The Bad News [CR2]

[CR Backup Admin]

By INOP do you mean in operation?


On that page is says for Oita (relatively far from Fukushima):

Digital cameras, digital video camcorders, EF lenses, compact photo printers and others

For Fukushima:

Production of inkjet printers, print heads and ink tanks; analysis of software

Nagasaki also produces Digital Cameras (Nagasaki is pretty far away from Fukushima).

So is it relatively safe to conclude that the lens production and camera production are a safe distance away?

I hope Japan gets back from this, and comes out even better than before (as history has shown Japan done this). After my education finished and I learned Japanese I would like to move there.

"L" lenses are made at Utsunomiya.  A new lens plant is starting up at Oita, but there have been production problems there that have delayed the startup.

Here is a report posted on DPR from a person who said he was briefed by Canon management last week. It does sound reasonable to me.
_____________________________________________

Canon provided an update last week on operations. Here are the highlights as it pertains to cameras and lenses:

Canon has three plants and five affiliates located in the Kanto area and further north. The Utsunomiya plant suffered the most damage and this is where all the L and other lenses are made.

Utsunomiya is a major production site for interchangeable lenses and incurred some damage to plant buildings and equipment. Management has not finalized the schedule for restarting operations due to lack of reliable electricity supply and parts procurement issues.

Canon is reviewing the Oita and Taiwan plants as alternative output sites for interchangeable lenses. I believe Nikon announced a similar move to transfer production to Malaysia.

Oita Canon and Nagasaki Canon, key production sites for digital cameras, have suspended operations since last week because of difficulties procuring commodity electronic parts and other items following the earthquake. Management has not made a decision on the timing for resuming operations yet.

Canon has indicated a task force has been set up to determine which of its affected sites may not be operable within a month and to move that production to other Canon sites. This may not be possible for lenses however.

Both Canon and Nikon have been extremely careful about inventory levels in the aftermath of the financial crisis. This will further exacerbate the current problem as Canon only has 27 days of inventory on hand in the camera and lens segments.

I have been told that all North American retailers (and likely global) have been put on an allocation basis for bodies and lenses. Many retailers already look to be out of popular lenses and bodies. I have confirmed this with 2 retailers who have said they are on allocation and do not expect to have stock for 6-8 weeks (which could be optimistic).

We will see prices on the popular lenses and cameras increase (we have already) given that both Nikon and Canon are suffering production disruptions and inventory levels are very low across all channels.

If you have been waiting to purchase a lens now is the time to buy it otherwise you may have to wait months before it is restocked.

[neuroanatomist]

As I (and others) have stated previously, the location and operational status of Canon's plants is not the only concern.  Canon products are assembled at Canon plants, but the parts come from both Canon plants and other vendor plants. Many silicon chip makers have plants in the Sendai area that were obviously affected more than some Canon facilities.  If Canon sourced parts from those vendors for lenses and/or bodies, that will impact Canon's production lines.

It's interesting that Canon recently stopped stamping date codes on some lenses.  I do know that my 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, bought soon after the lens was released, has a date code - more recent copies of the lens reportedly do not, so they dropped the date code in production.  But, lenses I purchased late last year (35L, 135L) had late 2010 (UY10) date codes, and that means they were produced after Canon stopped putting date codes on the 70-200 II.  Does anyone know if this change applies across the board?  If Canon does retool another factory for lens production, without the date code initial letter, there may be no way to know where the lens was made (hopefully, it won't matter, but you never know...).

[Goincarcrazy]

I thought I heard that they were replacing the date codes with serial numbers.  If anything, that would give MORE info.  I could be mistaken though. 

[neuroanatomist]

I thought I heard that they were replacing the date codes with serial numbers.  If anything, that would give MORE info.  I could be mistaken though.

Lenses with date codes also have serial numbers, although the new serial numbers on lenses without date codes are longer (10 digits for the 70-200 II).  The thing is, we know how to interpret date codes - but the new, longer serial numbers are meaningless at this point.

[CR Backup Admin]

The thing is, we know how to interpret that date codes - but the new, longer serial numbers are meaningless at this point.

I keep expecting some web site to collect serial numbers versus pruchase date and make that available to used lens buyers.  It would be only approximate, but someone might also use it to figure out dates more accurately.  Usually, serial numbers are sequential, so that would help.

I would think that Canon Service will be able to lookup a lenses manufacture date by serial number. 

[ronderick]

As I (and others) have stated previously, the location and operational status of Canon's plants is not the only concern.  Canon products are assembled at Canon plants, but the parts come from both Canon plants and other vendor plants. Many silicon chip makers have plants in the Sendai area that were obviously affected more than some Canon facilities.  If Canon sourced parts from those vendors for lenses and/or bodies, that will impact Canon's production lines.

Totally agree: the vital thing is not the finsihed camera or lens, but all those micro components that makes up the whole. While there's a Canon plant in Taiwan, lens production would run into problems if certain "made in Japan ONLY" components  becomes lacking (like iPad2's battery, which I believe is made in Japan with no alternative).

On a side note, while note related to Canon or the camera industry per se, this English article from Asahi News gives a broader view of how damages to the supply chain will have an impact on the bigger international scene: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103280161.html

[JoshObra]

I'm quite sad about the price rising so high.

I was planning on buying another prime lens this month but the current price is like roughly $60+ the normal prices!

[Stuart]

So here is a thought, if Canon knew it was less affected than Nikon. It could use this time to allow prices to rise as well as pent up demand, then release a camera/stock at a higher price for a good peak in revenue.

[obsoletepower]

Here I think is a good website for identifying when and where your lenses were made.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/canon-lenses/canon-lens-aging.aspx

And to respond to Kuscali on the previous page, by INOP I mean INOPERABLE which is what the abbreviation is used for.

[neuroanatomist]

Here I think is a good website for identifying when and where your lenses were made.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/canon-lenses/canon-lens-aging.aspx

Which is exactly my point about lenses produced currently - that link (and there are others with the same info) - use the date code for age and production location.  But, some new lenses do not have that code on them (and not all lenses have them, in any case, but all L lenses did...until they dropped it from the 70-200 II).

[Flake]

As I (and others) have stated previously, the location and operational status of Canon's plants is not the only concern.  Canon products are assembled at Canon plants, but the parts come from both Canon plants and other vendor plants. Many silicon chip makers have plants in the Sendai area that were obviously affected more than some Canon facilities.  If Canon sourced parts from those vendors for lenses and/or bodies, that will impact Canon's production lines.

Totally agree: the vital thing is not the finsihed camera or lens, but all those micro components that makes up the whole. While there's a Canon plant in Taiwan, lens production would run into problems if certain "made in Japan ONLY" components  becomes lacking (like iPad2's battery, which I believe is made in Japan with no alternative).

On a side note, while note related to Canon or the camera industry per se, this English article from Asahi News gives a broader view of how damages to the supply chain will have an impact on the bigger international scene: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103280161.html

If only that was the Japanese way.  They seem to have a pathalogical distaste for using foreign sourced components even if that would get them out of a hole, the only way they seem able to accept this is if the foreign manufactured components are made by a Japanese owned company.

An illustration of how stiff necked they are about this can be seen with the Fukushima Daichii nuclear plant, when they refused to accept foreign advice and certificated it for at least another 10 years when it should have been decommissioned this year.

If Canon cannot source Japanese make components it is unlikely they will source them elsewhere they'd rather the plant sat idle and production stopped.  It might seem strange to us in the West but that's just how they are, having worked for them there's a definite 'alien' culture there.

Canon should be able to produce camera bodies even if it can't get straight back into lens production, I think they're in a better position than Nikon as most people will have a few L grade lenses and expect bodies to be replaced on a more regular basis, the cheaper DSLRs have lenses made in other countries so should be relatively unaffected.

[neuroanatomist]

the cheaper DSLRs have lenses made in other countries so should be relatively unaffected.

The cheaper DSLRs themselves are made in other countries.  Canon Taiwan produces, "Digital SLR cameras, EF lenses, LCD projector lenses and other lenses, precision-metal molds."  The XS/1000D was made there.  Apparently, the T3/1100D is made in Japan, but I'd bet that could be easily moved to Taiwan (and was likely planned to move there at some point anyway).

[transpo1]

Anyone know where the 5Dii and 7D are made? I'm assuming Japan since those are a step above the t3i build-quality wise but am curious to know...

[CR Backup Admin]

All the Canon DSLR's are made assembled in Japan.  Some of the consumer lenses, are currently made in Taiwan.

[obsoletepower]

Not true. The Canon Rebel DSLRs are made in Taiwan.