Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/08/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Marc James Small wrote: > At 03:59 AM 8/21/1999 -0500, Robert Monaghan wrote: > >Nikon's profits are reportedly from its point and shoot sales, not Pro F5s! > >Rollei makes more from one submarine periscope than its entire medium > >format lines by other estimates. The German's recently shut down their > >35mm pentacon/praktica factories, figuring it was cheaper to send workers > >home on welfare than go on selling cameras that cost $650 but sold for $165 > > Second, Rollei nor its predecessor companies have never, to my fairly > certain knowledge even made a submarine periscope. Zeiss does, though. > Zeiss, from the 1860's to the present, has ALWAYS made far more from the > sale of industrial, scientific, military, and medical gear than from camera > lenses. It is a truism of the trade which also affects Nikon (who make > relatively little of this gear, and, hence, must rely more on photographic > optics) and Canon (who makes almost all of the photocopier and FAX machine > optics and who, as a result, can treat the photographic end of the concern > as a prestige leader whose profitability does little to affect the net > profit of the company.) I do not know your source of information about Nikon's business; however, its primary business has been in steppers for the recent number of years. The photographic division has been unprofitable for years and Nikon survives solely from its stepper business, which was severely affected by the Asian currency crisis in the past two years. The photographic division certainly has been for the brand-name image and the company tradition. Steppers require extremely precise and exact optical systems which makes any and all photographic optical systems look like cheap toys. Nikon steppers include projection lenses which reduce images on glass plates onto silicon wafers with extreme precision. A lens which has a resolution of over 5000 lines / mm are common in this business. They also cost millions, too. So, let's stop arguing that the Japanese manufacturers such as Nikon, Canon, Hoya etc are not capable of world-beating cost-no-object lenses. They do, but not for the consumer photographic equipment market.