According to Nikkei Asia, Canon is considering outsourcing some of its operations to other Asian countries.
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Canon to Outsource Low End Camera Manufacturing
- Thread starter Canon Rumors
- Start date
I wonder if Canon sees Intel's current doom and wants to restructure itself before falling into that same pit.
A factory that can make a camera for Canon can also make a camera for Sony or Pentax or .. anyone. Since factories are expensive and that you need to keep the machinery busy to make it worthwhile, why own that cost?
This might also be driven by Canon seeing a continued gradual downward trend of camera sales to a point where it won't be profitable to have your own factory.
A factory that can make a camera for Canon can also make a camera for Sony or Pentax or .. anyone. Since factories are expensive and that you need to keep the machinery busy to make it worthwhile, why own that cost?
This might also be driven by Canon seeing a continued gradual downward trend of camera sales to a point where it won't be profitable to have your own factory.
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It's good that Canon is moving out of China. Canon still has production in Taiwan (a wonderful country), which is troublesome for the sole reason that China is in the process of absorbing Taiwan (without having to fire a shot probably) within the next few years. It's hopeful that Canon is interested in production in India as well as other countries that are not in danger of being similarly absorbed.
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Is it on an upward trend or is it just driven by product annoucements and FOMO & GAS driving purchases? Must have new thing because there's some new thing the camera does that I didn't need before but I do now. Great marketing. Digital camera sales are nowhere compared to 20 years ago and there's no sign of that ever repeating.
I read the story on compact cameras ... my suspicion is that has all of the permanency of a 16 yo's boyfriend/girlfriend (just another fad). Nobody I know talks about buying any sort of dedicated camera and I'm not seeing compacts in tourist crowds, just phones. But time will tell. The problem with compacts is you can't tiktok/ig the thing you just captured. If someone makes pairing a compact camera with a smart phone behave like just another phone camera, could be a different story (killer feature.)
Canon have said they want to go fab-less, so reports your story. That doesn't mean they see a drop in sales, rather it sounds like they want to pivot to be more like AMD/Apple. If they move their imaging and other production activity into wholely owned subsidaries, that sets them up to protect the part of the company that generates the value (IP) from the factory side of things. It might be a sign that Canon wants to do more different things, too. Iti could also be Canon hedging bets on the ability of the "next gen" phone-cameras with AI, that might take a chunk out of dedicated camera sales.
I read the story on compact cameras ... my suspicion is that has all of the permanency of a 16 yo's boyfriend/girlfriend (just another fad). Nobody I know talks about buying any sort of dedicated camera and I'm not seeing compacts in tourist crowds, just phones. But time will tell. The problem with compacts is you can't tiktok/ig the thing you just captured. If someone makes pairing a compact camera with a smart phone behave like just another phone camera, could be a different story (killer feature.)
Canon have said they want to go fab-less, so reports your story. That doesn't mean they see a drop in sales, rather it sounds like they want to pivot to be more like AMD/Apple. If they move their imaging and other production activity into wholely owned subsidaries, that sets them up to protect the part of the company that generates the value (IP) from the factory side of things. It might be a sign that Canon wants to do more different things, too. Iti could also be Canon hedging bets on the ability of the "next gen" phone-cameras with AI, that might take a chunk out of dedicated camera sales.
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That's not really true. Granted, a significant amount of growth is being made by one country right now, but it's highly unlikely their economy will change that drastically soon.
I mean, heck, I literally just wrote about this yesterday...
CIPA November 2024: The Rise of the Compact
If you have been listening to me at all last year (and if you haven't.. why the heck not?), one thing I have noted is that there's a weird renaissance happening
www.canonrumors.com
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It's the going fabless part of this story that I find most interesting. Maybe Canon think that they can be more agile and respond to market changes better if they do this. eg if they didn't own that factory in China where compacts used to come from and instead used someone else's production line, that would be a loss they wouldn't have had to write off and might allow them to respond to a change in demand for compacts better.
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I consider my M6mk 2 a compact. Not a micro compact. However it is small as many of the so called micro compacts. I would even consider my Panasonic S9 a compact with a pancake lens attached. Just sayin. All when comparing to an Canon R5mk2 or a Mamiya 645. My M6mk2 is indeed a "compact" in comparison. And yes, those are still in many carry on luggages of travelers.
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I wouldn't be surprised if they use one of the Chinese compact manufacturers and convince them to move assembly operations to Vietnam, etc.
which that manufacturer may be thinking of doing now anyways.
that manufacturer then makes compact cameras for the canon brand using canon specifications and maybe sensors and canon supplied firmware.
(totally spitballing here)
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Ooof, I didn't read that story yet. What that story doesn't have is a graph so longer term trends are visible. This is the graph your story was missing and it puts into perspective what the "9%" really means. October 2024 is highest sales since Jan 2022, but October was also the peak of sales in 2022 too.
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in 10 out of 11 months, net units were higher in 2024 than they were in 2023.
I'm not sure I see your point.
shipments are NOT declining year on year, it's always normal for shipments to peak in October, as that's when the bulk of things gets shipped from Japan for the November and December sales period.
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"I don't see people walking around with cameras"
I don't see people walking around much with laptops either unless in coffee shops etc. Not things many people care to do in these modern times on the street. Flaunt electronics on busy streets with ones eyeball pasted to an EVF. My travel camera is never carried in plain sight. I rarely pull out my expensive smart phone walking on the street either when traveling. It could get snatched right from my hands. As many do. Only in airports, restaurants etc will I start peeping my phone when traveling.
I don't see people walking around much with laptops either unless in coffee shops etc. Not things many people care to do in these modern times on the street. Flaunt electronics on busy streets with ones eyeball pasted to an EVF. My travel camera is never carried in plain sight. I rarely pull out my expensive smart phone walking on the street either when traveling. It could get snatched right from my hands. As many do. Only in airports, restaurants etc will I start peeping my phone when traveling.
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that's why i want a small camera, so i don't look like a really old boomer any more than I do naturally.
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I recall reading that, political considerations aside, some companies were moving manufacturing from China to Vietnam, because the later has lower labor costs.
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Did you actually read the article?
A company having 3rd parties manufacture low-end products for them while using their own factories to make top-shelf gear is not going fabless.
But as I said…you prefer your alternate reality where you know what you know.
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If moving production to Vietnam/Thailand/India can result in more affordable compact mirrorless cameras, I think that’s a good move. Of course, I don’t think Canon will relocate its lens manufacturing to Southeast Asia (which is the part of Canon products I hope could see a price drop). As for the CMOS business, camera CMOS sensors don’t require extremely advanced manufacturing processes, so outsourcing to Samsung or TSMC doesn’t seem necessary. I’m not very familiar with the chip industry in Southeast Asia, but perhaps it’s just straightforward OEM manufacturing under license?
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I’ve never heard of any domestically developed compact mirrorless cameras in mainland China with a sensor larger than APS-C on local SNS. Indeed, Yongnuo has produced a M43 mirrorless camera, which likely used a CMOS sensor manufactured by Sony Semiconductor. I don’t think this kind of collaboration would happen with Canon’s partners.
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\'Nikki also mentions that Canon hopes to avoid supply chain disruptions and geopolitical risks\'
This is a huge point. The pandemic taught a lot of companies that it is a bad choice to have all your manufacturing eggs in one basket and many companies are diversifying production as a result. Some big retailers like Costco are now looking at the robustness of supply and manufacturing when considering new suppliers. Without reading too much into it, this is a smart move for Canon.
This is a huge point. The pandemic taught a lot of companies that it is a bad choice to have all your manufacturing eggs in one basket and many companies are diversifying production as a result. Some big retailers like Costco are now looking at the robustness of supply and manufacturing when considering new suppliers. Without reading too much into it, this is a smart move for Canon.
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ashmadux
Art Director, Visual Artist, Freelance Photography
Meanwhile apple has been in this process ever since they got the reality slap from the Chinese market.. other countries are giving them hell and not drinking their cool aid (congo, indonesia, etc).
Thing about canon though...I'd expect even cheaper (made) products coming, especially after the mostly cheapo slow stinker lenses for APSC, trash like the r100, and their recent cheaper, smaller than image circle FF optics lenses with no IS, hiding dramatic distortion, slap an L badge on it with 1400.00 price point nonsense.
Thing about canon though...I'd expect even cheaper (made) products coming, especially after the mostly cheapo slow stinker lenses for APSC, trash like the r100, and their recent cheaper, smaller than image circle FF optics lenses with no IS, hiding dramatic distortion, slap an L badge on it with 1400.00 price point nonsense.
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