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Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

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Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#91

Post by staticelf »

howtofly wrote: post #68
staticelf wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I, like my father, of course use some stuff made in China since for several things there are literally no other choice. But regarding masks, I live in Sweden and basically no one here wears a mask, including my father. Both me and my father have been isolated of course but there is really no need for him to wear a mask. We shop online and otherwise only meet people from our own family. I work from home and he closed…

I believe your description is quite typical in Sweden, which explains why the fight against covid-19 there is a total failure. Wearing masks is not only about protecting yourself, but also about protecting people you meet. I think wearing masks are nearly all about protecting other people, unless you have N95 and replace them regularly. It seems that I had made a wrong guess from this common sense, which obvious does…

Well I think people should wear a mask, but neither me or my father meet other people. We cancelled christmas and for me it's just me and my gf with no other people, not even the closest family.

Don't worry, we're taking it more serious than most of the country.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#92

Post by staticelf »

lm28469 wrote: post #66
staticelf wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I, like my father, of course use some stuff made in China since for several things there are literally no other choice. But regarding masks, I live in Sweden and basically no one here wears a mask, including my father. Both me and my father have been isolated of course but there is really no need for him to wear a mask. We shop online and otherwise only meet people from our own family. I work from home and he closed…

> I live in Sweden and basically no one here wears a mask > there is really no need for him to wear a mask. Can't believe we're 10+ months in and people still think like that. Didn't the Swedish gov and even the king declared they fucked up big time like last week ? Sweden's covid handling is a total failure: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/ https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/n…

Yes and I agree with the king. A note here is that neither me or my father meet other people. We both use hand sanitizers when we absolutely have to go out and we both live in houses with no other people nearby.

Sweden is not like your typical big american city, a lot of swedes live in houses with gardens and of course a lot of us also live in apartments in a city but that is not me and it is not my father.

If it were, we would both be wearing masks.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#93

Post by dotancohen »

varjag wrote: post #39
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #4

Heartbreaking, but they are a "survivor" company. They have lasted over 100 years, through a world war (including firestorm bombing), earthquakes, fires and tsunamis. They had never been particularly big, until the 1990s, with the advent of point-and-shoot digital cameras. That gravy train ended when the iPhone came out. They are probably contracting to their more traditional role, of Big Black Cameras, as well as so…

> They have some of the finest scientists and engineers in the world, as well as a gigantic portfolio of patents. They aren't going away. Kodak would like to have a word.

Exactly what I've been thinking this entire thread. The market for quality optics is getting smaller, more specialized, and further from the consumer. The scientific, arts, and entertainment industries will likely be able to support no more than two or three top-tier manufacturers, and the consumer market is so far away from that that expertise in top-tier equipment will have no bearing on consumer products, and vice-versa.

Nikon sees this happening and choose which side of the divide to service. It's probably the safer bet, too, as some of the top-tier manufacturers are going to have to either coalesce or dissolve in the next decade or two regardless of strategy. At least in the consumer market strategy, such as partnering with a cellphone manufacturer, could open new opportunities.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#94

Post by numpad0 »

Aeolun wrote: post #44
hrktb wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That ship has mostly sailed, and people seem to be OK with ‘made by a Japanese company’ For instance Sony products are not seen as ‘made in China’, just ‘made by Sony’

I can only speak to my own experience, but that isn’t necessarily be true. There’s a scale, and ‘made in Japan’ seems to so far be better than not. That said, if they can halve their prices by building in Thailand, maybe customers will forgive them. Since the only thing left is the high end market though, I’m not sure cutting prices is most relevant now though.

Japanese designs(or should I say "our") are always flimsier for same size, heavier for a set volume, has 10x more M2.5 screws, and priced 2.5x for same or less overall utility, are my experiences. There would be a lot to be said about mechanical designs and mechanical reliability, but I don't always need something super fancy to hold pieces of paper on a desk.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#95

Post by numpad0 »

tadzik_ wrote: post #24

Huh, that doesn't sound like news. I'm pretty sure that my D70s, over 15 years old by now, was produced in Thailand too. Maybe they always built the cheaper models over there?

Yeah, I wonder which ones they are still manufacturing in the country. Could this mean the last guy who was assembling film F6 in a repair facility somewhere is finally retiring?

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#96

Post by oblio »

beagle3 wrote: post #22
robotmay wrote: post #11

Oof, that's not a good sign. For me, Japan is the place for the best camera and lens manufacturing. Most of the makers seem to split their manufacturing between Japan for their quality models/lenses and cheaper countries for the consumer stuff, which I think is a valid compromise. But this feels short-sighted on Nikon's part and rather like they have already failed. Perhaps instead of relocating their production they…

Traditional lens manufacturing is likely in its last days (which can easily take a decade or two, but ... the end is visible). Modern lens are made with techniques perfected in semiconductor manufacturing, and use advances in material science (meta materials in particular). I don't know how close this is to mass market, but I've seen superthin flat lens, with a marginal cost of production around ~$2 in a university f…

I can't find it now, but I remember reading about something with what seems a lot more boring than the articles I find about "metamaterial lenses". Maybe someone has a pointer for what it's actually called.

It was something reproducing a sort of "solar furnace" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_furnace) at a micro scale, coordinated with electronics. Think creating a dynamic lens by redirecting light from many micro lenses (mirrors?).

The upside being dynamic focal lengths using extremely short lens (the whole thing being microscopic).

Am I day dreaming? I can swear I read something or saw a documentary somewhere.

Or is what I'm describing just another name for metamaterial lenses? Based on what I've read about metamaterials, right now, I don't think it is, but I can very easily be wrong.

Edit:

Ah, maybe microlenses? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microlens

Does anyone know if they're applicable to camera lenses?

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#97

Post by dcolkitt »

robotmay wrote: post #11

Oof, that's not a good sign. For me, Japan is the place for the best camera and lens manufacturing. Most of the makers seem to split their manufacturing between Japan for their quality models/lenses and cheaper countries for the consumer stuff, which I think is a valid compromise. But this feels short-sighted on Nikon's part and rather like they have already failed. Perhaps instead of relocating their production they…

I wonder if Apple is considering them as an acquisition target. At their current market cap, the dilution be a rounding error for AAPL shareholders.

Apple’s cross functional business org makes them really effective at transferring expertise across product lines. Just subsidizing the high end camera line might be worth it to transfer technology and expertise to iPhone cameras.

(Plus slapping an Apple logo on Nikon cameras would probably boost sales overnight)

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#98

Post by noobermin »

Aeolun wrote: post #44
hrktb wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That ship has mostly sailed, and people seem to be OK with ‘made by a Japanese company’ For instance Sony products are not seen as ‘made in China’, just ‘made by Sony’

I can only speak to my own experience, but that isn’t necessarily be true. There’s a scale, and ‘made in Japan’ seems to so far be better than not. That said, if they can halve their prices by building in Thailand, maybe customers will forgive them. Since the only thing left is the high end market though, I’m not sure cutting prices is most relevant now though.

They're not cutting prices, they're trying to save on costs, ie., they're spiraling.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#99

Post by noobermin »

hrktb wrote: post #30
dbrgn wrote: post #5

The article states: > Don’t think this is enough to make them stay in the business. Troubling times for Nikon :( Is there some context on this? Is Nikon facing trouble, and if yes, why?

They are slow to move and have a hard time to keep up with the world moving on. That leads to a world of trouble for them: - mobile phones eating the “good enough”/ “well integrated” spectrum - Sony eating the “best value”/“modern camera” spectrum - Fuji eating the “different form factor” spectrum - Panasonic still hanging on the 3/4 side They’ll survive, and keep making good camera that pros are waiting for, but it…

You left out Canon, their main competitor for pro cameras.

Re: Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan

#100

Post by oblio »

KineticLensman wrote: post #90
varjag wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They have some of the finest scientists and engineers in the world, as well as a gigantic portfolio of patents. They aren't going away. Kodak would like to have a word.

> Kodak would like to have a word They will have to join the queue behind a lot of Swiss watchmakers.

Why/which watchmakers?
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