Although they were officially announced a year ago and expected to be released in June 2016, Nikon's DL series of compact cameras has been canned.

The long-awaited Nikon DL24-85mm f/1.8-2.8, DL:18-50mm f/1.8-2.8 and DL24-500mm f/2.8-5.6 models will no longer be brought to market and that section of the market is no longer a concern for the company.

There was a lot of interest in the three compacts, each of which promised a 20.8-megapixel 1-inch sensor. However, Nikon now believes there is no profitability in releasing them in 2017 - six month after the original on-sale date came and went.

Nikon cites issues with the "integrated circuit for image processing" as the main reason for their original delay. It has also posted a statement about the cancellation, which reveals a shrinking of camera sales generally.

"It has been decided that sales of the DL series will be canceled due to concerns regarding their profitability considering the increase in development costs, and the drop in the number of expected sales due to the slow-down of the market," the company said.

"We sincerely apologise to all those affected by this decision, especially those customers who waited so long for the cameras to be released, retailers and others whose business will be affected, for the inconvenience this decision may cause."