Made in Japan no more: Nikon moving camera production overseas

[Henning Serger]

Hello Charles,

Nikon is probably in the position where they have so many other products that making any sort of Camera is a distraction for them. Canon is also likely in that sphere.

no, the camera production is very important for Nikon: In the last years their camera business has been responsible for about 40-50% of their total revenue. And therefore they will not leave that business.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[Henning Serger]

That’s my point. If digital cameras are dying what is there for Nikon to sell in relation to photography? Yes Nikon does other things, but it is a relatively small company - it isn’t Canon, Sony etc. - so I wonder if it will simply have to leave the world of photography and be a different company.

Well, the digital camera business is not "dying". It is becoming very different compared to a decade ago, and the camera manufacturers have to adopt to that new market. It will be much, much smaller and with a very different customer structure. That is what all digital camera manufacturers are currently trying, the transfer to a very different market situation.
We will see which manufacturers are doing that successfully. I am quite confident that Nikon will be one of them in the mid term.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[Henning Serger]

Because as of October of last year, Nikon no longer makes film cameras, since the F6 was discontinued. Those who aren’t interested in digital would naturally have little interest in what Nikon is producing since all that they have now is digital goods.

Which is wrong as Nikon is producing lots of excellent F mount lenses which are perfect for Nikon film camera users.
And in 3-4 years the demand pressure from the film revival will be big enough that camera manufacturers like Nikon will consider entering the film camera market again.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[George Mann]

What elitist feces. And you expect that Photrio readers care about or are interested in what you have zero interest?

Yes, absolutely.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Not that it matters so much for the core of this group, but it looks like Nikon will no longer produce any more SLR camera bodies domestically - all will be done in overseas factories. It looks like the last body to be produced here is the D6, but that is moving to Thailand.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14327802

tat's OK as long as the quality is controlled from Japan, which is likely

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Which is wrong as Nikon is producing lots of excellent F mount lenses which are perfect for Nikon film camera users.
And in 3-4 years the demand pressure from the film revival will be big enough that camera manufacturers like Nikon will consider entering the film camera market again.

Best regards,
Henning

one can hope and dream

 

[grat]

If you're not using an acoustic coupler to connect to the internet over copper phone lines, you're a digital sell-out.

 

[Henning Serger]

tat's OK as long as the quality is controlled from Japan, which is likely

The quality control of Nikon's Thailand factory is on the same level as the QC of the Sendai factory. As I have explained above, the Thailand factory is operating for about 30 years now, and it has been Nikon's biggest camera factory already for many years. Lots of the recent / latest higher-grade / professional cameras are built there.

one can hope and dream

It has nothing to do with "hope and dream", just with simple economics: The demand for digital cameras has not hit its bottom yet, it will continue to decline for some more years before a stabilization will happen, because the reasons for that decline will be valid for some more years.
On the other side the demand for film cameras is strongly increasing. Last year already more film cameras than digital cameras were sold. In the mid- and long term the clever camera manufacturers will compensate a part of their revenue decline in digital by benefitting from the increasing interest in film photography.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[ChristopherCoy]

Why has an informational news post become a shit slinging contest? Cant we all just hold hands and skip?

 

[ic-racer]

Not that it matters so much for the core of this group, but it looks like Nikon will no longer produce any more SLR camera bodies domestically - all will be done in overseas factories. It looks like the last body to be produced here is the D6, but that is moving to Thailand.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14327802

No mention of film cameras in the article. Is F6 production moving outside Japan? Do you know something we don't?

 

[Chan Tran]

So I won't buy a new Nikon body. That's all.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

No film camera's = zero interest.

Then why even comment? No one cares.

 

[mshchem]

I bought a D6 when they 1st became available. I understand offshoring, it can be done well. It's about how you treat employees. But the Japan culture seems to nurture the pursuit of the highest quality. That's part of what I have always loved about cameras from Japan.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I bought a D6 when they 1st became available. I understand offshoring, it can be done well. It's about how you treat employees. But the Japan culture seems to nurture the pursuit of the highest quality. That's part of what I have always loved about cameras from Japan.

#1

To quote Rust Brothers, no shit leaves the shop!

 

[George Mann]

Then why even comment? No one cares.

Isn't it conceited to think that you speak for everyone?

 

[Sal Santamaura]

Sorry you’re having such a bad day man. Tomorrow’s a new day.

I had a great day yesterday. Today is another great day. All my cameras, film as well as digital, are available to be used for photography. And I have the time to use them.

Yup... that’s photrio’s own SoapboxSal...

This thread is in the "General Discussion (Mixed Workflow Forums)" category, not the Soap Box. This is a category in which discussions of both silver halide and digital are appropriate. Not an "analog only" category where elitist bullshit is, while always nonsense, permitted.

...Sal doesn’t like Brad...; he doesn’t like George or Chip or me either. He doesn’t seem to like you, Christopher, either...

I very much like Brad, which is why his elitist bullshit comment was surprising. George's posts personify elitist bullshit. I neither like nor dislike George, but do pity him. I like Chip a lot, and never give up trying to help him see that his goals (which I share) are poorly served by an unrealistic, abrasively aggressive, compromise-rejecting approach to achieving them. I have no feelings about Christopher other than being annoyed that he attributed my rejection of elitist bullshit to a non-existent, imagined "bad day" when he's spent so much time posting about his own struggles with life and people. As for you Brian, your persistent injection of snarky comments about my posts has indeed led to a substantial dislike of your behavior. I don't know what motivates that, so cannot say with certainty whether I "like" or "don't like" you. Either way, your smirking peanut gallery "contributions" denigrate only you.

Why has an informational news post become a shit slinging contest?...

Because slinging elitist bullshit at people doesn't result in those on whose faces it lands smiling silently. The victims tend to throw it back.

...Cant we all just hold hands and skip?

Apparently not, Mr. King. Sad.

Isn't it conceited to think that you speak for everyone?

Yes, George, it is. Have you ever considered that when you make elitist bullshit statements? When denying that the factual statements of others are correct?

 

[BrianShaw]

LOL. Don’t know why you take these differences of opinion so personally. You can have the last word...

 

[wiltw]

Children...play together NICELY!...or you all will be sent to sit in the corner -- together.

 

[ChristopherCoy]

LOL. Don’t know why you take these differences of opinion so personally. You can have the last word...

Your reply doesn’t count because it didn’t have the word “elitist” in it at least 7 times.

elitist
elitist
elitist
elitist
elitist
elitist
elitist

see. I made mine count.

 

[BrianShaw]

Children...play together NICELY!...or you all will be sent to sit in the corner -- together.

Oh, dear God... you sound just like my mother!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Isn't it conceited to think that you speak for everyone?

Sorry if I gave you that impression. Your initial comment came across as a bit pompous and narrow-minded.

 

[grat]

Speaking of mothers, mine told me if I can't say something nice, I shouldn't say anything at all**, but I think I'll push the boundaries of that advice slightly and say I wholeheartedly agree with Sal and Andrew on this thread.

This thread was never about film vs. digital, it was about Nikon outsourcing their production to "not Japan". A few individuals, however, who have made it their mission to ensure that everyone on Photrio knows how much they hate digital (which on an internet forum, is just ridiculous), decided they would rather make it about their snobbery.

**Actually, she's one of the most direct, outspoken people I know, and I'd get banned for repeating her opinion.

 

[BrianShaw]

Opinions are like —-holes, everyone has one, and they all stink. They’re entitled to their opinions and bias.

 

[BradS]

Snobbery should be made of sterner stuff.

Nobody said or even implied one was better than the other, only that they are different and as such, deserve to be distinguished in name. If one feels snobbery has been implied then one ought to examine their own value hierarchy and insecurities. One could just as easily recognize all that has been said as celebratory of the difference between the two modes of expression. Again, examine yourself and your own issues.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

Nikon stopped production of the F6 some time ago....so, they do not actually produce cameras anywhere anymore.

...they are different and as such, deserve to be distinguished in name...

Digital cameras aren't cameras, eh? Come on Brad, you're smarter than that. How can one possibly employ the term "camera" when referring to a Nikon F6, Canham 11x14 or Arriflex, but not a Nikon D850?

...If one feels snobbery has been implied...

Refusing to use the term "camera" for a digital camera? Implied? Come on, Brad, let's be real. They're two different tools employed to make photographs. How other than elitist snobbishness could a reader possibly interpret posters referring to any camera not using film by a different name?