Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan
Oof, that&#x27;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&#x2F;lenses and cheaper countries for the consumer stuff, which I think is a valid compromise. But this feels short-sighted on Nikon&#x27;s part and rather like they have already failed. Perhaps instead of relocating their production they should re-evaluate their business model; my dad ended up swapping to Fuji after ~40 years of Nikon after his last camera failed and they treated him like crap as he tried to get it repaired. In contrast I bought an 11 year-old second-hand Canon DSLR which needed a new shutter mechanism and Canon Japan found an out-of-production replacement in their warehouse and shipped it to my repairer immediately.<p>I&#x27;ve always found Nikon to be lacking in competitive models with Canon in the places that count. Canon frequently make lenses of the same focal length but for different budgets, e.g. they have 4 70-200mm models. Nikon&#x27;s range has always been weirdly spotty, with some excellent lenses at the high end but weird gaps elsewhere.<p>Tangentially, I recently bought a superb Sigma lens and was  happy to see that it was actually still made in Japan as well; I thought all the third-party lens makers had moved abroad, but surprisingly a number of them are still there.<p>I was also very happy to discover that Canon promotes wildlife reserves around its factories and headquarters. It&#x27;s nice to see a company that reflects some of its customers&#x27; interests: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;global.canon&#x2F;en&#x2F;environment&#x2F;bird-branch&#x2F;index.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;global.canon&#x2F;en&#x2F;environment&#x2F;bird-branch&#x2F;index.html</a>