Nikon tech dominated the Olympics but was AFP the secret sauce?

Nikon Z9 against a yellow/orange gradient with large lettering stating 'AFP'.

Nikon is riding high following the release of the Nikon Z6 III – further bolstering its excellent Z-Series line-up and some of the best mirrorless cameras – and most recently, a very successful Olympic campaign.

But when Phototrend sat down with Nikon France marketing and communications director, Nicolas Gillet, at the Salon de la Photo 2024, they discussed AFP's partnership with Nikon and how that affected coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Nicolas touched upon the ground-breaking Nikon tech used during the games, such as the MRMC SR-1 robots, allowing photographers to capture the action, remotely, via NX Field. "During the Olympic Games, around 1,400 photographers were accredited worldwide," he said. "Together with AFP and L'Équipe, we deployed around thirty MRMC SR1 robots on different sites."

When asked about the development of such technologies, he replied; "It's mostly AFP actually. The partnership we have with the agency is not just limited to hardware, but also extends to their involvement in the development of new features and firmware."

Phototrend noted that the SR-1 was used to capture an iconic image of the French Olympic judo team, which featured on the front cover of L'Équipe. Very similar to this AFP image (Image credit: Getty Images / Martin Bureau)

This level of cooperation isn't surprising. Nikon's partnership with AFP is well documented. Their relationship goes back to 1999, with the two companies forming a partnership contract in 2017. And Nikon has been transparent about its working relationship with AFP in the past, stating on the subject; "Technologies to open new possibilities for photojournalism come to light from deep mutual respect and inspirational ideas."

And why wouldn't Nikon listen to AFP? After all, Agence France-Presse is one of the world's top-three news agencies, with a 2,600-strong workforce. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better source for feedback than AFP's army of professional photojournalists.

I recently reported on Nikon's plan to release Content Credentials firmware for the Z6 III. This news followed on from Digital Camera World's report in January that Nikon and Agence France-Presse have joined forces to tackle AI-image generation and prove photographer authenticity.

It certainly seems like Nikon's partnership with AFP is stronger than ever.

Interested in Nikon tech and sports? Check out the best Nikon cameras and the best lens for sports photography.