Camera Labs

Hi folks,

Canon and Nikon must be wondering what they've done to upset the gods this year. Trivial in comparison to the human tragedies but the current flooding in Thailand has possibly affected production of Canon inkjet printers and Nikon DSLRs. This is a developing story so for more head on over to Google News and do your own searches.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Hi folks,

The floods in Thailand have affected Canon, Nikon and Sony. Canon appears to have got off relatively lightly with their printer production disrupted. But the Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network are reporting that

Nikon Corp.’s Thailand plant produces low- to mid-range single-lens reflex cameras, which account for 90 percent of the company’s SLR camera production.

The table at the top of that article suggests that there is no prospect of recovery at the affected factory. I'm unclear whether Nikon produces all of its low- to mid-range single-lens reflex cameras at the affected plant or just some of them.

From the same article we have:

Sony Corp. manufactures all of its digital SLR cameras in the industrial area of Ayutthaya.

The table at the top of that article suggests that there is no prospect of recovery at the affected factory. Reuters report that:

Sony Corp said on Thursday it would delay indefinitely the launches of several new cameras, lens kits and headphones after flooding forced it to halt production at some plants in Thailand.

The products, which were to be put on sale in November, include the high-end mirrorless NEX-7 camera and the single-lens reflex alpha 65.

It is beginning to look as though the eagerly anticipated NEX-7 won't be weighing down any Christmas stockings this year.

The disruption goes much further. Bloomberg television were reporting last night that 25% of all hard drives are made in Thailand. Again, it's not clear what percentage of that production has actually been disrupted but Bloomberg were predicting a shortage. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Whether you should act on it if you were planning a Christmas purchase only you can decide.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Hi folks,

More bad news from NHK World about the floods in Thailand. While yet another industrial complex nearer the center of Bangkok appears to have been spared the video on this page suggests that the Ayutthaya complex, in which both Nikon and Sony make DSLRs, may not now be back into full operation until the Spring. Hopefully both companies will find a way to move some production elsewhere but one can't just magic up production lines at short notice.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.