I doubt that anyone other than you and I would read every page to learn the inner workings of the camera. But that is because we are devoted to our love.
Many others drool at the sight of the box like an 8 year old child on Christmas morning. They rip open the box. Bits and pieces of cardboard everywhere. Then little tiny parts find themselves everywhere only to not know their purpose. THE CAMERA! The new owner holds it and examines every inch pushing ever button and sliding each lever.
The manual was tossed to one side only to be forgotten and eventually lost amongst the flotsam of the innards of the box.
Days later the owner is confounded because they can’t figure out how to turn on a light on an LED screen in the dark. Then, their passion gets the better of them. They ask a question on Ugly Hedge Hog!

READ THE EFING MANUAL!

It’s lost amongst the dust in a nightstand dresser drawer!

I strongly believe manufacturers will choose a new option. They might condense the manual into the size of a package insert of a new drug almost lightweight but printed with lettering so small making it impossible to read. Or the manufacturer may opt to place the manual on a CD-ROM Disk. Does any one own a computer with an appropriate slot?

My suggestion is to….
READ…..
THE……
EFFING…..
MANUAL…..

Commit the instructions like a brand new coffee machine or toaster to memory!!

By the way, I love all my Canon cameras and manual. Perhaps if I loved Nikon as much as you we would not be rivals!!

Rather than reading the manuals, I just read Steve Perry's books on how to set up the Nikon <insert model # here> for wildlife photography, and the secrets of the autofocus system (for that model) - targeted at wildlife photographers, primarily.

I recently did that for a new (Nikon of course 🙂) acquisition, and it also required reading, sometimes skimming through, 1000+ pages of two PDF documents. However, his writing is more lucid than that of a Nikon manual writer, so more preferable personally. Plus. I do not recollect a Nikon manual ever containing anything humorous like Steve's books.

And...WHY don't the Effing manuals get read? Written by Japanese Engineers for Japanese Engineers...long, tiny print and confusing to many of us plain Vanilla shutter pushers.
That's why more readable/understandable explanations are such successes. Whenever I get a new camera, I DO read the Effing manual, then I order something like the Dummies for(fill in camera)book, so I can sit with the camera in one hand and the manuals handy, and learn my machine!( It'll do THAT???) My cameras all came with the many-paged paper manuals, which are better than having to copy thousands of pages on line. All to save a buck or three! Thank you, camera manufacturers! As it is, I doubt that even the pros use more than a Baker's Dozen of their shiny new electronic marvel's programs anyhow.

And...WHY don't the Effing manuals get read? Written by Japanese Engineers for Japanese Engineers...long, tiny print and confusing to many of us plain Vanilla shutter pushers.
That's why more readable/understandable explanations are such successes. Whenever I get a new camera, I DO read the Effing manual, then I order something like the Dummies for(fill in camera)book, so I can sit with the camera in one hand and the manuals handy, and learn my machine!( It'll do THAT???) My cameras all came with the many-paged paper manuals, which are better than having to copy thousands of pages on line. All to save a buck or three! Thank you, camera manufacturers! As it is, I doubt that even the pros use more than a Baker's Dozen of their shiny new electronic marvel's programs anyhow.