how future development will go, it's really hard to answer to that question. However, we already made a public announcement to the wider audience that eye-detection AF is going to be launched through a firmware update. This announcement was made within six months of the launch of the product itself. And we'd like to continue to make additional new feature announcements. So the conclusion, if we are asked about our autofocus strategy, is that an SLR and mirrorless camera each have their own advantages for autofocus, because each has a different way of operating. We would like to improve their competitive edge and then to realize it; we would like to provide additional autofocus functions to both SLR and mirrorless. For example, since DSLR uses the optical finder, it doesn't have any time lag [in viewing the image]. It's pretty much zero, while mirrorless, of course, does have a time lag because the mechanical structure is different from an SLR. But because of that, you can actually keep watching and viewing your subject through the mirrorless camera's viewfinder, because you can constantly keep following the subject with the mirrorless, while the SLR it's more like you [can see the subject] for that very short moment without any time lag. Each one of them has its own advantages, and we would like to improve the benefit of each, by providing better autofocus functions respectively.
Nikon's D5 DSLR sets the absolute standard for AF tracking of difficult subjects, so has long been a go-to body for sports photographers. Nikon feels that Z-series mirrorless models will eventually be able to equal this performance, but note that there will always be an unavoidable -- even if only very slight -- lag in what you see in an electronic viewfinder versus a conventional optical one.
Dave Etchells: Just in terms of using a camera to shoot sports though, the current feeling is that the D5 is better at tracking subjects. Purely in terms of tracking performance, do you think mirrorless will it catch up, and how long will it take, do you think?
Naoki Kitaoka: We are in the middle of the process of trying to catch up with the tracking functions that the D5 currently provides. We believe technically, with both hardware and software, it is possible to do so in the near future. However, the key difference between them is whether it is an optical finder or a liquid crystal, and that eventually causes the ultimate difference between them.